銀行口座を作った！

今日、携帯と外国人登録証明書を持ってもう一回新生銀行のファイナンシャルセンターに行った。30分の以内に銀行口座を作った。すごく簡単だった。

新生銀行で銀行口座を作る時にキャッシュカードの色を42の色の中から選べる。でも、すぐ欲しかったら7の色しか選べない。僕は僕だから、今日キャッシュカードが欲しかったので、その7の色の中から「オレンジジュース」という色をGETした。

それで、昨日の三つのミッションが出来た！


I opened a bank account!

Today, with my new phone and my Alien Card in hand, I went back to the Shinsei Bank Financial Centre to open a bank account. Within 30min, it was done. Too easy.

At Shinsei Bank, when you open a bank account, you get to choose the colour of your cash card - from a selection of 42 different colours. However, if you want your card that same day, you are limited to only 7 colours. Me being me, I wanted mine today so I chose the "Orange Juice" coloured card. 

And with that, all three missions from yesterday are complete!

A day of firsts

I know I said I was going to write my blog in both English and Japanese but I'm not sure how to say everything in Japanese I need to say. I might have a go at updating this post a bit later in Japanese, but for the time being here is the English version.

We were on a triple mission this morning:
1) Collect Alien Card
2) Open a bank account
3) Get a phone

Mission 1: Alien Card
So our first port of call was the Shinjuku City Office to collect our Alien Registration cards. No real issues there - just a bit of a wait. And the fact that mine says I was born in Potts Point, Forbes. Not a biggie.

Then, just as we were about to leave, an American guy came and sat next to me, asking me if I speak English. When I said yes, he told me he had a small favour to ask. He was there to marry his fiancee (also an American but who was born in Japan) and they needed two witnesses to sign the papers. So Pat and I were the lucky candidates to witness their wedding. We were offered bottles of scotch as a thank you but said that it wasn't necessary. So instead, the new bride handed over her business card - she is cabin crew for United, and told us that if we ever need to get back to Australia quickly, or if we just want to be pampered on our flight, to let her know. All a bit random really. 

Mission 2: Bank Account
We had decided that we wanted to bank with Mizuho bank so after bidding farewell to the happy couple, we went straight to the Shinjuku branch. The stock-standard questions "Do you have your Alien Card?" "Do you have your name stamp?" Tick and tick. But when we showed them our Alien Card, our service lady kindly said "Sorry you don't have a job and you haven't been here for more than 6 months. Please come back then." Right. Now I had heard that this sometimes happens at Mizuho, and for that reason, a lot of foreigners bank at Shinsei Bank. I was prepared for this situation and had researched where the closest Shinsei branch was and we headed there.

After checking with the clerk and her checking our Alien Cards she said we were fine to open a bank account. Awesome. Then came her next question "Do you have a Japanese mobile phone?" Our answer was no - we needed to open the bank account to get a mobile phone so we could pay by direct debit payments. A little bit of teeth sucking before going and checking with someone else. "Sorry, you need to have your Alien Card and a phone in order to open the bank account." This presented a slight hitch in our morning plan. We knew that we could get a phone using our Australian credit card but didn't want to do that. However, knowing that we would hit similar obstacles at other banks, we decided to park Mission 2 and move on to Mission 3.

Mission 3: Mobile Phone
We had done quite a bit of research already on the phones we wanted to get so today was just the formality of going in and making the purchase. Or so we thought.

While the process was relatively simple, it took over an hour to complete. Pat was running late for an interview so we had to rush his paperwork through so that he could go, leaving me to complete everything. An hour of solid Japanese, talking through contracts, what you can do, what you can't do, the options that come with the plan which you can cancel later but can't cancel up front, the fact that phones in Japan don't come with chargers anymore and you need to buy them separately, the fact that Android phones are susceptible to viruses and we should purchase a better security application than what is offered by the provider...

BUT - now we are mobile. And the bill will be coming off our Australian credit cards until we go and change it to direct debit from our Japanese bank account, which I am hoping we can open tomorrow. I don't have the mental strength to go through that today. Besides, banks close at 3pm here.

On the way home, I was waiting at the lights to cross the street near our house and two police officers just happened to be standing there too. The young one started speaking to me, and then I realised, for the first time ever, a police officer was asking me for my Alien Registration card. In the 3 years I had lived here previously, not once was I asked at random to produce it. And today - of all days - to be asked that question. Lucky we had completed Mission 1: Alien Card.

So tomorrow, we will revert to Misson 2: Bank Account. Will let you know how it goes.

さくらがまんかい！

今日花見をするために靖国神社に行ってきた。初めてそのところで花見して、すごくきれいだった。人数が多くってチョーさむかったので短い時間だけ花見したけど楽しかった。

パットは何枚の写真を撮った。見てください！

明日、群馬県館林市に行ってもう一回花見する。でも今回、桜の下に友達とビールを飲むよ。楽しみに！

The Cherry Blossoms are in full bloom!

Today we went to Yasukuni Shrine to look at the sakura (cherry blossoms). This was my first time to go to this shrine to look at the sakura, and they were amazing. There were heaps of people there, and it was absolutely freezing, so we only stayed for a short time but it was really good fun. 

Pat took a number of photos - check them out!

Tomorrow we are heading up to Tatebayashi in Gunma for a Hanami (cherry blossom viewing) party. But this time, we will spend some time sitting underneath the Sakura drinking beer with friends. Can't wait!

ブラッドピットじゃねぇーよ！

For the third time in my life, last night I was told I look like Brad Pitt. Each time I have been told this, it has been by a Japanese person. I don't see the resemblance myself. Must be the white skin.

Separated at birth?

But had a good time last night, starting out at TGIF for some food and drinks with friends before moving onto Zawatami - an Izakaya - for more drinks, including a Singapore Sling and some other drinks that took over an hour to arrive. Slight confrontation with the staff over the delay saw us receive some free sponge cake covered in cream and green tea powder.

Was good to meet new people and have a night out. Oh and Pat got to celebrate his birthday at TGIF. It seems that at TGIF, a birthday lasts a month, and he just scraped in. He had the restaurant sing him Happy Birthday and received a free massive dessert plus a free photo of our table. Happy Birthday again Pat!

The drink that took an hour to arrive.

Friday Friday Friday

And so I met my with my third recruiter today. He seemed pretty positive too, and has some contacts that he is going to follow up for me. Surely, out of all these recruiters I have to get something.

It seems that tomorrow is going to be rainy and windy which I'm guessing means our Hanami party will be cancelled. So not too sure what we will do tomorrow during the day now, but I am sure we will find something. 

Like go shopping for a rice cooker. Tonight, we (read: Pat) attempted to cook for the first time in our one-burner kitchen. We were going to have curry and rice. The place came with a rice cooker, so we took it off the shelf only to find there is no power cord. Hmmm. And it looks a bit scungie. So maybe that will be our next purchase.

I was thinking last night, too, that from next week I might start writing here in both English and Japanese, just to get my writing skills up a bit. And I guess now that I have said that, I am going to have to follow through with it. Beware speakers of Japanese - the posts will be littered with errors, but hopefully over time they will improve.

And I think that is all for today.

コタツが届いた！

You could feel the anticipation in the air this morning as the door bell rang, and the man on the other end of the video intercom announced he was from the delivery company.

Finally, our kotatsu (heated table) had arrived.

After hastily signing the papers to accept the delivery, the box was ripped open and the kotatsu quickly assembled. The last piece in our living room puzzle. We now have a complete home. Well, for the time being that is. I am sure we will think of something else we want to buy tomorrow. Like a flatscreen TV that actually works.

 Pat enjoying our kotatsu (playing Draw Something, the most addictive game in the world)

The heater element underneath the table. You take the top off the table and put a doona over the base frame and then put the top back on. Then you sit at the table, under the doona and keep warm. We haven't bought the doona part yet because it is now out of season, so we will have to wait until next winter.

In other news, we caught up with friends from JWC today which was a lot of fun (thanks for the chocolate Gayle!), and will see them again before they leave on Sunday. Also the resume translation is getting there, albeit slowly. Though just a few more bits to do, and then first draft is ready to send off. Pat has had some good news on the job front too. Don't want to jinx anything but things are slowly starting to fall into place.

Good times.

Small steps...

Well I had my interview with the second recruiter today and it went really well. Wasn't expecting the on-the-spot Japanese language test, but managed to get through it pretty much unscathed and come out at the other end with a few opportunities she is going to put me forward for, which is very exciting. The only thing is - I need to translate my resume into Japanese. By Friday. Looks like I know what I will be doing tonight and tomorrow morning before my friends arrive!

頑張りま〜す！

ただいま

It has been just shy of 3 years since I last came to Japan, and that was a rush trip to Hokkaido for a wedding. The time before that - just over three years ago - was the last time I really spent some time in Tokyo. I remember that time, walking down the street in Ueno with Pat, we looked at each other and smiled. It just felt right to be here. And we knew we would be back someday - for more than a holiday.


So here we are. Three years later, living in Tokyo. The past 2 weeks have flown by like a shinkansen on its way from Tokyo to Kyoto. Organising Alien Registration cards, buying furniture and other things for the apartment, exploring Shin-Okubo - the area that we live in - and realising how much it really is Koreatown, and catching up with friends. Oh and squeezing in a bit of time to search for work and meet with recruiters.


Weekend just gone was spent in my old stomping ground of Gunma. It was quite strange for me to visit Gunma from Tokyo, as when I lived here before my trip was always the other way round. But reaching Kawamata-eki on Saturday, I felt like I was home. I used to spend most of my weekends here with my friend and her family, and that is exactly what I did last weekend. We went to Aeon shopping mall, we went to MOS Burger and when we got home, we sat around the dining table with her parents, sister-in-law and nephew eating sukiyaki and drinking beer. It was just like old times. Me and my Japanese family (plus a couple of new faces).


Sunday was catching up with more friends for lunch before jumping on the Ryomo and heading to see my best friend from Azuma. He took us shopping for a few things that we needed (heated table, frying pan, reading lamp) and then we headed back to his place where I met his daughter for the first time. She is such a cutie! She was a bit shy at first but towards the end, she warmed up and started talking to us a little. So over some amazing homemade pizza, I caught up with my friend and his wife (and daughter) and it was like nothing had changed.


The ride back to Tokyo was again weird - leaving Gunma so late for Tokyo was the reverse of the norm for me - but the trip up "home" gave me energy to keep up the search for work and confirmed for me that I had made the right decision in coming back to Japan.


The things that we bought on Sunday were supposed to be delivered today during the morning, so when they hadn't arrived by 1pm I called the delivery company. They had no record of the delivery at all. So I tried to call the store, but they only have one number with an automated message "Press 1 for this, press 2 for that". When I pressed 1, the message said "Sorry, all the lines are busy. Please call back later." After 3 attempts, I gave up and called my friend who came with us to the store. He said he would search for the direct number. After an hour or so, he messaged to say he couldn't find it yet but would keep searching. At 630pm, he called to say he couldn't find a direct number, but would go to the store tomorrow at lunch time. About 7pm tonight, the store called and apologised profusely. Some mix-up on their end. The stuff will be delivered on Thursday. So we're sans table and pans for two more nights. Oh well. Guess that just means eating out again.


Tonight we caught up with my other Japanese sister who lives in Tokyo. She plays Electone so we have been friends even before I first moved here in 2003. It was great to see her again - talking about friends, music, Electone artists. For old times' sake, we went to the Lion Beer Hall in Ginza for Yebisu Half & Half and some German food. It was gooooooood - just like I remember.


And tomorrow I have a meeting with a recruiter. Not too sure if they have any real briefs at the moment but it makes me feel productive going and meeting someone. Then I am meeting a different recruiter on Friday, who is actually a friend of my university lecturer. I have a few other leads to follow up on too so hopefully something comes out of these catch-ups. 


Some friends from JWC arrive in Tokyo for a holiday tomorrow and we're catching up on Thursday. Can't wait to show them around and introduce them to some craziness of Tokyo.


I'm loving being back here in Japan. I know I made the right decision to come back. Now, I just need to land that dream job and all will be well.