Category Archives: Japan

No fast internet, but great movie

First, a short rant. Afterward, awesome news.

About three weeks ago when I was in Akihabara, I was coerced by some guys at Yamada Denki to sign up for fiber internet for my apartment. I checked with my company, whom I sublet my apartment, to confirm installation was OK, and was told “yes.”

The technician came out to install the fiber wire… but within a few minutes told me he wouldn’t be able to. It seems some type of pipe or tubing needs to be installed in the wall from outside by a different company that NTT (internet provider) could run the write through.

I contacted my company who contacted the leasing company who contacted the apartment owner, and was told that type of construction is not allowed. Well, shit.

I understand there’d be cost to the owner to have the work done, but it would definitely please this tenant. In the meantime, I’m stuck with ADSL internet rated at 47 Mbps but in reality only get 3 – 3.5 Mbps.

One of my favorite movies from my childhood is “Flight of the Navigator,” a not particularly fantastic movie, but it’s a fun, family friendly movie about a kid who accidentally gets swept in time 8 years into the future… unbeknownst to him.

Scientists, doctors, etc. try to figure out where he’s been. On his way to find out what’s happened, he comes across the alien drone ship, Max, who picked him up in the first place.

I got it on Blu-ray, and while it was advertised as an HD remastering, it’s just a standard transfer with quality no better than 480p from a DVD. And no visual cleaning was done at all. There are still specs of dust from the film itself that shows up on this version.

But it’s got both English and Japanese, and the same story I loved as a kid. ^_^

 

A day in the life of a Japanese language school student

This was meant to get posted back on Nov. 17, 2012… but, uh, I forgot to post it. >_<

Here’s what my typical weekday consists of:

  • Wake up 8:30 – 9 a.m.
  • Have breakfast
  • Shower
  • Check internet for e-mail, news, get stuff ready for school
  • Leave around 11:30 a.m.
  • Arrive in Shibuya 12:30 – 12:50 p.m.
  • Class from 1:30 – 4:45 p.m.
  • Return home around 6 – 6:30 p.m.
  • Dinner
  • Little bit of TV/internet
  • Study until 11 p.m. – 12 a.m.
  • Sleep

It’s really not THAT busy, I suppose, but it feels like it to me. As I’ve told people in the past, I’m treating school as my job.

We had a little snow

I never really grew up with any worthwhile amount of snow. In Central Texas we would, every 8 to 10 years, get 1 or 2 centimeters of snow. Of course, our area not being used to it, we would pretty much shut down the city for that amount. Even a week or two ago in the area, some schools were canceled due to cold. Yes… there was no snow or ice, just cold weather.

Outside my apartment. 7:10 p.m.

So when the weather forecast here predicted a day of snow on Saturday, Feb. 8, I wasn’t sure what to expect. Of course, it ended up being a record amount of snow. Close to 9 inches in a day. The most snow the greater Tokyo area has received in 13+ years. I was pretty excited to be here for it. ^_^ Continue reading We had a little snow

Immigration deserves its reputation

Online, I see many people I know complain about the immigration offices (入国管理局) in Japan. Not immigration in the airport, but the offices residents go to for visa changes and renewal. Most of the time it’s people complaining about immigration in Tokyo.

Long lines, unhelpfulness, etc., were among the complaints I saw. Every time I’ve had to go since 2012 has been at the Kanagawa office. Dunno if I was always lucky, or if it’s just the office, but wait times typically have been between 5 minutes to 45 minutes. Then again, I’ve gone from 9 a.m. (opening time) to 10:45 a.m.

But recently, I learned to understand people’s frustrations. Why? Follow my tale of woe below.

When I came to Japan on Sept. 26, 2012, I had a student visa, or 留学 visa. It was set to expire on Dec. 26, 2013 (1 year and 3 months). Around Dec. 20 I received a job offer. I immediately began the visa change process. Continue reading Immigration deserves its reputation

Tables are turned

Updated Feb. 7, 11:50 p.m.
Turns out I forgot to link my friend Allie, aka, Tokyo Tako. ごめん!

You may or may not know that in college my major was journalism. Before that, I was incredibly shy and had a tough time talking to people I had never met before. Well, when you’re a journalist and interviewing people, you have to talk. And I learned how to, with everyday people to international celebrities, both American (Hoobastank, Bruce Campbell, and more) and Japanese (Koda Kumi).

I’m still a shy person, but I can “turn on” that mode and talk to people. Unless it’s a big group. But I’m glad I learned how to.

Junko, Grace and me. I swear I’m not as fat as I look in this pic! The shirt just looks baggy =/

Sunday, I met up with someone I’ve only interacted with before via Twitter and Facebook–Junko! In a fun twist, she wanted to interview me! A video of it will be posted at some point on her company’s YouTube channel in the future. I’ll make sure to post a link to it on here when it happens. ^^ Also, someone she had talked to for the first time ever that morning, Grace.

Anyway, learning to overcome fears is a great thing that more people try to do. It’s allowed me to meet some awesome people, some I now consider to be friends. =)