Overview:
Japan's "Alien Registration System" amongst other things will be changing in July of 2012 in a large overhaul of the Immigration System. The main points in the changes are:

• The introduction of a new "Resident Card" system for foreigners, which will basically take the "visa" out of your passport and put it in your wallet in the form of a ID card containing an IC chip.


• The extension of periods of stay from 3 years to 5 years for most visa categories.


• Exemption from needing a "Re-Entry Permit" if you are out of Japan for less than 12-months

Full Article
Although many details of the new immigration system remain undecided, it is scheduled to be implemented in July of 2012. The biggest change is the abolishment of the current Alien Registration Act. From 2012, all information will be managed under the amended Immigration Act, which is administered by the Ministry of Justice, and a new "Resident Card" will be issued for foreigners that will basically take the “status of residence” stamp out of your passport and put it in your wallet in the form of a ID card containing an IC chip. Additionally, medium to long term foreign residents will be able to apply for Juminhyo, like Japanese Nationals.

The current maximum visa period of 3 years will be extended to 5 years for certain, as yet undecided visa categories. The re-entry permit system will remain, but, leaving Japan for periods of less than 12-months will no longer require a permit. Leaving for Japan for longer than 12-months, however, would automatically revoke residence status, regardless of the circumstances.

Under the former system, even illegal immigrants could apply for and receive an alien registration card, but under the new system, they will not receive “Resident Cards”, as they are basically the same as the stamp in your passport. The new card will display fewer details than the current card, although details such as the name and address of your employer will still be required. Additionally, under the new system, visas based on a Certificate of Eligibility (COE) will have a “Residence Card” issued at the airport. The COE holder will be given 14 days to report to their local authority (ward office, city or town hall) to register their new address in Japan.

Any changes made to your home address in Japan will need to be reported to local authorities within two weeks, as before. However, changes to name, date of birth, sex, nationality, and employer or their address will need to be reported to the Immigration Bureau. This means reporting in person, but whether proxy applications will be allowed or if reporting can be done by post or internet (etc.) is currently being considered.

Maximum fines for not reporting changes in details, reporting incorrect information, adjusting or falsifying a “Residence Card, etc. will be JPY 200,000. As there are no other authorities administering penalties other than the Japanese police and the regular judicial system things are unlikely to be much different from what they are now. It is highly unlikely that first offenders or minor offenders will be fined for such things as not renewing their details within 14 days of a change, etc.

Once the new system is implemented; there will be a 3-year grace period to change old alien registration cards to the new “Residence Card”. During that period, an “old registration card” would be treated the same as a new” Resident Card” in terms of immigration law.

Further information is available at the Immigration Bureau of Japan's Website.

The Gifu International Exchange Association is hosting a free Takigi Noh Performance on Friday. The performance starts at 6, and runs until 830, but the GIEA will be meeting guests in front of the Gifu Grand Hotel at 5, and will move to the performance. The performance itself will start a little after 6PM and run till 8:30.

The plays will be performed on an outdoor stage lit by torches alongside the Nagara River, pretty cool huh? Do not miss this opportunity to experience traditional Japanese theater. For more information or to reserve your place, please contact the Gifu City International Exchange Association by email at email:: gifucity-iea@ nifty.com

English materials will also be provided.

This weekend is the Nippon Domannaka Matsuri, commonly called Domatsuri, this dance festival is the largest in the Nagoya/Chubu region, and involves dancers from all over Japan and abroad. This festival is one of the highlights of the Nagoya summer, and this year it will feature over 210 dance teams with over 23,000 performers will share original music, costumes, and dances that incorporate their local culture, whatever county or country, with an expected crowd turnout of nearly 2 million people in an effort to connect of people from vastly different locations and cultures in song and dance.

Schedule of events for the weekend:
Sat, Aug 28 2010 Day 1: Junior dance contest
Sun, Aug 29 2010 Day 2: Final contest

The suggested site to view this festival is at the main stage in Hisaya Odori Koen near Sakae within sight of the tower.

Access:
1-minute walk from Yabacho station (Exits 5 and 6), Meijo subway line 3-minute walk from Sakae station (Exit 15), Higashiyama and Meijo subway lines


www.domatsuri.com/english/

They say the best way to learn Japanese is to have a hobby, and make friends through that. If you are into manga, maybe you might try this new café in Osu that caters to manga authors (?). There are plenty of places to go where you can read manga to your heart’s content, but Manga Kukan also has equipment for manga production, and hosts professional lectures and meetings on the subject. Visit their website and find links to their twitter feeds and directions, or click this link for a google map, and drop on by.

www.mangakukan.com

Summer is coming to an end, and with the passing of the season so goes the festival season. It is not too late to get in a last few weekends of fun though. This weekend, the Azabu Juban Festival will once again delight crowds from all over with the sights and sounds of a summer festival. Dancing, food, and even a concert featuring jazz and Hawaiian music will round out the evening, and of course there will be plenty of beer and chuhai to help keep cool. Alternatively, you could also go for the shaved ice, but I wouldn’t!

When : August 21–23, 3:30–8:30pm
Access : Azabu Juban
Japanese only link
Translated link

Tea; from the ever present green varieties that line shelves in the convenience stores here, to the black varieties that my English and Australian roommates preferred when I first arrived, living in Japan has been an learning experience. As an American, and especially one from Seattle, it is hard to see past the espresso machine, but I have managed to overcome that to an extent and have opened my mind to other possibilities. Much like coffee, tea is as complex as you want to make it. You can buy and drink it without much thought, but tea is complex enough to warrant dedicated study. I first discovered tea through my interest in Japanese culture and the tea ceremony. I took a class at university where I thought I was signing up to learn how to pour tea, but ended up learning about tea as a way of life. The technical details of growing, harvesting, and producing tea, the varieties of tea, the art and architecture of tea houses and gardens, and finally the act of producing the tea were all presented with nearly equal importance. In the end, I found that I actually preferred tea gardens to making tea, but that is a subject for another day!

Today, we will cover a few basics of tea and the tea ceremony, and suggest a few places where you can experience a Japanese Tea Ceremony. To start with, what is tea?

From Captain Picard’s Earl Grey on Star Trek (yup, I’m a geek), the English Breakfast from countless movies, to my mother’s Sleepytime herbal tea, Tea is tea. It all comes from the same plant; Camellia sinensis. The different types of tea, excluding additives like herbs, are classified using the techniques used to produce and process it. Fermentation seems to be the most important factor in classifying teas.

White tea: Wilted and unoxidized- Darjeeling White
Yellow tea: Unwilted and unoxidized, but yellowed-Chinese, Silver Needle
Green tea: Unwilted and unoxidized-Japanese, Sencha
Oolong: Wilted, bruised, and partially oxidized- Chinese, Junshan Yinzhen
Black tea: Wilted, sometimes crushed, and fully oxidized-Earl Grey
Post-fermented tea: Fermented Green tea- Pu-erh

It might be assumed that black tea became popular in the west due to the distance from the source of the tea to the market- over time the tea would ferment, arriving in England and America as black tea, while Asia became accustomed to the fresh unfermented variety due to its proximity to the source.

Green tea is what is used in Japanese Tea Ceremonies. Green tea as well has many varieties within the classification.
Gyokuro, Kabusecha, Kabusecha, Sencha, Fukamushicha, Tamaryokucha, Bancha, Kamairicha, Kukicha, Mecha, Konacha, Macha

The last variety, macha, or powdered tea, is the variety used in making tea for the ceremony, and can be cheaply purchased from the supermarket, or from specialty shops for more money than I care to think about spending on tea.

Also referred to as the Way of Tea, the Japanese tea ceremony elevates the preparation and presentation of powdered green tea to a ceremonial activity of great cultural significance. Powdered green tea is skillfully and elegantly prepared by the host for guests. Every hand movement is purposeful and graceful. Each is precise and disciplined expression honed only through years of training. Becoming a master of this art requires not only mastering the ceremony itself, but everything that surrounds it. Other traditional art forms like calligraphy and flower arranging, as well as knowledge of relevant architecture and gardening allow a masterful host to select and decorate an appropriate location that will transport their guest outside of their reality, and into the reality of the ceremony.

The tea ceremony embodies the Japanese aesthetic of wabi-sabi, centered on the inherently transient nature of the world around us. This aesthetic is a guiding principal of the Way of Tea, and celebrates beauty in that which is imperfect, impermanent, and incomplete. A well made tea cup, old, broken and repaired is more likely to be revered than a new tea cup, for example. All utensils and equipment used to make tea, collectively called chadogu, are carefully selected to complement the ceremony, and are frequently changed to reflect the environment of a particular ceremony-a winter, versus a spring ceremony, for example. The basics utensils are:

Napkin- A special small rectangular white cloth used to wipe the tea bowl.
Tea bowl- Vary in size and style, and are usually thrown by hand.
Tea caddy- A small lidded container containing the powdered tea used
Tea scoop- Used to scoop tea, and are generally are carved from a single piece of bamboo,
Tea whisk- Used to mix the tea and water, and are also generally carved from a single piece of bamboo.

Many of these items can become quite old and revered, and whole museums are filled with the most notable of them. In Nagoya, the Tokugawa Art Museum (http://www.tokugawa-art-museum.jp/english/index.html), and in Tokyo the Sumitomo Art Musuem (http://www.sen-oku.or.jp/english_tokyo.html) have extensive collections of tea utensils that embody the Japanese wabi-sabi esthetic.

I will not spend time detailing the actual ceremony. If you have never seen one, I recommend you see a video online, or better yet, go experience one live. Here are a few locations in Tokyo and Nagoya where you can experience a real tea ceremony.

Tokyo
Imperial Hotel (Toko-an)
Tel.: 03-3504-1111 (switchboard)
Add.: 4F, Main Bldg., 1-1-1, Uchisaiwaicho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Access: Near Hibiya Sta. on Subway Hibiya, Chiyoda or Toei Mita Line
Closed: Sun., National Holidays and Aug. 1-15
Fee: ¥1,500
Note: Prior reservation is necessary. Served in a tatami-mat room.

Hotel Okura (Chosho-an)
Tel.: 03-3582-0111 (switchboard)
Add.: Main Bldg. 7F, 2-10-4, Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Access: NearToranomon Sta. on Subway Ginza Line, Kamiyacho Sta. on Subway Hibiya Line, or Roppongi-itchome Sta. on Subway Namboku Line
Fee: ¥1,050 (Card acceptable)
Note: Prior reservation is necessary. Served either in a tatami-mat room or on chairs.

Hotel New Otani (Seiseian)
Tel.: 03-3265-1111 (switchboard)
Add.: 7F, Tower, 4-1, Kioi-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Access: Near Akasaka-mitsuke Sta. on Subway Ginza and Marunouchi Line, or Nagatacho Sta. on Subway Yurakucho and Hanzomon Line
Fee: ¥ 1,050 (cash only)
Note: Better to make an appointment. Reservation is required for a group of over 7 persons. Served in a tatami-mat room.

Chado Kaikan (By Chado Bunka Shinkoukai)
Tel.: 03-3361-2446 (switchboard)
Add.: Chado Kaikan, 3-39-17, Takadanobaba, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
Access: 10 min. walk from Takadanobaba Sta. on JR Yamanote Line, Seibu-Shinjuku Line and Subway Tozai Line or take a bus bound for "Otakibashi-Shako" to Takadanobaba 4-chome Bus Stop.
Fee: ¥2,000
Note: Prior reservation is necessary. For more detail, please inquire by phone.

Happoen (Muan)
Tel.: 03-3443-3775
Add.: 1-1-6, Shiroganedai, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Access: 15 min. walk from Meguro Sta. on JR Ymamanote Line, Subway Namboku Line and Mita Line
Fee: Tea ceremony: ¥ 2,100(Ryurei), ¥ 3,150(Hiroma) and ¥ 5,000(Koma) 30 min. Just tea and sweets served: ¥ 840 15min.
Note: Reservation is required at least 3 days in advance. Tea is served to the seated guests either on tatami or on chairs (Ryurei).

International Chado Cultural Federation (Zaun)
Tel.: 03-5225-0787
Add.: 1-4, Kora-cho, Ichigaya, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo
Access: 5 min. from Ushigomeyanagi-cho Sta. on Toei Subway Oedo Line
Fee: ¥5,000 ; cash only
Note: All tea lessons, tea presentaions, etc are performed in English. Reservation is required at least one day in advance. For more detail, please inquire by phone. Served either in tatami-mat room or on chairs.

Nagoya

Tsuruma Park Kakukaku-Tei
Tel: 05-2731-8590
Access: Tsurumai Subway Line, Tsurumai Station
Fee: ¥500
Note: Limit of 200 people, first come first serve, In September

Nagoya Castle
Tel:05-2962-6153
Access: Meijo Subway Line Shiyaku-sho Station
Note: October 9, 10, 11
Fee: ¥800 (on day), ¥600 (in advance) plus Nagoya Castle admission fee

Shiratori Garden
Tel: 05-2681-8928
Access: Meijo Subway Line Jingu-nishi Station
Note: Mid September and Mid November

Tozan-soh
Tel: 052-831-2672
Access: Sakuradori Subway Line Mizuho-kuyakusyo Station
Note: 12 Minutes walk from station
Fee: about once a month on Wednesday; 8 Sept, 6 Oct, 8 Dec; ¥300

Syodenin Shoin, Urakuen, Inuyama
Website
Tel: 0568-61-4608
Access: MEITETSU INUYAMA YUEN station
Note: 7 minutes walk from station
Fee: Adult 1000 yen; Children 600 yen

Tokugawa-en Garden
Tel: 05-2935-8988
Access: JR Chuo Line Ohzone Station Note: 12 Minutes walk from Station
Note: in October

The Nagoya Cinematheque, a theater in Nagoya, will show “The Cove” along with “Whalers and the Sea,” a documentary sympathetic to the Japanese whaling industry this month in an attempt to balance out the strong feelings held by both sides of the whaling and dolphin issue. Some worry that this showing will bring out the ever present and intimidating right wing with their black vans and bull horns, but if you are interested in getting the opportunity to see what all the fuss is about, this is your chance.

Nagoya Cinematheque
Imaike
Imaike Star Bldg. 2F, 1-6-13 Imaike, Chikusa-ku, Nagoya
Tel: (052) 733-3959

Imaike Station
Get to Cinematheque via Exit 9 of Imaike station on the Higashiyama Line - turn right straight away, walk about two minutes and you'll find the theatre in Star Building, 2nd floor.
Map Link Image

Japan is expensive, and living here for four years has accustomed me to 40-dollar pizzas and 100-dollar T-shirts. Hell, I barely double take at 200-dollar melons anymore. It's only when I travel that I'm reminded of how astronomically pricey consumer goods are in Japan.

As a show of protest, I decided to find out how far I could reduce my expenses for a calendar month. For all of July I carried a small notepad and pen with me and diligently recorded every expense. My total expenses for July: ￥28,902. less than ￥1,000/day!

To be fair, many of my expenses were unavoidable, and could not be reduced in any meaningful way (at least not for a 1 month experiment), and were not used in my calculations. These included:

Rent, ￥40,000 (rent subsidized company apartment)
Gas, ￥2,340
Electricity, ￥4,402
Internet, ￥4,165
Cell Phone, ￥7,820
Japanese lessons, ￥10,000
Income Tax and Other Income Deductions, ￥21,450
Work-related Transportation Expenses, ￥2,320
-----------------------------------
Total: ￥92,497

Outside of those expense, everything else was included: food and groceries, household goods, cleaning and hygiene products, non-work related transportation, clothing, gym, and entertainment. I even dutifully recorded every coin dropped into a vending machine!

I've never exactly been a cheapskate, but I've never been "bad with money" either. My spending habits are somewhere above drunken sailor, but well below thrifty. I guess you could say I am generally wasteful, but not reckless with money. In a typical month, the expenses listed above would total somewhere between ￥100,000 - ￥120,000 depending on the month. Even if it was only for a month, reducing that to under ￥30,000 was a huge savings. Here's what I did:

DRINKS:

If you're in Japan at this moment you're probably within spitting distance of a vending machine or convenience store. You can buy cold drinks pretty much anywhere, all for the fair price of ￥150. In summer I probably average three 500ml drinks per day, or more. For my experiment, I instead carried a simple one liter Nalgene bottle with me. Drinking nothing but water and cold tea saved approximately ￥14,000 alone over the month-\150 per drink adds up fast! Forgoing packaged drinks also and had the added benefit of removing countless empty calories.

Coffee has probably the world's highest markup. I usually read and study over a cup or two at a Starbucks, but I in the name of thrift I decided to stay home, where for the price of one large cup at Starbucks I have a month's worth of coffee. Estimated savings from not loitering in coffee shops: ￥5,000.

FOOD:

Food has long been my biggest financial leak in life. One of the things that attracted me to Japan in the first place was the food, and it more than lived up to the hype. I'm all about the tebasaki, sushi, yakiniku, sukiyaki, and countless other temptations, but it can be expensive to overindulge in them. Cutting my spending in July meant unmercifully slashing my food spending, and that was the toughest single measure to take.

Basically I had to stop eating out all the time (convenience stores are a real money killer; they have surprisingly good food). I limited myself to about one restaurant meal per week, instead of one or two per day In addition, I bought the most economical groceries from the most economical grocery stores. I saved a lot of money buy shopping at Shops like the 99 and Lawson 100 stores. Soba, at only ￥33 per serving, became my staple lunch. I'd usually eat it with a small piece of salmon or tofu for protein. Throw on some soy sauce and it's really not bad. Eating With brown rice or soba as my for each meal made it pretty easy to eat for under ￥300.

Buying groceries for every meal really forced me to prioritize my food consumption. I wasted almost no fruit/produce/perishable food simply because I was more aware of when it would go bad. I also used up a lot of the sauces/dips/condiments/spices that had been piling up around my kitchen. Making small grocery trips frequently (as opposed to large trips infrequently) is definitely the way to go.

Estimated monthly savings from eating in: ￥30,000-35,000.

TRANSPORTATION:

Even in the brutal Nagoya heat I rode my bike everywhere without exception. Subways/busses/taxis really add up fast. Biking is also good for you and kind of fun, especially if you're a bit drunk. The other great thing about biking is that it's almost always faster. When you factor in transfers and parking etc you're almost always better off riding a bike. I figure this saved me ￥5,000-10,000 in July.

GYM:

This was an easy place to trim the fat. I canceled my membership to Gold's. I hadn't even been in months, and it was costing me ￥9,300 a month. It really is a nice gym but unless fitness is you're main hobby, the community centre gym is just fine. The cost at the public gym: ￥12,000 per year. Saving that ￥8,300 per month adds up to over a thousand bucks a year!

JAPANESE LESSONS:

Although I paid for lessons in July, Japanese lessons are next up on the chopping block. There are tons of great online resources to help you improve your Japanese, and most of them are free. For instance, lang-8.com allows users to upload journal entries and have them corrected for free by a native Japanese speaker (the catch is that you're expected to correct English entries written by Japanese speakers). If that's not personal enough for you there's always the old language exchange route, or you could simply make more Japanese friends. Expensive lessons do not necessarily mean fluency. Quitting my mediocre lessons will save me ￥120,000 a year.

HOUSEHOLD:

Daiso, Daiso, Daiso. Daiso's the king of the \100 shops (hyakuen) and they've got your back in this department. Be careful though, because some Daiso products can be slightly more expensive than their equivalents in the supermarket. The problem with Daiso's is that it stocks only items that cost more than ￥100. Some items, such as dishwashing soap, have price points even lower than ￥100. In general though, most of the time Daiso can't be beat.

CLOTHING:

Goodbye Diesel hello Uniqlo. Uniqlo took care of all my clothing needs in July. I bought three pairs of socks and a dope T-shirt for ￥2,000. I like shopping as much as the next guy but you really don't have to spend a lot of money to look good.

ENTERTAINMENT:

I suppose it was fortunate that the World Cup was going on for the first half of July. The nightly games kept me enthralled and prevented me from spending money in bars. Overall I did a little more downloading, less social drinking, spent more time outdoors, and I also reread a couple books instead of buying new ones, and my July entertainment bill was at least ￥10,000 less than it was in June.

All and all, it was an enjoyable challenge. If I really wanted to be gung ho about things I probably could have brought it down to ￥20,000 for the whole month, though that would have required extreme penny pinching and deprivation. It was nice having extra cash at the end of the month, and it didn’t really affect my quality of life that much. I can't see myself maintaining that level of fiscal self-discipline permanently, but I am definitely going to incorporate a lot of what I learned in the future. I'm beginning to see the upside of frugality.

If you've never tried it before, I highly recommend writing down all your expenses for a month. At the very least it will force you to abandon the willful ignorance that many of us maintain regarding our finances. It's true what they say: Little things add up.

Daniel Archambault

H&R Group Invites you to our first annual Nagoya Mystery Spot Pub Crawl! A small group of us will be meeting on September 10th, 7pm at Nagoya Station, at the gold clock in front of Takashimaya Department Store for a night of exploring some of the many fine establishments of the pub and bar variety that Nagoya has to offer. Whether looking to learn new places to go out in Nagoya, or just wanting to have a good time with friends this event is for you.

This crawl will consist of 5 locations stretching from Nagoya Station to Shinsakae, and then Sakae. We will announce the name of the mystery 3rd location on the night of the event, and we know you will not be disappointed! The cost of this event is 2,500 JPY. Participants will receive
Event T-shirt
Subway ticket from Nagoya to Sakae
Free drinks, vouchers
A raffle ticket for a chance to win prizes

The official end time of this event is 1am. We know it is difficult for residents of some areas to get home, and so a shared taxi service to Hongo and Toyota Stations will be provided. Although the taxi fee will be at your own expense, we will arrange a large van, and estimate the ride will cost about 2,000 JPY per person. Stay out a little later, and enjoy an evening out with friends old and new!

If you are interested in attending this event please be aware that as only 20 spots are available it is highly recommended that you reserve your place now by calling 052-973-3957, or email Bryce at bryce_conlan@morethanrelo.com. Please include your desired shirt size (S/M/L/XL – “depending on availability” we will do our best to provide your requested size.).


Summary:
What: H&R Consultants Nagoya Mystery Spot Pub Crawl!
When: September 10th, 7pm-1am
Where: Nagoya Station, at the gold clock in front of Takashimaya Department Store on the white tiles in front of the escalator.
How much: 2,500 JPY
Why: Because we can!
Who: Bryce Conlan 052-973-3957 or bryce_conlan AT morethanrelo.com

Check out our itinerary for the evening:

From Nagoya Station will begin at the OXO pub, a short walk from the station, and just East of the Spiral Tower. This British Style pub’s convenient location and cold beer make it a great place to start our crawl!
www.pub-oxo.com/eng


From OXO, the group will move to Sakae by Subway, no worries, we will provide the ticket. Our next destination is Bar Mexigan for tacos, nachos, Corona, and tequila.
www.bar-and-restaurant.com/en/mexigan.html

After Bar Mexigan, we come to the Nagoya Mystery Spot!

From the the Nagoya Mystery Spot, we will walk to Red Rock Bar, an Australian styled bar complete with croc nuggets and meat pies.
www.theredrock.jp


Our last stop of the evening will be Mybar to enjoy the best Martini's in town !
www.mybarnagoya.com

Have kids? Need money?
Changes to child benefit laws in Japan will benefit foreign families as well!

Did you know that residents, including foreign residents, of Japan who have children may be eligible to receive a monthly check from the government for 13,000 JPY per child per month? If you had say, three kids, this would bring an extra 39,000 JPY per month into the family budget that can be spent however you like. Finally, having kids is paying off! Previously, only low income families were entitled to receive these benefits, but from this year the law has been changed so that all families with children born after April 2nd 1995 are eligible.

To receive this benefit, you must apply. Because the application process described here may be slightly different than what is required in your area, you should consult your ward, or city office, directly if you plan to apply on your own.

If you were receiving child benefit payments in Japan under the old law, you will need to fill out and submit a “Genkyo Todoke form (現況届)” at your ward, or city office. The applications were due by June 30th 2010, but if you apply by September 30th; you may be eligible to receive back payments from July. Once the form has been submitted and approved, your payments will continue in the same manner as your previous benefit schedule-October (for June-September), February (for October-January) and June (for February-May)

If you are not currently receiving child benefit payments in Japan you need to fill out and submit a “Nintei Seikyu-sho (認定請求書)” form at the ward, or city office in your area by the end of September. Once your application has been approved, your payments will begin within the schedule outlined in the paragraph above. Any back payments should arrive with the first payment. A family with a few kids could take a pretty nice mini-vacation together with a couple of months of back payments included in the payment.

Do not delay! You must apply by the end of September to qualify for any back payments. If you have trouble navigating the Japanese bureaucracy, or simply do not have time to get to the ward office, H&R Consultants can help you complete all the necessary paperwork, and submit the package on your behalf to the ward or city office for a fee of JPY 13,000 per　

For more information on this, please email us at contactus@morethanrelo.com. Please include your name, or by phone at 052-973-3957.

Ever wonder what a polar bear does at night? Want to find out?
This weekend is your last chance to take in the Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Garden’s annual Night Zoo & Garden event for 2010. For this annual event, the zoo extends its hours to 8:30 p.m., and the public is invited to come explore the night zoo. Lions, tigers, and bears will be on display, and special talks and events will be happening throughout the zoo.

This event will run August 13, 14, 15 (Friday to Sunday). The zoo hours are from 09:00 - 20:30, and admission is 500 for adults, children under 16 are free. Higashiyama Zoo is located 1 minute walk from Higashiyama Koen Subway Station exit 3.

If you are going to be out and about anyway, why not take advantage of Nagoya City’s special one-day pass that includes admission to the zoo and use of all bus and subway lines in Nagoya. The pass is available for 1000 JPY at any subway station and the city bus offices until Aug. 31.

While you are there, why not visit the Higashiyama Sky Tower’s observation deck? Its 360 degree view of the Nagoya skyline is among Japan's most popular night views. Hope to see you there!

www.higashiyamaskytower.jp
Sky Tower Website, Japanese

www.higashiyama.city.nagoya.jp
Higashiyama Zoo and Botanical Garden Website, Japanese

Round two for that bastion of fun by the river, Gifu City! The Nagara River National Fireworks Festival is held yearly on the first Saturday of August from 7:15 p.m.-8:45 p.m. For those who have lost track of time, that is this weekend! This is one of the largest fireworks displays in Japan. It is a part of the All-Japan Fireworks Competition and comes on the heels of a great display last weekend in the same spot. If last weekend was any indication, this is going to be another great show with over 30,000 fireworks lighting up the night sky. My highlight last weekend was the heart shaped displays, and the ever wonderful fried chicken. I bought mine off an old couple, and they made it with heavy ginger; just the way I like it. Happy times!

This event is located on the banks of the Nagara River in Gifu, in between the Nagara and Kinka bridges. The event begins around 4:30 p.m, but if you want a decent spot you should show up much earlier. Like I said, this is a big festival so you will find a spot no matter when you come somewhere.

Special buses run from JR Gifu Station and Meitetsu Gifu Station, but the lines are long, and I usually just walk. It takes about 30 minutes, but you can follow the crowds and not get lost at all. The buses you are looking for should be pretty obvious; just look for the long line of older folks. The walk is good, and there are so many people that it is fun, so I recommend you do that! Have fun!

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Any Harry Potter fans out there? Good news! You can get a footage from the new Harry Potter movie, right here in Nagoya on August 11, 2010. “Harry Potter and the Deathly Hallows,” the seventh and final installment to the Harry Potter dynasty, is a two part story, and previews from part one will be shown. This event is reportedly free, and will feature a marathon showing of the first six Harry Potter films, followed by an exclusive preview of the Deathly Hallows. You can sign up here, sorry kids, but it’s in Japanese. Fans who sign up will also be eligible to score some free loot. Not sure what it is, and not sure how you go about getting it, but I am all about free movies and loot.

The Aichi Triennale brings cutting edge art and performances from the world to Nagoya in celebration of the theme “Arts and Cities.”

The Aichi Triennale, and international art festival will begin this year in this year in Nagoya. The Triennale will bring the latest in contemporary art to conservative Nagoya in late August, and nearly 130 artists and groups from around the world will be presenting performing arts like dance and music, fixture pieces such as painting, sculpture, and other forms of artistic expression. Most of the pieces and performances in these exhibits are newly commissioned or are being presented for the first time in Japan during this festival.

In keeping with the theme of this year’s event, “Arts and Cities,” performances and presentations will take place throughout Nagoya. Locations will include the Aichi Arts Center, Nagoya City Art Museum, Choja-machi and Nayabashi areas, Oasis 21, public areas, parks, and districts throughout the city that will “create a series of fascinating yet unusual urban scenes” in which the art can be enjoyed.

For ticketing and schedule information, please see the festivals website, which is very helpfully provided in several languages.
www.aichitriennale.jp