Settling into Tokyo Snow
I have to say that Tokyo rocks. I'm sure that many of the great things I'm experiencing are true of the major cities of the world. Still, this the first one that I'm in, so I get to attribute it to Tokyo.
I'm living in Akasaka in temporary housing for two months. This means that my apartment is far nicer than one I can afford. It's huge and boasts a king-sized bed. Kinori has moved into the small bedroom which is still much larger than his entire previous apartment.
My commute to Microsoft Japan at Shinagawa takes just minutes. I walk right by a Starbucks as well as many convenience stores, cafes, restaurants and bars on the way. Each morning I get my grande hot drip coffee and sometimes a half sandwich and look down at the crowd flowing through Shinagawa station.
Monday this week I headed off to complete essential errands. I registered my residency with the ward office, obtained a Japanese SIM card for my iPhone and then opened a bank account.
The SIM card is from a reseller of NTT's docomo. For just 2322 yen per month (about $21), I get 6 GB of data, unlimited texting and charged 20 yen (18 cents) for 30 seconds of voice. The plan is to use Facetime and data for all my calling. I also hope to hook up my old US number to Google Voice, but that app has failed to launch on my iPhone. Strange.
The bank account was another adventure. I chose Prestia (Citibank in Japan, bought by SMBC). They offer yen and dollar denominated accounts, English banking support and have a special deal with Microsoft Japan including discounts on foreign currency exchange (just 1/2 yen per dollar!), no account maintenance fees, no ATM feeds at the ubiquitous 7/11, etc. Strangely to get the foreign currency exchange discount, I need to go to the Shinjuku branch - an old Microsoft location.
Kinori also took off this day to move his residence registration from Nerima ward to be with me in Akasaka. There was a huge discussion of what forms he had to fill out and where to go. His official papers are at Musashi Kosugi, but he left them there and did the "simple" transaction of just changing his residency.
As I was opening the account, snow was falling outside. In fact, they didn't complete my initial deposit because the trains were stopping and Tokyo was simply shutting down. It was beautiful! At 10cm sticking on the ground, it was the largest snow fall in four years. Some folks were stuck in trains for more than four hours. But, I quickly took a cab directly to our apartment.
Once Kinori got home, we headed across the street to the small Izakaya. It was warm and cozy and the various grilled chicken skewers were delicious. I had a beer while Kinori was good and stuck to water. We also had a collection of sashimi. It was my second time there and I'm getting to really like the place and learning my favorite dishes.
Eventually, I will receive my ATM card in the mail so I can fill those empty bank accounts and be able to access the money. Until then, it's cash. However, it really isn't cash. All the restaurants, stores, Microsoft cafe, trains, etc. all take the Pasmo and Suica train cards. They are RFID, so you just swipe your wallet across the turnstiles and POS systems.
Another thing I really like is that 10,000 yen notes are the norm. They're just under $100 and I'm tired of dealing with $20 bills in the US. ATMs in the US really need to start dealing with $100 bills. Withdrawing just $300 gave me a wad of bills I couldn't fold and that barely fit in my wallet.
We went grocery shopping through the snow covered streets using and umbrella from the apartment building. Some fresh fruit, yogurt as well as rice and ume boshi for ochazuke. We were set to wait out the snow and play MTG. If it sounds like we're having fun - I'm doing my job.
I'm living in Akasaka in temporary housing for two months. This means that my apartment is far nicer than one I can afford. It's huge and boasts a king-sized bed. Kinori has moved into the small bedroom which is still much larger than his entire previous apartment.
My commute to Microsoft Japan at Shinagawa takes just minutes. I walk right by a Starbucks as well as many convenience stores, cafes, restaurants and bars on the way. Each morning I get my grande hot drip coffee and sometimes a half sandwich and look down at the crowd flowing through Shinagawa station.
Monday this week I headed off to complete essential errands. I registered my residency with the ward office, obtained a Japanese SIM card for my iPhone and then opened a bank account.
The SIM card is from a reseller of NTT's docomo. For just 2322 yen per month (about $21), I get 6 GB of data, unlimited texting and charged 20 yen (18 cents) for 30 seconds of voice. The plan is to use Facetime and data for all my calling. I also hope to hook up my old US number to Google Voice, but that app has failed to launch on my iPhone. Strange.
The bank account was another adventure. I chose Prestia (Citibank in Japan, bought by SMBC). They offer yen and dollar denominated accounts, English banking support and have a special deal with Microsoft Japan including discounts on foreign currency exchange (just 1/2 yen per dollar!), no account maintenance fees, no ATM feeds at the ubiquitous 7/11, etc. Strangely to get the foreign currency exchange discount, I need to go to the Shinjuku branch - an old Microsoft location.
Kinori also took off this day to move his residence registration from Nerima ward to be with me in Akasaka. There was a huge discussion of what forms he had to fill out and where to go. His official papers are at Musashi Kosugi, but he left them there and did the "simple" transaction of just changing his residency.
As I was opening the account, snow was falling outside. In fact, they didn't complete my initial deposit because the trains were stopping and Tokyo was simply shutting down. It was beautiful! At 10cm sticking on the ground, it was the largest snow fall in four years. Some folks were stuck in trains for more than four hours. But, I quickly took a cab directly to our apartment.
The snow kept on falling and the view from the twelfth floor was gorgeous.
Once Kinori got home, we headed across the street to the small Izakaya. It was warm and cozy and the various grilled chicken skewers were delicious. I had a beer while Kinori was good and stuck to water. We also had a collection of sashimi. It was my second time there and I'm getting to really like the place and learning my favorite dishes.
Eventually, I will receive my ATM card in the mail so I can fill those empty bank accounts and be able to access the money. Until then, it's cash. However, it really isn't cash. All the restaurants, stores, Microsoft cafe, trains, etc. all take the Pasmo and Suica train cards. They are RFID, so you just swipe your wallet across the turnstiles and POS systems.
Another thing I really like is that 10,000 yen notes are the norm. They're just under $100 and I'm tired of dealing with $20 bills in the US. ATMs in the US really need to start dealing with $100 bills. Withdrawing just $300 gave me a wad of bills I couldn't fold and that barely fit in my wallet.
We went grocery shopping through the snow covered streets using and umbrella from the apartment building. Some fresh fruit, yogurt as well as rice and ume boshi for ochazuke. We were set to wait out the snow and play MTG. If it sounds like we're having fun - I'm doing my job.
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