How to Not Sweat Like a Beast in the Summer

You have probably never heard of the demoniacally named Driclor before. It's a roll-on treatment for hyperhidrosis, or excessive sweating. It works. Unbelievably. If you use it for a couple of weeks, you will not sweat in the applied areas. This is perfect for the viciously hot and humid Japanese summers.

It's normally prescribed, but is available without a prescription. Read on for how to get hold of some in Japan.

I have never found this for sale in Japan, but UK and other nationality companies will ship internationally. I recommend Expresschemist.co.uk, where you can also buy your toothpaste or other toiletries you are missing in Japan. One roll-on will set you back about 4 pounds, and postage to Japan about the same.

You can also buy from Amazon.co.uk for a similar price.

Apply before bed and wash off in the morning. Expect to be eternally grateful for it.

Side-effects.
The active ingredient of Driclor is aluminium chloride hexahydrate. This itself is harmless, although in can be broken down into hydrochloric acid. This doesn't affect the end result, but can lead to irritation shortly after applying the roll-on. It goes away and isn't strictly bad for you, but can be a bit irritating (get it?). Other than that, Driclor is side-effect free.

The downside is, of course, you need to apply it to most of your body during the summer. Can't win them all.

There's also a product called Anhydrol Forte, which does the same job. I have no experience with that one, however.

I wish you the greatest happiness when you realise you can wear whatever you like this summer, without worrying about sweat patches.

Disaster Donation Opportunity: Clothes

A friend of mine passed on this address which is accepting clothes donations.

989-2393 "Wataricho"
Miyagi ken, Watarigun
Watari cho Aza kyuukan 62-1
Sato kinen Taiikukan

９８９−２３９３宮城県亘理郡　
亘理町字旧館６２番地１
佐藤記念体育館

Their number is 0223-34-0505

They're looking for high quality spring and summer clothes with little or no signs of wear. They don't need winter clothes because they can't store them, or underwear as the shops there are starting to reopen.

Exclusive Preview of New JHS Textbooks!

Here at AccessJ we're always one step ahead of the game. We tear the competition in two with our cut-throat professionalism and unstoppable momentum. Out of the way "Gumper ALT Life Stories" and "JipanGU" sites, AJ gone crazy.

Anyway, so we got hold of a copy of next year's JHS textbooks (at least, for selected schools). It's a reworked version of New Crown - that series I got so angry about last year with my "5 Most Annoying Pages in New Crown", "4 Stupidest Characters in New Crown", and "3 Appalling Stories from New Crown" posts.

Here's your chance for a sneaky peak before 2012!

Well, first things first. Wang Ming has had a sex change! Someone finally helped him take the last step towards becoming Yang Meling. Ratna has slithered off back to India, too, unless her eczema got so bad that she just crumbled into dust and was rebuilt as a boy called Raj. Speaking of Emma (does that even qualify as a bad pun?), she's still there, but along with the rest of the cast has had a massive face-lift. The retarded, camp watercolourist from last issue has given way to the elite skills of some anime-savvy whipper-snapper.

In fact, and I may alienate half of our audience for saying this, but it actually looks quite good. Not only was New Crown dated this year (and every previous year it was used), but it had so much nonsense content that either didn't teach anything useful or made little to no sense at all (like the bizarre re-tellings of Alice in Wonderland and the Whale Rider). The new edition seems to have deliberately targeted the problem sections and made them into something useful, and, low-and-behold, actually entertaining (sort of).

However, there's also a hell of a lot more material to cover. This probably has something to do with the upcoming change in the education system. Japan's education functions on a 10-year plan, after which the previous decade is analysed and the results used to formulate the next. Last time this led to massive changes in how children were taught. The high levels of suicides and stress were attributed to the huge workload on school students. The proposed solution was to drastically cut that workload (no school on Saturdays and a dramatic drop in expectations) and focus more on involving the personalities of students in every-day school life. The result of this change, however, was (predictably, I guess) a drop in achievement. So, looks like it's back to the old method... More on this in a future post.

Today we'll treat you to character comparisons. Next time, we'll have a closer look at how the same chapters/pages have evolved in the new edition.

Kumi

Paul

Wang Ming

Ratna

So it's all change, huh? Paul has also acquired a physically handicapped brother (presumably to balance out his own mental retardation). More details in the future, folks.

Bonus picture: Ms Sasaki trying to screw up Paul's shodo. 

You may be interested in these posts:

• 3 Appalling Stories from New Crown
• 4 Stupidest Characters from New Crown
• 5 Most Annoying Pages from New Crown

Being an ALT #9: Hopping Between Schools

In some ALT positions, you will teach at not just one school, but instead rotate through a set of assigned schools. This is especially common among junior high school and elementary school ALTs, but even high school ALTs may find themselves covering a few small, rural high schools or trucking out to a special needs school once every couple weeks.

This game of musical workplaces can be good or bad, depending on your preferences. Over our next two Being an ALT posts, we'll discuss some of the pros and cons of this arrangement. First, we'll look at some of the interpersonal impacts of having more schools to visit, and next time we'll consider scheduling issues it might provoke. If you're considering a move to a multi-school job, we hope these posts will provide you some food for thought.



A More Diverse Experience
First off, with multiple schools, you'll encounter a much wider variety of students and teachers. Every class of students has its own personality, and every school has a personality, too. Some schools are the pride and joy of their community. Other schools are out in the slums (or as close as you can get in Japan), and student behavior will reflect this fact. Lunch and cleaning time routines vary from school to school, as do teacher meetings and the way ALTs are employed. You may be a human tape recorder at one school but be given free reign over most lessons at another.

More Coworkers
More faces means more Japanese names to remember, and moving around between schools also means it will take a little longer for coworkers at any given school to warm up to you. However, as a team-teaching ALT, more coworkers means more people for you to try working with and a greater chance to meet teachers with whom you really jive in the classroom.


Perpetual Visitor
A common complaint about the ALT job is that you never really fit in as part of the team. It's easy to feel like an outsider or a special exception in this world. The intensity of that feeling depends on you and your specific situation, but if you're sensitive to that kind of thing, be aware that a multi-school ALT job can exacerbate or prolong the feeling. It will take longer to build relationships with your students and coworkers if you only see them for part of each week, and jumping between schools makes it easier to be "forgotten."

Being Forgotten
This is standard new-ALT rigamarole, especially if you don't speak Japanese (but even if you do!). A lot of information that circulates the school will fail to come across your desk. Maybe it slipped the English teacher's mind to let you know, maybe they didn't make enough copies of an announcement to put one on your desk, maybe they didn't think you'd be interested, or maybe it's something they've decided you don't need to know.

Serious things, like a student stealing a teacher's wallet, school property being vandalized over the weekend, a teacher's loss of a relative, or a student running away from home, tend to get swept out of the ALT's field of vision, intentionally or otherwise. These probably won't be explained in English to you.

But, other daily information that you really do need might not reach your ears, either. The daily schedule might have been shifted by ten minutes in one direction, or maybe lunch comes an hour earlier than usual. This kind of information is usually circulated in the daily schedule or on the chalkboard in the staff room, but it's going to be in Japanese.

This and other things, like not hearing about the annual staff photo until the morning of, can leave ALTs feeling pretty cynical or impotent in the workplace.

Of course, one of the biggest issues with multi-school ALT jobs is how the schools divide your time. Next week we'll look at how schools deal with sharing an ALT and how it'll increase (or sometimes decrease!) your workload. Stay tuned, and as always, if you have any experiences to share, please comment below!

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

WS: "Are You From Vatican City?" 1st G JHS

This week's worksheet is for the early days of first grade junior high, and covers the "Are you from..." grammar.



The sheet is pretty self explanatory, but here's a quick rundown:

1. Copy both pages of the sheet (download here) for each pupil.
2. Copy page 2 at a larger page size and cut out all the flags so that each student can have two.
3. Students have a set time limit (5-10 minutes) to play bingo. 
1. They must ask other students two "Are you from.." questions.
2. If the responding student has the flag of the country in question, they say yes and the asking student gets to mark it off their bingo card.
4. Reward all students over X number of bingos (or any at all).

I think it's fun because it's such a challenge to find three countries from the huge list. First graders are usually enthusiastic enough for it to work, but if you have a bad or depressed class you might want to reconsider.

Getting an ETC Card Reader

In order to use an ETC card on the express-ways of Japan, you nearly always need to have a machine to wirelessly communicate with the toll booth.

We will covered how to get an ETC card very soon, which is significantly more difficult for foreigners (especially the military), but now let's look at getting the box installed.


First of all, go to an auto-mobile shop/garage and choose a box. ETC boxes come in various price brackets, though the added benefits of the more expensive options are limited (if you can even work out what they are), so I'd recommend just getting the cheapest.

There will be two prices on the box. The cheaper of the two is the unit price, the second the price including installation. Boxes start around 7,000 yen, and you should be able to find one including installation for just under double that.

When you take the unit to the counter, they'll ask if you want it installed.

You may have to wait for a bay in the garage area to be free, at which time the staff will say something like "The wait time for a bay is .... minutes, are you OK waiting that long?" If time is an issue you'd want to make a reservation beforehand.

For those needing help, I'd say something like this to make a reservation:

ETCを設置していただけたいですが、来週土曜日の予約をお願いできますか？
(ETC o setchi shite itadaketaidesuga, raishū doyōbi no yoyaku o onegai dekimasu ka?)
 - the underlines words being the day you want to make the reservation.
At the store, if they were explaining that you need a reservation they'd probably say something like,
予約は必要ですが。。。
(Yoyaku wa hitsuyōdesuga. . .)
"You need to make a reservation"
また明日の午後に来られますか？
(Mata ashita no gogo ni kitararemasu ka?)
"Can you come back tomorrow afternoon?"

After you've made an appointment (or been pleasantly surprised), you will have to fill out your name and address on a form, and give them your shaken certificate to photocopy. Later, or next, you will drive your car to the fitting area and negotiate where you would like the machine to be installed (the antenna is always behind the rear-view mirror). Literally almost anywhere is fine. Mine is just under the steering wheel. They remove part of your dash to fit the box, so you might not want to watch if you're sensitive about your car!

The fitting process takes 30-45 minutes. Then you're all set.

More

• If you move prefecture and change your licence plate, you will need to get your ETC paperwork updated.
• There are some "one-piece" boxes which don't need to be fitted (they sit on a holder on the dash and have the antenna built-in), although I've never seen one.

Abbreviations in Furikomi

Take a deep breath... this is dry but useful information.

When making a bank transfer (振込, furikomi) in Japan, information regarding the transfer can only be sent using single-bit (half-width) katakana characters, Latin alphabet letters, numbers, or a small subset of punctuation. When you make a furikomi at a bank or ATM, the system will properly annotate information about the bank and branch you want to transfer to. However, properly entering the beneficiary's name is up to you.

(By the way, spaces are also valid in furikomi data. They count as one character.)

Usually, this is an obvious step: You enter in the name of the beneficiary exactly as he or she has directed you. The katakana used must match the katakana they used for the name on their account exactly, or the furikomi won't go through.

What you may not have known is that there are special abbreviation codes used to accommodate long company names so they fit inside the ATM/furikomi slip's character limit. (In my experience, the limit is often 15 characters.)

For example, if you were in charge of sending a furikomi out to the toy company Bandai, the formal name of the company, 株式会社バンダイ, wouldn't fit within a 15 character limit: ｶﾌﾞｼｷｶﾞｲｼｬﾊﾞﾝﾀﾞｲ

Sixteen characters. Damn. What to do?

The wrong way to handle this situation is to enter as much of the name as you can and truncate the end.

The right way to handle this situation is to use designated account abbreviation codes to eliminate common, long titles, such as 株式会社 (publicly traded stock company). A full list of such abbreviations is available here (Japanese).

In the case of our example, the correct abbreviation for 株式会社 is a simple ｶ. But, the next part of the process is also important. You need to use appropriate delineation to indicate how the abbreviation fits into the title. Because 株式会社 comes at the beginning of Bandai's formal company name, you'd start the name on the transfer out with a ｶ, follow it with an ending parenthesis, then add the rest of the company name, like so: ｶ)ﾊﾞﾝﾀﾞｲ

Similarly, if the 株式会社 bit came at the end of the company name, like in music company Yamaha's name, ヤマハ株式会社, you'd use a beginning parenthesis and a ｶ at the end of the name: ﾔﾏﾊ(ｶ

But, what if the 株式会社 bit comes somewhere in the middle of the name you need to send to? Maybe, in a much more likely example, you're not sending to the company's name as a whole but to a specific department: The account name you're sending to is the general affairs department at Yamaha, ヤマハ株式会社総務部. The answer is fortunately unsurprising: You get to put a parenthesis on each end of the ｶ, to end up with a fantastic ﾔﾏﾊ(ｶ)ｿｳﾑﾌﾞ

OK, so what about when you've used all the reasonable abbreviations for your name, and you still end up with something too long, like this (fictional) general affairs department name at Takeda Pharmaceuticals: 武田薬品工業株式会社総務部. Even after abbreviation, it's still a whopping twenty-two characters: ﾀｹﾀﾞﾔｸﾋﾝｺｳｷﾞｮｳ(ｶ)ｿｳﾑﾌﾞ

In this situation, truncation is the rule of thumb. The bank will match up as much of the beneficiary name you could enter to the actual name on the account and make a decision about whether the transfer is legitimate. If that answer still leaves you feeling queasy, there's a simple but time-consuming way to double check yourself: ATMs at some banks will display the account holder name on their confirmation screens when you try to initiate a furikomi. The account holder name is displayed in single-byte katakana, up to a certain number of characters, just like you'd need to write it in to make a successful transfer. Simply go to such an ATM, start making a cash transfer (where you put money into the ATM to send rather than sending from your bank account), and fill out the beneficiary details up to the confirmation screen. Once you've seen how the name should be written, take a memo, and hit "Cancel" on the ATM so your experimental transfer doesn't actually go through.

May Blog Roundup

May has been and gone now, and taken with it all the pretty colours of spring, leaving us only with the creeping humidity and threatening reveal of dozens of praying mantis eggs.

Anyway, this month saw us pass 100,000 hits since late last year, and the growing AccessJ team provided you lovely readers with some great posts as a thank you.



This month you may have missed:

A post on how to get those pesky ID cards for buying cigarettes, a look at Japanese Hangover Preventatives, the start of our look at the bizarre questions Japanese people ask each other on the internet, and an entry covering the Japanese Fruit Picking Seasons for your picking pleasure.

We also published:

Earthquake
Maps showing the most dangerous places in Japan during earthquakes, and where earthquakes are most likely to occur.

Health and Fitness
How to buy and train with Kettlebells in Japan, and how to register for Distance Running Events.
not forgetting our popular post on the Cost of Giving Birth in Japan, and our big-hitter How to Take a Crap in Japan.

Cars
A detailed look at Vehicle Registration and Licence Plates, and an explanation of how licence plate security works.


Last bus not least, yesterday we talked you through Applying for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test.

There were plenty other posts that didn't make the lowdown here, so be sure to check out our archive links at the top of the page for more.


And coming up next month will be the return of our popular Being an ALT series, as well as tips on how to not sweat like an animal during the forthcoming hot summer. We'll cover all about ETC cards, give you some Japanese learning tips and bring you fresh content from a brand new writer who will cover Japanese cell-phones in minute detail. Stay tuned.

Applying for the Japanese Language Proficiency Test

Recent changes in the JLPT mean that it's now easier to take the test in Japan than it previously was. You can now take any level test twice a year (previously only the two highest levels were available twice). In celebration, here's a brief guide on how to apply.

If you are applying and taking the test outside of Japan, you can apply online when the time is right, but you may well have to travel quite far to find your test site. There are around 100 sites in 20 countries atm. Here's a list of locations.

Applying in Japan

1. Go to a big bookstore, like Kinokinuya or Maruzei.
2. Ask for, or find, the form. It should be either with the language learning books, or in front of the service counter. 
1. NB: This form can sometimes sell-out, so it may be a good idea to get it early, or call the store before you leave and ask them to keep one back for you.
2. It is sometimes possible to find these forms on online bookstores, like amazon.co.jp or rakuten.co.jp. However, make doubly sure that you have the right one, as they continue to stock out-of-date forms.
3. Pay 500yen (or steal it because you didn't realise you had to pay, like I did...)
4. Fill it out and send it off.
1. The form is in English, and thankfully comes with a detailed guide on how to complete it.
2. You will need to include a passport-sized photograph of yourself.
3. If you make a mistake you will not be enrolled in the test, so be careful.
4. You need to pay (5,500yen) via bank transfer before you mail the application, and include your receipt in the envelope.

Application dates

1. Dates within which you can apply for each test during the year are not fixed, so you will have to check the website for current dates. Applications generally close about ten weeks before the tests (the two being early July and December).

What level should I aim for?

1. Dunno, man. Have a look at the sample questions on the JLPT website for each level and see what you can manage.

WS: "Was and Were" JHS 2nd G

This Sunday's worksheet is a nice little story knocked together by my talented 婚約者, Laura. It makes use of a typically English scenario (easily converted to your home country) to practice the appropriate use of "was" and "were".



Here's the sheet to download. Depending on ability it will take something around 10-15+ minutes.

As always, use this as many times as you want, but please don't redistribute anywhere else.

While you're at it, why not check out some of our many other Worksheet Sunday entries?

Japanese Ability to be Linked to Visa Extensions?

This article is a bit dated, but I only stumbled across it fairly recently: In May of 2008, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs hinted in a press conference that it would like to start taking Japanese language ability into consideration when issuing visas to or renewing landing permissions for foreign residents.

(A Youtube video of the press conference is also available; there's no particular variation between it and the written record, but of additional interest on Youtube are the scathing comments in Japanese about former Minister of Foreign Affairs Masahiko Komura and his "antinational" proposals.) 

Of course, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs tends to say a lot of things, and some number of its proposals don't actually make it through Japan's legislative bureaucracy and into effect. However, last year you may have noticed on TV or elsewhere news reports of the first 5-year landing permissions being granted to foreign residents in Japan. (Until that time, landing permissions were typically limited to 1- or 3-year durations.) This is all part of a major rollout of immigration policy change decided upon in the 2009 Partial Amendment to the Immigration Control and Refugee Recognition Act.

As a recap: The old 1-year and 3-year periods continue to exist, but individuals deemed by the Immigration Bureau to have desirable qualities (such as stable work history or skills in need) may be eligible to receive a 5-year landing permission upon entering the country or to upgrade to a 5-year status on their next extension.

Anyway, NHK gave some coverage of this last year as the first 5-year extensions began to be issued. What I hadn't garnered from the news reports, but which was apparently hinted at in the 2008 press conference above, is that period of stay decisions could also be influenced by Japanese ability of the applicant.

In the press conference, the Ministry was careful to point out that any change would be a loosening of restrictions: Individuals who were previously eligible for 3-year stays will not lose their ability to get another 3-year extension because they can't speak any Japanese. However, individuals who were approved for a 1-year landing permission last time might get a boost to 3- or 5-years on extension if they have high-level Japanese skills.

At the time of the press conference, it was unclear how the Ministry intended to evaluate individuals' abilities when making their extension decisions. And since the statement 3 years ago, there has hardly been a word on the matter, or at least nothing ready to be found on Google. But, I'm dying to know more about how this went down and whether the Ministry is really still planning to base (or actually making) extension decisions on applicants' Japanese ability.

So, is this still simmering away on the Ministry's back burner? Will future applications include some kind of Japanese test or option to submit some kind of certification to be considered along with the application? If you know any more about this, please share in the comments below!

How to Take a Crap in Japan

Japanese toilets come in three guises.

1. a toilet
2. a hyper-toilet with loads of buttons etc (well founded stereotype)
3. squatty potty

In times of old (20 years ago or something), most number 2s were done in number 3s. Nowadays, you'll still find squatties in most train stations, country schools and other public facilities. Some people go on about squatties being good for your rectum or something, but to be honest I think you'll be fine either way. At least with a regular toilet there's little risk of urinating in your own pocket.

Anyway, below is my deftly illustrated guide on how to correctly operate over such a thing.

Step 1: Get totally naked. This is optional, but my friend couldn't go any other way for fear of messing himself up.

Step 2: Squat facing the raised end and fittings.

Step 3: Poop. Peeing is also acceptable.

Step 4: Flush. Wiping is also a popular preceding step.

Job done. Get dressed if necessary.


As an addendum, you would do well to note two things:

1. We Westerners are not well adapted to the flat-foot squatting which Asians do a lot. Luckily, the metal fittings on the front of the toilet serve well as handles should you need them.
2. Those same metal fittings are reflective. Do NOT look at them unless you want to see the very worst your body has to offer.

Happy shitting!