Working In Japan

Many people had asked me about my short stay in Japan for work - and wonder how one does it - since it’s so expensive living in Japan.   Are there many jobs in Japan?  What kind of cultural shock do one have to prepare for?  what kind of benefits?  Is there insurance provided by the company you work for?  What kind of life insurance quotes online do one have to look for back home - in order to go to Japan to work?  Is there health insurance or health benefits?  Can I bring my family with me?  So many questions - that one always have when they are going to Japan to work and who can blame them right?

I don’t know about those who are from different countries - as for me - I needed to get some form of insurance before I can work in Japan and I also needed to get a health check up to be presented to immigration before the company I was working for accepted my temporary position.  A work visa is also required before leaving for Japan - like all other countries - one cannot work if you are on a tourist visa.  There are more than a dozen types of work visa in Japan - and you can only work within that confine - when you apply for it.  The work market in Japan is very competitive - besides a few types of professions that I know is in great demand - like teaching and IT position - the rest are not in so high demand and even though there may be a vacancy - they are usually given to their fellowmen first.

Working in Japan will means you need some sort of health insurance - and usually the company you are working for - are usually pretty good at it - the cover you - totally.  But you have to make sure you have one - because visiting a doctor in Japan is not cheap and if you are in need to be admitted to a hospital - it could cost you an arm and a leg.   So once again - i cannot stress enough how much a insurance is a must.

As for cultural shock?  I don’t really think so - because even though not all Japanese speaks English fluently - they are generally nice people - and they do understand English because it is a subject they take in school.  And if you work in Japan - make sure you are not the first to leave the office - because it is frown upon by the bosses.

Japanese Eats Weird Stuff

Yes!  the Japanese can come up with some strange concoction for their food - seaweed in their buns - or squash or sweet potatoes - pickles! mannn! i’m asian but when the girlfriend sent this picture of the food she just had as a snack when she was on trip to an island around Hokkaido - i had to tell her - that I won’t be able to stomach that - thank you very much.   If you ever wonder why I never put on much weight when i was in japan - well it was definitely not the best weight loss product one can find in Japan but the more healthier choice of food and the weird ones of course that we won’t touch.   I know, i know ! i said i would eat anything once - but really!  seaweed???? blah!

Spring Flowers In Japan

As I scanned thru’ the pictures that my g/fs in Japan sent to me to remind me of all the spring activities in Japan as I was reading about prevera, I cannot help but remember the spring day I had many years ago - while working in Japan.  What did we do?  We went Spring Skiiing!!!  Yes! a little crazy at that time - now that I’m living in snowy Canada but nevertheless at that time - we wanted to catch the last snow.

We were in Asahi Daki - i don’t have the pictures anymore but I asked a girlfriend who was there with me - if she had some - this was the only one she found - we were there sometime in late May one year.   It was fun as far as I can remember - but some parts were really steep and I wasn’t too good at skiing , even though I’ve had done it a few times.  I had descended so good - I felt really good about myself - and went on skiing for longer than I had planned to.  It was like  spring skiing eden in Japan - i was flushed after the skiing.  There weren’t a lot of people anywheres except our group and it was pure amazing seeing the scenery and taking in all the breath-taking stunts my friends and I tried without embarrassing ourselves.  So if you are heading to Japan in late Spring - you can try that out yourself.

Japan Fashion Week

Japan’s Autumn/Winter Fashion week ended in early April and the best friend who lives in Japan, showed me some pictures, she had taken during the Fashion week.  You see - she married someone there and albeit the fact that there is no social security disability in Japan - she still loves the culture there so much that she decided to stay for another few years before heading back to the West.

The above were from designer Keiichi Muramatsu who graduated from the Bunka Fashion College with a major in knitwear and worked for Lineapiu Group in Italy as assistant designer shortly after. He showed his first collection in 2005 for S/S Tokyo Collection Week. This season he held several knitting seminars during Japan Fashion Week.  I have been following designer Keiichi for a long time now - therefore I was really glad to see his work once again.  I so wished i could attend Japan’s Fashion Week every year but alas, being so far from Asia - sure doesn’t make it easy to just hop on a plane and take a mini-break like I used to.   But some day - some day i hope to revisit Japan with my daughter.

Tsunami Warning In Japan

The tsunami warning issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center includes parts of Central and South America, New Zealand, Russia, Japan, the Philippines, Hawaii and a number of Pacific islands.  When my friend from Japan wrote about it on her facebook - i cannot helped but put away my reading of spring plungers and went online to check about the upcoming disaster and tragedy.

“Sea level readings confirm that a tsunami has been generated which could cause widespread damage,” reads a bulletin issued by the Pacific Tsunami Warning Center. “Authorities should take appropriate action in response to this threat.”

The Center issued specific warnings for the entire state of Hawaii, saying the first wave of a tsunami could hit at 11:19 a.m. local time.

In Japan, broadcaster NHK quoted experts who predicted a tsunami could hit Japan in less than 24 hours, and could be tens of centimetres high. In 2001, a tsunami that hit Japan after an 8.4-magnitude earthquake near Chile measured 28 centimetres.

Japanese Girls Are Trendy

I’ve always been asked by friends here in Canada if the Japanese girls are as cute  and trendy as they see in magazines and tv shows and how they stay so slim - do they have some sort of  natural diet pills for women or are they are just super kawaii.Japanese women are super nice - but they have a wild side too - if you think for a minute that all of them are demure and sweet and you want to bring them home with you - because of that - just remember .. that a lot of Japanese girls are well - traveled and it’s only because they are in Japan - they have to act the way that is expected of them - but when they are outta their country - they certainly are wild and fun.  Of course, having said all that - i’m not saying that Japanese girls are not good nor trendy - they are - but make sure you really know them - even before thinking of bringing them home.

Grocery Stores In Japan

You’ve gotta love the convenience of being able to get your fish in your friendly neighbourhood convenient store and plus the price is awesome.  No wonder the Japanese has such good complexion and good health eh.  I know none of my friends needed acne treatments while they were there for sure.

You can even find fish stuffed with eggs in it.. at a reasonable price.  Unfortunately, for some of us.. they also have pizza with loads of mayo in them.. and that is horrid isn’t it.  I can’t stomach the mayo they have in just about everything.. even some of thei sushi - now that’s just so wrong.

Now this is what i really call a convenient store.. you can cook your entire meal from this store.. without having to go to the city.  These tiny fishes are great for grilling over your charcoal stove at home.

Japan Iron Man Retires @ 81

Japanese marathon runner who used Kettlebell and competed at the 1952 Olympics in Helsinki has finally called it quits at the age of 81.After taking part in three marathons this year Keizo Yamada has decided it is time to scale back his activities and retire from competitive running.

Yamada, who won the Boston Marathon in 1953, bade farewell to Boston in April when he ran the event for the 19th time, a month after completing the Tokyo Marathon in a time of five hours, 34 minutes and 50 seconds.  Yamada, known as ‘Iron Man’, will continue with his daily 20km jogs but told Sunday’s Sports Hochi newspaper “I’m not getting any younger so I won’t run any more 42km (26 mile) races”.

“I will carry on running for fun to stay in shape,” he added.

Yamada was one of the pioneers of Japanese marathon running, along with Shigeki Tanaka and Hideo Hamamura, who won in Boston in 1951 and 1955 respectively.

Kokichi Tsuburaya put the sport on the map in Japan by taking bronze in the men’s marathon at the 1964 Tokyo Olympics.  Japan’s women have had more success than their male counterparts in recent years, with Naoko Takahashi capturing gold at the 2000 Sydney Olympics and Mizuki Noguchi winning the 2004 title in Athens.

Rock On Mt Fuji Kills Man

The boulder, about a meter in diameter, reportedly hit the campervan shortly after 10 p.m. on Monday, crashing through the vehicle’s roof.

The accident occurred at the highest parking lot on the Shizuoka side of Mount Fuji, located at an altitude of approximately 2,400 meters. The trails between the ninth station and the mountain’s summit were closed due to remaining snow, but were reopened at midnight on Tuesday.

Japanese Belly Dancers

Yes… ! these are apparently Japanese belly dancers from Japan in Turkey.  Horror against horror..!!   But i think they must be a pair of comedian .. imitating the belly dancers.. and just for a good laugh.  You don’t really see a lot of woman folks in Japan behaving this way.. so don’t get too worried about meeting them.. when you are in Japan.  But those two up there might need some  Blue Advantage else they really have to lose some weight eh.