Apartment Round-Up

I'm planning to make an apartment decision tomorrow. The realtor worked hard to find me a couple other apartments to compare with, so I will look and make a decision afterwards. Even after I make a decision, it will take approximately a week to complete all of the necessary paperwork to move in. I've already offered to start paying rent to the family here, but they insist that I take my time and make a proper decision. I truly am blessed to have found such wonderful people no matter where I go in the world.

I visited the one apartment I'm interested in again today. I'm thinking I'll take the loft apartment if I don't see something I like better tomorrow. I'd like the space, and I might just put a little roll-out futon up there to sleep, leaving the main room for clothing and a table. I discovered that both apartments have a small balcony today, which is great. I can dry clothes!

I also went to the Company today to try to find the way there and to properly introduce myself. I went with Tai's mother, because she's already learned I have no sense of direction. Those who know me here have changed my surname to Maigo (meaning a lost/stray child). Not surprisingly, even with his mother we got hopelessly lost and asked the local fire station and a dry-cleaning shop for directions. The Company is located in Ebisu, which is a very nice business district located in Shibuya, Tokyo. The area has tons of restaurants, some famous. It is popular for Yebisu (pronounced Ebisu) Garden, which is a popular drinking area. Sapporo's headquarters are located here. Before anyone gets the idea I'm focused on alcohol here, I want to mention that this is the first thing people comment about when I work in Ebisu. It truly is a nice area though, and it has lots of fun little shops. I look forward to looking through them whenever I'm not in work.

After having been here already for study abroad, there is very little about Japan that surprises me now. I normally just accept everything I see. I don't always understand it, but I accept it. Today, I had a rare "only-in-Japan" moment. I was watching a informational show, where a popular actor goes around and tries lots of food from famous local shops and he went into a shop that specializes in sushi. Not just any sushi though. It's understandable that you want to have the freshest fish possible, so special shops will let you choose your fish, and then make your meal appropriately. In this episode, the actor chose squid (ika). As the chef plunged his hand into the tank to catch the squid barehanded, a familiar song began playing. I've never thought of the song "Dude Looks Like a Lady" applying to catching squid Mr. Miyagi-style, but it was oddly catchy.

I'm off to go eat some eel (unagi) now.

Foreigner Registration

I finally applied for my foreigner identification card today. I still do not have an apartment, but since every landlord is currently demanding it, I decided to wing it and use my current temporary address. I'll have to change it in a week when I move into an apartment, which seems rather redundant, but isn't all bureaucracy?

The Company talked with the realtor to try to sort things out, but it seemed like the only way was to apply for my identification card. I still won't receive the actual card for a month, but the 20 minutes it took me to get a special paper saying that I've applied is apparently sufficient.

Before anyone actually asks the question, I'll answer it now. The reason I didn't do this earlier is because the system is in flux. A few weeks ago when I asked the Japanese consulate what do I do, they told me I need a permanent address first. This was true even when I was in Kyoto. When I was told that I needed a foreigner ID, I told the realtor that the government instructed me that I needed an address first. This is due to the fact that the government office you apply to depends on your address. The system is not set to change until July 5. However, apparently some things have changed and I could go apply with a temporary address. As far as the government knows, I'm home-staying here. If that's what it takes to get the paper, then so be it. They know I'm moving soon.

The realtor is still being difficult about finding me an apartment though, so I've offered a compromise. I'd still like him to look for other apartments since I now have the paper, but if he absolutely can't find anything, I'm willing to sign with the small apartment I'm interested in. I've asked for the rent to be lowered slightly.

The decision on loft or no loft with that apartment is still up in the air. I receive different opinions from the same people every day. The reasoning is this:

1. The loft provides space for storage, hanging laundry, etc. Since the apartment is only around 20 square feet, this is a pretty big deal to have another few feet of storage. The apartment is still just as light with the loft.
2. The non-loft apartment doesn't have an inconvenient ladder sitting directly in front of the door of my 15 foot room. That's a pretty big deal. It also has a small (2 foot balcony) that I can hang clothes on. The non-loft apartment is also cheaper, like 50 bucks a month cheaper.
3. The question is if I want to increase my apartment basically by a third by spending another 50 bucks a month of not. Regardless of everyone's opinions on the matter, I will make this decision myself since I am the one who is possibly living there.

I have the odd feeling that I'll be told that there won't be another option, since that's what I've heard for the past couple days. This will ultimately be a fairly important decision for me.

Apparently it's pretty easy to break your apartment contract, but then I'll have to deal with that whole 4-month rent for the first month of rent thing again. I suppose we'll see how things go. For now, I have that elusive piece of paper, and that's a step in the right direction.

The Apartment Search - Cont.

I have not yet decided on an apartment due to a number of reasons. The first of which is that I have had landlords refuse to let me sign because I do not yet have the Japanese equivalent of a green card. This is regardless of the fact that I require a permanent address in order to apply for the foreigner identification card (gaikokujin-tourokusho). This has severely limited the number of apartments that I am able to look at.

A majority of foreigners live in West-Shinjuku in Tokyo. Oftentimes, these landlords do not require one to have a foreigner ID, but the area is not as safe. In the case of the apartments that will let me rent from them, I have to prove that I am a valid member of society. Owners are concerned that foreigners will hold large parties in the apartments and will disturb other residents. These residents would then move out. The other concern is that the company is not valid and the person is in Japan illegally.

In order to prove my validity, I require a couple things. The first is a guarantor. This person is a native Japanese who makes over a set income level. This is the same as the United States. If you fail to pay, this person will assume responsibility. In my case, I will not ask this of my guarantor. The second is proof that I hold a position in a company. I already have the first and my company is trying to take care of the second on my behalf.

I am currently trying to determine if the apartment that I am interested in is price negotiable. I have given the realtor (fudousanya) a deadline of Friday (tomorrow), to find me another place or I will sign with the interested place. Even if I sign a contract immediately though, I likely wouldn't be able to move in for a few more days. I need electricity, water, gas, and internet. The latter seems unimportant until you consider I currently don't have a phone, and internet is the only way for me to figure out the train schedules and maps around the city.

Of other things I've figured out, washing machines are surprisingly expensive. I expected a bed to be expensive though. I suppose I may sleep on a futon and roll it up for a while until I get out somewhere to buy a bed.

I'm off to go be moderately productive.

The Apartment Search - Day 1

I started visiting apartments yesterday with Tai, his parents, and the fudousanya (realtor). We ended up looking at 4 places. Overall, I think the experience was very educational. I was able to understand what I wanted in an apartment and to clarify some of my needs.

The first apartment I looked at was nice, but it was directly above a train. It was relatively quiet actually, but there was no closet for storage space. I believe the train would have become irritating over time. The second and third apartments were in the same building, except the third one had a loft. I actually really liked the second apartment. It was clean and the building was only a few years old. It also had a nice closet and bathroom. The space was small though; a bed would have taken up 3/4 of the room. The third apartment was the same size, but the ladder to the loft came down into the middle of the room. Although the loft was large and good for storage, it seemed extremely dangerous in the event of an earthquake. It also made the room about 10 degrees warmer.

The final apartment was a lesson in everything that I didn't want in an apartment. Although it was large,  it seemed like an apartment made for men working construction jobs. The building was old and smelled of mold. It seemed like it was an old concrete barracks that was converted into a residential building. It was questionable whether the stove worked. The door to the bathroom was like a temporary wooden door. No lock with a little metal handle similar to an outhouse. The laundry machine was right next to the toilet. If I'm washing laundry, I do not want it to smell like whatever I have relieved myself of recently. Perhaps the worst part was that the entire building was surrounded by scaffolding that the owner had put up for people to hang their laundry. It made the place look like a construction site and it was extremely depressing.

After the first day, these are the things that I have decided are important to me:

1. Located in a safe family-oriented neighborhood with auto-lock doors. When everyone gets out of work, I do not want to go home, to find all of the businesses closed and be walking on an empty street. Nor do I want to live in a nightlife-oriented area. It's dangerous. 
2. Stove with preferably 2 burners. I like to have a couple burners for cooking.
3. Closet space is invaluable in a place as small as Japan.
4. Having a balcony where I can dry my clothes so that they do not hang over the abyss is nice.
5. Close to work and Tai's family here in Setagaya. I will travel frequently to both.

I'll continue my search.

A Personal Seal

I went to the hanko-ya, seal shop, yesterday. I chose the size for my hanko, the type of material it's made from, and the font and case style. I received it today, and I have to say it looks lovely. I can't reveal what the stamp itself looks like for security purposes, but here's a picture of it resting in its case. (I turned the picture sideways once already, but it seems determined to be upright.)

A hanko is pretty important here in Japan. It takes the place of your signature on official documents. Without one, you can't open a bank account or conduct other official business. Once you get a hanko, you're supposed to register it with the government. However, since I don't have an apartment yet, I can't register mine.

Companies are very serious about your hanko. It is someone's job in the company to make sure of the accuracy of the seal. Since each one is slightly different, the company will take out a ruler and measure the stamp made by the seal. If anything is slightly different (i.e. the width of the border, the style of the font), then the company will reject the seal and demand that you bring the correct one. Until the correct seal is brought, they will not do business with you.

On the surface, this seems more than a little unproductive. If you have multiple seals, you have to remember which one you used. This could delay your business for a few days. If you lose the hanko, then no matter how hard you try, you will not be able to complete your business. However, since this is for security purposes, it presents a liability to the company. For this reason, you have to protect your hanko and make sure to never lose it. Otherwise, it presents a huge barrier.

The style of your hanko represents your status. The smaller size is common now. However, if you held a high position, such as the CEO of a company, or if you were a long-established business, you may have a large hanko. This represents pride but can convey arrogance.

In other news, it looks like I'll start looking at apartments Saturday. Tai and his family have been in contact with the realtor (fudousanya) for me. I'll update more in a couple days.

Arrived

I've arrived safely in Japan. The plane flight was good. I'll give it to American Airlines for having great staff. We were given meals every few hours, I think I had three, or four? I'm not sure because I was trying to sleep and eating instead. Someone on the crew should get their thyroid checked; that was easily the coldest flight I've ever been on. It became something of a running joke among all of the passengers, trying to figure out why the plane was so cold.

Customs and immigration proceeded smoothly. I learned that whatever your visa says is what you put on the immigration form for length of stay, even if that isn't necessarily true. So, according to the immigration office, I'll be here for 1 year before I renew my visa.

I made it to the house safely as well. Tai's family is so generous to me and allowing me to stay here while I search for an apartment. The only requirement is that I make gumbo in return. His mother and I made it here in the nick of time. The typhoon arrived just as we were pulling up to his house. The wind is fairly strong right now, but no worse than Arkansas' thunderstorms. The rain is pleasant.

I watched a really interesting detective movie on the plane called Kirin no Tsubasa (The Wings of the Kirin). Unfortunately, I only slept an hour on the plane, but it's okay because I got to rest for 13 hours straight. I'm not counting the one hour though in my list of time awake, which means that I've been awake for 24 hours now. Amazingly, it's fine. I've learned that if I drink tons of water over the course of my trip that the jetlag on the first day is manageable.

I'll write a better post once my head doesn't feel fuzzy from sleep deprivation.
I'm off to see if I can catch a quick nap before everyone comes home.

I wish everyone all the best.

Visa Received

I finally received my visa in the mail today. It's been a long process. My visa is only good for one year since this is the first time that my company has applied to bring a foreign worker to Japan. This is still good though. I'm really glad that this has been taken care of. I'm now permitted to start looking at apartments, so this is a huge relief.

I'm spending my last few days here spending time with family and getting some last minute items while I pack up everything else. It's good. I'm glad I can relax a bit.

I leave for Japan on Monday, arrive on Tuesday.

Preparations

I'm preparing yet again to depart for Japan. This time is a little different though.

As you may have noticed, the blog title and layout have changed. Since this blog is now going on two years, I felt like it was time for a change. I felt this way looked much sleeker and was easier to read.

I am returning to Japan this time for work. Although there may be a few posts about work in general, specifics about the company and work will not be disclosed. This is out of respect for the company's and my privacy as well. This blog is intended to just be a slice-of-life for my readers.

That brings us to what am I doing now?

I have not yet left for my position. As of right now, I am waiting on my visa. The visa process in Japan is not standardized, which means applicants have to apply four or five times before all of the paperwork is accepted. The company/university/etc. has to apply on the person's behalf. This organization then works with the Japanese government to try to get a Certificate of Eligibility, which allows the recipient to apply for a visa at their local embassy. Without a visa, the applicant cannot rent an apartment, get a phone, qualify for health care, get the equivalent of a "Green Card," or any other number of things. I am currently waiting on my Certificate.

Filling out all of the paperwork to get the Certificate takes around 3-4 months if everything goes smoothly. Receiving the visa from the embassy takes between 3 business days to 1 week.

If all goes well, I will leave in roughly a week.