立命館の大冒険

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