立命館の大冒険

Kyoto's gotten really cold lately! It makes me feel a bit better actually because this is the weather I'm used to haha. I didn't have as many winter clothes as I first thought, though. I got a good peacoat and scarf at spinns to keep me warm since I didn't bring either with me from home. It was even snowing yesterday, albeit 'snowing' is a bit of an exaggeration (or it was by the time I saw it.) I felt a bit warmer today but I think the cold will stick around for a month or two longer. I'm a bit worried about my electricity bill since my air conditioner's heating function kind of sucks so I have to leave it on for ages. And these apartments have barely any insulation at all, so heat escapes really quickly. I guess that's useful in summer, but right now it's a pain in the ass.

My first semester here at Rits ends in mid-January. It was quick, but my next semester is longer by a month or so. I'm pretty burnt out right now between all the tests and lack of holidays, to tell the truth. The last thing I wanted to focus on for a while was Japanese, haha. I even have class on Christmas day which is quite depressing, but I suppose it does take my mind off the fact that I'm not spending it at home. At least I have everybody here!

Speaking of Christmas, Japan is a lot more festive about it than I expected, with lights and christmas trees everywhere! It's pretty interesting. There's a lot of New Year's charms and 年賀状 with snakes on them since it's the year of the snake coming up. I've been meaning to buy one to send home to my parents and I have to send one back to Edinburgh's Japanese department too. I have christmas cards to send to family back home but I haven't done anything about getting stamps and whatnot. It might be a bit late now but I think I'll just send them anyway.

I didn't get to see many temples surrounded by autumn colours either, which is a shame! I'm hoping if I go along to one soon there might be some trees still with their leaves. All of the ones in Kinugasa seem to have shed them. I wonder if we'll get a lot of cherry blossoms in Spring too. Well if we do, they'll make a big show out of it no doubt!

Like I said, I should begin my holiday in January. I think we don't go back until April, which is one hell of a long holiday! I wish they would split it up a bit more, but having so much free time to explore will be a good opportunity to see everything I wanted to, maybe even Tokyo. I planned to go to Nara at some point, and also Osaka. Not too sure about other places as of yet. Loads of people I know want to go to Korea, and it sounds awesome, but I'd at least like to know a bit more about Korean before I go. I mean my Japanese isn't too bad and I still struggle with simple stuff here. My spoken Japanese isn't really all that good though, I've always been better at writing. I think it's been improving though. I guess for the next few weeks I should just hang in there until my week break comes...but I'll probably be busy, so if I don't return before then hope everyone enjoys the holidays and has a happy new year!

Kyoto's selection of shops and restaurants are pretty interesting. I don't know what shopping or going out is like in other parts of Japan, but in Kyoto it's a really cool experience. I didn't expect a lot to be around the area where I live, so when I actually took a look around I was really surprised. There is a lot to do even here, despite Kinugasa being around a 25-30 minute bus ride from Kyoto station and the main city.

Nishiojidori especially has a lot of things to see. Considering it's only about a 5 minute walk (max) from my apartment, that's pretty awesome. Restaurants closest to Kouraku Heights include Jolly Pasta (sells--you guessed it, pasta!), Big Boy (sells burgers and steak), Ganesha (Indian food), Joy/ジョイ (Japanese), McDonalds (it is currently being rebuilt and should be done by December 21st  according to the sign), and a little yakisoba restaurant that is an extension of an old lady's house right next to the copy and print shop. I've tried most of these restaurants except Jolly Pasta, which I heard was overpriced and not very good. But since I haven't tried it myself yet I'm not sure.

The first restaurant I went to was Joy, where they do a lot of Japanese 定食(food sets) quite cheaply. I've only ever tried their Karaage Chicken set, but you get a lot of food for the price and it is all pretty delicious. They do seasonal food too, like right now they have an autumn 弁当(bento) set. However, there's a few other Japanese restaurants around so if Joy doesn't impress you you could try 和食さと(Washoku Sato) which is also cheap and has a good range of Japanese food.

Since Indian food is really popular in Scotland I was really missing it when I came here. I'd been wistfully gazing at Ganesha every time I went by, ahaha. I finally went and I was quite impressed, but I could have been biased (and accepting the closest thing to chicken tikka masala I could find!) They are a bit pricey, but their chicken tikka masala is really good, and their cheese naan is filling and delicious. If you like Indian food I'd say give it a try.

Big Boy are a bit expensive, but mostly because many of their meals give you unlimited access to their salad, soup, rice and curry bar. I could have had a meal from the rice and curry bar on its own! You can get unlimited drinks for an extra 300 yen or so. Good if you like to eat a lot. The burgers are nice but loaded with onions which I'm not so fond of. I'm not big on steak either but they have quite a few options like chicken or omurice.

Also a little further away are places like 松屋(Matsuya) and なか卯(Nakau). Matsuya is a meal ticket place that sells very cheap and delicious Gyuudon (with the smallest bowl being only 200 yen!) among other things. If you're hungry and want a cheap and quick meal, Matsuya is probably the place to go. Nakau also uses meal tickets and has a larger selection of meals, but is a bit more expensive. Still incredibly delicious though, their Katsu Curry is probably my favourite so far.

Quite close to Ritsumeikan is also a 回転寿司(Kaiten-Zushi, or a 'conveyer belt' sushi restaurant) called くら寿司 where pretty much every plate of sushi is 100 yen. Super cheap and the sushi is pretty good.

The area I live in is quite generous in terms of places to shop for food and other things. Izumiya is a large department store about 15 minutes walk down Nishiojidori. It has a food market, coffee shops, a bakery, a phone shop, clothing sections, a book shop, household items, furniture...pretty much everything you need for daily life. It's not too expensive and the things I've bought from there have been great quality.

There are two more supermarkets nearby, one is Kyoto Co-op and the other is next to Matsuya but I don't know its name. Kyoto Co-op is closer to me so I usually buy food/etc there. I think in some stores they usually expect you to have your own bag so you might have to ask for one if you don't.

There are two bakeries nearby, one is fairly new and opened last month (it looks really fancy inside but I haven't actually been yet) and another (next to Hirano shrine entrance) was recently refurbished inside? They sell nice pastries that aren't too expensive.

Konbini are basically everywhere on Nishiojidori, but I prefer 7-11 since it tends to have a better selection of food and the staff are really nice. Right now they're doing a lottery game if you spend over 700 yen in store, you get to pick out cards and you can win small prizes (my friend got an ice cream) or you can collect cards to enter prizedraws. Pretty cool!

Well, orientation at Ritsumeikan lasts about a week or so, just before classes start. It was basically loads of information sessions about various things (getting a bank, handling finance, living in Japan, culture shock, etc) and then tests to determine (if you are an intensive language track student in SKP, that is) which level of class you are most suited to for the first semester.

We met our SKP buddies, really nice people, and they took us down to the local ward office so we could get our addresses registered and apply for health insurance. This was kind of confusing, all I remember was filling out tons of paperwork, being daunted by the lady's really fast Japanese, and paying lots of money, haha. You can pay your health insurance all in one or you can pay it monthly or whatever works for you, I think. I just paid mine there and then, less hassle since I had the money. Back then it was still really humid and hot, so I remember the office's copious use of aircon to be a welcome surprise!

 As for class placement, the reading test was probably the easiest for me, since my strength is kanji...I'm pretty poor at everything else. There wasn't much in the way of writing, I don't think, which surprised me. The test was largely multiple choice. I felt awful about the listening and Japanese interview, but I don't think I was prepared for the amount of listening and speaking that Rits' IJL track offers, haha. I was put into C2, which is roughly in the middle of the class level spectrum. Been quite happy with that, I haven't had many problems besides my poor speaking skills in my classes, and I feel like I am learning a lot. Be prepared for classes to be crazily fast-paced though, as in my class we can go through as many as five grammar points per day. I have heard that classes above B level don't do any grammar whatsoever though, so it might depend on your level.

Classes are an hour and a half long, organised into periods:
 Period 1, 09:00 -10:30
 Period 2, 10:40 - 12:10
 Lunch Period, 12:10 -13:00

Period 3,

13:00 – 14:30

Period 4,

14:40 – 16:10

Period 5,

16:20 – 17:50

Period 6,

18:00 – 19:30

Period 7,

19:40 – 21:10

I have Japanese general class every weekday. We go over grammar items, kanji compounds, reading comprehension, etc. It's quite varied. I have two speaking and listening classes a week, where we go over grammar items in context through skits on CD, practise our Japanese pronunciation, and practise speaking them through prompts and group work. On wednesday I have writing class, which has so far been about writing letters and compositions and so on. On three days a week I have two classes back to back starting at 9am, which is a bit of a pain in the ass but it does mean I get the rest of the day to do what I want.

I've been told by my friends from other classes that their schedule is really test and homework heavy, but mine hasn't been too bad so far. I would like more homework, if I'm honest, because I study better with assigned work. My teachers are all really nice and great at teaching, but they are also quick to get you involved in class. Sometimes they will ask for volunteers to answer questions, but most of the time they will pick people to read example sentences, give their answers, ask them to explain the meanings of kanji compounds or vocabulary and so on. In all of my classes I have barely heard any English and I'm slowly becoming accustomed to speaking and hearing Japanese for a prolonged period of time. It's awesome and a great way to become comfortable with Japanese. I just hope my speaking gets better so I can do more than give my teacher blank looks as I try and think of what to say...

For those interested in clubs and circles, I would advise you stay away from them until you are properly settled in class and can handle the workload with no problems! I say this because I have seen people get really bogged down with club activities and miss lots of classes (attendance is strictly monitored at Rits, if you are absent more than five times a semester you automatically fail, I was told) which is no fault of their own, but it put them in a really awful situation when it came to tests and homework. You probably know how hardcore the uni clubs are, but yeah...be careful about how much you're taking on. Don't study too much either though! All in moderation, y'know?

Anyway I'd like to update soon about things you can do and see in Kyoto, so hopefully when I have time again I'll do that. But for now, I have a test to put off studying for. それじゃ！
 

My room on the day I moved in. A mess now, but it was nice and clean.

 So while typhoon Jelawat rages outside and I am stuck inside I decided I should probably do that long-promised post about my apartment at Koraku Heights. I've lived here for about three or so weeks now, maybe more. Like I said before, Koraku was not my first choice, but having seen what it is like I am glad I got the chance to live here. It's a 3 or 4 floor high apartment block situated behind another apartment block in a generally sleepy/quiet residential area just off Nishioji-Dori, which means it is about 15 minutes away from Ritsumeikan by foot. I really like the area since I get to have my privacy and live in peace away from the bustle of the main roads. However, that doesn't mean that it's perfect--there is a daycare next to the building and if you are a late sleeper the kids are normally loud enough to wake you up, there is a walk to the nearest konbini (not really an issue sometimes, but this is coming from me who lived right next to a scotmid last year in my Edinburgh accommodation!), and some neighbours can be noisy. Of course, this depends on who you are living with when you move in, so that isn't a fault of Koraku really, it's just that the walls are very thin! If you move here, make sure you don't make too much noise...otherwise there are neighbours who do (and will) complain to the landlord. Just yeah, respect your neighbours and all that good stuff.

Anyway, the rooms at Koraku have more space than I expected (in the main room, anyway) and you have quite a lot of storage space for clothes and books or whatever.

My desk and shelving units

My room came with a desk, a chair (kinda tiny and uncomfortable--but every room has different chairs/beds/household items, so it really depends on which room you get), two shelving units, a large sliding door cupboard/wardrobe, balcony space for hanging clothes, a single bed, a hanging rack, bath, shower, microwave, fridge, freezer, air conditioner, gas hob, small cupboard for food, shelving for kitchen items, washing machine, a separate tank/tap for hot water and one for cold, etc. It was better equipped than I expected!

Beloved Aircon!

Some things I had to buy were an iron, a kettle, rice cooker, folding table as extra counter space (there is none), ironing board, wireless router, etc. Just be aware you might have to buy those things. A good place to get second-hand, cheap appliances is a recycle shop (there is one a few minutes' walk from the large Izumiya department store on Nishioji-Dori) so you should check out what they have there if you want to spend less.

My bed is a bit bigger than a single but it's pretty much the same. Really hard mattress though, I think the only thing softening it is the futon they left on top of it. I can still sleep on it fairly well, so I don't really have any complaints. If you prefer to sleep on softer things, you could always buy a futon/extra bedding from Izumiya. They provided me with bedding but I think I was one of the few people who were lucky enough to get it, so I wouldn't depend on it. That being said, bedding isn't too expensive from Izumiya and in summer you won't really need much to sleep with since it is boiling pretty much all day and night long. I don't think I've used my duvet very much since I came. If you want to travel light and bring bedding, I'd say just bring a thin sheet to sleep with for the first month or two if you need it.

Got free bedding which is always good

Since I'm used to having a small kitchen, I find Koraku's kitchen to be a suitable size. I don't really cook or anything so I can't really vouch for the cooking experience, hahaha. The only thing is that there is very little space to keep anything. There is a cupboard for food or whatever you want to keep in it, but no drawers for cutlery or a place for me to keep pots and pans. I just make-do with keeping plates and bowls with food. Lots of space in the fridge, freezer is small but I don't really mind. The washing machine was a bit of a mystery at first but once you learn the basic functions and kanji it's not so bad. I do a wash most days and hang it out on the balcony and everything dries quickly.

                                                   

Shower/bath and toilet are in separate rooms, which is useful if you are having people stay I guess. Shower head placement is a bit weird, but that's probably because they expect you to squat when you shower haha. The bath is really deep...feel like I'm gonna fall in it one day.

Hob, fridge, sink, cupboards in kitchen

Even though Rits say internet is not included with Koraku, they actually set it up for you (or mine was set up when I got there) which was awesome as I was worried about that. Our landlord is called Tsukada-san, and he is a nice guy (he lives out back of Koraku where he works on his construction site. Pretty cool!) You pay all your rent to him and if you have a problem you should tell him about it, I heard he is very quick to get things done. However, he only speaks Japanese so if you don't know what to say you might want to bring someone who can express it for you. You only pay him an extra 1000 yen (about £8) a month for internet, which is amazing considering it is incredibly fast and reliable.

Pretty much everything I was worried about in Koraku turned out to be fine, so in the end I think it may have even been a better choice than House 50, which is still more expensive per month. I'm really happy with my accommodation!

Labels: accommodation, koraku heights, living, ritsumeikan, study abroad

So I've been incredibly busy since I arrived, which is expected. I apologise for the lack of posts documenting my experience to Kyoto anyway! I'm going to post an email I wrote to my mum about flying to Japan and my first night there, I wrote this when I was sitting awake in the hotel about 4am. Cursed jetlag. Changed a few bits here and there. My flight was Glasgow International > Dubai > Kansai International and all in it was about 18 hours long.

'I went through security in Glasgow fine. Took everything out my bag (took me a while), went through with no problems and spent about 20 minutes putting it all back in! Walked through duty free for a few minutes, thought about buying a watch but decided I might find nice ones in Japan instead. I bought a few styluses for my nintendo DS though. I went through the gate really early and spent a while waiting around and yawning. Emirates gave us a selection of magazines and newspapers to take on the flight with us so I picked up a few but ended up not reading them. Was nice to have the option anyway!

The flight to Dubai was a bit boring but mostly because I wasn't in the mood to watch movies, I watched the Raven and I slept for about half an hour (made me feel a bit more awake). The plane was noisy in the beginning which made it hard but I got used to it. Lots of empty seats on this flight for some reason, I had a row of three seats to myself! I wanted to call but the phone was $5 a minute ('only', they said!) and only accepted credit cards. They have a screen that shows you cameras from the front and back of the plane and a diagram of where you are. We flew over Warsaw, Iraq and Denmark! It was pretty cool. The plane food was nice too, they bring you a tray with all the food on it and you just eat when you like. Starter was salmon with creamy potato salad (not keen on the salad but I ate it!), dinner was chicken tikka masala with red peppers and spinach and dessert was a banana and toffee caramel tort. They give you crackers and bruschetta, a roll, a cup of water and cream cheese/butter as well. Lots of food! I wasn't hungry for most of the journey after that. Every so often a hostess would come by with drinks (fruit juice, alcohol, water, cans of ginger, etc) and you could have whatever you want. If you like alcohol I'm pretty sure a few drinks on Emirates flights were included in the price, pretty awesome.

We got to Dubai around 12:50am, which was 9:50pm in Scotland. Since it was dark you could see all the lights from Dubai below, it was amazing. The airport lights were all different colours and dotted about the place. The pilot told us the temperature was just about 40 degrees celsius...which is a huge difference to freezing old Scotland. I went out expecting to be cold for some reason but it was boiling. Glad I'm not studying in Dubai is all I'm saying! The airport was huge and very very fancy. It even had some sort of pond (lake? loch?) The signs were really confusing but I walked around a bit and found my gate eventually (they displayed it on the screens during my flight to Dubai so I knew which one I had to go to.) I wanted to see more of the airport but I was worried about missing my flight so I sat down at the gate and waited. Most of the passengers were Japanese returning to Japan by the looks of things. Flight didn't go on until 2:40am or something like that (Dubai time.)  At this point I was really tired and I just wanted to be in the hotel.

This plane looked a bit more advanced than the one from Glasgow and the staff seemed nicer--not that they weren't nice, it was just a feeling I got. Between them they could speak like...12 languages or something, it was mad. Including Japanese of course. This plane was packed and I was sitting beside a Japanese girl and an American girl. The Japanese girl was sleeping most of the flight and at one point I almost had to jostle her off my shoulder cause she kept falling from side to side. I slept for about 6 hours on and off every half hour or so, not bad for flight sleep I suppose. The other 2 hours I spent eating probably! We had two meals on this flight, all Japanese-y since that's where the flight was headed. First one was beef sukiyaki with carrots and onions (nice but I didn't like the onions), cold soba noodles (also surprisingly nice!), crackers, bread, and water. Second was breakfast, with seasonal fruit (mostly melon but with apple and I think pineapple?), fish with sesame sticky rice and baby corn, bread, orange juice, a hot croissant and jam/butter/cream cheese. I was so full.

I was so glad to finally arrive, but Kyoto was roasting too (about 33 degrees according to the pilot, at least it wasn't as hot as Dubai.) I followed everyone until I came to this room where everyone was standing waiting at doors. I was confused and thinking 'why is nobody going through?' but an announcement came on and a few seconds later a train/shuttle thing stopped there and everyone got on. Smart! Dubai had a bus that was like this too but the Japanese guy was a much better driver...HAH.

After that I came to immigration where a lady told me to fill out the forms to get a resident's card. She was really strict about lining people up haha. I kept forgetting to fill out bits but I got there eventually. There was a girl from Switzerland who was studying at Ritsumeikan as well but not for Japanese. Anyway, I went up to the desk and put the index finger of each hand on a fingerprint device and they took my picture. A few seconds later my resident's card was done! The guy told me to register it with an address within the next 14 days or else I'll lose my permit to stay in Japan. Luckily Rits help you do that during orientation, so don't worry too much. I went through to customs and just as I came up to the belt to collect my luggage a guy had taken it off for me, which was good timing. Signed out a card for customs and took it to a desk. The man asked 日本語ができますか(can you speak Japanese?) and I said a little, then he just took the card and told me to go through. I didn't have to declare anything...which is weird because I heard you did. But everyone was really nice.

When I left customs the Yasaka taxi service desk was right in front of me. I wanted to see this airport too but was too tired so I just told them I had a reservation and they told me the driver was late and they were sorry (a lot. In Scotland they wouldn't have even told me!) I went to Starbucks to get an iced coffee since I was really thirsty and I'd have none on the taxi. It's as much of a rip-off in Japan (if not moreso) than in Scotland, it turns out (540 yen for a small frappuccino). The cashier was really friendly so I felt a bit better about speaking japanese though.

When my taxi was ready I took my case out to the shuttle and the driver put it in the back. There was only me and a Japanese girl on the shuttle which was convenient. Scary coincidence though (yet again), she was a student from Ritsumeikan! We talked in Japanese for the entire trip, which took about an hour and a half. Mine was a bit broken but she was really nice about it and kept telling me I was めっちゃうまい(kyoto slang for really good) at Japanese! She gave me her phone number and email and told me to call her if I ever needed any help and introduced me to her mum when we dropped her off. She also offered to give me mosquito repellent as a present which was really kind of her, but I told her I would buy it myself. Such a weird coincidence.

Drove for a little while until the taxi turned into a tiny side street--it was so narrow I'm surprised the shuttle fit!--and my hotel (Hotel Chrysanthemum) was there. Got my luggage and thanked the driver and then checked in by writing out a slip with my details on it. The lady tried to explain the key box to me but I think you only need to use it if you're staying longer than I am. Anyway the hotel room was great; spotlessly clean and really cosy. They provide a nice bed, tv, desk, internet connection, mini fridge, shampoo, body wash, bathroom/shower, slippers, a mirror and air conditioning (which I left on all night but still couldn't handle the heat very well.) I think I was in one of the new rooms. Can't recommend this place enough, it was great for around £40 a night. I slept from around 12am until 2am, couldn't sleep for long due to the time difference. I adjusted to that in a matter of days, but for a while I was awake from about 2am onwards for most of the day. The tiredness didn't hit me as much as I thought I would, but that could be due to all the vending machine coffee I drank. No kidding what people say about Japan and vending machines, they are everywhere you turn. Not that that's a bad thing!


The hardest thing about being in Kyoto the first few days (for me) was the heat of Kyoto's summer. Unbearable. Even now it's still about 28 degrees celsius in my room most of the time. You start to accept it though. Just make sure you carry something to wipe sweat away with (wet towel, travel towel, wet wipes, whatever) because you will most likely be sweating. Next post should be about moving into Kouraku Heights, hopefully will get some pictures up of my room too. Until then!

Well I wasn't able to write up a post about my arrival sooner, I was suffering from pretty bad jetlag. I will update soon about how everything went hopefully! I am still pretty busy preparing for class and such. It has been unbearably hot in kyoto since I arrived and it's making me lazy...

This week has been all kinds of busy. I went back to Edinburgh on Monday to collect my visa, got lost for a bit trying to find an ATM since they only accept cash, but apart from that it didn't take too long. I got off at haymarket this time, saved me a lot of walking. The lady told me not to remove the certificate of eligibility from my passport/visa, so I folded it inside. The last thing I want is for it to be ripped off, hahaha. The visa is pretty neat, has the whole cherry blossom thing going on. Makes me wonder what other visas look like! I paid £23 since I'm getting a single entry visa, not planning to travel anywhere else (although Korea sounds cool, maybe another time!)

While I was there I stopped by to see one of my lecturers and was told to prepare for the Kyoto humidity and heat. Sounds awful, I don't deal very well with warm weather. Winter definitely sounds like the best season for me. Gonna have to deal with it though! She told me that bug repellent should be cheaper in Japan than over here since it's used frequently over there, so I decided to leave that sort of thing until I'm there.

Since our department also gives us a DSi for doing coursework abroad, I had stopped by to pick up 正しい漢字かきとりくん, a game on writing and reading kanji, and 逆転裁判：蘇る逆転, which is known as Phoenix Wright: Ace Attorney over here (Awesome game, one of the main reasons I bought a DS!) I feel like I'm cheating since I've already played the english version of this game a lot and know the plot, but I imagine it'll still be useful to play it in Japanese. Excited at the thought of buying one of the new Pokemon games too! Have to be careful how much money I spend on videogames in Japan, I fear for my bank balance. I went to the library for a bit to photocopy my passport just in case I lost it or I needed a copy. I still have to get extra passport photos/etc just in case I need them for any cards while I am abroad, should get around to that soon.

I got a new laptop to take with me since my old one has a faulty battery and can't operate without the charger, so I've been transferring my files over to it and configuring it the way I like. It's a Lenovo Z580 with a 3rd gen. i5 processor and 8GB of RAM, so it's quite speedy. Much better than my old Lenovo (U350), but I used it mainly for taking notes in lectures and wasting time online in between classes so I wasn't really looking for anything as powerful as the Z580. Seems like a good machine so far, just slightly worried about its wireless capabilities. I've read a few reviews online where it has trouble maintaining a connection, and it does seem at times like its signal strength is weaker than my U350's. Changing the balanced power mode option to maximise the performance of the network card has strengthened it a bit though, just hoping it stays that way.

Also ordered in travel adapters, travel towels, guides, etc. Lonely Planet's guide to Kyoto (yes I know, what a tourist) seems quite useful, though it doesn't cover much on Kita-ku/the general area Ritsumeikan is in. I am still planning to see the rest of the city though, so it gives me a good starting point. Kyoto has a lot more shopping centres than I expected, and a lot of restaurants and interesting places to see. I think I'll be quite preoccupied!

Only four days until my flight, so the next update will probably come from Japan! Hopefully everything goes well and I can give a good detail of my flight and getting to my accommodation. じゃ、またね！

Labels: edinburgh, living, ritsumeikan, study abroad, travel, visa

So in my attempt to tick more things off my list of stuff to do I have been researching the financial side of things lately. From what I've gathered there are a few options to transfer money between bank accounts in the UK to ones in Japan, but pretty much all of them incur fees in one way or another. I have read that certain types of credit and debit cards work at post office ATMs and what-have-you, usually ones with a plus logo? I'm not sure my debit card will work when I'm in Japan since mine doesn't seem to be part of the plus network, so I have been looking at other solutions just in case. As for my knowledge of banks and money transfers, my understanding is quite shaky since I have never used any of these methods before (or actually transferred money before) so please double check before you register for anything/transfer any money/etc. Also if any of my info is wrong or if you are familiar with the type of thing do let me know! I'd appreciate it.

Since I live in the UK I've been using the Sending money abroad guide at Money Saving Expert to get a general idea. This is pretty helpful and gives you a few options based on your circumstances.

While I'm abroad I will be able to access my funds via online banking, but in order to transfer money between accounts in Scotland (e.g. transferring my money to my parents' account so they can access my student loan if I can't) I needed to order a card reader from my bank (RBS). It's free, but I'm not entirely sure it will come in time since I am leaving in 11 days and it takes up to 15 to be delivered. Kind of strange that you need one to make payments, I thought it would be less complicated. I will probably have to take it with me to Japan which is also a bit annoying.

Anyway, sending money from my account here to my Japanese one isn't as simple. RBS does provide international transfers but they look quite expensive and are mostly aimed at transfers to places in Europe(?). Although the rates aren't the best I decided to go for the Post Office's international money transfer service. Registration was pretty simple and as far as I know you can pay using a credit or debit card--but it must be registered with a UK address. There are no fees to make transfers (although the minimum amount you must transfer is £250) so it looks like my best bet to transfer money to my Japanese bank account when I eventually get it set up. I've read that opening a bank account can take up to two weeks so I will have to calculate how much money I need to bring with me in case it takes that long. Unfortunately I can't test this method of transfer until I have set up a bank account in Japan so whether or not it actually works is...not for me to say. Yet.

Gaijinpot's forums are a good resource for details about living in Japan and there were a lot of threads discussing banking and transfers, so if you are still unsure you might find something there. GoLloyds have a useful list of ATM vocabulary that might help if you are struggling to use ATMs.

I'm also trying to sort out reimbursement for my flight and medical insurance with SAAS, but they aren't taking calls which is frustrating since I am applying very late and not even sure if they will accept it. Medical insurance at Rits is about £145 for both semesters, and they also make you apply for Liability insurance which covers you if you injure someone or damage their property/whatever. Getting reimbursed for these things would be useful but I'm not sure if SAAS will cover it. I am worried about my first few months in Japan as the cost of getting to my accommodation/paying for rent and the hotel/insurance and so on has already come to ￥140200.

In the meantime, I am going to try and pick up some souvenirs while I am picking up my visa in Edinburgh, just to give my SKP buddies for their help. Maybe best avoiding the really expensive tourist shops though, it'll probably cost £5 for a bit of Edinburgh rock. I should really start packing soon!  

Labels: bank, finance, koraku heights, living, money, ritsumeikan, study abroad

Well, I was lazy. A week or two ago I received an email from the International Office saying my certificate of eligibility had arrived and I could pick it up. So I did what I always do...and I left it until the last minute. Yeah I should really title this blog the 'lazy guide to studying in japan', huh.

Fortunately, I didn't leave it too late because I will be picking it up next Monday--or so I hope anyway. I leave for Japan on the 10th, so that is exactly week one before my flight! Here's hoping there are no problems.

This is the form you must fill out to apply for a Japanese visa. This is from Edinburgh's Japanese consulate, so yeah not sure if every place uses the same forms. Anywho they are pretty basic, you can type into these forms but you can't save them, so only fill them out someplace you can print them! Otherwise do it by hand. I have an aversion to handwritten things because I am prone to mistakes. Whoops.

They have a long lunch break so they are open 9:30am-12pmish then closed until 2pm-4:30pm. It is kind of hard to miss the place considering they have a large Japanese flag outside, but it took me a while to get there. In the end I think it would have been much easier to get a train to Haymarket and get off there rather than get off at Edinburgh Waverley. Would have saved me a lot of walking and probably the £30 I lost on the way. Oh well, hopefully it made someone's day a bit brighter.

I was kind of in a rush so I forgot to stick on the picture at the top right but the lady at the consulate was kind enough to do it for me. She just double-checked my documents and asked if I wanted a single or multiple entry visa (I got a single-entry which is £23) and then asked if I would like to have my passport delivered or if I would like to pick it up. They say it generally takes 5 working days to get a visa sorted, so make sure you give yourself enough time. The whole process is pretty painless, it's just waiting on certificates and so on that can be irritating, especially if you are due to fly out soon.

I have a lot left to do, like getting money, packing my things, buying travel supplies, etc. Planning to do a lot of that this week. Not much time left now!

Labels: edinburgh, koraku heights, living, ritsumeikan, visa

Since I spent most of this week booking transportation and scouring maps of Kyoto, I thought I should make an entry about how that's been.Well, besides really damned expensive, haha.

Once you get an email from Rits confirming your acceptance, they should direct you to a part of their site where you can get a PDF with details of all the types of accommodation they offer. They had a lot more options than I expected, but some are strictly for students studying at Rits for one semester (Freepia Narutaki, Ryuugakusei house, etc) whereas House 50 and Koraku Heights are full year students only. I'm not sure if the two I-houses accept both, I just know they accept full year students.

Rits then sent me an online form-thing where you select your preferred accommodation. Their deadline date was July 13th, which gave me about a week or so. I remember hearing somewhere that it's first-come first-serve but it's a bit vague--I'd say be quick anyway! My first choice was House 50 then Koraku Heights because I had issues with aspects of the I-Houses and the apartment type accommodation suits me better.

Unfortunately, I didn't get my first choice, but I did get into Koraku Heights, which is more or less the same (except you need to sort out your own internet, but you get a private washing machine and rent is slightly cheaper I suppose.) It is still ridiculously expensive though, being about ¥48000 (£392-ish) a month (including maintenance fees.) Also you have to pay for gas, electricity, water, etc, on top of that. House 50 is around ¥53000 (£433-ish) a month. Well, wasn't expecting to have any money upon graduating anyway. (sigh)

In terms of moving in, House 50 and Koraku Heights were very rigid with their dates--there were only three dates you could pick to move in, all at 9:30am which is annoying if you can't get a hotel near the campus. They do recommend you stay at a nearby hostel or hotel (like hotel Chrysantheme, which I have booked for a night before I move in on the 12th) so you can make it. As far as I remember the I-house I and II dates are a bit more flexible.

Since I was waiting for my accommodation to be confirmed, I didn't book my flights until a few days ago. I was originally planning to fly with KLM since they had cheap flights (around £600ish return) to Kansai International that took around 14 hours, but I wasn't able to book a return ticket for August 2013. When I went to STA in glasgow the guy told me I could just make the return date a random day in June and then change it later with a multiflex pass that they offer for £59. In the end I got a much more expensive flight of £800ish, but my dates could be changed up to three times which would be useful. This flight sounds classier than the KLM one too, which doesn't hurt. Fancy plane food is fine by me!

I booked Yasaka's shuttle taxi service to pick me up at the airport and take me to the hotel I'm staying at. It cost about ¥3500 (¥3000 if you book online I think) but I didn't really want to brave the express train after getting off a long flight. Another day perhaps. You get one suitcase and your hand luggage on the shuttle free, but there is a fee for each extra suitcase you have. Ritsumeikan recommended this service (along with MK shuttle's taxi) as means of getting to Kyoto, so hopefully it's efficient enough.

 I bought my university's travel insurance which came to about £190. I'm not sure if that was a good deal or not, but it was recommended by our international office so I'm assuming it's better suited to my needs. I am pretty sure Rits make you take their medical and liability insurance when you get there. Since I have no scholarship I'm hoping SAAS will refund me in full...

Orientation begins around the 18th of September, which gives me a few days to adjust, get together some stuff and see some sights study hard for the placement test. I am fearing for my life at the thought of having to do an interview in Japanese, but I'm hoping it'll die down once I've become accustomed to everybody speaking it around me. My accent kinda sucks and it's making me paranoid but that should improve with time. Maybe.

Classes don't start until the 26th so I'll have more time to go sightseeing and whatnot between then and the 21st, which is when orientation ends. Looking forward to putting my camera to good use again and taking some photos of Kyoto! My girlfriend also arrives around then since she's staying with me until her accommodation opens so I won't be getting lost on my own either, bahaha. I am getting pretty excited now, scared too but y'know.

Labels: finance, koraku heights, living, money, ritsumeikan, study abroad

Hey, welcome to my blog! This is what I'm (hopefully) going to use to document my year abroad in Japan. It is mostly a place for me to write down what's going on in my life while I'm studying at Ritsumeikan, although I am hoping it will be useful for the students who go after me too--there were a few blogs around about Rits, but nothing too substantial so yeah, why not.

Gonna start with the various things I had to do when applying for Rits, as for me it was confusing and (at times) frustrating.

I applied for the IJL (intensive Japanese language) track beginning in September, which is part of Ritsumeikan's Study in Kyoto Program. It had one of the latest deadlines out of the Japanese universities partnered with Edinburgh, which was around March 20th. There is a good reason for the late deadline though, as Rits requested I fill out a medical form (which meant I had to get my eyes tested and get a doctor's referral for a chest x-ray); a 13-14(?) page application form; and a 600-800 character personal statement in Japanese. However, since they now accept people with no knowledge of Japanese, beginners do not have to write a personal statement, or so it said on the form. If you are applying for a scholarship you also have to write a page or so on why you need one and in what way it would be beneficial to you in Japan and blah blah blah. They ask for proof that you can financially support yourself (through loans/scholarships/help from parents/etc) while in Japan too.

The personal statement is to be written without help from anyone (otherwise they cancel your application), but it is manageable. It sounds like a lot but once you get into it it's not so bad. By far the most annoying thing was the medical forms which completely confused my doctor. They could only fill out basic things like my blood pressure, weight and height. I also made the mistake of going to the x-ray department in Lauriston Place without a doctor's referral, and was rejected until I came back a few days later with one. The x-ray cost about £35, which is a lot cheaper than most hospitals in my area, or so I've heard. I had to get my eyes tested at an optician as my doctor couldn't, but it didn't take very long. Anyway, I left it until late as always and the process was much more stressful than it should have been, so any prospective students reading this, be prepared! Do everything early and your application process should go smoothly.

Since Rits had such a late deadline, I wasn't surprised that they were one of the last universities to contact their applicants. Well, out of our partnered universities, that is. I got Rits' acceptance email on June 27th, while most of my classmates had already received theirs weeks before. Kyoto University was probably the worst for being late though, as my girlfriend soon found out--she had applied back in February but didn't receive any news until July! It was pretty ridiculous. But yeah, when they say 'late', they really mean it, haha.

So, next post will be about housing and a bit about flights, visas, etc. As of right now I haven't received my certificate of eligibility (they send it out in August so it could come soon) so I can't really talk about visas in any depth yet.

Labels: edinburgh, ritsumeikan, study abroad