Mobile Phone Guide #3: Pre-Paid Phones

In many countries around the world, prepaid (or pay-as-you-go) mobile phones are by far the most popular choice since you can simply buy a prepaid SIM (Subscriber Identity Module, a fancy word for that little plastic card you pop into the back of your phone), put some money on it and call/text away to your heart’s content. 


Unfortunately, in Japan prepaid phones are very much in the minority, although they are popular amongst foreign students, travelers and tourists who plan to be here less than a year. However, there is pretty much only one company left that offers full service prepaid, which is Softbank.The primary competitor is au but the range of services is significantly more limited.


Read on...

The advantage of prepaid is, as the name implies, no locking into a contract. Softbank offers a few phone models, all relatively basic by Japanese standards, but functional. au also has a similar set of basic phones to choose from. Handsets can cost anywhere from 5000-10,000 yen and they are all unsubsidized (i.e. you have to buy them yourself, no help from the company) and come with a very small amount of preloaded money. Like all Japanese phones, incoming calls are free but outgoing domestic calls are billed at a rate of 9 yen per 6 seconds (yes, that’s right, I said every six seconds) regardless of whom you call. au offers a not so competative rate of 10 yen per 6 seconds.

Even though talking is expensive, Softbank offers free short mail (their version of SMS) to other Softbank subscribers and for 300 yen a month you get unlimited mobile e-mail (which we will cover in a later post). You can refill your phone online at Softbank’s website via credit card, purchase refill cards in a convince store, or pay for points at a bank ATM. Cards come in 3,000 and 5,000 yen varieties, but money on your account will expire if you do not refill at least once every 60 days. Even if you let your balance expire, however, the phone number on your SIM card will be reserved for your future use up to 12 months after your last recharge. You can continue to receive phone calls and SMS messages (but not mobile e-mails) on a prepaid phone with no balance for that 12 month period. Unlike contract (post-paid) phones, Softbank prepaid phones cannot roam overseas. 


On the other hand, au only lets you use basic calling and "c-mail" (50 yen per message) which is kind of like an in-network only SMS. There is no mobile data or e-mail plan, making your phone pretty much a call-only device. Like Softbank, au sells prepaid cards in 3,000 and 5,000 yen blocks not to mention a 10,000 yen card if you are feeling really extravagant. You can pick these up at au shops and select convenience stores depending on your region. Each card lasts for 60, 90, and 365 days respectively with a reregistration period of 90 days after your service lapses. Unlike softbank, you cannot recharge online or at ATMs and attemptiong to reactivate a phone after the 90 day period will result in a 4,000 yen fee. Like Softbank phones, they cannot roam over seas.

For more info, check out Softbank’s English website here or au's English website here. And stay tuned for our next installment where we will lay out the finer points of getting a standard post-paid contract.

Other posts in this series:

Part #1: The Basics

Part #2: Important Paperwork

Part #3: Pre-Paid Phones
Part #4: Post-Paid Phones 
Part #5: Paying Your Bills

Part #6: Mobile E-mail Guide

Part #7: Multi-Lingual Phones

Part #8: Renting and Roaming

Being An ALT #12: Is It Really This Easy?

One thing which will probably occur to you pretty quickly in this job is that not a lot is usually expected of you.

You can potentially change that, though I wouldn't guarantee it. This entry is about how you can use your free time at school.

If you put in the effort and show some well thought out games and activities, or show that your teaching ability/classroom control is high, you may be given more responsibility.

However, sometimes, however much you try, you still have several hours a day with literally nothing to do.

Some people love this, some hate it. You can use it to go on Facebook if you want. You can learn Japanese, write a book or even study for a university course.

You can also, of course, use at least part of it to evaluate your own teaching skills. We all have weaknesses in some areas, and taking a step back (a particularly useful tool here is the video-taped demo lesson) to assess where you can improve will not only help you sharpen up your game, it will also make you feel better.

That last one is an important point. It's very common for the ALT to be left out of school (and even lesson) stuff to the extent that we sometimes wonder if we're needed at all. If you choose to accept that and follow your own pursuits in your free time at school, no one will mind. If that's what you want, then it's a great scenario for you.

However, some people might find the alienation to be a bit down-heartening. If that's you, then you can use your time to create resources or displays that make you a more prominent part of the school. If you do this, the fact that 90% of ALTs don't may work in your favour enough to impress your coworkers/employer.


In short, if you can take pride in this job which literally anyone can do moderately, and do it well, it won't be as easy as it has a reputation for being. Or, you could just slack off and enjoy it. "Both of OK".

But the truth is that Japan is a very difficult place for a foreigner to find permanent work. If you're working the ALT gig and thinking about a long-term stay in Japan, then you had better take every opportunity you can to make yourself more employable.

Being an ALT series: 

Part #1: Teaching English in Japan 

Part #2: Your Role

Part #3: A Typical Day

Part #4: Planning Classes 

Part #5: Getting Drunk on Duty (the Enkai) 

Part #6: 4 Japanese Teachers You May Have to Work With

Part #7: Physical Resources

Part #8: Making Activities

Part #9: Hopping Between Schools

Part #10: More School Hopping

Part #11: Getting Molested At School

Part #12: It Is Really This Easy?

Part #13: Brushing Your Teeth At School

More Cool Symbol Typing

Last week we showed you a bunch of words you can type and turn into cute symbols using the default Japanese IME dictionaries. Although a lot of symbols are programmed in to Windows and other operating systems' IMEs by default, there are still thousands upon thousands more symbols waiting to be used in the Unicode character set.

Today we'll take a look at how you can browse through all the available symbols.



Character Map

The usual way to access all symbols in a font is the character map (also called the character palette) for your operating system. In Japanese, it's called the 文字コード表.

The character map in Windows can be accessed from the Start menu. It's under "Accessories" then "System Tools."

You can also get to it quickly by pushing the Windows Key + R, then typing charmap into the box that appears.

Once the character map appears, select the font you use, then scroll to find the symbol you want to use. By pushing the "select" (選択) button then the "copy" (コピー) buttons in the bottom-right, you can copy any symbol to your clipboard and use the paste command to insert it anywhere else.

This method is more cumbersome than the default dictionary definitions we talked about last time, of course, but it allows access to every available symbol in a given font (including, coincidentally, every kanji).

The character palette in Mac, by the way, is apparently activated with command + option + T.

IME Symbol Catalog

As comprehensive as the character map, but slightly more organized, is the catalog of symbols contained within Windows' Japanese IME. To access this catalog, start typing something in Japanese, then without hitting enter, push the F5 key. The symbol catalog will pop-up and you can browse through the various categories of symbols and kanji conversions. The icons discussed above can generally be found under the folder called "その他の記号."

The same catalog can also be accessed from the IME toolbar, usually displayed at the bottom-right of the desktop on Japanese-enabled machines. With a text-input field selected, click on the icon that looks like a paint bucket to open up the IME Pad. The symbol catalog is the second icon on the left-hand side of the pad.

The drawback of these methods is the amount of effort required each time you want to find and insert a symbol. If there are certain symbols you want to be able to insert quickly at any time, but they aren't defined in the default IME dictionaries, you can use your IME's User Dictionary! A User Dictionary is used to register names, words, and symbols that you use often when typing Japanese but which aren't contained in a default conversion dictionary. We'll discuss editing the User Dictionary in a future post!

WS: "I Will..." and "Will You...?" 2nd G JHS

This is a vastly improved version of a classic ALT activity involving a plane crash and subsequent escape from the jungle.



The original can be found in various places and guises, including this one here. It invariably looks 40 years old, so I spent the last half an hour making it more modern.

And here it is. You can use it for both the regular "I will..." form, and the question form.

1. "I Will..."
As you can see, I gave it an amusing backstory of traveling to England to punch David Beckham in the face. you can change this if you want, but it's not relevant. The plane crashes and everyone else died. They must fight their way out of the Burmese rainforest Rambo style.

The activity lasts about 30 mins and goes like this:

• Explain.
• The first sheet has a load of items which are remnants of the plane crash. Students must select six items which they think will be the most useful/humourous for them to take with them.
• On sheet two they write the sentence for their item e.g. "I will take a torch" and, why.
• NB: Usually students have not yet studied the "to (verb)" form e.g. "to fight a gorilla". I usually just let them to it anyway, because it's simple enough for them to just use it straight away. However, a teacher once asked me to let students write that part in Japanese. So check fist.

2. "Will you..?"

In order to use the question form, I play the second sheet like bingo:

• When all students have finished the sheet, they stand up, make pairs and janken.
• The winner asks "Will you take an AK47?" etc. 
• They ask about the items which they themselves have chosen. If the answers match their own, then can tick that item off their list.
• Tick off all the items and you can sit down.

That's it. If you try it, let us know how it goes.

Mobile Phone Guide #2: Important Paperwork

One of the most common mistakes that foreigners make is waltzing into a phone shop and expecting to get a phone only a few days after their arrival. Until recently, this was theoretically possible, but thanks to the Improper Mobile Phone Usage Prevention Law (携帯電話不正利用防止法 keitai denwa fusei riyo boshiho)—another law passed with the excuse of cracking down on all those terrorists just waiting to get their filthy hands on phones in Japan—you have to present valid ID to prove you are who you say you are.

According to the Telecommunication Carriers Association (TCA), there are several generally acceptable IDs which I will list below:

a)      A Japanese driver’s license (international licenses aren’t valid in this case)

b)      A Japanese passport

c)      A Japanese health insurance certificate plus one of the following:

I.                 a copy of your address register (住民票 jyuminhyo) or Certificate of Registered Matters if you are a foreigner (外国人登録原票記載事項証明書 gaikokujin toroku genpyo jisai jiko shomeisho),

II.               a public utility receipt in your name and with your address,

III.            an official printed document with your name and address (tax form, etc).
All of the above must be no older the 3 months.

d)      A credit card and a health insurance certificate

e)      A school ID card (from a domestic university or vocational school) and a Japanese health insurance certificate

f)        A mentally or physically disabled person passbook (障害者手帳 shogaisha techo)

g)      An alien registration card (外国人登録証明書 gaikokujin toroku shomiesho) and foreign passport

Keep in mind the legal age for signing a contract is 20, so if you are younger then you may find yourself in a bind as your parents have to co-sign and present one of the above ID combinations. If your parents aren’t Japanese then you had better start begging and/or giving sad gaijin eyes. Despite the basic ID requirements some less scrupulous shops have been known to bend this rule or simply forge signatures, although this is certainly not a regular practice.

The biggest problem with this is that after application the alien registration card generally take 2 weeks to get printed, although you can get a Certificate of Registered Maters for about 300 yen the day of your registration. So unless you are good at smooth talking or find a shop willing to bend the rules (a difficult proposition since the shop usually has to ask the main company for approval), then you are out of luck. Also, if you are here for only a few months, chances are you don’t have a visa and don’t have an alien card. Although tourists who are here for 90 days or more are obliged to get a card, it is all but worthless unless you have a status of residence (在留資格 zairyu shikaku) such as worker, spouse, etc. However, it is possible to rent a cell phone at major airports. These short-term agreements will be handled in a future entry.

The law makes no distinction between pre and post paid phones but in practice it is much easier to get a prepaid phone with a passport and a receipt that shows where you are staying. Since prepaid service is a lot less risky for the phone company if you choose to skip out on your bill and head back home, many shops will be less strict with the ID process, although different shops and different areas often yield vastly different results.

Now that you know what you need to buy yourself a nice shiny phone stay tuned for our next feature on the pre-paid versus post-paid mobile phone breakdown!

Other posts in this series:

Part #1: The Basics

Part #2: Important Paperwork

Part #3: Pre-Paid Phones
Part #4: Post-Paid Phones 
Part #5: Paying Your Bills

Part #6: Mobile E-mail Guide

Part #7: Multi-Lingual Phones

Part #8: Renting and Roaming

Being an ALT #11: Getting Molested at School

If you have any experience with Japanese culture, you may well have come across kancho, which is just one example of the level of personal invasion which is widely practiced by school children (and many adults).

This week we'll talk about the top 3 ways you are likely to be sexually harassed by students in class.

I have no idea why this is socially acceptable, but the amount of same-sex molestation in Japan is astronomical. Last week (in a regular bar) I watched a man get ridden by his friend while another acquaintance groped in between his butt-cheeks. In fact, he was ridden so hard and for so long that the poor guy had some kind of reaction start in his pants which made the whole table of men (and one woman) laugh for hours. I've also had the unpleasant experience of having my arse-crack "wiped" while singing karaoke, as well as being prodded in the wang innumerable times. These are just a couple of examples. However, no Japanese person would dream of calling this kind of behaviour in any way "gay".

School is a breeding ground for this at all age levels, so watch out! Here are the big three:

3. Booby Touch

Pretty self explanatory. Let's be clear about this: Japanese boobs are usually pretty small. A glance at the bras in most shops will show that not only are they very small cup-sizes, but it's virtually impossible to find any without padding inside to make the most of that little bit of meat. 

Expect everyone to be amazed by your breasts if they're bigger than an A (partly due to the same stereotype as Western men having big penises). Boys will stare, girls will touch. And as with number 2, teachers will do it too.

2. Groin Grab

I get this all the time (I'm a man), and my female friends have also had it several times (though it seems limited to same-sex attempts). The clue is in the name. Intensity ranges from poking to groping. I have also had this at enkais, where other teachers (and sometimes parents) will try to test the "gaijin have massive dongs" theory.

1. Kancho

For those who don't know, kancho is the forced penetration of someone's anus by another's index and middle fingers. Thankfully, it's usually only performed clothed, but the plus points end there.

It's a fast and hard movement carried out when (almost always a boy) leaves themselves open to it by bending over, or simply standing still (a bit like slapping a woman's backside, right fellas?). It can be incredibly painful if landed correctly (my friend confesses to having made a boy bleed in his youth).

As a teacher, you are just as likely to get kancho'd as most of the students, so you'd better make your distaste for it clear from the start.

Female teachers are less likely to be kancho'd than male, but that doesn't mean you're 100% safe, or that you won't play victim to some of the other touchy-feely games.

Being an ALT series: 

Part #1: Teaching English in Japan 

Part #2: Your Role

Part #3: A Typical Day

Part #4: Planning Classes 

Part #5: Getting Drunk on Duty (the Enkai) 

Part #6: 4 Japanese Teachers You May Have to Work With

Part #7: Physical Resources

Part #8: Making Activities

Part #9: Hopping Between Schools

Part #10: More School Hopping

Part #11: Getting Molested At School

Part #12: It Is Really This Easy?

Part #13: Brushing Your Teeth At School

High Quality Kettlebells Now Available

For those of you who practice the macho art of kettlebell lifting, I have some wonderful news.

A friend of mine over at Japan Kettlebell Club has just received a shipment of custom-made, pro-grade kettlebells in the Tokyo area. He can ship all across Japan for a couple of thousand yen.

He has weights ranging from 8kg up to 32kg. Stocks are limited, so get in on it now.

Go to his Gaijin Kettlebell blog here.

Type Cool Icons with the Japanese IME

If you've skimmed over many message boards or blogs in Japanese, you may notice some users adding cute little symbols to their sentences, like little stars (★), musical notes (♪), or umbrellas (☂). These symbols are part of the Unicode character set, and with the help of this guide, you'll be able to type them, too!


There are a few methods for writing these symbols. Today we'll start with the easiest method, which is learning the Japanese terms for symbols predefined in the default Windows conversion dictionary. (Was that a mouthful? I mean to say, "We'll tell you a bunch of the symbols you can write from your Japanese without having to do anything technical.")

This guide assumes you are using Windows as your operating system. However, the same icons should be available regardless of your operating system, as long as the font you are using supports them. Linux and Mac systems have character palettes, too, and their IMEs can be "taught" how to type these characters from defined keystrokes, too.

Anyway, on to the main course:

Predefined Symbols
For starters, some of these symbols are already programmed into the Japanese IME.
If you type the word for "star" in Japanese, ほし, then push spacebar to convert it, you'll find that not only is the kanji for star, 星, available, but so are the icons ★ and ☆, among others.

Here is a list of some simple predefined symbols in Windows' IME dictionary.
Just typing the hiragana on the left should create the symbol(s) on the right!

Type in:	To get these icons!
やじるし	↑　→　↓　←　⇔　⇒
ほし	☆　★　＊　※
まる	●　○　◎　㊥　㊨　①  etc.
しかく	■　◆　□　◇
さんかく	▲　▼　△　▽　∴　∵
おんぷ	♪
にょろ	～
ゆうびん	〒
あまり	…
おす	♂
めす	♀
おなじ	々　ゝ　ゞ　ヾ　〃
すうがく	＝　≠　±　∞　∑　√　etc.
かぶしきがいしゃ	㈱　㏍
へいせい	㍻
でんわ	℡
たんい	％　€　℃　㌔　㍍　㎡ etc.
きごう	hundreds of symbols

This list is not comprehensive, by the way. There are dozens of other words recorded into the default Windows IME dictionary and linked to symbols as well as kanji. This is just a taste of some interesting or useful commands. Here is one much more comprehensive (and overwhelming) list of symbols for those interested.

And, as mentioned before, if you aren't using Windows, or if you are using a different version of Windows (this list is current for Vista and 7, using the Office IME 2007), some of the words here may not produce the same symbols as shown above.

Next time, we'll talk about a couple ways to access all symbols in the Unicode character set, whether they've been programmed into the IME or not. Stay tuned!

WS: Eigo Noto 2: Lesson 1

Eigo Noto is a set of two textbooks for 5th and 6th grade elementary students for whom English has just become a compulsory subject. I teach 6th grade using Eigo Noto 2 and have been frustrated at the lack of materials out there, and by the fact that the teachers' book is almost all Japanese. Not much use for me!

I will be writing up my lesson plans here on AccessJ throughout the year in the hope that it can be of some help to other elementary teachers out there. 

Lesson 1

Greeting - Hello, how are you. Wow you can understand me!

Self introduction

My name - guess how to spell my name

Age - guess my age

"Laura likes/doesn't like" speech.

"Laura likes" bingo

For the guessing, I write 3 options on the board and have the students choose, or the students just yell at me until someone gets the right answer!.

"Laura likes" Bingo

You can download a version of this sheet here.

I gave the students a 4x4 grid with each square divided in two by a diagonal line.

Each square had 2 pictures in. Very simple vocabulary (cat, rabbit, sushi, football etc)

The students had to choose which thing I like from the two options in each square.

They did this by circling one.

Next, they asked me (  ) or (  ). This only involves practicing the vocabulary on the sheet and "or".

I tell them which I like - if they chose the right one, O, if they chose the other item, X

The student with the most bingos is the winner.

Lesson 1 "That`s right"

ABC song 

The students should be very familiar with the ABC song. I started by singing this 2 or 3 times.

Interactive white board 

I had arrived early and prepared a laptop with the Eigo Noto CD rom and the interactive white board. All schools should have one. Having someone who knows how to use it is another story. If you choose to use it arrive VERY early and give yourself time to get familiar with it.

Page 4/5 is a picture of a town setting with capital letters hidden throughout. I had chosen one student to come to the white board and click on the letters in the correct order (one student clicked on one letter). The students could find them in the textbook and raise their hand to volunteer.

If you don't have access to an interactive white board you can print a poster sized copy of the page and get students to colour the letter.

Karuta 

Students are in groups with one set of cards spread on the floor/table, depending on your classroom set up. The teacher shouts out a letter and students grab it.

I like to get the winning student to hold up the card and say the letter. They must keep shouting it and holding it up until I give them the OK. 

TIP - ask the teacher to have the students prepare the cards before the lesson. If they are not prepared get the students to cut one set per group. Having all students cut all cards would take forever!! And if you are in an 'English room' not a usual classroom then remember to ask the teacher to bring scissors!

Finish

My schools require a feedback sheet to be completed by the students after the lesson.

However I never have time for this! I usually just end with a goodbye and wave them off showering them in highfives trying to get them out before the next group arrives!

Post-Earthquake Changes to ETC Prices in Japan

In the wake of the Great East Japan Earthquake and it's enormous toll on government and individuals alike, expressway toll prices (including ETC card prices) are being overhauled in Japan--again. The result is a general increase in the price of automobile travel. We'll explain exactly what changes and how expensive travel will be after the change below.

Click here for our post on how to calculate your highway tolls in advance.

First off, here's what's different:

1. Elimination of the 1000 yen cap on weekend and holiday travel
2. Reinstatement of normal fares on regional stretches of road previously made free by the 高速道路無料化社会実験 ("toll-free expressway trial," or "toll-free expressway social experiment.")
3. Abortion of the proposed 2000 yen cap on weekday travel.

Because of these changes, ETC prices after midnight on July 20, 2011 will be as follows for normal size vehicles (普通車) and light vehicles (軽自動車):

1. Extant weekday discounts will continue to apply.
1. Travel during commuting hours (6:00-9:00 and 17:00-20:00) not exceeding 100 km once per day will still be discounted 50%. It will still be possible to (ab)use multiple ETC cards in a row to get this 50% discount over longer stretches of road.
2. Travel beginning or ending at night (22:00-24:00) will be discounted by 30%.
3. Travel beginning or ending from late night to early morning (0:00-4:00) will be discounted by 50%.
2. Travel on weekends and national holidays will be discounted by 50% all day.

If you happened to have your primary residence in an earthquake-affected region and drive as part of your job (as in, you ship things in a 5,000kg or heavier vehicle), it is also possible to apply for a pass which will allow you to enter and exit the expressway for free from June 20, 2011 until June 19, 2012.

Tokyo says that the extra revenue from this change will go towards helping out post-earthquake recovery efforts.  However, some citizens seem to feel that the earthquake just offered a convenient opportunity for opponents of the travel discounts to pull the plug on them.

As always, we welcome and comments or questions below.