S O M E T I M E S T H E L I T T L E T H I N G S C A N B E H U G E !
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They say everyone experiences "culture shock" when relocating to a new environment, particularly a foreign land where the language and culture are very different from your own. This is especially true of westerners coming to a land with no alphabet, but rather a written language comprised of combinations of a daunting 2,400 intricate characters.
Tokyojin is a site that tries to address coping in just such a land, Japan, by providing a succinct list of solutions used by a fellow westerner having experienced [and still experiencing] the same culture shock. The category links to the right above cover the bases on primary areas where help is needed. However, there are some "general" recommendations that don't necessarily fit into any of these categories, and yet are important MUST KNOWS to softening the culture shock and assisting in making your daily life more comfortable.
The following are recommendations that just may make all the difference ...
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# Don't lose touch - The Brastel Phone Card is absolutely, hands down the cheapest phone card in Japan, to anywhere, with crystal clear connections to the West. Calls from Tokyo to U.S.A., for example, made on a house land phone cost only 7 Yen per minute! No kidding!!
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# A taste of home - The Foreign Buyers' Club is a wonderful company based in Kobe, Japan that specializes in providing American and British food, medicines, toiletries, children's books and more. They import in volume so prices are not unreasonable and shipping is only 500 Yen, in most cases! The family owners were former expatriates themselves and know what Westerners go through without the tastes of home, or a favorite shampoo or allergy remedy [Japanese medicine can be weaker than the West.]
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# What about my DVD's? - The World Gift Center (world-import.com) offers a line of great "REGION CODE FREE" DVD players and PAL/NTSC video converters. Note that Japan's REGION 2 designation means that none of your DVDs from the West will play on DVD players in Japan, nor will Japan DVDs play in your DVD player brought from the West. The solution is to buy a code free DVD player ... but it is difficult to find a player in Japan that handles all 6 regions, plus REA and RCE protected disks. The solution is to order online, and after much searching and emailing, World Gift Center provided the best price, competitive shipping to Japan and the Panasonic S-35 region free DVD purchased has performed tremendously.
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# I want real-time news from home - SKY PerfectTV is a satellite TV subscription service that will give you access to news, movies, drama and sports programming from around the world. Tokyo has a good "cable TV" system but your choice of foreign news and programming is very limited. With SKY PerfectTV, you will end up paying about the same in monthly fees [$30 and up] but you can choose from 100's of channels, and add or delete them right over the Internet! The only cost difference over cable is you will first have to buy the satellite dish and receiver [~$150] and then pay for installation of the dish on your roof or patio [another $150]. Prices can vary, so go to this site's Shopping page for advice on where to buy. The additional setup fee is well worth it to have a monthly cost comparable to cable TV, but with access to your favorite news, drama and sports from your "own" country.
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# Check Amazon Japan before you buy - Amazon.co.jp is the same Online superstore from America here in Japan. Often the same products found at Amazon.com from the U.S. are available at Amazon.co.jp for a similar price (without the expensive shipping cost from America). Further still, many products carried at local Japanese stores (department and discount) can be found at Amazon.co.jp for much less AND shipped to your door FREE!
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# I need more power! - You must also know that Japan has a lower power standard than all of the West -- it's 100V, 50/60 Hz.
[50 Hz in Eastern Japan: Tokyo, Kawasaki, Sapporo, Yokohama, and Sendai]
[60 Hz in Western Japan: Osaka, Kyoto, Nagoya, Hiroshima]
Anything with "international power" capability [110-240 Volts / 50-60hz auto switching], like hair dryers, shavers and some better electronics, will perform fine. It is recommended you don't bother bringing any appliances since shipping costs will outweigh purchasing new here. However, for electronic items you can't part with, you can buy "step down" power converters in Japan for around $60 that will do the trick ... but they heat up and should only be a last resort. Follow the link to learn more about plug types and adapters.
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More to come ...
This list above will continue to grow as worthy recommendations present themselves from ongoing personal experiences here in Tokyo.
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