Natsu Matsuri
Monday, August 13, 2007
Grade School Dad Part 2
My wife had previously informed me that I and my son would be spending the following Sunday picking up trash along the neighborhood roads and then cleaning the school. As a rookie grade school dad, I asked a veteran mom I had met at my lifeguarding stint what would be going down. I'll paraphrase her reply as, "Absolute hell." She told me that only about 20% of the parents bothered to attend and that peasants during the Tokugawa Period enjoyed lighter workloads than those parents stupid enough to show for the Clean Campaign.
I swore a sacred oath to spend my next summer far from Japan and headed out with Ray for the meeting point at the community hall near the bus stop. Along the way we met a grade school mom and her son. Mom reported that no parents had congregated at the community hall and my deepest fears seemed realized--only mad dogs and chumps turned up to clean the school during the midsummer heat of southern Japan.
But then a pickup truck pulled up and we learned that our meeting point was not at the present bus stop, but at a previous bus stop about a half a mile up the road. We clambered into the bed of the pickup truck and headed up to the end of the the road to meet the rest of the work crew. We picked up our garbage bags and began ambling back toward the school. Ray and I were in the middle of the pack and there was little trash to be found. I wondered if my status as a father would suffer if Ray and I handed in an empty garbage bag.
My wife had previously informed me that I and my son would be spending the following Sunday picking up trash along the neighborhood roads and then cleaning the school. As a rookie grade school dad, I asked a veteran mom I had met at my lifeguarding stint what would be going down. I'll paraphrase her reply as, "Absolute hell." She told me that only about 20% of the parents bothered to attend and that peasants during the Tokugawa Period enjoyed lighter workloads than those parents stupid enough to show for the Clean Campaign.
I swore a sacred oath to spend my next summer far from Japan and headed out with Ray for the meeting point at the community hall near the bus stop. Along the way we met a grade school mom and her son. Mom reported that no parents had congregated at the community hall and my deepest fears seemed realized--only mad dogs and chumps turned up to clean the school during the midsummer heat of southern Japan.
But then a pickup truck pulled up and we learned that our meeting point was not at the present bus stop, but at a previous bus stop about a half a mile up the road. We clambered into the bed of the pickup truck and headed up to the end of the the road to meet the rest of the work crew. We picked up our garbage bags and began ambling back toward the school. Ray and I were in the middle of the pack and there was little trash to be found. I wondered if my status as a father would suffer if Ray and I handed in an empty garbage bag.
Sunday, August 12, 2007
Grade School Dad
Summer vacation is upon us, but the grade school dad has a few obligations to fulfill. First up is a 2 hour stint as a lifeguard at the school pool. During vacation the pool remains open and teachers and parents come together to control the mayhem in the pool. The teacher runs the show, while the parents patrol the pool-side, ready to pounce on rule-breakers and rescue those in need. The good: a glass of well-chilled mugi-cha (what tea) and kudos from the teaching staff. The bad: there"s not much to do and time passes slowly. It's hot and sweaty, but not in a good way. The ugly: as a parent lifeguard you are NOT permitted to swim in the pool. You're child may be cool and refreshed, but you are not.
Monday, February 26, 2007
Renewing My Japanese Driver's License
Today I renewed my license. First there was the long, inconvenient drive to the DMV. It was worse than usual because a combo supermarket/mall was holding grand opening sales a few blocks down the road and the multitudes were out looking for bargains. I finally got to the DMV parking lot. There were no parking spaces in sight, so the wife dropped me off and headed off for the shopping mall. I got in line, paid the renewal fee and passed the eye test. The worrying thing is that I have marginal vision in one eye, need industrial strength glasses, yet almost passed the test without corrective lenses. Only had to go to a 30 minute lecture because I have a gold license, i.e. I don't drive much and haven't racked up any speeding tickets or traffic infractions over the last 3 years. Our instructor wrung his hands and bemoaned the lack to time--there were so many things to talk about, but he was forced to limit himself to a general summary of the state of traffic safety on a national and local scale. He came out from behind the podium, took off his sport coat, folded it neatly, and we off. Here's the highlights.
Today I renewed my license. First there was the long, inconvenient drive to the DMV. It was worse than usual because a combo supermarket/mall was holding grand opening sales a few blocks down the road and the multitudes were out looking for bargains. I finally got to the DMV parking lot. There were no parking spaces in sight, so the wife dropped me off and headed off for the shopping mall. I got in line, paid the renewal fee and passed the eye test. The worrying thing is that I have marginal vision in one eye, need industrial strength glasses, yet almost passed the test without corrective lenses. Only had to go to a 30 minute lecture because I have a gold license, i.e. I don't drive much and haven't racked up any speeding tickets or traffic infractions over the last 3 years. Our instructor wrung his hands and bemoaned the lack to time--there were so many things to talk about, but he was forced to limit himself to a general summary of the state of traffic safety on a national and local scale. He came out from behind the podium, took off his sport coat, folded it neatly, and we off. Here's the highlights.
- Most traffic fatalities in my part of Japan involve hitting old people who wander out into the road. Constant vigilance is the only recourse.
- Rear-end collisions at intersections were the most common accidents in the prefecture. People, when the light turns green, look before you press down on the accelerator.
- The bane of traffic safety is cell phone use by drivers. Violations continue to rise despite stricter laws. And don't even think of using some kind of microphone/earphone system. You won't be able to hear those ambulances coming up behind you carrying the old people who've been hit because they suddenly veered into traffic, and earphone use while driving is illegal anyway.
Wednesday, February 21, 2007
Can't Buy a Wii (or a PS3)
The Nitendo Wii is a lot more popular than the Sony PS3, but you can't buy either one where I live. Maybe they sell them all in Tokyo or ship them to other countries. The Wii is more innovative, a lot cheaper, and seems to say ahead of Sony on the fun factor. Sony sold just under 2 million PS3s last year, while Nitendo shipped 3.2 million Wiis.
I have yet to see either a Wii or PS3 for sale. just demo models, stacks of empty packaging and signs saying that models for actual purchase, while currently unavailable, were on their way. While you can check out a game on a PS3, the Wii is encased in a Plexiglas shrine and can only be admired from a distance.
Last Sunday was no exception. I walked into the local Kojima Denki with my son and saw a PS3 demo model in front of the game section. Kids were huddled around the two controllers, so we walked on and looked at the computers.
Later though, the kids left and Ray and I got to do some racing on the PS3. The graphics were great especially on the cars--metallic surfaces, reflections and shadows were all meticulously rendered, but the game was nothing special. We had to flag down some kids to show us how to use the controllers and did a few laps around the track. We kept bouncing off roadside barriers, getting spun around and driving the course backwards, but gradually got the hang of it--good fun, but not worth the yen equivalent of 400 to 500 bucks. People who purchase the PS3 are not buying them to play mere racing games.
After our PS3 experience we walked through the game section and saw the usual signs. Kojima would receive 5 units each of the Wii and Playstation 3 next week. Interested parties should contact the clerk in the games section.
The Nitendo Wii is a lot more popular than the Sony PS3, but you can't buy either one where I live. Maybe they sell them all in Tokyo or ship them to other countries. The Wii is more innovative, a lot cheaper, and seems to say ahead of Sony on the fun factor. Sony sold just under 2 million PS3s last year, while Nitendo shipped 3.2 million Wiis.
I have yet to see either a Wii or PS3 for sale. just demo models, stacks of empty packaging and signs saying that models for actual purchase, while currently unavailable, were on their way. While you can check out a game on a PS3, the Wii is encased in a Plexiglas shrine and can only be admired from a distance.
Last Sunday was no exception. I walked into the local Kojima Denki with my son and saw a PS3 demo model in front of the game section. Kids were huddled around the two controllers, so we walked on and looked at the computers.
Later though, the kids left and Ray and I got to do some racing on the PS3. The graphics were great especially on the cars--metallic surfaces, reflections and shadows were all meticulously rendered, but the game was nothing special. We had to flag down some kids to show us how to use the controllers and did a few laps around the track. We kept bouncing off roadside barriers, getting spun around and driving the course backwards, but gradually got the hang of it--good fun, but not worth the yen equivalent of 400 to 500 bucks. People who purchase the PS3 are not buying them to play mere racing games.
After our PS3 experience we walked through the game section and saw the usual signs. Kojima would receive 5 units each of the Wii and Playstation 3 next week. Interested parties should contact the clerk in the games section.
Tuesday, February 20, 2007
Tax Returns Japanese Style
Picture this. Average workers don't have to file a return because their employers do it for them. They get a simple form at work in November, list their deductions and hand it back in at work. The office staff does the rest.
If you have more than one employer, you do have to file a return. It's fairly straight forward and entails filling out a simple, one-page form. You can file online, by mail, or go down to the tax office and do it in person. If you choose the latter, you get your own cubicle with step-by-step instructions, an adding machine, and a bunch of pencils, erasers and pens. People in blue jackets wander around the room giving advice as needed, in fact they'll do your taxes for you.
As a foreigner with middling Japanese skills, I figured I'd go down to the tax office give the income tax form my best shot. I was surrounded by the aged and senile, retired folk who had to file their own taxes. I started plodding through a color coded instruction pamphlet that seemed to be written for a junior high school audience. Do parents in Japan have their kids do their taxes for them? I wanted to see if I could navigate through the tax form by myself, but whenever I slowed down, a guy in a blue jacket would show up and talk me through to the next step. He effectively did my taxes for me and 20 minutes later I was back on the street.Ta
Picture this. Average workers don't have to file a return because their employers do it for them. They get a simple form at work in November, list their deductions and hand it back in at work. The office staff does the rest.
If you have more than one employer, you do have to file a return. It's fairly straight forward and entails filling out a simple, one-page form. You can file online, by mail, or go down to the tax office and do it in person. If you choose the latter, you get your own cubicle with step-by-step instructions, an adding machine, and a bunch of pencils, erasers and pens. People in blue jackets wander around the room giving advice as needed, in fact they'll do your taxes for you.
As a foreigner with middling Japanese skills, I figured I'd go down to the tax office give the income tax form my best shot. I was surrounded by the aged and senile, retired folk who had to file their own taxes. I started plodding through a color coded instruction pamphlet that seemed to be written for a junior high school audience. Do parents in Japan have their kids do their taxes for them? I wanted to see if I could navigate through the tax form by myself, but whenever I slowed down, a guy in a blue jacket would show up and talk me through to the next step. He effectively did my taxes for me and 20 minutes later I was back on the street.Ta
Monday, February 12, 2007
More on Yen Mortgages
The yen mortgages through Banner Japan originate from Lloyd's TSB Bank in Hong Kong. The mimimum loan amount is $250,000, so this won't help you out if you're looking for a loan of more modest proportions. The yen mortgages are available to U.S. residents only for the purchase of investment property.
The yen mortgages through Banner Japan originate from Lloyd's TSB Bank in Hong Kong. The mimimum loan amount is $250,000, so this won't help you out if you're looking for a loan of more modest proportions. The yen mortgages are available to U.S. residents only for the purchase of investment property.
Friday, January 26, 2007
Yen Mortgages
Yen mortgages have been around for awhile. I searched the Internet and found articles like this one, from 1996. They seemed to be more popular in the U.K. The only source for yen mortgages in Japan I could find is Banner Japan. They offer 1.3% rates on domestic and overseas yen mortgages.
The yen is weak. Experts have been predicting a strenghening yen for the last couple of years, and still predict that the yen will strenghten against the dollar in the long term. How about the short term? On January 18th the yen sagged to a near 4-year low against the dollar and near record lows against the euro. The Reuters article identified the culprit as The BOJ's decisiion to keep interest rates at 0.25 percent.
The yen is also cheap. As much as I enjoy living in Japan, I sometimes think of living in the U.S. These fantasies usually involve a house and it was during one of these reveries that I first heard of yen mortgages. Borrow dollars to buy your humble dwelling and you pay U.S. interest rates of about 6%. Borrow yen and your interest rate will be under 2%.Yen mortgages have been around for awhile. I searched the Internet and found articles like this one, from 1996. They seemed to be more popular in the U.K. The only source for yen mortgages in Japan I could find is Banner Japan. They offer 1.3% rates on domestic and overseas yen mortgages.
Wednesday, January 24, 2007
Searching for Cheap Airfares
What ever happened to cheap tickets? Ah, for the says when I could fly to the U.S. stop in
3 cities scattered over the continent and get back to Japan all for around $700. Given a
weak yen and high oil prices it's not hard to understand, but it rankles me that I can't get a cheap ticket even when I fly during off season.
My recent mission was to purchase a ticket to Hawaii in March. Step 1 was to round up the
usual suspects. H.I.S. and No. 1 Travel seemed high, so I checked out the travel section
over at Yahoo! Japan. Prices here were cheaper, but when I filled in the contact forms, I found out that either the cheap seats had been sold out, or that fuel surcharges and taxes would be added and the price was back up to what H.I.S. and No. I were charging.
Next I tried travel websites like Orbitz and Kayak. These sites shuffle through myriad data bases to spit out price and route options. Surprisingly,the cheapest flights that they offered matched the prices I had found in Japan. Are we in a new age of borderless air fare pricing? I finally gritted my teeth and bought my ticket on the ANA site. Me wife and son will leave before me. They bought their tickets at H.I.S. The price was about 10 bucks cheaper than Orbitz's lowest fare.
What ever happened to cheap tickets? Ah, for the says when I could fly to the U.S. stop in
3 cities scattered over the continent and get back to Japan all for around $700. Given a
weak yen and high oil prices it's not hard to understand, but it rankles me that I can't get a cheap ticket even when I fly during off season.
My recent mission was to purchase a ticket to Hawaii in March. Step 1 was to round up the
usual suspects. H.I.S. and No. 1 Travel seemed high, so I checked out the travel section
over at Yahoo! Japan. Prices here were cheaper, but when I filled in the contact forms, I found out that either the cheap seats had been sold out, or that fuel surcharges and taxes would be added and the price was back up to what H.I.S. and No. I were charging.
Next I tried travel websites like Orbitz and Kayak. These sites shuffle through myriad data bases to spit out price and route options. Surprisingly,the cheapest flights that they offered matched the prices I had found in Japan. Are we in a new age of borderless air fare pricing? I finally gritted my teeth and bought my ticket on the ANA site. Me wife and son will leave before me. They bought their tickets at H.I.S. The price was about 10 bucks cheaper than Orbitz's lowest fare.
Friday, November 03, 2006
Tuesday, October 31, 2006
Trouble at High School
We all know that Japan has an exam-oriented high school curriculum. What we didn't know was that a lot of high schools were ignoring the compulsory education ministry course guidelines to prep students for the university entrance exams. Schools were spending extra time on subjects covered on the exams: English, Japanese, science, social studies and mathematics, while not giving students required courses in subjects like art, health, civics, and world history. Many educators feel this is unavoidable, but the education ministry has decided that seniors will have to take extra classes before they can graduate.
More on Changing Carriers
There's also trouble in the mobile phone free-for-all. Japan recently introduced number portability, meaning you can change your carrier while keeping your phone number. Au, Docomo, and Softbank immediately came out swinging with new phones and pricing plans. Softbank seems to be the early loser. The company was swamped with new sign-ups and cancellations and had to shut down because its computer system couldn't take the heat. Now it's being investigated by the government because of misleading ads and promotional offers. Softbank stock is also reeling.
We all know that Japan has an exam-oriented high school curriculum. What we didn't know was that a lot of high schools were ignoring the compulsory education ministry course guidelines to prep students for the university entrance exams. Schools were spending extra time on subjects covered on the exams: English, Japanese, science, social studies and mathematics, while not giving students required courses in subjects like art, health, civics, and world history. Many educators feel this is unavoidable, but the education ministry has decided that seniors will have to take extra classes before they can graduate.
More on Changing Carriers
There's also trouble in the mobile phone free-for-all. Japan recently introduced number portability, meaning you can change your carrier while keeping your phone number. Au, Docomo, and Softbank immediately came out swinging with new phones and pricing plans. Softbank seems to be the early loser. The company was swamped with new sign-ups and cancellations and had to shut down because its computer system couldn't take the heat. Now it's being investigated by the government because of misleading ads and promotional offers. Softbank stock is also reeling.
Tuesday, October 24, 2006
Changing Carriers
Yesterday a new day dawned in Japan for cell phone users. Yes, the Age of Portability is upon us. One can now keep his or her phone number when switching mobile carriers. Docomo, AU, and Sotbank have all come out with a slew of new phones and price plans to induce users to switch. Yours truly was tempted to sign up with Softbank to get a Bluetooth phone with a high-resolution digital camera and music player. Softbank will also throw in an iPod Nano at half price when you sign up for their service.
Pricing plans are a mess. I was in the market for some sort of family plan, but the sales rep refused to recommend anything, leafed through a thick pamphlet of pricing options, and suggested that I pick my own. She then told me that Softbank would be announcing new pricing plans on the morrow, but that present plans were available if I signed up now. I then told her where I lived and belatedly found out that my neighborhood was outside the Softbank pale, rendering the whole conversation moot. Softbank may have slick phones and iPods, but they also have lousy coverage in certain parts of Japan. I'll stick with AU, but I still want a Bluetooth phone with a decent camera and a music player.
Yesterday a new day dawned in Japan for cell phone users. Yes, the Age of Portability is upon us. One can now keep his or her phone number when switching mobile carriers. Docomo, AU, and Sotbank have all come out with a slew of new phones and price plans to induce users to switch. Yours truly was tempted to sign up with Softbank to get a Bluetooth phone with a high-resolution digital camera and music player. Softbank will also throw in an iPod Nano at half price when you sign up for their service.
Pricing plans are a mess. I was in the market for some sort of family plan, but the sales rep refused to recommend anything, leafed through a thick pamphlet of pricing options, and suggested that I pick my own. She then told me that Softbank would be announcing new pricing plans on the morrow, but that present plans were available if I signed up now. I then told her where I lived and belatedly found out that my neighborhood was outside the Softbank pale, rendering the whole conversation moot. Softbank may have slick phones and iPods, but they also have lousy coverage in certain parts of Japan. I'll stick with AU, but I still want a Bluetooth phone with a decent camera and a music player.
Monday, October 23, 2006
Google Finally Makes the Top Ten
It's taken six years, but Google finally made it to Number 10 in the list of popular Japanese web sites, hard on the tail of 9th place Amazon.co.jp. The English article is at Digital World Tokyo. The Japanese press release is here. Yahoo! Japan leads the pack, followed by Rakuten, Microsoft, NTT Communications, and GMO Internet. Nifty, NEC, FC2, Amazon Japan, and Google follow in the 6th through 10th spots.
It's taken six years, but Google finally made it to Number 10 in the list of popular Japanese web sites, hard on the tail of 9th place Amazon.co.jp. The English article is at Digital World Tokyo. The Japanese press release is here. Yahoo! Japan leads the pack, followed by Rakuten, Microsoft, NTT Communications, and GMO Internet. Nifty, NEC, FC2, Amazon Japan, and Google follow in the 6th through 10th spots.
Friday, October 20, 2006
YouTube Purges Japanese Videos
One of the interesting things about the YouTube phenomenon is all the video content from Japan and Korea on the site. The other night we fighting over who would select the next YouTube video. My wife chose installments of a Korean mini-series, My Lovely Sam Soon, a variation on the Bridget Jones theme. She pulled up a version with English subtitles for my benefit. My son watched Ultraman clips. Then we watched a couple of music videos from the '80s. The picture quality wasn't that great and the viewing area was small, but, as my wife said, "I guess we don't need TV anymore. We can watch everything we want to on YouTube." Don't cancel your SkyPerfectTV account yet. The Japan Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC), pulled 29,549 videos off of YouTube because of copyright infringements. Read about it here.
One of the interesting things about the YouTube phenomenon is all the video content from Japan and Korea on the site. The other night we fighting over who would select the next YouTube video. My wife chose installments of a Korean mini-series, My Lovely Sam Soon, a variation on the Bridget Jones theme. She pulled up a version with English subtitles for my benefit. My son watched Ultraman clips. Then we watched a couple of music videos from the '80s. The picture quality wasn't that great and the viewing area was small, but, as my wife said, "I guess we don't need TV anymore. We can watch everything we want to on YouTube." Don't cancel your SkyPerfectTV account yet. The Japan Society for Rights of Authors, Composers and Publishers (JASRAC), pulled 29,549 videos off of YouTube because of copyright infringements. Read about it here.
Thursday, September 21, 2006
I really started to merge with into my vacation once I hit the Big Island. One reason was frequent visits to this thermal pool near Pahoa after snorkeling or swimming in the ocean. We also met some interesting people here--a woman introduced herself to my wife and taught her to swim. No mean feat, since Nobuko has a natural distaste for water, especially if it's not contained in a swimming pool or onsen. It must have been the spiritual pull of the Big Island in combination with soothing temperature of the thermal pool.
Wednesday, September 20, 2006
Tired of the Waikiki Beach scene? Cheap (free if you have a JCB credit card) trolleys will take you on a loop that includes the duty free shops and the Ala Moana Shopping Center. Living in Japan always finds a stroll through a U.S. shopping mall enlightening, but next time I'm in Waikiki I'll check out the state capitol complex.
Monday, September 18, 2006
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