Job Discussion Forums

[Anharchy]

Hey everyone~

Been a little bit since I've posted, but I've been trying to keep up with the forums for essential info. I have a few specific questions now that I'm a week away from arrival in Osaka (Will be living in Tezukayamanaka, if anyone's around!)

Checked the forums, but found no specific answer to this question, although I found a fair bit of internet info: Is there any way what-so-ever to arrange to have internet set up while I'm still in the States? I don't mind making international calls, so I would love to at least speak to someone regarding it, use my credit card, whatever it takes to have someone out like, 3 days after we get in. I saw in one post that it could take a month (!!!) to have in-home access.

From Namba, how far is the Amagasaki Costco via subway? The maps I've seen aren't very clear to me - I know it's on this...purple...line...yes.

And lastly, I think this might be something I'm just not understanding, so if someone could please take a moment to explain it, I'll be immensely grateful. Will Japanese banks/post offices convert your money orders to USD for you so that you can mail them back, or is this something your American bank will do for you? Is there a conversion fee involved for most of you? I hadn't seen any mention of where exactly the conversion step occurs in the transfer process in the GoLloyds and Shinsei posts, so would appreciate knowing what people do about it.

Thank you!

~Anharchy

[callmesim]

#1 - INTERNET

There's no way you can get internet set up. Sorry. When you arrive you will have to endure the hell we all did. 2 - 4 weeks before you can get your gaijin card and ONLY when you get your card can you apply for the internet. And that takes about another month. In the mean time you can try stealing wireless signals (though this is naughty) or going to one of the many internet cafes. There's a few 24 hour one in Namba.

#2 - AMAGASAKI

Subway from Namba to Umeda - About 8 minutes.
JR Osaka to Amagasaki - About 5 minutes.

How did I find this out?
http://www.jorudan.co.jp/english/norikae/
or
http://www.hyperdia.com

These website will become your friends. Excellent for planning train journeys throughout Japan!

#3 - MONEY

I'm not sure what you mean here. Do you want USD cash or USD Money Orders? I'm pretty sure most financial institutions can organise USD Money Orders. There'd be a commission and you'd probably get a bad exchange rate too. Most people tend to use GoLloyds.

I hope that's answered at least 2 of your questions.

Who are you going to be working with?

[Anharchy]

Hey Sim!

Thank you for the responses - that's pretty much exactly what I needed to know. Was hoping there was a go-round for internet the way there is for cell phones, but alas, no such luck, eh? >_<

I'm definitely bookmarking both of those websites for the subway. It'll probably make tons more sense when I get there, lol.

I guess what I meant is for USD money orders/wiring money to my bank account/somehow getting money back home, I was trying to figure out where in the process the yen turned into dollars, heh. I mean, people say stuff about getting money orders at the post office and sending them back, and I thought to myself "But wait! In the US, getting postal money orders is only in dollars! If i get one in Japan, will it be in yen? And is Bank of America going to rip my ass off when it gets that check???" And so forth. So if GoLloyd's takes care of that automatically, without charging me something like 3% in conversion fees, I'm so there.

I'll be working for ECC Osaka! Anyone else there?

[SeasonedVet]

There are two good internet cafes near tezukayama (if you are referring to the tezukayama near tennoji). They are 24 hour cafes so you can stay as long as you want until you get internet set up.
You can try and see if the companies providing internet will accept your passport in lieu of your "gaijin" ID card.

As for postal money orders you fill out the form; the post office will charge you at the exchange rate plus a fee ( about US $10) so if you want to send home USD $300 and if the exchange rate is somewhere like $1.00 - 113 yen it would be 33 900 yen then add thier service charge of about 1 000 yen = 34 900 yen.

Edited to include the following.
They will ask you if you want to send it or if you want them to send it.
If they send it it will go as registered mail and if anything happens they can do a search and track it and let you know. ( I guess that's where the 1 000 yen comes in.
If you send it by yourself you might want to send it as registered mail and it will cost anyway so I just let them send it and they have responsibility for tracking it if anything should go wrong.

[callmesim]

I thought you might be with ECC as that's where a lot of the new recruits are living!

I too am ECC in Osaka. In poo-stained Daikokucho, in fact. So not far away. If you have any other questions, either post them here or send a PM.

The adventure soon begins!

[Zzonkmiles]

To get from Namba to Costco in Amagasaki, you have to do the following:

Take the red subway line from Namba to Umeda. The subway is called Midosuji-sen. This costs 230 yen.

Change trains at Umeda and get on the JR going towards Himeji or Nishi Akashi. Depending on whether you catch a local train or an express train, it'll take about 5 minutes to get to Amagasaki. I think this costs 160 yen, but I'm not sure.

Get off the train at Amagasaki and get on the city bus. You want to ride Bus #24 about 10 minutes to a stop called Gohanda. You can also ride Bus #23 to a stop called Tsugiya and walk from there. Bus #24 is more convenient. (The Costco is near the Carrefour mall and the Aoyama suit shop.) These buses only come twice an hour, so you would be advised to time your arrival at Amagasaki to correspond with the bus departure time. The bus costs 200 yen each way.

Regarding internet access, you should know that it takes about 5 or 6 weeks to get the service activated. So you should get a membership for an internet cafe to tide you over in the meantime. I recommend the Opticafe in Umeda near Yodobashi Camera.

As for Lloyds, check out www.golloyds.com. I use them without any problems. Keep in mind that each remittance costs 2000 yen in commission, plus any bank fees levied by your bank back home. When you set up your account, the application will ask your purpose for the remittances. Just say "student loan" or "credit card bill" and you should be fine. Because Lloyds uses Mitsui Sumitomo bank, I recommend opening your regular bank account with them as well, instead of UFJ or Mizuho or some other bank. I am able to easily send money back to the US by wiring it home online via Lloyds. You can also do this by ATM, but I'm not sure about the amount of English support those ATMs have regarding transfers.

[SeasonedVet]

Zzonkmiles wrote:

[24601]

Word of warning: net cafes are seriously expensive, IMHO. Don't use them for anything other than a quick "hi mom I am not dead" email back home. It is easy to spend a couple hours surfing and get smacked with a 800 yen bill.

[Anharchy]

Thanks for all the info, guys! It really helps me figure out logistics. I mean, I'll get there on a friday night, so I'll get oriented over the weekend and do some grocery shopping and settling in, and then steel myself for the bureaucracy at the ward office. I've already taken a look at YahooBB and NTT-East, so at least I kiiiiind of have an idea of it. Wish it were as straightforward as telling Cox to come by and set me up, though (mmm, bipartite yahooBB apps)

Ah well, so it goes. I know Sim's in Daikokucho - where are you, Zzonk, SeasonedVet, and 24601? Just curious I'm still trying to master Osaka's wards and areas, and currently, I know I'm south of Namba, and southwest of Tennoji...

And as a side note, female.

[24601]

I'm in Namba. I live around the corner from the prefectural gymnasium.

[callmesim]

When you apply for your ARC, don't forget to pick up a [insert name] form. This will allow you to get a mobile phone straight away.

Do this before you start training! It will make life much easier!

Anyone remember what those forms are called?

[Inflames]

[callmesim]

Oh no!! Have they really changed the whole blue form thing with cell phones now? That sucks!

I got my ARC back in March and getting the blue form (though a painful experience with - yup - Naniwa Ward Office who did in fact say "one week" when I asked for the form!!) was easy.

Most foreigners I know tend to go with Softbank either in Dotonbori (as you said, the guy speaks English) or Yodabashi Camera in Umeda (always seems to be an English speaker around).

As for a bank account - this isn't an issue as ECC will set you up with a UFJ account on your first day.

[24601]

AH I forgot this net info!

Call 0120999000

This is Jcom osaka.
Cable internet, within a week. No shizzle.

Problem is they might not service your ward. They serve Tennoji but not Naniwa.

And, FYI, I had nooo problems getting a phone with the temp ARC certificate. I went to the softbank in den den town. I used to vodafone/softbank english catalogue so I could explain exactly what I wanted. But you must have bank account first.

What is tricky is getting a bank account without a phone. That is very much depends on the day and who you talk to kind of thing.

[callmesim]