The X-Pat Files - April 2006
(Brought to you by H&R Consultants)
The X-Pat Files Community E-Newsletter provides a forum for the
spread of information useful for English speakers living in
Aichi. You can use the newsletter as an informational resource,
and of course you can send in information you would like to share.
This newsletter is a community service from The Japan Real Estate
and Relocation company, H&R Consultants (www.japanhomesearch.com),
and is edited by counselor and life coach Sue Conolly
(www.sueconolly.net).
Contents for This Edition
1. Domestic Courier Services - Steve Burson
2. Shimamura Discount Clothing - Jenny Elsby
3. Sending Money Home
4. Bath salts for sensitive skin
5. New Sakae Acupuncture Clinic
6. Takayama
7. Travel Cheap for Golden Week
8. Congratulations! - Sue Conolly
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1. Domestic Courier Services -
Steve Burson
Takkyubin - courier services, are one of the most convenient services
around. From practically any convenience store and a number of
other shops as well (such as dry cleaners, corner stores, liquor shops,
hotels), you can send almost anything, anywhere in Japan. A
number of different companies compete with each other to provide
reasonable, convenient, and speedy service. Look for the
following logos on the windows of your local shops:
Yamato "Kuroneko" (Black Cat) - a black cat carrying a
kitten http://www.kuronekoyamato.co.jp/ (Japanese
only) 0120-271-040 (Toll Free)
Nippon Express -
http://www.nittsu.co.jp/english/e_index.htm 0120-152-259
(Toll Free)
Sagawa Express - a man running along carrying a furoshiki over his
shoulder http://www.sagawa-exp.co.jp/english/main.html
Meitetsu "Koguma" - a little bear carrying a package
http://www.meitetsuunyu.co.jp/ (Japanese only)
Seino "Kangaroo" - a jumping kangaroo
http://www.seino.co.jp/seino/e/index.htm
Fukuyama - a red double circle with a lightning bolt under it
http://www1.fukutsu.co.jp/english/index.html
To send a takkyuubin, take your parcel already wrapped or in a sealed
bag to your local takkyuubin outlet, and get a form to fill out from
the sales assistant. You will need to have the address including
the postal code, and also the phone number of the person you are
sending to - this will go in the top half of the form. Then your
own details go in the box below - the first time you fill a form out,
you might like to find a convenience store where someone speaks English
and can help you. You will then have to say what the contents of
the package are. Be careful, because some companies don't allow
you to send some items such as alcohol, laptop computers, or mobile
phones. There are different types of takkyuubin depending on the
item you are sending, for instance "Cool" takkyuubin for chilled items
and "Ski Takkyuubin" for large items like skis. You also have the
option of specifiying a time you would like the package to arrive -
circle the appropriate time on the right hand side of the form.
If you're thinking of travelling by public transport for Golden Week -
why not send your luggage ahead of you to avoid having to lug it
through train stations and airports? Similarly, if you arrive
home at any airport, you can send your bags home to yourself to save
having to take them on the train. This is particularly helpful if
you are travelling via Narita or Kansai Airports, because you will be
changing trains to come home. You can takkyuubin ahead to hotels,
and of course back again. Couriers also have a service for
picking up the luggage at your home
Handy Japanese:
"Takkyuubin okuritai desu" (I want to send a takkyubin)
Chakubarai - COD, if you want the receiver to pay at the other end
Cool Takkyuubin - Special service for chilled items
Jikan Shitei - Specified delivery time
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2. Shimamura Discount Clothing -
Jenny Elsby
http://www.shimamura.gr.jp/index.htm (Japanese only)
This is a clothes / home furnishing stores which has fairly funky
stuff, fairly generous sizes and at bargain prices. They have
clothes, shoes, bedding, carpets, accessories etc. Shimamura is
not the classiest of stores, but if you are fed up of overpriced stores
in down town Nagoya then this is worth a visit. They have a great
selection of underwear, futons, kids/ teenagers clothes as well as
large sizes (Ookii Saizu) for both men and women. There are two
stores currently in Nagoya.
1) The downtown Shimamura store is in Shantopia Port on
route 41 near to Aeon Kanayama. There is free parking here and a
number of other stores here worth a visit if you get chance.
Nagoya shi, Showa ku, Shirokane 3-6-24 Shanpia Port
TEL. 052-889-3090
2) The second store in Nagoya is out in the Hara area of Tenpaku
ku, above the Matsuzakaya store. Its just south of Hara station
so you could take the train here if required. If you are driving down
the 302 towards Toyota you should turn right (west) at Hara 1
Intersection you should continue west until Hirabari Nishi guchi
intersection. You should see Dennys on your right hand side and
Matsukaya on your left with Shimamura upstairs.
Nagoya shi, Tenpaku Ku, Hara 4-206
TEL. 052-800-5066
Happy Shopping!
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3. Sending Money Home
You can send money internationally from pretty much any bank, but
I have found the two following ways the best for me. The first is
the cheapest way to send small amounts of money, and the second is the
easiest way to send money on a regular basis. Both I have found
to be fairly user friendly, and both have websites in English.
The post office deals not only in mail, but also with
money. You might want to consider opening a postal account while
you're in Japan for various reasons, but even if you don't have an
account with the post office you can still send money home relatively
easily. You will need to be in line at the post office, which
makes it more time consuming than the second option below, but it's
certainly a very cost effective way of sending funds, and the forms are
in English so it's easy to do.
http://www.yu-cho.japanpost.jp/e_s0000000/ssk20100.htm
GoLloyds is a service provided by Lloyds TSB Japan, by which you
can remit funds electronically to a set account from any bank in Japan,
after which Lloyds will send it automatically to a pre-set destination
overseas. It takes some doing to set up the accounts, but after
the waiting period to set it up, it's an extremely fast and very easy
way of sending money to a pre-set destination. I used it quite
regularly when I was sending mortgage payments to Australia, and I
could send the money on a Tuesday afternoon and it would be in my
Australian bank account for open of business on Wednesday.
https://www.golloyds.com/en/index.php
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4. Atopita - Bath Salts for sensitive
skin
Those of you who have babies or small children, or just those of
you with skin troubles that are perhaps irritated by this strong wind
we are having, might find a product called "Atopita" useful. The
colour is dark green and it's not a pleasant smell, but I swear it
works like magic on rashes and mild skin disorders. When I looked
on the internet to find it, I saw that it has an "English" website,
that lists many other Atopita products, but I only have experience with
the bath salts. It is available from many pharmacies, but it's
not sold everywhere so you might like to print out the picture of the
product before you start out.
http://www.tampei.co.jp/englishsite/shouhin/atopita/atopita.htm
By the way, in general bath salts in Japan are great. I buy
a sets of the different coloured ones that can be purchased in any
supermarket or pharmacy. They come from different hot springs
around Japan, and turn the bath different colours so that every day is
a holiday!
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5. New Sakae Acupuncture Clinic
Many of you may already know this place, which boasts on its
completely Japanese homepage that 20% of its clientele are
foreigners. They used to have an English homepage too, but
perhaps they took that one down for some revamping and hopefully will
put it back later!
http://www.newsakae-seitai.jp/
Services provided include shiatsu massage, acupuncture and
moxibustion, aromatherapy massage, foot therapy and facials. Open
on weekdays from 9am to 7pm, Saturdays from 9pm to 6pm and
Sundays/National holidays from 10am to 5pm, appointments are
required. The phone number is 052-951-8644 and you should be able
to get an English speaker on the phone. It's on the 9th floor of
the New Sakae Building, which is across the road from Maruei in Sakae
(across the small street from Starbucks and the Outback
Steakhouse). Go on, treat yourself!
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6. Takayama
http://www.hida.jp/english/
One of my favourite cities in Japan, Takayama is particularly
famous in the spring because the cherry blossoms really enhance the
gorgeous old houses and small cobbled streets. You really need to
book ahead if you are planning to travel around the busy times.
My mother and nephew however rolled up and were able to make themselves
understood and were able to stay at the beautiful youth hostel housed
in a temple, at very little notice last Obon.
http://www.takayamaryokan.jp/e_yado/75.htm
http://www.jyh.or.jp/yhguide/toukai/hidataka/index.html　(Japanese
only, but has map)
If you're wanting to stay in a Japanese guest house (anywhere,
not just in Takayama), you might find this link useful:
http://www.japaneseguesthouses.com/db/takayama/index.htm
It takes a little more than two hours on the train, and about the
same by car. It's certainly a very beautiful trip as well.
From Takayama, there are endless possibilities for hot springs, most
featuring outdoor baths that look up into the mountains. There is
nothing like this experience for washing away the stress of the Golden
Week crowds.
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7. Travel Cheap for Golden Week
Clicking around the internet about Takayama, I came across this
link which offers discount on hotels and car rental all over Japan, all
from the convenience of an English website!
http://www2.tocoo.jp/english/
Doing a sample search on places to stay in Takayama, I was
pleasantly shocked by the prices - as little as 4000 yen per night per
person. Some of the hotels offered are western style, some are
Japanese style, so it's certainly worth a look before you set out
anywhere. Membership to the site is free, and is automatic the
first time you reserve a hotel through their online system.
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8. Congratulations! - Sue Conolly
(This article is copied from my blog at www.sueconolly.net)
The other day I visited my friend at her new house. It is very
different from my house - modern clean lines and white walls, a shiny
kitchen and a large landscaped garden. It was built from the ground up,
by my friend and her husband. She was able to create her house exactly
the way she wanted it. I recognized her feeling, because a couple of
years ago we reformed our own house to our own exact specifications. It
feels nice to create a home.
I was taking the grand tour of the house, when we came to the
kitchen. My friend said "I congratulate myself every single day I stand
in this kitchen!". I understood exactly what she meant. My own kitchen
is a work of art in my new house, and my endless attention to every
detail when we were reforming has really paid off. I love my kitchen,
and the phrase "I congratulate myself every single day" was so apt.
Since hearing this phrase, I have found myself saying it to
myself about other things. "I congratulate myself every time I get off
at this station (I love the area where I live)", "I congratulate myself
every time I wake up next to my husband", "I congratulate myself every
time my daughter says something insightful to me in English", "I
congratulate myself every time I sit on my sofa". It's a fantastic form
of self-talk, and I recommend it to anyone.
Try it...
"I congratulate myself every time .........."
See if you can write that sentence down ten times, each time with
a different ending, and see if it doesn't make you feel fantastic!
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That`s it for this edition of the newsletter. We hope you found
it informative - please let us know what you would like to see in
future editions, and we will attempt to address your issues.
A disclaimer - While we do try to check submissions when they
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information. Obviously everyone`s experience is different.
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