Has it really been this long?

It is somewhat sheepishly that I write this blog post now. If you have ever lived abroad as a student you will know that you will always be very busy. But as the Japanese say; がんばろう！(let's hang in there!). So it's time to pull up my 元気 (genki) socks and start writing again!

So it has been a good 4 months since last time and what have we learnt? Don't talk on the phone on buses or trains, check your bed at night for mukade (centipedes), if it flies kill it, if it crawls kill it, the many encounters with my arch-nemesis the しゃがんでる-ing (squatting) toilets, and for god's sake will you use the toilet slippers!



General tips over the past months, try and speak as much as you can! It is ridiculously easy to enter Japan with the "If-I'm-in-the-country-I-will-learn-to-speak-Japanese" attitude. If you are thinking this now, first raise your right hand. Ok? Now slap yourself really hard across the face with it. The answer is no, no you will not. Over the last four months I have learnt that acquiring a new language requires effort, regardless of what country you are in. It goes without a doubt that your Japanese, or any language for that matter, will get better faster when you are immersed. However a pinch of "can-be-arsed" attitude is required.

Tip #2 Drinking is fun

The last tip, possibly the most important tip, is have fun :) If you aren't having fun then why are you here?

Watch this space...

時差ぼけ - Jisaboke. Jet-lag

Ok, so it has been just over two weeks since I arrived in Japan and given that my mum is constantly on my back about updated I figure it was now time for the very belated first-post-in-japan. I can not stress this enough, the time and way you fly is very important. So one year ago I booked my flights to Japan thinking I want to get there as fast as possible. I still think that it was a good idea however when the fastest way means you have to leave the house at 4:45am it can lead to one very tired and grumpy passenger.

I flew with Alitalia, whose prices are relatively cheap and the staff are quite pleasant, especially when compared to the incompetent Easyjet and Ryanair brigade. They aren't too strict on hand luggage, and I was delighted to find out I could carry up to 23kg in the hold, most airlines say only 20kg. You are allowed one piece of hand luggage which fits the requirements of 55x35x25cm and under 8kg in weight. In addition to this you can also carry a laptop and/or a briefcase. As far as I could see people were definitely stretching the boundaries, trying to pass off a suitcase as a laptop is not the most inconspicuous bending of the rules I have witness but even so the staff didn't seem to care. So I boarded the plane with my 9kg hand luggage and 10kg "briefcase" with no questions asked other than "Do you want Italian or Japanese for dinner?".

So transfer from Rome went smoothly, all I have to do now is board the plane for Japan and off we go!!

The start off has begun!

2½ hours have passed and we are only flying over Romania. This is going to be a long flight...

So if you are looking to fly Alitalia I would recommend them. Besides having a screen in front of you showing the plane moving painstakingly slowly across the globe, you also have a TV attached to the arm-rest where you can watch videos in various different languages. I give "The Avengers" an average and the "Hunger Games" an alright. If you can book a seat closest to 1st class then you get so much room for your legs, or lack thereof. I would also make sure you have someone with you unless you want to be the only white person on the plane besides the air hostesses. I was asked if this was the flight I wanted 10 times. 

Fast forward 13 hours, and we are here!

So first impressions: its hot
When passing through immigration there are quite a few procedures to go through being a 外人 gaijin (foreigner or alien). This also includes getting your fingerprints recorded and a retina scan. Looks like my plans to break into the Imperial Palace will be put on hold for a wee while.

 

So in the taxi on my way from Osaka to Kyoto and things are looking pretty Japanese: lots of Japanese people, lots of Japanese signs, lots of Japanese houses and plenty people speaking Japanese. It was safe to say I was definitely in Japan. People also take their positions very seriously here, my taxi driver was wearing what looked like a sailor hat as part of his uniform in 30ºc heat.

時差ぼけ jisaboke (jet-lag) is a word I learned very quickly being here. I had enough time to wolf down a bowl of katsu curry before K.O.-ing on my bed. 時差ぼけ is not fun, I was sleeping at weird times, I never felt like eating and was constantly feeling sick. Took me about 3 days until my body realised it was 8 hours behind. Tips: force yourself to stay awake and go to bed at a normal time, drink a lot of water, eat - even if you don't feel like it and of course the whole moral of the story: don't start flying at 6:50 in the morning.

Also, the spiders here are massive:

This is just perfect...

Here, have a visa. Dōzo and all that.

Check out the cute nail varnish!

Oh, and that's my visa underneath them. I haven't even entered Japan yet and I have already been subject to flowery stickers. The only thing not Japanese about my visa is the morbid Victorian-style portrait of myself. Well, if all else fails at least I can blag my way into Japan with the help of my passport cover.

People get sent to Japan everyday for less than that.

Via the principle of entailment, you may have already worked out I found Visa-Street Station, and you would be correct - I have. Here's where to find it for all Edinburgers who want to know. It's pretty quiet in there and I'm sure they could use a friend, unless you're a Japanese war criminal - if so they have a nice little picture of you and others on their wall. It's at 2 Melville Crescent (the door with the not-so-subtle Japanese flag above it and what appears to be a small paddling pool according to *Google Streetview).

Once you have hopped over the paddling pool, you just need to buzz to get in. What I found most odd is the inquisitive "hello?" that follows the buzz, in my case answered with "emm... I need a visa?". He can also see you so don't do any unflattering scratches while you wait.

'Processing time' is a word that I must learn in Japanese because it features in so many conversations (I'll do it later, the 'add a new tab' button is too far away). It can take up to two weeks if they are hard pushed but normally it will take 5 days to collect your visa after applying. This is everything you need for a student visa:

1. Certificate of Eligibility (a 'not visa')
2. One passport sized photo (of yourself)
3. Passport (this is what allows you to leave your country and enter a new one)
4. One completed and signed application form
5. £23 for a single entry visa or £47 for a multiple entry visa. (This can ONLY be paid in cash or cheque. No debit cards unfortunately, they must be breaking us into the cash-based-society swing of things)

Apparently Americans go free, even the Scottish ones. They must have a machine that only accepts American applications that does it for free or something. That's the only explanation I can come up with... but I digress.

So five days later I arrived at the doorstep of the consulate to pick up my visa. By this point me and the security guard Carl (I think his name's Carl, if not then he looks like a Carl) are close pals so he lets me in with no awkward, hesitant conversations over the intercom. The lovely Japanese lady who saw me last time recognised me - and remembering that I had pre-paid, went off to assemble my papers, which is good since I forgot to bring my receipt. Whilst I was in the consulate it started pouring with rain, and was that thunder? Of course it was. Edinburgh continues to remind me that our 2 weeks of annual summer is over. I'm more ready for Japan than ever now.

Another thing worth noting is an application for a 'Yakkan Shoumei', which is basically what allows you to enter Japan with more than a 1 month supply of a prescription drug and more than a 2 month supply of a non-prescription drug. They are pill-popping-party-poopers at International Arrivals and are very strict. So strict that their application form comes with an instruction manual, just in case we need a reminder that they are Japanese.

If you are planning to apply for a Yakkan Shoumei, be aware that the International Reply Coupons required are no longer issued by the Royal Mail, that would make things too easy, wouldn't it? What you have to do is write a letter promising that you will pay the postage after arriving in Japan  (approx. ¥110) and send this letter to Kanto-Shin'etsu Regional Bureau of Health and Welfare (and Making Money off Gaijin). Then when you arrive in Japan send the stamp to their office. Couldn't be simpler. I must add 'Processing fee' to my essential vocabulary as well...

Now for some toast.



*Image owned by Google, they are always watching...

Certificate of Eligibility to enter Japan...kind of

Not long now until I embark on my adventure to the land of the rising sun! Given the current humidity (not a very common term used in Scotland), Edinburgh has proved a good training arena for the subtropics of Kansai. It's currently August which only means one thing in Edinburgh: The Fringe Festival.

The fringe is a term normally followed by a sigh from most Edinburgers who live near the centre of town for one main reason: our population doubles. Again another fantastic training arena for outward elbows and pushy frustrated pedestrians, Edinburgh is transformed from the tranquil, cobbled-street, fairy-tale town into "Congestion City". You'd think the Jacobites were back only they have given up on their quest to restore the Stuarts to the throne in order to take up flyer-ing and amateur stand up comedy.

It's been just over a week since my last post and there have been a couple of significant shuffles towards 留学 ryūgak-ing (studying abroad) in Japan. The most vital of these shuffles has been receiving my certificate of eligibility, or in English a "not-visa". The application process for a not-visa is comprised of 73 easy steps and processing time of a mere 4 months, 13 days and 17½ hours. One of the more useful community chest cards, possession of a not-visa entitles the bearer to an extra shuffle towards Visa Street Station, where one can apply for an "actual-visa". Players attempting to enter Japan without an actual-visa will be instructed to go home ("Go directly home. Do not pass Tokyo. Do not collect ￥2000.") On the other hand, possession of an actual-visa allows one to pass through international arrivals with (alleged) ease.

As well as my certificate of eligibility my university also sent my official acceptance letter, always handy to have.

My metre-long checklist will receive its final tick once I discover the location of Visa Street Station - a.k.a the Japanese consulate - and muster the courage to wade through the sea of flyers and confused tourists. With the list completed I will be able to resume eating ice-lollies and pretending that anime counts as revision until another form of procrastination reveals itself.

Slightly off topic but still related to informative preparation tips, I received intel from an informant that certain handy travel gadgets could be obtained. Vacuum bags are a handy way to avoid wearing 12 jumpers over 9 tops whilst tripping over the 7 pairs of socks - minus one you lost in the taxi to the airport. Not to mention the threat of evaporation shortly after alighting from the plane. Suitcase space is always an issue when you are staying in a foreign country for a long period of time, especially when alternative measures to ensure you can send more crap to your final destination are not exactly Asda-price. Vacuum bags on the other hand are roughly 7 quid.

So how it works is a bit obvious, you put the aforementioned crap in the bag and then use your hoover to sook out all the air and it will transform your bag into a compact sheet of wardrobe.

Other essentials to bring with you before you go that I have discovered include :

• Deodorant (apparently Japanese ones don't work on us Brits)
• Toiletries (quite expensive in Japan)
• Sun cream (very expensive)
• Mosquito repellent, especially if you're traveling way out in the sticks 
• Tea bags
• Hot water bottles, if you want comfy ones rather than the tin-foiled bags in Japan 
• Power adapters
• Gifts, normally little things from home
• Spare copies of all your documents

I do intend to write a retrospective post (most likely with a slight resentful tone) describing the absence or extortionate expense of anything in Japan deemed essential to 外人 gaijin (foreigners), which stood out as nothing more than a pop to the shops back home. Asking your parents or anyone coming to visit you to step in as a luggage mule is strongly recommended.

We would like to inform you that you have been placed in I-House 2

I discovered an email during my (tri-monthly) routine of my uni email inbox. Lookey what I found!

Dear Incoming SKP Student, 

Greetings from Ritsumeikan University! 

We hope your preparations for Japan are going smoothly.We would like to inform you that you have been placed in I-House 2. You can find more information regarding your housing location by downloading the letter that corresponds to your housing location from the following website: 

http://www.ritsumei.ac.jp/eng/******************* 

Please make your travel arrangements to Kyoto according to the information listed in the letter for your housing location.In the coming days, we will send out the final mailing, which contains your Certificate of Eligibility and Notification of Acceptance, both required for your student visa application. In most cases, these will be sent to your school, so please be in contact with them regarding when you can pick them up.  Please submit both documents with your student visa application to your nearest Japanese Embassy or Consulate to have your visa processed. You are advised to check with your local Embassy/Consulate first to see if there are any additional documents you need to submit. 

We look forward to greeting you soon! 

Best regards, 

SKP Staff

Woop! Not only did I get my first choice at university but I now have my first choice of accommodation! I-House 2 (I stands for international), is where I will be staying over the course of my year abroad in Japan. 15 minute bike ride from the university, I-House 2 is the dorms for the 外人 gaijin (foreigners), we can't go and risk the Japanese homogeneity now, can we? Comprising of roughly 40 rooms with private bathrooms, I-House 2 looks pretty impressive. If anyone is interested in attending Ritsumeikan in future and would like to know about I-House 2 then here are the facilities. Oh and you get a fridge in your room, not bad for ￥45,000 p/m (approx. £366):

Here are some pics*!

*All photos belong to Ritsumeikan, please don't sue me!

立命館大学

立命館大学 Ritsumeikan Daigaku is where I will be going to university! Here are some pictures I got off the google just to show you what it looks like!



These pictures* are of the Kinugasa campus of which I will be a denizen. Compared to Edinburgh University, Rits is HAuge! I can already feel the ease of walking down tram-disruption-free streets. If there is one thing the Japanese can do it's transport.

I am able to use all facilities at both Kinugasa campus and in Biwako-Kusatsu campus.

Check out the clock tower!

From first sight most Japanese Universities have a lot of similarities to American Universities. Both heavily feature American sports and have ridiculous sized buildings, or maybe that's just the small-city Edinburger inside me speaking. I am sure there are plenty differences between them, I just don't know what they are. 

Oh and yes, it does snow in Japan.

*All photos belong to Ritsumeikan, please don't sue me!

こんにちは！

へロー！

I created this blog so all at home and randoms wanting to go to Japan would be able to see my journey to 日本! If you don't know me I suggest reading the 'ABOUT ME' section, it's well a gid read (very good read)! I must apologise in advance for any wee (little) Scotticism used henceforth.

Right so, what's all this Japan malarkey? Well, on September the 12th I will fly from London to Osaka and continue to Kyoto where I will be enrolled in Ritsumeikan Daigaku's Intensive Japanese Language track. The year abroad is a compulsory part of my course aimed at giving me the Japanese skills Edinburgh University can't.

But why the interest in a hieroglyph-based language? Honestly, I'm not sure. My obsession with the Japanese language didn't arise by watching too much Pokémon when all the other kids had tossed old Pikachu in the bin and moved on to the craze of the demon Furbies (who subsequently met their fate in the microwave). I developed an interest in the language purely on a linguistic basis rather than from the influence of the infectious J-pop culture. This is not to say I'm not interested in Japanese culture and entertainment, on the contrary, it was learning the language that led me on to this fascinating fantasy world and not the other way round.

So, much to my history teacher's displeasure (I was the 'A' girl in the class), when submitting our UCAS applications for university I took a bold leap by placing Japanese at Edinburgh University as my 1st choice. I later got a C at Advanced Higher history... sorry Mr Walls, I guess history wasn't for me after all. After receiving an unconditional I was determined that Japanese was my destiny! At 17 my whole life was already stretching out before me: I would lead women in Japan to emancipation, I would become an English teacher and make students believe in their own voice and see there is more to life than 受験地獄 jukenjigoku (exam hell), I would share my love of Japan with the rest of Scotland so that they too could learn to love Japan. But first I had to master ひらがな hiragana. This would be a whole lot trickier than I had thought...