some questions before moving.

HI! ive been a follower to this site for a few months now. and i find it very informative and helpful.

im 19 and im one of those lucky ones to have been awarded the japanese scholarship to Japan. i'll be flying over to Tokyo the first week of April and i have a few questions to ask.

i'll be living in Tokyo for a year for an intensive language training before im being shifted to my uni in Oita. in Tokyo, i'll be going to JASSO for my language in Koto-ku.

1. i understand i have to get an Alien registration after arriving as i will be needing to get a mobile phone, a post-office bank account, etc. How will I get this done?

2. what are the most essential things to bring over to Japan? (should i bring loads of clothes? supplies?) or should i just buy it there? thing is, i dont understand japanese and i can read hiragana only for now. i know basic japanese, like asking for directions.


3. i know that Japan has the train system as transportation to travel around. i find that scary because in my country we drive everywhere. As a student, do we have student pass to get on trains? or do we have to pay for tickets everytime?

4. If (only if) my hostel doesnt provide internet, how will i go about getting this done? Cos i would like to webcam with my family back at home.

5. i dont really want to carry a rice cooker all the way from my country, where can i go buy one near my studying place?


6. ive gone through so many websites and ive search a lot but i havent got the answer i want. WHERE EXACTLY IS KOTO-KU?


please help.
thanks in advance.

Lalajae,

I am so proud of you to go to Japan to study. What an accomplishment as well as adventure.

I lived in Japan since childhood and when I moved back to US, at age 18, I was quite apprehensive even though I spoke perfect English. So I can see how you feel.

Things may have changed now, but you apply for your Alien Registration at the Koto-ku Ward office. There is a section just for foreigners needing alien registration's application and renewal (for those staying longer than one year). When you move residence to another ward from Koto-ku, you have to re-register. So when you move to Oita, you have to do that again.

As for clothing, are you very tall and large? If not, it's easy to find clothes in Japan of your size. Fashion may be different so you can take only the essentials. Food may be something you are tempted to bring but you have to declare and even show all your food at the customs so sometimes they can confiscate things which Japan thinks undesirable.

If you read Hiragana and Katagana, and read alphabet, it's easy to get around in Japan because signs are often in Roman letters almost everywhere. Even there are no alphabet, there is a hiragana under the kanji so that elementary students can read. This is especially true with place names.

Once you enroll in your school, you can obtain a student rate monthly pass for trains between your home and your school and this commute will be greatly discounted. You will need papers certifying that you are enrolled in that school. As for travels outside of the route, you may have to buy individual tickets or buy one of those chipped cards like Suica card.
Just like your mobile phones and bank accounts, once you get your alien registration card, you can get your internet service either from the same mobile company or any other company around your neighborhood or phone companies.
Rice cookers are available everywhere even in the little local electronic store.. and even at a grocery store nearby.
Koto-ku is pronounce with a long first ooooo and slightly shorter second ooo. So it's Kooootooku. It is one of the 23 wards of Tokyo. It is eastern part of Tokyo on the waterfront with very easy access to everywhere. If you want to know more in details visit their website at

http://www.city.koto.lg.jp/language/lang-eng/index.html

Feel free to ask more questions. I�fll be watching this forum thread.

Congratulation.

Chad

Chad, thank you!

im pretty nervous about the move. ive never been away from my family and this will take around 5 years of my life if not more.

ive noted what you said. thanks again.

so when i move to oita, should i use the train? im gonna have to carry all my stuff all over again.

im not so much into shopping. im more of a gadget girl so i wont be surprise if i suddenly buy another laptop.

i'm restricted to only carry 20kgs so its hard for me to figure what to bring and leave.

im trying to bring food. those instant soups in packets and noodles just for settling down the first few days before i figure out where the shops are. do i have to show these food too?

im not very tall, (154 cm) but i wear pretty much anything. fashion is not my thing.

and shoes! im a size 24, according to my shoes, in japan. is it going to be hard for me to get shoes? i like sneakers.

thanks again!

hi!
use yoru 20kg with your favourite stuff and don`t waste it with instand food. In you can get at every corner some cheap food. The convinience stores are open 24 hours and there you can get bread, chinese dumplings, onigiri etc for 105 yen.

and my footsize is also 24, sometimes even 23,5 and I have no problems to find shoes. Its a normal size here

Lalajae,

I agree with dotcom. Do not waste your precious baggage weight limit by bringing instant food. Like dotcom says, there are great convenient stores like Seven-Eleven and Larsons that sell great dumplings, manjyu and shumai and rice ball Onigiri. The dumplings and manjyu are so delicious and cheap, I often skip meals at the expensive hotels and just eat those!

As for moving to Oita, do you mean Oita in Kyushu? That's a long way. By the time you move to Oita, you will really be comfortable traveling in Japan it will be no problem. You will find the best way. As for moving, if you accumulated lots of things, you can use moving services such as Takkyubin in addition to bringing your own luggages on train. I know you can make it.

Chad

Don't bring instant noodles to Japan! That's like taking sand to the Sahara. There are convenience stores everywhere (7-11, Lawson) in Koto-ku and they sell a range of instant noodles (and even provide hot water to put in them), as well as sandwiches, cakes, cookies, microwaveable pasta and all kinds of other things you will recognise immediately.

Worry about how you will move to Oita once you get here and can ask some people. Possibly it will be cheaper to fly than take the train, and it will certainly be faster- ask at a travel agent. You can have any heavy stuff shipped there quite cheaply- carrying it all is probably not very practical if you take the train as you will have to change many times.

thanks guys!

my mom is insisting that i should bring at least some food for the first few days cos she knows that im just going to lock myself in a room until the feeling settles in. i dont want to, really.

ive noted on the advices. thanks guys.

is there anything else i should be aware of before i finally move? i have four weeks to check, and recheck everything.

are you sure you want to go to japan?
you wrote, that you`ll look yourself for the first days in a room...sounds very shy and afraid of the big bad world.
just make a lot of friends at the preparation course and enjoy your life!
there are a lot people out there who envies you, cause you got the chance to live in japan.
don`t waste this oppurtunity.

lol. i do want to go. but im pretty much the type of person who would sit down and take in the overwhelming move and write down a list of things to get after i unpack and then go out.

the world is big and bad. haha. i just like everything to be neat and tidy and clean before i could go out and get more stuff. hence, the locking up. but i dont take up days. thats just ridiculous.

Did you read the A-Z section a the very top of this site? click on it then read all the sections but especially those about transportation, food, etc.