Import Duties on Taxable Goods

Thinking of buying something from abroad? There's a good chance you won't be charged any import duties if it's a small item, but if the value is declared and the object isn't a gift, be prepared to shell out some cash for the privilege.



Here's the smallprint of the customs duty arrangement, but the key point is this:

In 2007, the average applied rate for all goods is 1.8 percent. Specifically, 10.1 percent for agricultural products, 4.6 percent for fish and fish products, and 1.7 percent for wood, pulp, paper and furniture.

Also, some things (such as watersports equipment properly labelled as such) don't have to pay fees. A full list of what does and doesn't require payment is available here (current as of 2011). When I say full, I mean it. Everything from ash to spacecraft.

But anyway, if you've bought something small from eBay you won't have much to worry about. Even if you get charged it will be a pretty small amount. I recently spent 150,000 on diving products from America, and was charged 3,200yen on arrival. Not a bad percentage, despite the fact that it should have been free according to the website.

WS: "Yes, she does" 1st G JHS

So, you're teaching "Does (person) (verb)?" ? Well, here's a game, then.



Very simple concept. It's an information gap.

1. There are three versions of the sheet, distributed evenly amongst your students (one each).
2. Students make pairs, janken, and the winner asks "Does Sally like maths?", using the grid to formulate the question.
3. The other student responds with "Yes, she does," the negative, or "I don't know".
4. Student A fills in the sheet and the pairs separate.
5. Continue until it gets boring or they finish. Then make them write three questions and answers.

It works well. Kids seem to enjoy it.

Bank on using about 20-25 minutes depending on how fun or well behaved your kids are.

Here's the worksheet to download.

Going to the Dentist in Japan

Today: the dentist (歯科 shika).

Despite the fact that the Japanese seems to suffer from a rather high case yaeba (double or indented teeth), cosmetic dentistry is still much less common when compared to Western countries.

However, there are plenty of dental clinics all over the country. In today's guide we will cover all the important differences and points of interest regarding the Japanese dental establishment.


Finding a Dentist and Making an Appointment
In Japan, dentistry is considered part of the basic medical establishment (see our previous article on medical specialties for details) and all the basic rules of Japanese health insurance apply to a dentist office (i.e. paying 30 percent of expenses up front, out-of-pocket expense limits, etc.). However, there is one important difference, which is that dentists almost always require appointments. 

The waiting list for dentists varies greatly depending on the size of the clinic, staffing, time, and general popularity of the dentist. Like regular doctors, dentists generally keep a split schedule with morning and afternoon hours. In this author's experience, wait times for non-emergency peak hours are generally 1 to 3 weeks depending on the dentist.

Dentists are plentiful and, like doctors, are often family establishments passed down through from parent to child. You can use websites like shikaiin.com or haishasan.net to find all the various clinics in your local area as well as their specialties and office hours.

Dental Visits and Follow-Ups
Dental clinics (歯科医院 shika iin or 歯科クリニック shika kurinikku) are generally private practice establishments, however almost every doctor employees a few dental hygienists (歯科衛生士 shika eiseishi) to help with his or her duties. Chances are, unless you are getting a tooth drilled or braces put on, you will mainly be seeing the hygienist. 

One common complaint about Japanese dentists is that they rarely do everything in one sitting. Many dentists offices are quite small and, like doctors, the insurance system encourages seeing as many patients per day as possible. It's quite possible that you will get x-rays one day, come back for brushing and gum checks the next and then get your teeth cleaned over a series of appointments. 

Some people have complained that dentists schedule unnecessary follow ups simply to milk you for insurance money and, while that may be the case, my experience has largely been positive.

Check-ups and Cosmetic Dentistry
After your initial check up, dentist offices will generally send you out yearly post cards to remind you to come in for your annual appointment.



Keep in mind that insurance only covers necessary treatments like cleanings, check ups, treating broken teeth, cavities and so on. Elective treatment (選択医療 sentakuiryo) must be paid totally by the patient and for the most part these procedures are not cost controlled. 

In the case of dentistry, elective treatment includes aesthetic dentistry (審美歯科 shinbi shika) and corrective dentistry (矯正歯科 kyosei shika). This covers tooth whitening, specialized tooth cleaning, braces, customized implants, and high quality fillings. If you get a cavity filled, insurance will only cover the most basic type of filling and cap. Implants are generally considered an extra as well. Unlike other countries, braces are never considered to be a medical necessity, even in the case of extreme tooth deformation.

As it's where the money lies, dentists aren't shy about pushing for braces and extra cleaning. Generally speaking, braces are still considered a luxury in Japan and they are generally significantly more expensive when compared to the US.

A few last things to keep in mind are that if you are looking for more invasive dentistry (surgery, gum work, etc.), make sure you find a clinic that specializes in oral surgery (口腔外科 koku geka). Like a doctor's office, its a good idea to bring a Japanese speaker along to fill out forms and explain your symptoms in detail. Luckily, many younger dentists have a fair comprehension of written English and basic medical terminology so its not impossible to communicate.


And that's a wrap. If you have any personal experiences or advice you want to share, please feel free to add comments. Also, check back to our health insurance, medical specialties and doctors office articles if you have other any burning medical questions.

Brewing Your Own Beer in Japan

Japanese beer is very expensive in bars. Sure, you can buy cans for 200yen, but if you want to save some money (or are infuriated over the difference from the prices of your home country) then why not brew it yourself?

Got the space? And the patience? Check out below.



Brewing beer in Japan is legal if the alcohol content is 1% or below, but the government has as-good-as admitted they don't really care and couldn't police it if they did - indeed, even huge chain department store Tokyo Hands sells brewing equipment*. And the good news is, if you brew over 60,000litres a year you can apply for a brewer's licence!

Beer in Japan is a great website which we have linked to before. In researching this article I came across their guide to home brewing, which is far better than anything I could have written.

So, for more information on where to buy supplies, go straight to BeerinJapan.com's guide.

One of the major distributors of homebrew equipment in Japan is Black Rock, and they have a guide on exactly how to work your beer making machine here. Black Rock recommend leaving your beer for as long as possible, but checking the taste for satisfaction at 3 weeks, 3 months and 6 months (the latter presumably being a good guideline for how long it should take).

Most online shops are listed on BeerinJapan, but here's a couple I found anyway: A shop on Rakuten, and this site.


*This doesn't mean we back your brewing enterprise.

Know Your Japanese Prescription Drugs

For those of you who like to know the side-effects, ingredients and other details of your medications, there is an English-language site designed just for you.

Here's the link.

The page has alphabetical lists as well as a search function. There's also a Japanese version if your medication doesn't have a romanji name.

You can search by disease symptom, too, if you're into self-diagnosis.

Going to the Doctor in Japan

As you frequent AccessJ readers may have noticed, we have just covered the various medical specialities in Japan as well as the Japanese health insurance system. Following up on our medical theme, today we will look at the important points of getting fixed up at the local clinic.

Going to the Doctor's Office
While some specialists such as psychiatrists require advanced reservations, for the most part appointments are not needed - all you need do is walk in, present your insurance card and wait for the doctor to see you. For most small clinics, the wait is generally less than an hour but for big hospitals it can be longer. Also, some hospitals require reservations for certain specialists or services depending on the time and day of the week. For a detailed list of medical specialities avaliable in Japan, check out our post here.

Finding a clinic is relatively easy. Chances are there is at least one in your neighborhood. If not, Yahoo Japan, My Clinic, and Doctor.ne.jp all offer nation-wide doctor searches to help locate your nearest health care provider. You can also search by speciality and geographic location.

These sites also show times when the clinic is open. Most doctors divide their day into morning and afternoon blocks. Generally speaking, morning hours end around 11:00 or 12:00 followed by a two hour break wherein evening hours begin (generally until 5:00 or 6:00). Since most doctors still make house calls in Japan, its not unusual for a doctor to be late returning for his evening appointments. Some clinics may offer priority to returning patients or those with reservations. Referrals are generally not necessary except of certain appointment hours at large hospitals (usually late afternoon).

If you are not a Japanese speaker or reader, it is probably a good idea to bring a friend along so you can explain what ails you as well as fill out forms regarding allergies, medication history, etc. 

Dealing With Doctors
In Japan, like many other countries, a doctor is a position of particularly high esteem. Doctors are always addressed as sensei (先生) much like teachers and lawyers to reference their prestigious position. Despite being a lucrative business, many doctors practice well into their 60s and even 70s so except the average age of your practitioner to be on the older side.

Here are some points to keep in mind:

• For older doctors, asking directly for a second opinion is akin to calling him or her a liar. The good news is that this is changing as younger doctors take the reigns and medicals schools make their curriculum more patient-sensitive. More and more big hospitals are posting signs telling their patients not to fear asking for a second opinion.
• Due to the "doctor knows best" school of thought, doctors usually don't ask your opion regarding treatment, instead preferring to go right ahead with whatever treatment they deem necessary. Again, this tends to be more true for older doctors.
• Finally, doctors in Japan sometimes often come off as curt and down right dismissive. Keep in mind, doctors get paid per patient. Therefore, there isn't a lot of chit-chat involved and usually the doctor isn't interested in hearing anything but your immediate symptoms. 

As to the question of quality, Japan is internationally of high-regard medically, and this author's experience has been a largely positive one. If one particular clinic doesn't do it for you, then just take your business to another, more reputable doctor. 


What to Bring
If you are just going for a routine check-up, then all you need is an insurance card/booklet. If you don't have one yet (i.e. you are waiting for it to come in the mail), you can often submit a claim for reimbursement so long as you are current on your premiums and your insurance has officially kicked in. If you find yourself going to the doctor multiple times, most medical providers will check your insurance card once a month to make sure your insurance is current.

If you check into the hospital overnight or longer, most facilities ask that you bring your own towels, slippers, tooth brush, tissues, and other sundries. This may sound strange to many but hospitals love to bill you for anything that you don't bring yourself so if you find yourself hospitalized, it doesn't hurt to ask a friend to bring some goods to you. Also, if you want a nicer room, private quarters, and other goodies, then be prepared to pay a lot more out of pocket.


More

• According to the OECD's 2003 health data, the average Japanese person visits a doctor 14.4 times a year, far out pacing the second place USA (8.9 visits per person). Not surprisingly, even a small city will likely have many doctors offices and specialists just waiting to take your insurance money.
• Unlike many other countries, doctors are almost always in private practice, although in bigger cities some doctors have multiple branches or cooperative clinics. For basic treatment, there are two main types of doctor's offices: "clinics" (クリニック kurinikku) and i-in (医院). The two are essentially the same except i-in are almost always private practices, while clinics can have multiple branches. 
• Furthermore, some cities like Tokyo have special "foreigner clinics" geared toward short term business travelers and temporary residents. These clinics don't accept Japanese health insurance and are usually more expensive although they provide English speaking staff.
• One thing that gets particularly confusing is the the exact definition of "hospital" (病院 byoin). In Japan, it is not unusual for a single doctor or a group of doctors to run small, private hospitals with a few beds and over night staff. These small hospitals also double as clinics. However, not all hospitals accept ambulances. Emergency intake is generally limited to big private hospitals, city run hospitals (市立病院 shiritsu byoin), prefectural hospitals (県立病院 kenritsu byoin), national hospitals (国立病院 kokuritsu byoin), and university hospitals (大学病院 daigaku byoin). 
• Almost all large hospitals have an extensive array of out-patient (外来 gairai) doctors that specialize in a variety of non-emergency medicine much like a regular clinic. Most hospitals and many clinics are part of a area-wide doctor practice group (denoted by 会 -kai).
• Clinics and hopitals will often give you a card with a patient number in case you come back. Hang on to this as it will make finding your medical records that much easier.

Well, loyal readers, that about covers our doctor visit guide. For our next post we will look at dentistry in Japan. With any luck you won't need to use any of this info on a regular basis, but in the event that you get ill just remember that AccessJ has your back!

Dialects in Japan (map)

Japanese learners beware: Japan has some vastly different dialects. This post features a map of where the most prominent variations apply. Yay!



This image came from an interesting thread on Reddit Japan. They didn't mention where they found it, so all credit to them for posting. Check out the thread for a discussion of some of the specific language differences.

Click to enlarge.

Suicide Helplines in Japan

If living in Japan, or other things, are causing abnormal amounts of unhappy feelings, here are some numbers of people who can help.

These three sets of details are taken from suicide.org - a website with databases for many international countries' helplines and counselling services.

Befrienders International, Tokyo
Contact by: Face to Face - Phone - Letter:
Hotline: +81 (0) 3 5286 9090
Website: www1.odn.ne.jp/~ceq16010
Hours:
Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun: 20:00 - 06:00

BI Suicide Prevention Centre, Osaka
Contact by: Face to Face - Phone - Letter:
Hotline: +81 (0) 6 4395 4343
Website: spc-osaka.org
Hours:
Mon, Tues, Wed, Thurs, Fri, Sat, Sun: 00:00 - 23:00

Tokyo English Lifeline
5-4 22 rm 302, Minami Aoyama
Minao Ku
107-0062
TOKYO
Contact by: Face to Face - Phone
Hotline: Counselling: 03 5774 0992
Hotline: Face to Face: 03 3498 0231
Website: telljp.com

WS: "The computer is on the desk" Game 1st G JHS

This is a fun game using prepositions. It exists in various forms for various grammar points from various sources online. Here is how we at AccessJ play it, which is by far the smoothest way we've found.




In groups, students need to work together to find and record the hints around the classroom.

Here's the sheet.

• First, cut out all the clues and stick them around the classroom. Make it a bit of a challenge to find them.
• Put students in their lunchtime groups. 4 students is ideal, but 3-6 is also fine, so if they have lunchtime groups just stick with those.
• Give them the three pages on the handout which do not contain the clues (so the room, blank hint sheet and items).
• One student is nominated to be the detective, one to be the scribe, one to cut out the item and one to stick it on the sheet. This changes each turn (rotate roles around the group).
• Detective stands up and goes to find a clue. He/she must remember the number of the clue and it's contents, then go back to the group and tell them his discovery.
• Everyone does their job, then the roles change. 
• Repeat.
• At the end, you can ask "where is ____", or blow up a sheet with the correct locations etc for them to compare.

Sorry for the dull explanation - it's a fun game, try it!

Fills about 30 minutes.

Medical Specialties in Japan

Since we have recently been covering the topic of health insurance, it seems logical to follow up with information about the various types of services you can get for your hard earned insurance money. Today, we will look at the medical specialities in Japan.


Unlike the UK and US, Japan lacks anything like a general practitioner (GP) or family doctor. People simply go to whatever specialist suits them. The most basic type of doctor is internal medicine (内科 naika) which is the closest thing to a GP. Almost every doctor has at least this one qualification and many doctors in private practice have several specialities, although they usually advertise one in particular. The various specialties are listed (for the first time in English) below:

内科 naika Internal Medicine
小児科 shonika Pediatrics
神経内科 shinkeinaika Neurological Internal Medicine
リウマチ科 riumachika Rheumatology
消化器科 shoukika Gastroenterology
臨床検査科 rinshokensaka Laboratory Medicine/Clinical Pathology
耳鼻咽喉科 jibiinkoka Otorhinolaryngology/Ears-Nose-Throat
性病科 seibyoka Sexual Transmitted Disease Specialist
歯科 shika Dentistry
東洋医学科 toyoigakuka Eastern Medicine
乳腺外科 nyusengeka Mammary Surgery
胃腸科 ichoka Gastro-intestinal Medicine
腎臓内科 jinzonaika Nephrology
心療内科 shinryonaika Psychosomatic Medicine
小児外科 shonigeka Pediatric Surgery
放射線科 hoshasenka Radiology
気管食道科 kikanshokudoka Broncho-Esophology
肛門科 komonka Proctology
矯正歯科 kyoseishika Corrective Dentistry
予防医学科 yoboigakuka Preventative Medicine
不妊治療 funinchiryo Infertility Treatment
血液内科 ketsueki naika Haematology
外科 geka Surgery
呼吸器外科 kokyuki geka Chest and Respiratory Surgery
形成外科 keisei geka Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
麻酔科 masuika Anaesthesiology
アレルギー科 arerugika Allergist
産科 sanka Obstetrics
小児歯科 shoni shika Pediatric Dentistry
審美歯科 shinbi shika Aesthetic Dentistry
呼吸器科 kokyukika Pulmonology
神経科 shinkeika Neurology
整形外科 seikei geka Orthopedic Surgery
心臓血管外科 shinzo kekkan geka Cardiovascular Surgery
美容外科 biyo geka Cosmetic Surgery
内分泌科 naibunbika Endocrinology
皮膚科 hifuka Dematology
婦人科 fujinka Gynecology
歯科口腔外科 shikakoku geka Oral Surgery
インプラント inpuranto Medical Implants
循環器科 junkankika Cardiology
リハビリ科 rihabirika Rehabilitation
胸部外科 kyobu geka Thoracic Surgery
病理科 byorika Pathology
内視鏡科 naishikyoka Endoscopy
泌尿器科 hinyokika Urology
眼科 ganka Ophthmology
スポーツ科 supootsuka Sports Medicine
予防歯科 yobo shika Preventative Dentistry

Note: Obstetrician and Gynecology (婦人産科 fujin sanka) are often practiced by the same doctor much like a Western OBGYN, although in bigger clinics they may be divided into separate sections.

Typically, a doctor's main field of specialization will be in the name of the clinic (i.e. Taka Internal Medicine Clinic) or the specialities of a given practice will be listed after the clinic name. In the case of large hospitals, various out patient specialities will be divided by section, floor, and sometimes even by building.


That about does it. But what good is a list without an explanation of how to handle going to the Japanese doctor? No worries, next week: "Going to the Doctor's Office in Japan"!

Live International TV in Japan

Missing your favorite rugby matches, Wimbledon or wheelchair athletics? Need your fix of Neighbours on BBC1? Desperately need to watch your social and mental inferiors kick a ball and fall over deliberately?

Here's how you can keep up to date.


VIPBox is a website residing in the grey area of streamed audiovisual content. The site itself is legal because, in it's own words:

VIPBox is an Internet Service Provider offering a platform which merely displays links to audiovisual content located on servers of third parties and provided and/or transmitted by third parties. VIPBox does not host nor transmit any audiovisual content itself and does not control nor influence such content.

Put another way, watching the streamed content on there may not be considered legal, depending on your region and other factors. If you think that some sports giant is going to come crashing down on you, you may want to skip this one.

Anyway, there you can watch all your favourite sports, and also TV from the US/UK.

Buying Scuba Diving Equipment in Japan

As with several other things and previous posts (vitamins, clothes etc), the cheapest way to buy scuba gear in Japan is to not actually buy it here at all. Rather, import it.

I have just bought loads of equipment, and hunted out the cheapest international deal to do so. Here are my findings.

The cheapest site on the internet appears to be www.leisurepro.com

Postage is incredibly expensive to Japan, mainly because they use FedEx Express which only takes 48 hours. I ordered 2 full sets of gear and paid 177USD postage. If you contact them privately, you may be able to negotiate a cheaper shipping option. You will also be charged an import tax if the value of the items is marked on the box and the content is not (water sports equipment should technically not be taxed). Again, you might be able to get around that if you email privately, but I was only charged 3,200yen on a 140,000yen order.

Regardless, even with postage and customs the prices can't be beaten in Japan.

One tip, though - if you are ordering several items, then your best bet could be to use their "Create Your Own Package" feature. The set packages can be very cheap, but prices fluctuate almost daily. One day the Mares #2 package will be 671USD, the next day 911USD. The jumps are that big. So, either make your own or keep an eye on your favourite package over time.


More

• Although you can take air tanks on aircraft, they need to be prepped for inspection (not sure how that would work in this scenario, but it's probably not an issue if they're new), and you may find it easier just to rent or buy in Japan.
• It's also worth checking LeisurePro's "used" section, which seems to mostly consist of ex-display models with big discounts.