WS: "Don't Pick the Flower!" JHS 1st G

About midway through the year (chapter 4 in New Crown), you'll be teaching first graders commands: "Don't use my camera" etc

Here's a fun activity I came up with today.

• First, play Simon Says, incorporating the "Don't" point. Start with basic gestures and icnrease the difficulty in stages:
• Run, walk, swim, jump, fly
• Touch... simple body parts, desk, textbook, friend etc.
• Pick the flower, tree etc.
• Play tennis, soccer, TV games etc.
• Be happy, hungry etc.
  
  
• Then you can move on to part two. Use a soft object/ball and have the kids move their desks to the edge of class and stand in a circle. 
• Throw the ball to one kid and shout "Catch the ball" or "Don't catch", until the kids get it. 
• After that, start using the vocab from Simon Says...
• Student gestures (or does the opposite gesture) and then throws the ball to someone else.
• In some classes, this can be very slow. If so, elect a good kid (or you) to stand in the middle and be "it", telling other kids what to do and then getting the ball back each time.
  
  
• Keep doing that until they're bored.
  

If you need to fill more time, Laura made a quick sheet covering some "Don't..." signs. Students work out what they mean as a class and then design their own. They can then show them to each other and get them to guess what they are, and write out a "Don't..." sentence.

Health Insurance Guide #1: The Fundamentals 2/2

Welcome back to part 2 of AccessJ's Japanese health insurance super guide. In this section, we will continue discussing the fundamentals of the insurance system including how to pay, co-payments, and third party damages. 


Read on...



Premium/Tax Payment
There are several options available for paying your health insurance premiums (in the case of EHI) or tax (in the case of NHI). The options are as follows:

• Deducted directly from your monthly salary (EHI only)
• Pay at an institution (convenience store, post office, etc) in a series of 6-10 installments (NHI only)
• Pay via automatic bank transfer (NHI only)

EHI premiums are split between you and your employer wherein you pay in the form of a monthly fixed premium deducted from your paycheck before taxes. However, if you are on the NHI program, your payments are classified as a tax. This is an important distinction because you are obligated to pay the tax on your own without your employer to deduct it from your pre-tax earnings. If you opt to skip out the tax for whatever reason city/prefectural government you can go to court and ask for a draft or lien on your bank account.  


In the coming installments we will discuss the details of how premiums are calculated.


Costs
Although you pay regularly for your insurance, you are in most cases required to bare some additional costs when visiting the doctor. The magic number to remember for most people is 30%, since that represents the portion of the costs you must shoulder yourself for NHI and EHI. There are deductions and discounts available to the elderly, disabled, and for infants which we will cover later. 



While 30% may seem like a lot, medical treatment prices in Japan are heavily cost controlled and even at full price, most procedures are only a fraction of the price found in the USA. Amounts are subject to change annually as the doctors union haggles with the government over proper pricing. Doctors and hospitals in Japan charge based on a point system (保険点数 hoken tensu) assigned to each treatment, medication, and procedure. Clinics also add extra points for things like a first time visiting fee (which gets reduced if you continue to see the same doctor) and points for writing prescriptions. 


Third Party Damages and Coverage

There are limits to "third party damages" (i.e. stuff caused by the actions of others or circumstances out of your control) when applied to public and private health insurance. For instance, if you are in a traffic accident accident and need medical attention afterwards then you must submit a proof of accident form and/or any settlement papers regarding said accident to your insurance institution. Failure to do so will result in non-payment of your doctor's bill.


The All-Japan Health Insurance Association (全国健康保険協会 zenkoku kenko hoken kyokai) lists the following as grounds for "adjustments" to your benefits:

• Malicious criminal acts and incidents
• Injury resulting from fights, intoxication, and/or "significant misconduct"
• Conditions resulting from failure to follow your doctor's instructions or follow the diagnosis of your health care provider without proper cause
• Receiving or attempting to receive insurance payments via fraud or other improper means (i.e. "borrowing" a friends insurance card for a visit to the clinic)
• Failure to comply with document submission requests and/or inquiries made by the insurer
• When receiving benefits from local or national institutions as prescribed by the Infectious Disease Prevention Act and other related laws.
  

So, long story short, if alcochol tends to give you a bad case of angry fists or you don't take those pills your doctor gave you then be prepared to pay out of your own wallet for treatment. 




Well, that about covers the basics of health insurance in Japan. Tune in to our next installment where we'll cover the system in more detail.

Other posts in this series

• The Fundamentals [part 1] [part 2]
• National Health Insurance
• Employee Health Insurance
• Optional Insurance
• Do I need Insurance at all?

Japanese Language Online Radio Stations

Exposure to spoken Japanese is an important part of learning, of course. So, if you aren't actually in Japan, how about the radio? More portable than TV and film (that is, if you record it).

And so, here is a list of Japanese online radio stations:

The list comes from site tunein.com, which is, unsurprisingly, a radio streaming site.

For the freshest content, go straight to their site here.

You can filter by genre, so if you want talk radio, or just to listen to enka or J-pop, adjust search settings as appropriate.

Renting a Car in Japan

If you're not quite ready to take the leap to buying your own car in Japan, but you still want access to a vehicle for a few days to travel or move house, consider renting a car. In today's post, we'll mention some attractive reasons to rent in Japan and introduce a site that can set up rentals on your behalf, at a discount and all in English.

The 初心者 mark.

Japanese rental agencies are surprisingly open about who they'll allow to rent a car: I was told that individuals as young as 20 can be the signatory on a rental agreement, and even newly licensed drivers are allowed to handle the vehicle as long as green-and-yellow 初心者 (shoshinsha) markers are used.

Booking
Of course, all of Japan's major automakers maintain rental branches complete with websites and customer service numbers. But, outside of international airport branches, you may have difficulty communicating your request without Japanese.

I recommend trying ToCoo, an independent web-based service that will accept your reservation request in English and make arrangements with a local Japanese rental agency on your behalf. Their website is easy to navigate and includes up-to-date lists of rental agency locations all over Japan.

(By the way, we aren't affiliated with ToCoo--several of our writers, myself included, are just satisfied customers. Furthermore, in my own experience, ToCoo has always been able to provide me with a better price quote than when I called the same rental agency directly in Japanese.)

What are the downsides of ToCoo? You'll have to put in your request at least 48 hours in advance of your intended pickup date. (In contrast, it's sometimes possible to make same-day reservations when you contact an agency directly.) Also, ToCoo tends to be a stickler about each agency's opening and closing times. If the branch you rent from closes at 17:00, ToCoo will insist that you have the car back by 17:00. However, often when you walk into the branch to pick up your car (even after making a ToCoo reservation saying you'll have the car back by a certain time), it's usually possible to negotiate an evening return time: The branch employees will explain where to park the car and what to do with the key if you come back after hours.

Prices
Prices vary based on the class of car you want to rent, but entry level white-plate cars usually run around 6000 to 8000 per day at ToCoo's site. I've seen kei car prices as low as 3500 for the day during discount campaigns. You can expect rental cars from major agencies to come equipped with top-of-the-line GPS navigation systems, which really helps when you're traversing new territory. It's often also possible to pay a little extra for English GPS.


More

• You'll need to provide a credit card number for insurance purposes. No charge will be made to the card (so long as the car survives) and cards issued outside of Japan are OK. On pickup, you'll need to provide a copy of your driver's license or passport + international driver's permit. Then, simply pay cash for the days you intend to use the car and bring it back on time with a full tank of gas. If you come back late or with a tank you forgot to top up, inform the agency and pay the difference--it's all a very trusting, customer-oriented experience, and feels great compared to the red tape you'll sometimes encounter elsewhere in Japan.
• On the other side of this very trusting arrangement, I hear that rental agencies keep and share customer blacklists. An accident in a rental car for which you refuse to take responsibility, keeping a car longer than agreed without calling to inform the agency, or failure to pay the balance on a car returned late or without a full tank of gas could prevent you from being able to rent a car from any major agency in Japan again.
• By the way, rental car services are available even if you are not a resident of Japan. However, in that case you'll be asked to provide contact information for the hotel, etc. where you are staying. So, even if you're just traveling here, it's not hard to arrange a rental car to let you occasionally escape the train lines and explore Japan's wonderful countryside.

Health Insurance Guide #1: The Fundamentals 1/2

At first glance, the Japanese health insurance system my seem more than a little opaque; and employers are often unhelpful when it comes to signing up (English conversation schools and dispatch firms being the biggest culprits). 


But fear not, we at AccessJ have your back with our newest guide.




The Basics
In Japan, the term "health care" (健康保険 kenko hoken) refers to a plethora of public, semi-public, and private schemes. There are two main forms of insurance available to the public: National Health Insurance (国民健康保険 kokumin kenko hoken or NHI) and Employee Health Insurance (sometimes referred to as Social Insurance 社会保険 shakai hoken or government managed insurance 政府管掌保険 seifu kansho hoken--both of which are a bit out of date but still used). Employee Health Insurance (EHI) actually covers a whole group of public and semi-public systems (which we will cover in due time).


There is also an optional private component known as Medical Care Insurance (医療保険 iryohoken) which will reimburse the portion of medical expenses not covered by your insurance, in addition to survivor benefits. Cancer Insurance (がん保険 gan hoken) is private and, as the name implies, covers cancer treatment not covered by the aforementioned public and private systems.


Unlike the US, pre-existing conditions are not a factor for NHI and EHI but aren't typically covered by private supplementary insurance.



Who Needs Insurance?
According to the letter of the law, any individual with a valid status of residence (在留資格 zairyu shikaku) residing in Japan for a year or more must be enrolled in NHI or employee sponsored insurance insurance. Your overseas health insurance coverage is not considered sufficient reason to skip out on the Japanese system, although some universities and vocational schools don't require short term study abroad students to sign up provided they have health care back home. There are several firms that cater to short term visitors but they are usually limited to reimbursement payments.


Where to get Insurance
When it comes to NHI and EHI, there are two basic ways to sign up: go to the NHI Division (国民健康保険課 kokumin kenko hoken-ka) of your local city hall (市役所 shiyakusho) or ward office in big cities (区役所) or, in the case of EHI, your employer will do it for you.


If you sign up for NHI, bring your alien registration card (外国人登録証明書 gaikokujin toroku shomeisho) or a passport with a valid status of residence sticker. Also bring your official seal (印鑑 inkan) if you have one, although sometimes a simple signature will suffice. Usually EHI is all done behind the scenes once you are hired, although some companies may have additional paperwork. 





As we will discuss in future instalments NHI differs by prefecture, so some may issue a health insurance card on the spot while others may post it to your house. Some  prefectures only give one card per family while others give a passbook. EHI cards are mailed to you or your employer. 

An example of health insurance certificates

Well, that about covers the first half our AccessJ's introduction to the Japanese health insurance system. 

Other posts in this series

• The Fundamentals [part 1] [part 2]
• National Health Insurance
• Employee Health Insurance
• Optional Insurance
• Do I need Insurance at all?

Get Cheap ZMA Suppliments in Japan

If you're health-conscious or a fitness enthusiast, then you probably know what ZMA is. If not, here's a blurb from elsewhere:

ZMA is a scientifically designed anabolic vitamin and mineral formula. It specifically contains Zinc Monomethionine Aspartate, Magnesium Aspartate, and vitamin B-6. It is an all-natural product that has been theorized to significantly increase anabolic hormone levels and muscular strength in trained athletes. 

In fact, ZMA is thought to be one of the only natural and completely safe methods of supplementation to significantly increase testosterone and growth hormones. ZMA has also been known to increase muscle mass, strength, power, and even enhance sleep quality.

The following is an article about how to very cheaply (and completely safely) make your own ZMA in Japan.

For my purposes, ZMA promotes deep, restful sleep, and recharges and strengthens my muscles after difficult workouts. It genuinely makes a difference, especially noticeable with quality of sleep. Not only will your sleep be incredibly deep (without any drowsy side-effects), but it will also be littered with bizarre dreams throughout. Don't ask me why, but it's kind of cool (see lucid dreams).

Anyway, in Japan, as in most countries, ZMA is very expensive. You can still buy it, of course.

However, if you know the composition of ZMA tablets, which is very simple, you can buy the component parts much, much more cheaply.

ZMA is composed of Zinc, Magnesium and Vitamin B6 in the following approximate amounts:

• 30mg zinc


• 450mg magnesium


• 12mg B6

The cheapest way to buy these elements from Japan is actually to import them. I've found UK nutrition store Health Span UK to be the cheapest so far. Postage to Japan is only 4GBP/520円 per order (any size).

I recommend you order a year's supply:

• 360 15mg zinc tablets (7.95GBP) x2


• 90 375mg magnesium tablets (6.45GBP) x4


• 360 50mg B6 tablets (7.95GBP) x1

If you would prefer to have the exact dosages (not necessarily that important), then you can order from Nature's Best, who will charge an extra 25% of your order for postage:

• 360 15mg zinc tablets (8.50GBP) x2


• 150 150mg magnesium tablets (11.50GBP) x8


• 180 50mg B6 tablets (8.60GBP) x2

1GBP = about 130-140円

I'm sure there are American/Canadian/Rest of World sites that also offer cheap vitamins. If you track down any good deals, let us know in the comments.

AccessJ is not affiliated with any companies in this article.

Studio Ghibli Museum, Tokyo

The Ghibli Muesum in Mitaka (a short train ride from central Tokyo) is a fascinating visit for any fan of the studios animation.

Several floors of beautifully themed rooms provide a glimpse into the minds of the creators, and almost a step into a completely different world - a place where 'quaint' rules all.

There are hands on and play activities for children (and not easily embarrassed adults), including the wonderful 'cat bus' room, containing a large soft cat bus, complete with piles of little black dust bunnies.

Original short animations are also shown, a great day out for everyone!


Tickets
The most difficult part of the Ghibli experience is actually getting tickets.

For those of you in Japan you should go to your nearest Lawson store and use the loppi machine.
This is only in Japanese, however the Lawson website has a handy guide on how to purchase Ghibli tickets.

Contrary to popular belief, you can buy tickets from outside of Japan. The Ghibli official website has instructions on how to do this: find your home country and follow the links. Here is a link for those wanting to buy tickets from the UK.

When you purchase your ticket you must choose the date, and time slot (am or pm). After payment the date and time cannot be changed.


All tickets, from inside or outside of Japan, go on sale three months before the date, but tickets (especially for the weekend and national holidays) sell out very fast.

Cost is 1000yen for adults and 400 for children aged 4-12. A mere 100 for under 4s. All three of these prices are a stunning bargain.

It's well worth the money, even just for the fact that the ticket is an actual projector slide from one of the movies (awarded at random).

Access
The museum is closed every Tuesday (except July 26, August 16th 2011 and January 3rd and March 20th 2012).

The museum is also closed for new year and maintenance, the 2011-2012 schedule is as follows.
23 May - 3 June 2011
8 - 18 November 2011
New Year Holidays: 27 December 2011-2 January 2012

The museum is located in Mitaka, about 20 minutes from Shinjuku on the JR chuo line.
From Mitaka it is either a short walk to the museum or a 200 yen single 300 yen return trip on the Totoro bus.... you really can't miss it!

You can purchase bus tickets from the vending machine by the bus stop.



More
There's a book shop and gift shop, both worth a visit (but be prepared to part with cash), and the 'straw hat restaurant'. The resturant tends to get incredibly crowded anytime after 11.30am, so it's worth having an early lunch and seeing the rest of the museum after eating.

There is also a rooftop garden with the famous robot from Laputa towering above.

Photography is not allowed in the museum, but as the museum website nicely puts it:

The Ghibli Museum is a portal to a storybook world. As the main character in a story, we ask that you experience the Museum space with your own eyes and senses, instead of through a camera's viewfinder. We ask that you make what you experienced in the Museum the special memory that you take home with you.

Ain't that nice?

WS: Eigo Noto: Spelling

You may find that many Japanese children (and adults) have trouble with spelling. I have friends who still are not quite sure of the correct way to spell their names.

In the 3rd grade elementary, students are taught to convert Japanese to English script. However for some bizarre reason they are not taught the same system as they will be taught a few years later in Junior High School; such as つ being taught as tu and not tsu, ち ci and not chi and し si and not shi.

Todays plan aims to introduce this to students through some fun games, aiming to have them remember these formations in romaji.


Greeting Good morning, how are you, small conversation about summer vacation etc.

Warm up We used the CD accompanying Eigo Noto1 to sing the 20 steps song (the 10 steps version is also on this CD).
The 20 and 10 steps songs are popular songs within Japanese elementary schools teaching number 1-20.
We sing it once with all the numbers, and then again with one number replaced with a clap, again with second number replaced with a jump, and then a spin, etc etc replacing numbers with moves until your students are collapsed on the floor in a heap...

Introduction
After handing out a worksheet with a katakana to romaji chart on I wrote "Suzuki Ichiro and Oshima Yuko" on the board and asked students to read it.
We talked about using capital letters at the start and the "chi" in Ichiro and "shi" in the names.

Writing Although the powers-that-be have said that we are not supposed to teach or encourage the children to write in elementary school.... but I could't resist this perfect opportunity to have the students write their name. I checked it for mistakes and then we moved quickly on.

Activity The students made groups of 4 - 6 students.
We used the karuta cards from the back of Eigo Noto2 which all students should have.
Each group took 3 sets and spread them out on the floor or desk.

I then read some 'English words' i.e. Japanese words used in English (sushi, origami etc), although it took students a while to realise this. Students then tried to make the words using the karuta cards.
The first team to raise their hands get 5 points, then 4, then 3, then 0 (you can give more points but I am mean!).

Below is a list of words I used
Sushi
Sashimi
Karaoke
Doraemon
Anime
Judo
Manga
Karate
Kendo
Futon

Extras As a little extra I asked students to spell my name, Laura. Laura is especially difficult to spell as in Katakana it is written ローラ and translated using their romaji chart this becomes ro ra. And they also don't know how to translate the Katakana prolonged sound mark (ー).
If students do manage to spell it, usually after me writing L _ _ _ _ on the board, I give them plus 10.

This, however, is a great starting place to talk about how easy it is to write Japanese words in English, but how difficult to write English in Japanese and then to translate them back.

Well, that's about it for this week. If you have anything to add, please comment below.

Credit Card Guide #4: Do you really need a card?

Welcome to AccessJ's final installment of our Japanese credit card super series. Now that we have covered the in's and out's of getting a credit card and the application process, lets consider if this whole rigmarole is really worth it.


Read on...

Before getting involved with any sort of financial product, it is always a good idea to step back and think about potential pitfalls and benefits. Like in any other country, Japanese credit card applications are full of fine print and financial minutia. Plus, no one likes going into debt. Let's take a look at some potential pros and cons of getting your own line of credit.


Pros
Online Shopping- While Japanese consumers have been a bit slower to catch on to the Internet shopping wave as compared to other countries, it is still a big deal and only getting bigger. There are many ways to pay for your online goods in Japan (many companies, such as Amazon, offer pay-on-delivery or via a convenience store), but having a credit card will certainly reduce the hassle of paying, give more flexibility in what you can buy, and generally make life easier for the frequent online shopper.



Not Needing Wads of Cash- When I am back home in the USA, I rarely find more than $20 in my wallet at any given time. However, in Japan carrying around 20 times that is a pretty common occurrence. Nevertheless, since credit card terminals are becoming more and more wide spread, having your own card will reduce the potential impact of theft, losing bills, and the dreaded Alcohol-Induced Wallet Displacement Syndrome (AIWDS). Unlike large wads of bills, credit cards can at least be canceled and replaced.


Not Worrying About Currency Rates- As we have discussed previously, you can use your home country credit card just about anywhere domestic cards are accepted. While this will save you the hassle of applying for a Japanese card, it creates all sorts of headaches when trying to figure out currency conversions as well as the potential for incurring large transaction fees.


Travel Abroad- Somewhere down the line, some Japanese bank big-wig thought it would be a great idea to put the bank (ATM) card magnetic stripe on the front of the card, rather than the back. While this may be all quirky and cool, people say it pretty much renders your Japanese bank card useless when overseas. However, Japanese credit cards do have magnetic strips on the back, making them usable at overseas ATMs and shops. If you are a frequent overseas traveler then a Japanese credit card may be a good investment.


Payment Flexibility and Points- When moving into a new place or buying something expensive, it is good to have the option to divide up your payments so you don't totally destroy your bank balance all at once. Plus, like most cards, Japanese companies offer points and rewards in exchange for maintaining your custom at specific stores.


ETC- As we discussed in the previous sections, Japanese credit cards almost always come with a matching Electronic Toll Collection (ETC) card that can be used in any compatible automobile. Not only does this save the hassle of paying at toll gates, but you also get fairly substantial discounts (see our previous article about highway travel) when driving plus the ability to earn points toward free travel. While you can get your own card separate from your credit account if you so desire, the process is a bit complicated and involves putting down a rather hefty deposit.




Cons
Fees- Card issuers aren't in the business of making your life easier for free. Many cards have annual fees ranging from anywhere from 1000 yen to over 10,000 yen. Others might have certain conditions such as signing up for a bank account or charging a certain amount per year. Other card issuers will waive fees only if you utilize revolving credit or divide your total credit line into interest bearing payments. While there are plenty of no-annual-fee cards out there, make sure you do your research or find a Japanese speaker to do it for you.


Money Management- One of the biggest problems with credit cards is the simple fact that when you buy something it doesn't feel like you are spending anything. In absence of forking over cold, hard cash, it is easy to ring up a huge bill. This is by no means unique to Japanese credit cards, but when you just starting to get established in a new country or you are not sure of the cost of living then it is easy to rack up debt fast. Moreover, Japanese credit cards are often payed off in full at the end of the month so you may find your bank account suddenly drained.


Linguistic Barriers- Understanding the terms and conditions of a financial contract is no easy feat, even for native speakers. When getting a credit card, you are agreeing to a whole set of potentially onerous terms as well as putting your credit on the line. Missing payments and the like will ding you credit record, which is especially important for those who one day wish to buy fancy cars and real estate. Moreover, any problems that pop up (fraud, ID theft, etc) will have have to be dealt with in Japanese (with rare exceptions for international banks).




While most of the above info is basic financial common sense, it is worthwhile considering, especially when living in a foreign land. That being said, it is much easier to get by in Japan without a credit card compared to most other countries, and not having to deal with the potential pitfalls of credit finance can be liberating for many. 


Well that concludes our AccessJ super feature on Japanese credit cards! Check back soon for more J-living info and please do post any comments, questions, and/or suggestions.



Other Posts in this Series
Part 1: The Basics
Part 2: Application Pointers
Part 3: Filling Out the Application
Part 4: Do You Really Need a Card?

August Blog Roundup

月末です。

I went on holiday last month (yes, I had a great time, thanks for asking!) and missed the roundup, so here's the best of July and August.

We were blown away by the popularity of our Japanese Pen Spinning post this month, which scored 26,000 hits in 48 hours, while our lovely video about Taking a Poop in Japan failed to get anything near 10% of that :(

Dan finished his in-depth guide to Japanese Cellphones and quickly got stuck into an excellent series on Getting a Credit Card.

Laura continued her elementary lesson plans in our Worksheet Sunday series, and still had time to write about Buying Japanese Edibles in England, and the Japanese Straight Perm available at your local hair-dressers.

I posted a handy video explaining how the Japanese Postal Address System works, and several articles about studying Japanese: The Worst Mistake You Can Make Learning Japanese (or any language), JLPT Past Test Papers, and two articles about kanji - why Kanji is So Useful for Learning Japanese, and the Best Way to Learn Kanji.

I also made it known that I am running a series of long-distance runs for charity this year. Every month I will run one half- or full-marathon for Save the Children Japan. Any donation will help the needy. I did a run last week at the base of Mt. Fuji which was incredibly difficult thanks to the altitude and terrain. Make it worth my while!

The mysterious LP has also been posting, letting us know how a Japanese Girlfriend will Affect Your Japanese, as well as polishing a great article on getting an ETC card without a credit card.

ETC Personal Card: ETC Without a Credit Card

Japanese highways have tolls. You either pay in cash, or use a fancy ETC reader installed in your car, paired with an ETC card, which electronically tracks your highway usage and charges your credit card as appropriate.

However, getting hold of one was not as easy as it sounded... until today!!!!!!!!!!

Read on for a full description and a guide to filling out the application.

The benefits of ETC are obvious: saving money through ETC's multifaceted discount system. The snag for most foreigners in Japan is that almost all ETC cards are tied to domestic credit cards. And getting a credit card tends to be difficult for many foreigners. (Though it's not impossible! Check out our guide.)

Anyway, the exception to the rule among ETC cards is...

The ETC Personal Card. It's independent of a credit card, any resident of Japan can apply, and the approval process is lenient. If you have an alien registration card, you'll almost certainly be approved. The tradeoff is that the card requires a financial deposit.

Interested? Read on for our guide on how to apply!

• Getting an Application

Applications are available from the personnel on duty at ETC-equipped highway tollbooths or from the Information or Concierge desks at Service Areas along the national highways. It's ironic, since this means you need to ride on the toll road in order to get a card for it. Furthermore, Concierge desks at Service Areas are often only open during certain business hours, such as 8:00-16:00, though usually 7 days a week. (Info about Service Area hours can be found here, but you may have to follow links to the SA's own homepage to find the Concierge's hours.)

You'll need to ask for it. This will do the trick:

"ETC paasonaru kaado no panfuretto wa arimasen ka?"

The alternative, which lets you stay at home, is to call up the ETC Personal Card Issuing Office (ETCパーソナルカード事務局) and ask for an application to be sent to you. You'll need enough Japanese to ask for the application and provide your name and address. The office is open 9:00-17:00 on weekdays only. The number is 044-870-7333.

• Filling out the Application

The application is in Japanese, but filling it out will be easy thanks to AccessJ!

First, you'll need to make a photocopy of your alien registration card to cut out and paste in a space provided on the application. Don't bother sending them your driver's license instead, because the ETC Personal Card Office won't accept it as proof of identification for a foreigner. They'll just call you a week later when they process the application and ask you to fax a copy of your alien registration card separately anyway, making the application process take even longer.

By the way, you can use a fancy 7-11 convenience store printer to easily make a clean copy of the front and back of your ID on one page. Unenlarged copies are fine, as is folding your copy to fit into the space provided on the application--it probably won't fit otherwise, since you need to copy both the front and the back. Paste it in a way that it can be unfolded while still attached to the application.

Phew. Copy done, right? Now just fill out the rest of the form. If you can't get a Japanese person to help you do it, then here is a high-quality, annotated scan made by us. Beware: this may feel like the most ridiculous form in the history of paper. (Unless you've ever filed US taxes.)

Things that need further explanation:

• When you are asked for your name in kanji, you may write it in English alphabet letters. Just follow however your name is written on your alien registration card. Always make sure the form matches your ID. Above your name, just use furigana you normally use in Japan, even though it probably isn't recorded anywhere on your ARC.


• Date of birth. This section asks for your DOB in Japanese years. You must also circle the era in which you were born. The Japanese date system is based on the length of a given Emperor's reign, so it doesn't follow the usual Gregorian calendar system. The main modern eras are Showa (昭和) and Heisei (平成). (If you're reading this application guide, you probably weren't born in Taisho (大正). More like somewhere between Showa 50 and like, uh, Heisei 2.) Anyway, check the converter here for exact date conversions. For example, if you were born in 1984 you'd circle 昭和 and write 59.


• Types of job categories are 1. self-employed, 2. company employee, 3. civil servant, 4. student, 5. housewife, 6. part-time, 7. unemployed, 8. other


• The deposit (Part 2)


• As you can see from the annotations, once you've estimated your average costs you must choose a yellow box with an amount in. These amounts are the required deposit you must pay.  If you only want to pay the minimum deposit (40,000 yen), then just adjust your average cost calculations to fall into the lowest categories. The deposit will not be used to pay tolls when you get the card. Rather, it acts as a guarantee on the charges you rack up on the highway. So, your deposit, for most users 40,000 yen, will be held by the ETC Personal Card Center until you choose to relinquish your ETC card to them. Your actual highway charges will be billed once a month to the bank account you fill our later in the application. However, your deposit amount is relevant, because if the total of your tolls over any 2 month period exceeds 80% of your deposit, your ETC card will be locked, unusable, and the ETC Personal Card center will contact you asking you to increase your deposit amount.


• Bank types from Part 3:


• 銀行 ginkou- bank


• 信用金庫 shinyou kinko- this one is tricky. Often times its written as “credit union” or “co-operative bank” in English, or simply “local bank” or “shinyo bank.” Basically it’s a local financial intuition that is dedicated to serving local clients and small to medium sized business


• 信用組合- shinyou kumai- this is quite literally a “credit union,” usually associated with a labor or business group. I have seen it written as “credit association” to distinguish it from the above


• 農協 noukyou- agriculture coop bank, like JA


• 漁協 gyokyou- fishermen coop bank


• 労金 roukin- labor bank or labor union bank


• Branch types from Part 3:


• 本店 main branch/hq


• 支店 branch office


• 出張所 extension/mini-branch


• Other options from Part 3 ask who's bank account the details belong to:


• 本人 self 


• 配偶者 spouse 


• 親・子 parent/child
  

The application pack also comes with an explanatory copy of the form. If you want to battle through it in Japanese, here it is:

And here is the application without annotations, if you want that.

• Paying the Deposit

After you send in the application, you should get a call from the ETC Personal Card center. If they have any inquiries about your application, such as "Please send us your alien registration card, not your driver's license." or "Your name is too long and you have too many middle names, which is causing general panic at our offices. How do you want your name truncated to fit on the card?", they'll ask those now.

Then they'll explain that they are sending out a bill for the deposit. This bill is similar to ones you may have received when paying for utilities the first time. You can take it to a bank, post office, or any convenience store and pay there. The funds will reach the ETC Personal Card office on the next business day, after which they'll continue processing your application.

• How Long Will This Take?

Time wise, be aware that the receipt of your ETC Personal Card will be about two to three weeks after you first send in the application. In our experiences, the bill for the deposit arrived almost exactly a week after application, and the card itself arrived another week after the deposit was made.


By the way, here are some maintenance issues you might wonder about after getting the card:

• Changing Address: The ETC Personal Card office sends out its mail in an obnoxious 転送不可 (tensou fuka) fashion, which means if you change addresses in Japan any mail pertaining to the ETC Personal Card will not be forwarded to you, even if you requested at the post office to have all your mail redirected to your new address. So, if you change residences after getting the ETC Personal Card, you need to call them ( 044-870-7333 ) and ask for them to update your file. ("Jyuusho henkou no tetsuzuki wo shitai desu ga.")


• Relinquishing the Card and Reclaiming Your Deposit: After you get your flashy ETC Personal Card in the mail and use it for a few years in your fancy ETC card reader, you may someday decide that you want to get rid of it and lay claim to that hefty deposit you paid on application. The process for this is simple but lengthy: Again, call the ETC Personal Card Center ( 044-870-7333 ) and tell them you're done using the card. They will guide you through the process and the deposit will be furikomied into your bank account about one month after you make the request. Be sure to time this correctly. It'd suck to have that money appear in your account after you've left Japan or bounce because you've already closed your bank account.

For frequent drivers, the benefits outweigh the snags. ETC cards qualify you for big discounts when driving on expressways around Japan. So, good luck with the application process, and let us know how it goes.

Japan and Marijuana

Among the weird characters, objects, and symbols that Japanese adopt as cultural icons (including, but not limited to, Stitch from Lilo & Stitch, human feces, faux-Russian rabbit-centric series Usavich, the V sign, popularizing NG as a handy opposite to OK in everyday life, the abomination that is Sento-kun, and Sento-kun's girlfriend) is one that still catches me off guard every time I see it:

The seven-pointed cannabis leaf.


Any upright, punk-themed fashion store is bound to have a bunch of bracelets and baseball caps bearing the leaf, and a day on the town is enough to find several 20-something Japanese guys thuggin' around with a cannabis-themed Zippo lighter and at least a dozen schoolkids (boys and girls alike) sporting leaved backpacks, sneakers, flair, and pencil cases.

You can surprise any number of kids by telling them what plant that leaf comes from, but it's not like Japan as a nation has never been in touch with psychotropics: Less than a decade ago magic mushrooms were still being openly sold in nightclubs here.

And other drugs have had a place in traditional Japan. A small town in northern Shikoku today maintains an ancient tradition of piling hemp on a mountaintop and burning it bonfire-style in an annual festival.

These traditions persist in a doublethink paradox alongside Japan's zero-tolerance controlled substances policy which criminalize all varieties of drugs, including cannabis. Even modest drug busts tend to make national NHK news, each time shocking the Japanese public, and criminal suspects face penalties far beyond those of Japan's Western allies. For example:

Any person who commits an offense [of growing marijuana] for the purpose of gain shall be liable to penal servitude not exceeding 7 years or to both penal servitude not exceeding 7 years and a fine not exceeding 2,000,000 yen according to the circumstances.

Any person who unlawfully possesses, receives, or transfers cannabis shall be liable to penal servitude not exceeding 5 years. (source)

Photo courtesy of engrish.com

JapanHemp offers some interesting reads on the subject, including accounts of several people who were detained at Narita airport and imprisoned for possession. Stories tell of the absolute servitude demanded in Japanese prisons, followed by deportations and 20-year bans on readmission to the country. Even Sir Paul McCartney spent a brief stint in a Japanese jail when he brought marijuana into the country for a Wings concert tour.

Those harsh penalties appear to keep usage low among nationals. In one survey, only 1.5% of Japanese people admitted to trying marijuana, compared with 42% of US residents. And this low demand keeps street prices for all illegal substances sky high.

In sum, the cannabis leaf gets plenty of exposure as an object of fashion and youth in Japan, but that doesn't mean that the general public understands what it is or wants to smoke it with you. If you're the kind of person who needs the green to get by, you may find it best to stay home.