Of a Luxury

I bought myself a luxury this past weekend: a bed. An honest-to-goodness bed. It's great to have a bed for more reasons than I can count, but what's so great about my bed is that it's here in my room where I can sleep on it.

It's nothing fancy mind you, but I love it purely for its simplicity. It looks like this by the way. One of the wonderful things about this bed frame is that there's a ton of storage. If you scroll down that page a bit and look at all the possible pictures, I think you'll be impressed. There are two large 32 cm tall drawers that pull out. These can hold all sorts of cool things, like clothing, or books.

On the opposite side are these removable planks from the top. I have to take off the mattress to get to it, but this is for that stuff you almost never use. Like suitcases. Or the large winter cover on the bed once I buy one.

I have to say the favorite thing about my bed though is that I get to sleep on a mattress. You don't realize how much of a luxury a mattress is until you don't have one. Granted, I borrowed a futon, so I wasn't sleeping directly on the floor. I was really grateful for that futon, but Japanese style and American style futons are completely different. American style futons are couches that can pull out to be beds. They're cheaper than a standard couch, but they offer (mainly-college students) versatility. A Japanese style futon is like a roll-out mattress. It looks like this. They're normally about an inch thick, and it's just enough so that you aren't sleeping on the floor.

Thus, the reason that I'm happy about this bed of mine. I even bought a mattress sheet and a pillow case. I don't have a normal sheet yet (those things are unnaturally hard to find). So, I'm just using my Miami blanket until I find something better. Once it gets better, I'll buy myself what is also called a futon, but is a comforter in English.

I'm going to go sleep in this great bed!

Of the Humble Rice Cooker

My humble rice cooker has already proved useful. If not for it, I really don't know what I'd do. Although it is possible and fairly simple to cook rice in a pot, it tastes better from a rice cooker. The sheer importance in Japan makes it necessary some money on your rice cooker. 

This value placed on rice is due to history. In the past, rice was a prized commodity. When the shogun, or traveling bands of samurai took over a town, they would claim the rice from the locals. The amount and quality of your rice was a sign of your wealth. During the famines, people would often eat only a couple grains of rice as a meal. Since food was so scarce, every grain was prized. This tradition continues today in the Japanese language. The word for cooked rice and meal is the same, gohan (御飯). In a rice bowl, every grain must be finished. No matter how difficult it is to get out. 

Today, there a few varieties of rice. The first is the standard unwashed rice. This rice is still covered in starch and needs to be washed before it can be eaten. The second type is pre-washed rice, or musenmai (無洗米). It's not necessary to wash this rice, but you can still do so to get rid of any remaining starch. Musenmai is normally slightly more expensive due to its convenience. There is also mochi. Mochi is a type of sticky, soft rice. It is smaller and is formed into the numerous sweets that are so popular here. Although brown rice exists here, white rice is more popular. It's believed that it tastes better, and to be honest, I think it's perceived as clean and appealing to the eye.

Rice is normally served plain in a small rice bowl, or chawan (茶碗). The chawan is valued for both its beauty and its simplicity. Mine is pictured below. Although you will at times see sesame seeds and some dry flavoring on top called furikake, it's not common to add sauce since this "dirties" the rice. It's considered fairly childish.

This brings us to the actual topic of this post, which is the rice cooker. Rice cookers have become popular in recent years as people have become busier. There is now a decent portion of the population that cannot cook rice in a pot. The rice cooker, or suihanki (炊飯器) has really perfected the rice-making process.

You note that mine is currently open since I'm letting it dry. Of course there are things to consider such as size, but there are a couple aspects to a rice cooker that are important. The first is the pot or nabe. The pot should be somewhat thick and made of metal. This prevents the rice from burning, or the pot from melting. If you want your rice to be moist and fluffy, this is an important aspect. The second thing that's important is this little piece on top. It's removable. The steam rises up through this lid. If you leave it in the cooker, the rubber will be moldy and the metal will rust. Japan is just an exceptionally humid country. Therefore, if you remove it and wash it every time, your rice cooker will last you decades.

The next part that I wanted to cover is the degree of customization. There's a standard setting, a quick-cook, a musenmai setting, options for brown rice and barley/wheat and mochi, as well as setting like okayu. Okayu is rice porridge, it's normally eaten when you feel ill. You can also set the rice cooker to start at a certain time or to delay it if you're ready to eat yet.

The simplest way to cook delicious rice is to wash it with water first. You need to get all the dirt and starch off the rice for it to be light and delicious. You should then add the water and let the rice sit in the pot for 20 minutes. This lets the rice absorb the water, so it will cook evenly and remain moist. Finally, you can start cooking the rice. When you're done, if you don't eat all of it, put it into a container or separate it into meal-size portions of plastic wrap. If you'll eat it within a day or two, it's fine to put in the fridge. Rice freezes well though, so you can put it into the freezer without any problem. Enjoy the rice!

Trains

One of the really convenient aspects of living in Tokyo is the convenience of transportation. You can get pretty much anywhere in this city with a train. Just to give you an idea, check out the Tokyo train map. Keep in mind that this is only the JR Railway network.

The JR railway network is by far the largest in Japan, but there are more than just JR trains here. There are still plenty of private lines that run to more rural areas. If I were to include those though, you wouldn't be able to see anything. I know on this map, it looks pretty difficult to understand, but you start to get the hang of it after a few times of riding the lines. If you don't know where you're going, you can use Yahoo to select the fastest and cheapest route.

The great thing about the stations here is that the subway and normal trains are connected. You don't have to go to a different place to catch the next line. This means that the stations go really deep because you're able to catch sometimes 7 or 8 different lines in the same station. The stations themselves are similar in some ways to airports. They're large and spread out, but they're well marked. And unlike the airport, you can catch another train within a couple minutes, and it won't affect your ticket price at all.

With that said, there's a mindset that there's always room for one more person on the train. This leads to serious overcrowding, with the trains running at 200 to 300 percent capacity at rush hours. The station attendants that "assist" people into trains to make sure bags and other things don't get caught are real, especially at the larger stations.

You can also catch multiple different speeds to your destination. If your station is considered a hub, then you can take semi-express or express trains. This means that you can skip all of the stations that you don't want to stop at. This can shave several minutes off of your travel time. I normally take the kakutei (or every stop) trains though, because my home is not a hub. All in all, it's a pretty convenient system. I can get to work in 8 minutes. And unlike driving, I can just sleep until my destination. That's convenient.

Talking about Expenses

I've gotten asked a lot in the past month "Isn't living in Japan expensive?" And I really think this comes with a grain of salt. Is it expensive in a major city? Yes. It's the largest metropolis in the world with 37 million people. That means that you're going to pay for housing. If you were to put a hundred dollar bill on the ground, the land here in Tokyo would cost more than the value of that bill. You also pay for the convenience of things. Taxes are high, around 20 percent of your income. However, this covers your health care, garbage disposal, etc. If these weren't high, the city wouldn't work, and that's a fact that you have to live with.

Fruit is absurdly expensive here. The cheapest I've ever seen a watermelon here was 980 yen, around 10 dollars. Japan just can't produce the variety or the quantity necessary to feed all of the people here. Since it's imported, it's like Hawaii. It's expensive.

So what isn't expensive? Obviously I wouldn't write this post just to say exactly what everyone knows already. In some ways, Japan is easier to live in than the States. You can go to a restaurant for lunch and eat as cheap as 400 yen. I'm not going to it's the best-tasting food in the world, but it is better than McDonald's. You'll be able to get a main dish, some miso soup and rice all for the price of a Big Mac here at the fast food joints. You can easily spend 2000 yen, or 20 bucks at lunch though if you're not careful. All in all, restaurants are cheaper.

What about basic needs? In some ways, these are also cheaper than the States. You can buy towels, laundry and cleaning supplies at hyaku-en or dollar stores. You can get a pillow for 1000 yen and umbrellas for a few hundred yen. You can buy refill packages of your normal soap and shampoo for a few dollars less than the normal containers.

So, what are you paying for? You'll pay for electronics like rice cookers, refrigerators and washing machines. You pay for housing and other conveniences. So, is living in Japan expensive? If you buy major things like this? Yes. If you're renting an apartment or building a house? Absolutely. But in your day to day life, you can eat well and take care of your needs cheaper than the States.

I recommend buying clothing in the States since it's marked up double or triple the cost overseas. But it you're buying normal goods, buy them here. It will be cheaper in the long run.

Of Recycling

I recently learned that people were having problems with posting to the blog. I deleted the word verification feature and tested it myself to see if I could post as an anonymous user. There shouldn't be any further problems, but if there are, shoot me an email and I'll sort the issue out with Blogger.

The recycling situation here is pretty intense. In some ways, there's a huge push toward materials conservation. When you try to throw away your trash, you're normally faced with several options: Burnable garbage (food, paper, etc.), non-burnable garbage, plastic, bottles, cans, glass, and bento boxes. Since there are handy pictures on the outside of the bins, even if you don't understand the language, it's pretty easy to follow the rules. However, the at-home situation is far more complex.

I explained that I have a pile of plastic trash sitting in my room because it's not plastic day in a previous post. Depending on where you live, you'll recycle different things on different days. You may have to follow different procedures as well. For me, Monday is materials day. This means I recycle plastics, glass, etc. on this day. The items have to sorted properly, and labels on plastic bottles (called pet bottles here) need to be torn off.

Tuesday is my food waste day. Basically, burnable garbage day. Diapers, sticks and such can be thrown in here too. Wednesday is magazine, newspaper, and cardboard boxes day. These are supposed to be stacked nicely and tied up with a string. I don't own any string, so mine get put behind all of the ones with strings so they don't fly away.

Thursday is non-burnable garbage day. Glass, umbrellas, electronic items like hair dryers, cups, hairspray, etc. all get included in this day. The handy pamphlet shows a picture of a nice vase. I don't know who throws away vases with wonderful flower prints on them, but I want their trash. You can dispose of lightbulbs on this day as well. Friday is another burnable garbage/food waste day. If you want to dispose of something large like a fridge, vacuum, tv, computer, etc. you have to call up somebody to take it away. The normal garbage truck won't take it.

Why is Japan so recycling oriented? We could argue that it's because it's an island country and trying to conserve its resources. I actually think that it's because it's so wasteful with its resources though. If you buy a package of cookies like oreos, each and every one will be wrapped individually in plastic. If you buy a fridge, people will always tell you to buy a new one because the previously owned ones smell bad. The idea of cleaning these or using baking soda to absorb the smell is out of the question. Therefore, everything is labeled clearly so that it can be recycled.

Foreign ID Part 2

Success! After arriving at the kuyakusho at 8:30, which is earlier than most things open here, I finally managed to get everything sorted out. It took a lot of paperwork and a far bit of explanation since they had never done the process after the system change.  All it took was some input into some computer system on their end and writing the new address on the back of my card. What a relief! Thankfully it's all taken care of now, and I can focus on more pressing matters.

Of the Foreigner ID

The foreigner ID (在留カード) is a peculiar thing. In some ways, it looks a lot like your driver's license. It serves as your official identification if you live in Japan for longer than 3 months, and it's necessary to get anything from a cell phone to an apartment contract. Despite its necessity, it's fairly difficult to obtain. I began the process as soon as I came to Japan, and I just received it after nearly a month of living here. When I was a student, I received it within a couple weeks. Since they changed the system a few days ago, no one really understands the correct process now. Not even the government.

I initially waited to get the card because  in the past you had to be at your permanent address before you were allowed to apply for it. My realtor kept asking for the paperwork even though I told him that I wasn't able to receive it. Finally, he told me that I wouldn't be able to apply for any apartment without the paperwork, so I went to the office and gave my temporary address. I learned that this was completely okay. When I asked about the changing card process, I was told not to worry and that everything would be handled. All I needed to do was take the paperwork to my new ward office after I moved, and they would handle the rest.

After the move, I contacted the Company and asked for permission to go early Monday morning before work so that I could handle the last of this government process. As I traveled to my local ward office (kuyakusho), I expected to miss only an hour of work max. I could easily make it up with some overtime that night. Little did I know what I was getting myself into.

I made it to the kuyakusho and asked the nice guard waiting outside for directions to the office. The map was something of a maze and wasn't to scale, so I figured it would be easier to just ask someone. When I got to the desk, I handed the gentleman my paperwork and explained that I recently moved. He informed me that I had to go to the prefectural office. Why? I asked, The system changes today. The local ward offices are supposed to issue the cards now. The man had no idea of the system change and told me just to go to the other office about an hour away by train. When I asked for directions, he told me he had no idea how to get there but he'd search for a map. The search took roughly 20 minutes. The map I received was more than a little frightening. It told me to get off on the wrong bus stop, so I walked about 25 minutes to the office after spending about half an hour by train and another 5 minutes on a bus. I walked on the sides of overpasses, past giant abandoned factories, and through neighborhoods that no woman should walk alone. But I did it all to receive this card.

I finally made it to that office and was told to fill out the same paperwork that I was currently carrying copies of because they needed originals. I figured this was just another example of the bureaucracy and quickly filled out my paperwork and headed upstairs. Little did I know that I know that I would wait in that line for 3 hours. I finally saw a person and she informed me that I needed to cancel my previous registration so that I could register again for this card. She wrote everything out for me on a piece of paper, told me to copy it to another piece of paper (signing under her handwriting wasn't allowed), and wait to be called again to receive my card. I called the Company, and told them that there was no way I was making it to work today. I'd work overtime the rest of the week to make up for it.

I waited another 4 hours. I only had a rice ball for breakfast; I never ate lunch. I rationed my little bottle of lemon tea like I was stranded on a desert island and it was the last ounce of liquid for a 1,000 miles. After 4 hours, I was called up again. "Write your name on this envelope please," I was told. "The computer system has regrettably gone down. We can't do anything else today." I'd been in this office for 7 hours. There was no way I was leaving without anything. Please, I need this paperwork for my company, I told her. Please is there anything you can do? Yoroshiku onegai itashimasu (Please do this for me. I'm putting myself in your care.) She talked to her boss. Her boss asked why I didn't take care of this at the local ward office. She talked to her boss's boss. No, there was nothing she could do. "Fill out the envelope please. We'll mail the card to you in a few weeks."


It's been another week. I finally received the card, but the address is wrong. I'll have to head to my local ward office in the morning. Here's hoping this time it works.

Yoroshiku onegai itashimasu.

New Apartment

I apologize for the delay in posting. I've moved into an apartment and been arranging everything but I just got internet connected the other day. I've finally taken some pictures of the apartment though, so I'll share them with you.

First is a picture of the room itself. I have a small table (inherited from Tai's family after them insisting that I take it since it hadn't been used in 20 years) and my little futon in the corner. I've actually ordered a bed via a website called Nitori. Think of it like an Ikea.

One of the things you have to consider when adding things in your room is that they have to be earthquake proof. The little hangar in my closet kept falling down, so I went with the couple large clothing stands option instead.

This is the entrance to my apartment. The kitchen is on the left and a door to the bathroom and laundry machine opens on the right. That little box is for post that is too sensitive to place downstairs. Why is there a bunch of trash sitting by my trash can, you ask? Today is not plastic day. There will be more on Japanese trash collection in a future post.

My kitchen. I have this really awesome fridge. It's a normal size fridge up top and a pull-out freezer on the bottom. A 30-year-old microwave that I also inherited. And my little rice cooker over in the corner. I bought the fridge, laundry machine, rice cooker, and hair dryer all for $300 dollars all because I made an internet contract at the same time. Talk about a deal!

My laundry machine. You can't really see too much of it since my towel and bath mat are sitting on it to dry, but it's pretty nice. To be honest, I'm not completely sure of all of its features yet. That will involve some time and a dictionary. About all I know is that it washes my clothes, that it semi-dries my clothes, and that it's a Chinese brand. My Swiffer-style wiper is on the side. Notice the door on the left opening to my toilet, and the door on the right opening to my bath. It's unsanitary to have them in the same place.

 My toilet. It's not fancy, but it does the trick. The water faucet on top turns on when you flush the toilet. The water is clean, so you can use it as a sink, thus the hand towel.

My bathroom. This entire room is able to get wet. You use the shower faucet in the main part of the bathroom. After you've showered, you can soak in the tub to relax.

And that's the apartment in a nutshell. I've gotta' go before I'm late to work!

Of Being a Maigo

My maigo life continues. Only I could have gotten lost going to work the second day. I somehow ended up about a 10 minute walk down the street past the office. How, I'm not quite sure. I was walking on the same side of the road as the Company, and mysteriously I just missed the entrance by 10 minutes before I realized I was in the wrong place. I ended up a a konbini (convenience store) called Lawson and asked the staff for directions to the building. The clerk asked me, "Do you have an address, customer?" "No," I responded. "I don't unfortunately...wait, I might. One minute." And I reached in for the only thing I had on me with my company address: My business card. I gave my own business card to the clerk for him to tell me where my company is. And he knew it was mine too since it's written in the alphabet for foreign loan words. He pulled out a map and tried to help me the best he could, but admitted he wasn't exactly sure where it was. So I hiked back up the street and decided to search for the building again. After walking 10 minutes back toward the station, I found the company. Then, at lunch I went with the other new employee back to Lawson to grab a quick bento (boxed lunch) before a meeting. To add to my embarrassment, I had the same clerk ring up my lunch. I think I won't be going back to Lawson for a while...

Meishi Culture

I also started my first day of work at the Company. I got my business cards (meishi) so I've become an effective member of society now (shakai-jin). Business cards are extremely important at any company, but particularly here in Japan. The business card is seen as an extension of yourself. Therefore, there are a few things to consider so as not to offend the card-holder. These can all be classified under business card exchange (meishi koukan).

The card will be turned to face the recipient so that it is aligned correctly to make it easily readable. You will never give/receive a meishi with your name upside-down from the recipient's point-of-view. In the case that both people are exchanging meishi at the same time, give your card with your left and accept the card with your right. The person going first depends on status. There is no guarantee that the senior individual will provide you with his card. You always want to confirm the name of the individual at the time since the kanji can be difficult.

The card should never be bent, folded, or dirtied in any way. This includes the common practice of flipping your card over and writing your contact information on it. This is a way of slighting the individual. If you soil the card, you are disrespecting the person himself. Writing on your own card shows that you do not respect yourself.

On the same note, do not put any meishi in a pocket without a business card holder (meishi-ire). This is also disrespectful since it could lead to the card's edges getting frayed. If you do not happen to have a meishi-ire, then wait until the person is well out of sight until you put it into a folder to protect it. Creating a little collection of meishi shows your business connections, so it needs to be kept clean for future reference.

Apartment App Accepted

My apartment application was approved today. The next step is the price negotiation. There are a few things that go into the negotiation of the apartment.

1. The condition of the apartment. Is it dirty? Has it been well taken care of? If you ask for the walls/floor to be replaced, you can't negotiate much on price. If you're fine with the previous floors, you have room to negotiate. Since I thought my apartment had been cleaned prior to my visit Saturday, I'm not going to ask for the walls/floor to be replaced.
2. The lock. Do you want the lock to be replaced? Apparently the landlord doesn't take up the keys from the previous tenant, so they have a copy of the key. If you want to be sure no one is entering your apartment that you don't know about, it's best to get the lock replaced. Unfortunately, this is quite the fee (around 1万５千円 or 105 dollars).
3. You can also try to negotiate just to lower the rent, but this is difficult without any sort of proof. I'm expecting to lower my rent by only 10-30 dollars, but I'll take anything I can get.

If all goes well, I'll move in this Saturday! That leaves me with a lot of shopping to do before the start of the next work week.

Apartment Found

I finally found an apartment yesterday. I submitted my application, proof of foreigner card registration, a copy of my company contract to prove I have a job with an adequate salary, as well as my guarantor's documents. The landlord will call mine and my guarantor's companies to confirm our positions and make a decision. If he approves the application, we can discuss the cleaning, financials, move in date. If all goes well, it should take about a week, and I might be able to move in next weekend. I need to arrange everything with the internet, electricity, water, and gas companies as well. That should be easier though. I don't think they're as strict as the apartment landlord.

If approved, I'll be living in Yutenji. I'm only 2 minutes from the station, and I'm surrounded by other small apartments and small family homes. Directly next to the station is a wealth of restaurants: curry, Italian, ramen, tonkatsu just to name a few.There's also lots of tiny shops with everything from sweets and fresh-baked bread to medicine and convenience stores. There are some pachinko (arcade gaming) parlors, but these are much safer alternatives to the bars that are seen in the rest of Tokyo. Overall, the area is very safe and convenient, and I'm looking forward to living there. I'll provide pictures if I get approved and once I furnish the apartment a bit.

Within the next few weeks, I'm hoping to get a bank account and a cell phone. At the moment, I'm carrying around exorbitant amounts of cash on me and using Tai's grandmother's cell phone. For those of you who have smart phones, you are free to contact me using Kakaotalk. It's a really great program that lets you text for free (inter-)nationally as long as you have at least 3G or wi-fi. It works with your normal contact book. You can send video, pictures, and normal texts. You can also message to groups. The app is free to download.

A quick book shout-out. I had given the book to Tai a few years ago for his birthday, but I had never read it myself. I finally had some free time the other day and finished it in a couple sittings. It's called Delivering Happiness, and it's written by Zappos CEO Tony Hseih. It was extremely inspirational and it chronicles the beginning of Zappos to its current motto of delivering happiness to everyone that the company and its employees meet with. It's quite short, and I really recommend it.

Tomorrow is officially the first day of work at the Company. I'm off to bed to get some sleep.