Local Event Guides

When it gets to the weekend, hanging out at home or revisiting the same pub for the umpteenth time can be a drag. Why not use the Internet to find something new to do? Any Google search can pull up a number of websites with local event guides, of course, but why spend your time wading through all those garbage sites to find the few that regularly update and have events you might actually want to attend when we'll introduce two to you right here today!

One of my personal favorite event guides is the JR West and JR East sister-site combination "Odekake-Net" and "Eki-Net." Their starting pages aren't much to gloat about. Although Odekake-Net gives you a large friendly map of western Japan on its home page, this isn't what you actually want to be clicking on. And Eki-Net's layout is just another Yahoo! Japan style mess of thumbnails and text. For the real gold of these sites, follow the directions below:

Odekake-Net
That large map on the front page will give you some good info about famous locations to visit in Japan, but the far more impressive, constantly-updated list of events is more easily accessed from the pull-down menus at the bottom of the site. Under the button labeled イベント検索, pick the prefecture or region you're staying in or visiting, and you'll find a friendly and useful list of seasonal events going on around you. The list includes items like festivals, flower shows, and museum exhibits, along with their running times, entrance fees, and addresses of their locations. It's provided me with some nice day trip ideas, and you might find it useful for date ideas or planning family outings as well.

Eki-Net
For you Eastern-Japaners, the event list is located along the right side of Eki-Net's starting page. It has a similar pull-down menu, labeled 祭り・イベントはこちら♪ and with a similar location selection set-up. Click on your prefecture and then hit "検索" to get the same type of event list as Odekake-Net offers: You'll be able to find out how long each event is running, how much it costs, and exactly where it is.

If you have any favorite event guides that you use in Japan, please let us know. We're always interested in expanding our horizons, too!

Cheap Car Navi/GPS Units in Japan

Looking for GPS? Been put off by stories of paying 70,000+? Well, we have the cheaper options covered, just for you.

The answer is Amazon.co.jp, of course! Although you can find some cheaper units in big department, garages or electronics stores like Yamada Denki, the price will still be significantly more than 20,000. On Amazon you can find the real budget options, and better deals on what you see in the shops.

You can see the most popular Navi units here. I actually recently purchased what is currently number two. It isn't the absolute cheapest (which is this little fella at about 6,500yen), but in terms of size and positive reviews, it seemed like the best option:

This is a great unit. All the documentation is in English and the price is great at about 14,000yen.

More

• The difference between the expensive Navis and these is that this type is designed to sit on your dashboard, while the expensive ones are really a souped-up entertainment system which is installed into the dash of your car (like this beast for 93,000yen), featuring Bluetooth, CD/MD/DVD capabilities, TV etc etc.
• One problem you may come across is that map data and options are almost universally Japanese. If you have something to refer to and can read hiragana and katakana, this shouldn't be too much of a problem. Map data IS available in English, and you may get lucky with your unit - check the manufacturers website for details.
• A good feature of the newer portable GPS units is that the map data is read from an SD card, so you can update it very, very easily. Some of the in-car units require, if not a specialist, the purchase of a new data CD (very expensive).
• Other very cheap units come from manufacturer Space Machine

Wholesalers and Buying in Bulk in Japan

Our US readers are most likely familiar with the business of consumer wholesaling. For those ex-pats in Japan longing to buy kilogram loads of bagels, you aren't entirely out of luck.


For those of who don't know about the wholesale business, this is a store where you pay a monthly or annual membership in order to buy cheap, bulk quantity goods in addition to other perks. Chains such as Costco, BJs, and Sam's Club all fall under this classification. This mode of shopping may seem out of place in a place like Japan that generally eschews the American "bigger is better" shopping ethos, but in fact there are a good variety of wholesalers avaliable.

Gyoumuyo (業務用)
The most common type of Japanese wholesaler/bulk goods retailer is known as gyomu-yo supa (業務用スーパー) or gyomuyo shohin (業務用商品). This literally translates to "business-use super market" and "business goods" respectively. Basically, any product labeled gyomuyo (業務用) means "business use" or "institutional use" and in Japan that often translates to bulk quantities. If you have a lot of mouths to feed or just like eating a lot of one specific thing, these retailers can save you a bit of cash.

Many towns and cities have all sorts of gyomuyo shops, although the vast majority specialize in food and some even double as regular supermarkets. In addition to getting your hands on several kilos of coffee, gyoumuyo shops often have imported goodies that are hard to come by otherwise, in addition to an odd ball selection of alcohol, cheese, and what not. However, these shops are often located in out-of-way areas and are not as well advertised so get ready to Google.

For some odd reason, liquor stores in Japan often carry business size frozen goods, so that is often a good place to start looking.

The good news is that very few of these stores require an annual membership fee.

Orodonshi-ya (卸問屋)
An oroshidon-ya (卸問屋) is basically the equivalent of a wholesaler found in Western countries. However, this term covers a wide variety of consumer and non-consumer goods. What most of these stores have in common is that they all require an annual paid membership.


Costco has taken advantage of Japan's retail enterprise deregulation and has been busy setting up US-style bulk goods stores across Japan. Most are concentrated in and around big cities, and like the US version require an annual paid membership card. However, your Costco membership is applicable to all outlets world-wide. The Japanese outlets stock many of the same brands found in the US and just about everything is sold in bulk. 


Other big Japanese outlets include SSOK and Marudai (both located in Kansai). These wholesalers are more akin to a "consumer club" wherein your buy a membership for access to cheap, direct-from-the-manufacturer brand goods. They mainly sell clothing although they do have a smaller selection of bulk and imported goods as well. 


Other Options
So you are stuck on top of a mountain hours away from the biggest city. What is a poor foreigner to do to get his bulk frozen olive fix? Luckily some entrepreneurs have been hard at work solving this problem and have come up with The Flying Pig. Long story short, you can place an order online and the gentlemen at The Flying Pig will go and buy your stuff at Costco and ship it to you thereby saving you a long trek and a membership fee. Of course, you have to pay shipping and a bit of a mark up but its worth it if there are some bulk goods you are craving. 



There are online wholesalers as well and internet shopping portals such as Yahoo Japan Shopping and Rakuten all have gyomuyo goods for sale if you don't mind paying for shipping. Just type in 業務用 after your product of choice and you might find that it is also available in bulk.

Whey Protein in Japan

Want to buy some whey protein for maximum macho muscle madness? Or some other reason? As with so many things, AccessJ has got you covered.


The cheapest place to buy your stuff is Amazon.co.jp. There you can find 3kg of flavoured protein powder for just over 7,000yen. That's almost 5,000yen less than the same product in Xebio. It's also one of the lowest calorie choices on the market (if that is something you care about).

You can get chocolate flavour, and milk flavour.

Of course, if you have some criteria other than price and calorie content, there are choices for you, too. Here are a couple, or you can just run your own search on Amazon.

Savas Whey Protein, which is just over 8,000yen for 2.5kg.
Savas Weight Down, which is a low-cal soy protein alternative at about 4,000yen for 1.2kg
Kentai 100% Whey, which is a muscle-building higher-calorie choice (400kcal per 100g) and around 5,000yen per kg.
Big-in-Japan brand DNS has numerous 100% whey flavours at about 10,000yen per 3kg.

Don't forget your shaker bottle!

More

• AccessJ is not trying to get you to buy this protein to make money. I buy a bag of this stuff (cheapest) every month or so. It's perfect.

Maggie Sensei's Job Hunting Vocab

It's been a while since we wrote about job hunting here, although it always seems a continuing point of consternation for some number of our readers. If you're like me, anyway, when you're out of a job or nearing the end of a contract, finding a new job is always on the mind.

Recently I happened across another resource that you may find useful. Maggie Sensei's short, but helpful guide to Job Hunting in Japan comes from a blog whose humor is just a little bit over the top for me, but nonetheless its info is solid, and I'd sincerely like to see it more widely circulated. Maggie has put together an excellent guide to common terminology you'll encounter in the Japanese job-searching world, as well as resume examples and a compendium of questions you're likely to hear from traditional Japanese interviewers. Don't miss this page. In fact, don't miss the entire blog. It's a new site (about the same age as AccessJ, in fact) filled with quality, detailed lessons on a wide variety of Japanese language subjects.

Furthermore, remember to check out the resources we've put together here at AccessJ. On the most basic level, we've prepared Japanese resume (履歴書) forms that you can download, and some of our own lists of job hunting vocabulary, including detailed explanations on meaning and usage of the terms. Take a look also at our Job Spotlight series; many of the jobs in the posts are relisted annually, so if one appears to be in season, we think it's certainly worth checking out.

Any good resources of your own to share? Let us know about them in the comments!

WS: "He is Mr Dom" 1st G JHS

When it come to the "Who is this...?" question and he/she answers, I use this sheet.



It's pretty self-explanatory, and works in the same way as my sheet for my "It's Ming's bike" sheet.

Students use the picture hints on sheet one to work out who they should be writing about, then write a "He is Mr Dom type sentence in the box.

That's it.

Takes about 15 mins with explanation.

So, here's the handout for download. It's a .docx, so if your computer (like so many in Japan) is still living in the dark ages, you'll need this .doc version. However, you can't edit the pictures in the latter, so you'll have to paste something on top of the deliberately obnoxious picture of me (I don't usually dress like that). Sorry. Blame Microsoft.

This is my own work, so please don't redistribute elsewhere without permission or credit :D

Over-the-Counter Drugs in Japan

Nothing is worse than getting sick in a far-away land and having to drag yourself off to a doctor. Following our recent medical theme, today's feature we will explain the world of Japanese over the counter (OTC) medications (一般用医薬品 ippan-yo iyakuhin).

Drug Classifications
There are three main classifications of OTC drugs

• Type 1 Drugs (第一類医薬品 dai-ichi-rui iyakuhin）-- These drugs are classified as having side effects that could "interfere with daily life" as well as the potential for serious health risks if used improperly. A pharmacist must be on hand to dispense these drugs and give adiquit advice about side effects and necessary precautions. 

• Type 2 Drugs (第二類医薬品 dai-ni-rui iyakuhin)-- These drugs are classified as having potential side effects that can interfere with daily but not with the severity of Type 1 medication. A pharmacist or a "registered seller" (登録販売者 toroku hanbai-sha) must be on staff to sell these drugs and provide consultation if necessary.

• Type 3 Drugs (第三類医薬品 dai-san-rui iyakuhin)-- These drugs are consider to have non serious side effects and, in most cases, won't impair one's functionality in any major way. A pharmacist or a "registered seller"  must be on staff to sell these drugs and provide consultation if necessary.

In addition to the above mentioned category, there is another classification of drugs known as i-yakubu gaihin (医薬部外品) shitei i-yakubu gaihin (指定医薬部外品). In English, these are ofter refered to as "quasi-drugs" or "supplements." This category includes vitamin drinks, nutritional supplements, cough drops, and all those energy tonics. These can be sold in any establishment including convenience stores and super markets.


Buying Drugs
As we have discussed in the previous article covering prescription drugs, pharmacies are plentiful in Japan and there is a solid chance that your local grocery or home center store has a non-prescription drug section, too.

But you may notice that these sections of the grocery store periodically get fenced off. This happens whenever a registered seller is not on staff since it is not legal to sell Type 2 and Type 3 drugs without a registered staffer on hand. Even 24 hour chains will generally close these sections off after 9 or 10 pm or so, so don't bank on getting pills for those late night headaches.

Unlike many North American and European countries, the sales of drugs over the internet are still strictly regulated. Currently, online drug stores can only sell Type 3 drugs and quasi-drugs. The sale of Type 2 drugs are limited to specially designated outlying islands and remote areas. The sale of Type 1 drugs over the internet is strictly forbidden.

Type 1 drugs usually only are available on request. In other words, you're going to have to ask for it at the counter - bring along enough Japanese to do so.

If you are worried about what's in your drugs, or what they may do, check out our article on side-effects and ingredients.


More

• Pharmaceutical sales in Japan have long been a highly regulated affair. Until the recently passed Revised Pharmaceutical Law came into effect, you weren't allowed to sell so much as an aspirin without a pharmacist on hand.
• Price wise, OTC drugs in Japan are generally significantly more expensive than the USA but probably closer to prices found in Europe.
• Japanese OTC drugs are usually weaker than their Western counterparts. So, double check the dosage of something you have taken elsewhere before.

And that is all for drug and health. Keep on checking back regularly for more great information on all kinds of topics and don't forget to peek back at our coverage of Japanese health insurance, doctors, and dentists if you are still lost.

English Language Newspapers

There are several Japanese papers available in English, although they are often supplemented with articles from other English-speaking countries' newspapers. Some are also aimed more at Japanese people practicing English than English readers. This blog will give an overview of the most popular print and eNewspapers available.

Virtual Travel in Japan

Earlier this year, NHK unveiled their "Michishiru" interactive map site, a virtual tour guide of places and events all over Japan, introduced through streaming video segments of NHK on-location footage. The site targets a Japanese audience, as a way to find out about different destinations to visit within Japan.

However, it also makes for good intermediate-to-advanced Japanese listening practice, and even travelers who don't read or speak Japanese well will find that the intuitive interface and videos speak quite well for themselves.

Just drag and zoom the map around to any part of Japan you're interested in and click on one of the "Play" icons for a virtual tour of it!

Check out the site here: NHK映像マップみちしる

WS: "I want to be a..." 2nd G JHS

Just over half-way through second grade junior high, students learn about future job aspirations. Lucky for them, I made an awesome sheet about it!!!!!!!!!


Well, here's the teaching handout to download. It's in .docx format, so it you're using a (seriously) outdated Office package (I know many schools still are), here's a .doc version for download, too. The .doc one cannot be edited. Sorry, that's how Microsoft work.

It's pretty self-explanatory to Westerners but some Japanese have no idea how a flow chart works, so you'll find most of your time spent explaining and checking the meaning of the sheet:

1. Explain the concept
1. Make pairs
2. Winner of janken interviews the other student first
3. Winner asks "Do you want to..." and then the text from the first box
4. A "Yes, I do" answer means follow the arrow to the right, and a "No" to the left, and so on
5. The final letter reached through the interview has a corresponding job title on the back of the sheet
2. Get students to volunteer to translate each sentence on the front of the sheet, and then check comprehension of all the job titles on the back (you may want to change "International Playboy" if your students are more innocent than my loads of bad-asses.
3. Do the sheet. The doing only takes 10 mins max, but then you can ask students what their partner's want to be etc to fill more time.

Total time: 20-30 minutes depending on the level.

You can also have students draw by hand their own version if you want to fill the rest of the lesson.

That's it, see you next week.

PS: This is my original work. Please don't redistribute through some other site passing it off as your own. There was a Russian guy who actually published and sold a collection of people's worksheets from esl-printables.com. If anyone tries that kind of nonsense with me the D-Man gon get you..

Pharmacies and Prescriptions in Japan

Now that we have covered health insurance, medical specialties, and dentists, it seem only fair that we tell you about the ins and outs of your local Japanese pharmacy establishments.

Types of Pharmacies
There are a few types of pharmacies (yakkyoku 薬局 or kusuriya 薬屋) in Japan. The first are the big commercial chains like Matsuo Kyoshi, similar to US counterparts insofar as they sell a variety of food, beer, cleaning supplies and so on in addition to over the counter drugs. However, not many of these big chains fill prescription drugs (shohoyaku 処方薬). If you are filling a prescription at a chain store, make sure to double check to make sure there is a pharmacist on hand.

Another common sight are small, family-run establishments which are almost always found right across the street from a doctors office. These small pharmacies only fill prescriptions and, for the most part, don't sell extra goodies.


Types of Prescription Drugs
Despite being a major drug market, Japan is legendarily strict when it comes to prescription medication. Legal maximum prescription sizes tend to be significantly smaller than the US, and when you want to renew a prescription you need to see a doctor directly. Furthermore, the dosage strength of Japanese medicine is generally weaker than its Western counterparts. 

Also, keep in mind that drugs have different brand names and possibly even slightly different ingredients compared to your home country. Japan does not strictly recognize US Food and Drug Administration approval or the European equivalent so drug makers must go through an additional cumbersome process in order sell their drugs in Japan. Therefore, your drug of choice may not yet be legal here or only available in a different form/dosage. One popular ADD drug, Adderall has actually been illegalized due to fears of over prescription.  


See our previous post on medication side-effects and ingredients.

Filling a Prescription (shohosen 処方箋)
Since all prescriptions must have doctor's original seal, e-prescriptions are pretty much unheard of since seals cannot be transmitted electronically. However, large hospitals and clinics will sometimes offer to fax a copy of your medication to the pharmacy of your choice so it can be ready for you on arrival.

Using Your Drugs
Don't be surprised if a lot of drugs come in the form of granules in little plastic baggies. Be it a cultural thing or some sort pharmaceutical industry quirk, lots of pain killers come in the form of nomi-gusuri (飲み薬) that must be mixed with water and drunk.

Another odd type of drug that appears a lot is the ugai-gusuri (うがい薬) which are solutions that must be mixed and gargled. Usually these types of medications are for sore throats and cough suppression. Even though they may look like cough syrups, make sure not to drink them.

The pharmacist on duty should explain everything to you when you get your drugs and many shops will print out nice detailed sheets with dosage information and instructions in case you need to get your prescription filled at another facility.

More

• Japan has a drug market worth 93.2 billion USD, only trailing the USA's ludicrous 301.3 billion USD (Financial Times, 2010). Therefore, just about every tiny hamlet has a fairly extensive collection of pharmaceutical establishments.

Got all that? Pop back to AccessJ soon since our next topic will be over the counter medication.

October Roundup

We've got a new feature here on AccessJ. (OK, it's not really new.) It's called the monthly blog roundup, and it allows us to travel through time and space, introducing you to the entries of the last month you may have missed.



It's handy for going back to...
Dan's health insurance guides on optional insurance, evaluating whether you need insurance, Japanese vocabulary for medical specialties, and a step-by-step of how to set up your doctor visit in Japan.

Or maybe you prefer...
Laura's awesome compilation of online vendors who will send to Japan your favorite goodies from home.

Or say you want to go to...
Dom's guides on ebooks:
Reading manga and Japanese on the new Kindle
Converting your own books into ebooks on the cheap
His continuation of the Being an ALT series:
School lunch in Japan
Proper attire at work
Tips for living a more healthy life abroad:
Suicide hotlines
Japanese prescription drugs
And info on:
Buying scuba diving equipment
Regional dialects across Japan

Or imagine being magically whisked away to...
My posts.
...
...
I zeroed in with a grand total of no posts for the entire month. :(

But no worries! Look forward to a jolly plethora of my stuff over the winter, including Japan event and travel guides and more information for job and apartment seekers. There will be healthy things from all posters whose names begin with D, and newspapers and things you could also cut out of newspaper from the D-man himself.