moving to Japan

[Daniel]

Actually, we're leaving heavy kitchen stuff like pots, plates and cups behind. I'm taking my DVDs, video games, and plastic models with me, plus the majority of my anime figures. Oh yeah, and clothing so I don't freeze to death or get arrested.

You could always just buy the clothing you need when you get there. That way you'll have extra space in your luggage.

[greg]

You could always just buy the clothing you need when you get there. That way you'll have extra space in your luggage.

That's more difficult than you would think. I'm only 5'10" or so, and I'm still way taller than everyone. So finding a sweater that fits around me doesn't really fit my height. It's just made for a wider Japanese guy, so it doesn't have a longer torso or longer sleeves. I only wear a size 10 shoe, which is fairly small for my size, yet I have big feet as far as Japan is concerned. When I first moved to Japan back in 2000, I was like 24 or so and 6' tall. I've shrunk about an inch and a half since then.

We also arrived in Jan, Tokyo is not that cold after all. Used gloves twice this winter so far.

I'm moving to Saku, and while it apparently doesn't get a lot of snow, it's colder than where my in-laws live, and the wind chill factor is several times higher there.

What we did is shipped a lot of stuff via sea to a friends address, arrived a few weeks after us and by that time we had everything prepared for it. Arrived with no apartment set, etc. So spend 1st night at friend and 2nd at a Love-Hotel, 3rd we had found an apartment.

100yen shops are a god-send when setting up a new apartment, as is Don Quihote and similar stores.

Yes, we love Marukai 100 yen shops. We are not packing our dishes and cups because we can get those for cheap at places like Marukai.

The only time I've been into a Don Quixote store was the one in Akihabara in April. The style of store was not quite what I had expected it to be, so I just plowed through it real quick and didn't pay much attention to what's inside.

Well, we only have three more days of packing before the movers arrive on January 10th. You guys might not see me on here much for a while, especially since we'll have to get settled into our apartment. Dang, it's going to be freezing there. Phoenix skips winter and just goes straight into spring around January 1st, and I've been wearing short sleeves this past week. I hope the climate change won't be such a shock that I will get sick. The last time I worked in Japan, my Australian coworkers would arrive in January, and since they were going straight from Australia's summer to Japan's winter, they would often catch colds. The job started in August for us Americans, so we had it easier.

[greg]

Well, here I am in Japan. We flew into Nagoya airport for the first time and my wife's mom was there to meet us and take us to the in-laws' place. Tomorrow I will report to work, get shown around, and be introduced to our new apartment. Then on Monday I begin classes. Such a whirlwind!

We flew ANA internationally to Japan. I double checked their luggage restrictions on their website, and for any package over 50 pounds, we'd have to pay a $30 fee. No big deal. But the transfer flight from Phoenix to Los Angeles was United, and they charged us TWO HUNDRED DOLLARS per overweight bag, totaling FOUR HUNDRED DOLLARS. This is INSANE. My speeding ticket didn't even cost that much. Why are they out to punish flyers when the airline industry is hurting so bad? The domestic flight has always honored the policies of the international carriers, but now United Air is superceding the international carrier. It's like being extorted by a bully! I am so mad. This fine is outrageous and I will complain. I tried calling their "customer service" (ie call center in fucking INDIA). I don't mind the accents. It's their inability to think outside the box and always stick to the scripts is what pisses me off about India. Maybe it's a cultural thing, but they just aren't allowed to grow a brain. It infuriates me. I was just told to send a complaint to refunds@united.com or customerrelations@united.com. Why? So I can get an automated response and have my complaint ignored? So nobody in either of those departments have a telephone on their desk so that I can talk to them? Outrageous. The guy first said that they could refund me, but when I pressed him, he said, they "might," and after pressing him further, he said, "Well, maybe they can give you $50 back" or something. I swear. India.

Anyhow, aside from that and how that is going to prevent me from paying off some debt sooner, I am happy to be here at last. It feels so strange, after the busy packing and emotional rollercoasters over the past two weeks, I haven't had much time to think about the fact that this isn't a vacation, and that we've actually moved to Japan.

[Daniel]

I'm sorry it's been so rough; all those problems must have been difficult to work through, and then to top things off this overcharging thing happens. I hope you can get them to lower the cost.

But hey, you made it! Congrats!

Make sure to let us know how everything goes

[greg]

I am more than annoyed with the provided apartment. Pretty pissed off. Apparently this place was abandoned for a long time, for the most part, before it was sublet by my company. This building is so crappy and old, and the area is town is known for being comprised of shoddy, old, drafty homes. It's just a real old part of town. On top of this, the apartment's staircase is very steep, and my 3 year old daughter cannot negotiate the stairs. We can't let her go up there for fear of her falling and snapping her neck. We are looking for a better apartment. The kerosene stove is very old, and requires a lighter to get it to work. My wife hasn't seen that type since her childhood, and does not trust its safety to use. There was a microwave oven, but it looked as old as me. I was rather insulted to be given what I have been given. This place is poverty and we want out.

However, the person who hired me apparently did a lot of lying to get me here. It turns out that there is no definite contract to continue working for the new school year in April, so basically we moved here just for a two month job. I'm looking for work elsewhere in case this doesn't pan out. I may also expect a pay decrease once I renew, too. I'm very frustrated. I want to find an ALT teaching position that I can pretty much count on working year after year. I'm learning now how cutthroat these companies are, dropping the salaries of their workers to try to appeal more to the city budgets, and as the various boards of education in various cities must be being pressured to stay within their shrinking budgets, they must compete against each other to gain contracts. We've met people who have taught English at the same company for years and years, but right now I don't see how they can do it.

There is the option of trying for jobs that are direct hire with cities, and away from these ALT dispatch companies. I will try to apply for those jobs and hope to get one (hopefully one with nice benefits). When I was an ALT 10 years ago, I worked for a BOE and got good pay and good benefits. The catch was that it was only good for two years.

Anyhow, hopefully once I get used to the freezing cold and start enjoying life again, I will participate more. For now, I'm just stressed out. At least I get cheap internet here. Dang, it's freezing cold here. In the morning there is ice on the windows... on the INSIDE of the windows. This morning I had to force the door open, since it had frozen shut.

We're using the upstairs rooms as just storage. We're camping out on the bottom floor and only really using the dining room/kitchen room (DK), and we sleep on the futons that we fold up after we wake up. We use electric blankets and turn them way up. I must pull the top of the futon cover over my head so that my face doesn't freeze in the morning. Heck, I am a total desert rat, so this is a big shock. I was happy at the idea of a cool summer, but the winter here is intense, and it's expected to get even colder in February.

For those who don't know, there is no central heating and air conditioning in Japanese homes. Wall-mounted AC units can be found in rooms in nicer apartments. Even nicer units double as a heater. Without those, heating is usually provided by kerosine heaters (toyu stoves). The Tokyo area isn't so bad really, but up here in the mountains, it's helluva cold.

[greg]

Yeah, for the price, it is scraping the bottom of the barrel, so to speak. However, there are some nice 3DK apartments for about 30k yen or more in this city. A real nice 3LDK can go for about 50k, even. This ain't Tokyo, that's for sure.

My wife has told me about the houses in Hokkaido with central heating and insulated walls. The problem is that this city is nearly as cold as Hokkaido, but the houses are just the same as the rest of Japan. And this neighborhood has the reputation for being even colder than the rest of the city because the buildings are so old and crappy. Ugh.

Well, at least this will be my first weekend! I've already lost a belt notch and close to losing another. It is so freaking awesome to be eating Japanese food for cheap again. The vegetables and fruits are such better quality than in the USA. Lots of fish, too. Maybe this weekend we'll go find a good ramen place or something. Maybe stop by the local Toys R Us and see what kind of model supplies they may have.

[greg]

There was a Toys R Us in Himeji. That's where I bought the TRU exclusive Kakizaki's Macross Valkyrie by Yamato. Lately I've mainly just been to the TRU in Ikebukuro, and a couple years ago the one in Matsumoto. It's amazing how identical they look to an American TRU on the inside, but the toys are way cooler. Last April though, the TRU in Ikebukuro was disappointing. In the past, I'd bought a Microman Kiriko from Votoms that was pretty badass. Lately it's been sucky. Maybe I'll look for a Jet Jaguar figure from Godzilla vs Megalon. I'd forgotten about the lack of paint and such at TRU. There's a great paint selection of both Tamiya and Mr. Hobby at Yamashiroya in Ueno. That is the badassiest toy store ever, even better than Kiddy Land in Harajuku.

Yesterday, I showed my Rilakkuma keitai strap to some girls in one class I taught. They freaked out and were so excited, and they had to show me all of their own Rilakkuma stuff. At another school, I found a boy who really likes Gunpla. This is going to be fun.

[greg]

TRU actually had some Mr Hobby Aqueous paints and Gundam Color lacquer spray cans, plus a fairly decent selection of modeling tools and supplies.

I went to Tachikawa in 2010. It has a decent, quaint otaku scene. I'm sure it's nice for those who want a small-scale shopping experience, but for visitors to Tokyo for the first time, it's not really worth the trip all the way out there. My typical otaku shopping targets are Akihabara (of course), Ikebukuro, Nakano, and a little bit of Shibuya.

So what's going on with Shibuya? Aside from the Mandarake there, what's worthwhile there? I know of a few manga cafes and such, but as for shopping goes, whats' there besides Mandarake?

[Daniel]

Wow, I see that things have been really crazy for you, Greg, but hang in there...!

[Daniel]

Been about a week since your last update. How's it going now?