REALITY of Living in Japan as a Foreigner: Pt 3

Getting a Mobile Phone in Japan

Facts to be aware of:

YOU WILL NOT be able to bring your phone from overseas and just get a SIM card. Phone companies just don't do it. SIM cards ALWAYS come with a phone. Yes, even prepaid.
If you go for a monthly payment plan at all (not prepaid), it's always a 24 month contract. You CAN break out of it but there are fees involved. The fees vary between companies and plans. From what I've heard, some of them can be quite reasonable.

What do you need?

• Alien Registration Card (ARC)
• Passport
• Japanese Bank Account Details
• A friend or co-worker who can translate between Japanese & English.

Get an iPhone!

Ok so I really mean to say get a smartphone... but out of the lot, I'd recommend the iPhone. Why? It's one of the few phones that can easily be set to work ENTIRELY in English. Also, getting apps for it is easy because you can buy prepaid iTunes cards in any convenience store in Japan. Buying apps for an android phone may require you to use a credit card - it's near impossible for a foreigner to get a credit card in Japan.
There are also plenty more apps available for the iPhone than for android phones. Look out for my next post where I discuss the top MUST HAVE apps for foreigners in Japan.

Second reason is this - it's great value for money. With a smartphone in general, you can get a plan with unlimited internet/data for a total all inclusive cost of around 5000-6000Yen per month. Usually any calls or messaging are charged separately in addition to your regular monthly payment. But with the unlimited data, you can use internet based apps like skype, facebook, line, whatsapp, viber to text and call, even video call for no extra cost.


Which Telco?

So for an iPhone, I could only choose between Softbank and AU. The other major provider is Docomo but they don't have iPhones. Softbank is about 1000Yen cheaper per month and also has more free wifi spots around (like in bars, restaurants, etc.).

I decided to go with AU because...

• I can use the iPhone overseas with another SIM card when I travel. The Softbank iPhone ONLY works with a Softbank SIM card. I'm sure it can be unlocked but I can't be bothered with all that.
• AU has a better network coverage around Japan.
• AU has a better insurance scheme for the phone. If somehow the phone becomes problematic, breaks or gets lost, I can get it replaced with a brand new phone up to 2 times over the 24month contract period. I think there is a small insurance claim fee but can't remember how much it was. With Softbank, they only cover 80% of the cost of either repairing or replacing the phone. Also because of where I live, the process of making an insurance claim is a bigger hassle with Softbank: the phone needs to be sent to their main office in Osaka.

REALITY of Living in Japan as a Foreigner: Pt 2

"I know hiragana and katakana, but not kanji." - BIG FRICKIN DEAL!

Knowing hiragana and katakana alone is a good start. But it's no achievement to feel proud of or to brag about. Learn 5 characters a day (15 mins a day) and you'll learn them all in about 1-2 months. You'll be able to read about 5-15% of everything you see. How much of it will you understand? About 5-10% at best, depending on how much Japanese you know. How much does that help? Not a whole lot.

EVERYTHING is in Japanese in Japan. EVERYTHING! Just to make sure I get my point across, let me say it again - EVERYTHING! That means KANJI! Any word that can be expressed in kanji WILL be so!

Just going to the supermarket to buy your usual groceries and maybe some personal care products will have you doing guess-work. You know all those highly technical English words that you'd think there is no Japanese translation for? Surprise surprise!

Pick up a cosmetic product and see if you can even figure out which part of it has the list of ingredients and chemicals. Pick up any packed food product and see if you can figure out what's in it or even what flavour it is. Go to a restaurant with no pictures in the menu and you're in trouble. Even navigating through a shop and figuring out which aisle to find things is all guess-work.

So what's my point? LEARN KANJI!!! In fact, just learning to recognise kanji and know the English meaning of the characters will be FAR MORE useful than just hiragana and katakana.

REALITY of Living in Japan as a Foreigner: Pt 1

Introduction

I just recently arrived in Japan (December 2012) and started work as an English teacher for a large private institution. I've been placed in a rural part of Kansai (about 2 hours by train from Osaka).

There are plenty blogs, forums, internet articles and Japanese lessons that try to help prepare aspiring "gaijins" for their move/visit to japan. NONE OF THEM adequately prepare you for the REAL everyday challenges that you will face.

Here's my attempt to do for others what I WISH others had done for me. I will be doing a series of short blog posts about the REAL everyday things that you need to be prepared for if you're planning a trip or visit to Japan.

Please feel free to comment or message. Please ask questions. Tell me what YOU want to know that isn't already spammed to bloody death on every other gaijin forum and blog.