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.

Road Trip - Temples In Nara City

Nara Prefecture is where the capital of Japan once was - located less than an hour away from Osaka and Kyoto - one can take a road trip to view historical temples of Japan.  So off we went after buying our auto insurance and renting a car -  you see we were renting it from a co-worker and in Japan - you have to get individual insurance. I don’t know if you know this - but one can check on international auto insurance when you are on vacation - but when you rent from a car rental - I think they take care of all insurance for you.

There were many old statues as you can see in the pictures that follow - but one thing i missed about visiting temples from Japan and in Hong Kong is - when in Hong Kong - you can opt to have a vegetarian meal at the temples there.  Here in Japan - they don’t offer this kind of service.

Nevertheless, it was a pretty good trip - a lot to see and a lot to take in - and if only they have all the description in English too - that would be perfect.

Outside of one temple - outta the 7 we visited - i like the Kofukuji Temple best.

Favorite Summer Dessert In Japan

Yes! my favorite summer dessert - in Japan - but ironically i wasn’t introduced to this when I was living in Japan - it was in Malaysia - in a cafe at Daimaru that I first at this dessert called Azuki Shiratama.  You see - i had some online coupons to this restaurant and anything free or discounted is great right - especially for a student then.  Yes ! i was only 17 years old and had gone there with a friend to try this summer dessert.  Never did I think that 10 yrs later - i would be sitting in Osaka having the same dessert in a small little cafe - I hear it’s a favorite summer dessert for a lot of Japanese as well.  Consisting of red beans, green tea ice cream, glutinous rice, jelly at the bottom, fruits and lots of brown sugar syrup.  Glad that there were the online coupons for me to go try this wonderful dessert.

HRC & Tony Romas

I wonder why i never talked about the Hard Rock Cafe and Tony Romas In Roppongi - Tokyo - afterall, I used to be fascinated with HRC and collected teddy bears from all the HRC that i go to - i have like 28 bears from different countries from HRC.   But it was the buddy in tokyo who bought some Kwikset locks in Roppongi that got me thinking of Tony Romas as well - because they looked exactly like the door locks i saw at Tony Romas.  How do i know?  well, silly me one day went to get something to eat on my own but the restaurant wasn’t really opened for dinner yet - and i yanked and yanked on the locks and it just wouldn’t budged - and i thought it was stuck.  Hhaaha!  until a waiter came out and unlocked the door and told me that they weren’t opened yet.  How embarrassing right?  That was how i recognized it when the buddy from Japan showed me a picture of it.   And i had exclaimed !!! oh!! from Tony Romas!!!!  next to Hard Rock Cafe right?

Anyhow - there is a Hard Rock Cafe and Tony Romas in Tokyo - if you are missing Western food a lot - and if you are anything like me - you would wanna get your western food there only - because other “western” restaurant in Japan - just cannot be compared to good ole Hard Rock Cafe and Tony Romas for the baby ribs. But Hard Rock Cafe Roppongi wasn’t called that when i was in HRC Japan in the 1991 - it was the only Hard Rock Cafe there - and unlike the above picture given by the buddy in Tokyo - it had a gorilla hanging on the window and not the huge guitar.

Like any Hard Rock Cafe - it will be another Hard Rock Cafe - so you will pretty much get the same menu all over the world but try their vegie burger that is new i heard - but don’t quote me the next time you are there - and yes they still have the metal rock music there.   There are also more than one Hard Rock Cafes in Japan now - in fact there are 8 I heard.  So if you are in Japan - don’t worry about missing out on Western food - just head to the nearest HRC.  Good luck !

Yokohama Festival

Yokohama Festival was last month and I’ve only been there once - many years ago.  They celebrated their 151 years since opening its port in July 2010. Going to Yokohma from Tokyo wasn’t really too difficult if you car didn’t break down like ours did - hahha!! but luckily we had a local with us - a co-worker and he had gotten roadside assistance - so we were quickly on our way.  Yamashita Park is located in Yamashita-cho, Yokohama and is close to Yokohama Chinatown.

Yokohama is the second largest city in Japan about 3.6 million people in this place - full of history and very clean too - but Japan in most part is clean. This archway leads to a park -  and the first picture is Yokohama Chinatown - there are 7 or 8 chinese restaurants that you can choose from to eat.  Don’t forget to visit the famous Ferris Wheel and the Cosmo Clock while you are there - it’s just next to the Intercontinental Yokohama Grand Hotel - you can’t missed it.

Food in Chinatown.

check out some of the activities i found on u tube on the festival.

StarBucks Japan With LCD TV

One would think with Japan being so high tech and having one of the largest electronic stores there - an LCD TV inside Starbucks Japan wouldn’t be a bad idea right?  I had written a comment on one of their comment card many years ago - but i see they didn’t take me seriously at all.  But look out for their flavor of the month for this summer - dark mocha & orange Frappie.  Yums!  And if you are wondering about prices for some starbucks caffeine - check below.

One Short Ice/Hot Coffee of Starbucks Coffee in Tokyo is ¥290

One Tall Ice/Hot Coffee of Starbucks Coffee in Tokyo is ¥340

One Grande Ice/Hot Coffee of Starbucks Coffee in Tokyo is ¥390

Coffee Jelly Frappuccino  (Tall ¥480, Grande ¥530)

One thing about Starbucks anywhere in the world - the employees are all so chic and hip.  Don’t you agree with me?

People’s Bar aka Izakaya

My girlfriends in Tokyo calls it a People’s bar but this well known Izakaya is featured on tv - the internet and all sorts of tourist books and books too find good food in Japan.  I haven’t been in Japan for too long - yet I know this place.  But like all non- Japanese i would have preferred some contemporary coffee tables and don’t let my co-workers hear it because they loved the authentic Izakaya so much - nothing could deter them from coming here every evening.

The one that we so often go to is the one near the Shinjuku line at the Morishita Station - it`s very near to our office and anyone taking the subway - is only 2 mins away.  3 storey high as you can see in this picture - there isn`t very much seating in the entire house.

One of the very famous food we like to order are these skewers - chicken -  Yaki -ton - it goes so well with beer - or any cold drinks - we just can`t stop eating.  But it`s not only the Yaki ton that is good - Yamariki has a huge menu but like any izakaya - you could expect the freshest here.  I heard that because the owner had worked in some good french restaurants before - therefore - one can find some pretty good eats that are not Japanese here.

You see why I say i prefer the contemporary coffee tables?  Yes ! not as cozy eh as one would expect - when these Japanese spends hours after work here.  They also have a loud intercom - that they use to communicate between floors - it gets annoying after an hour.

This dish is called Nikomi - i heard it was cooked with some special sauce aged for 40 yrs - and they also have bbq pick intestines - i didn’t try it but a co - worker who did loved it.   Overall, if you are looking for a authentic japanese dining experience - a Izakaya - or a People’s Bar is the place to be and the Yamariki is well known - try that out yourself.

Yokohama Cosmo World Night Ride

If you are in Yokohoma which is 45mins by train from Tokyo - one have to try out their Super Ride at Yokohama Cosmo World.  We went there in the night because we figured the lights are  a lot cooler and it’s not as hot in the night as well.   If you are also wondering how Japanese get their thrills - I’m guessing it is these rides that keeps them happy.  But if you want a quick trim, lose some calories or get that heart pumping - try the Cosmo ride - if the ride doesn’t do it - the screaming would at least give your lungs a good workout.  When we were queuing for our turn - everywhere we turned were Japanese and  not as much Westerners as I had predicted.

Cosmo World is located near the harbor and the ferris wheel is once upon a time the largest in the world.  You are gonna be blinded by the thousand lights in different patterns - pretty overwhelming if you asked me.   The diving roller-coaster is not as scarey as it sounds - it passes thru’ an underground thru’ a pond and then back to the surface - it’s just an illusion that there is water coming straight at you.  There are several other rides you can choose to go on - like the new addition of a family ride i heard.  There is no entry fee to Cosmo World but you pay from 100 yen - 700 yen depending on what you care to do when you are there.   I know you will have fun - check out the cool arcade there too and have some popcorn cooked in a arcade machine right in front of you.

5 Must Sees & Do In Japan

Many of my friends would ask me each time they plan to go to Japan - on what they should see or do - or most importantly not missed because of the short trip that they are making.  Of course, they also asked what is the best time to visit Japan too.  But you see - Japan enjoys the 4 seasons too but a lot milder than most parts here in the West.  So here I was doing my dietpill reviews and a neighbor from another store came by and asked me the exact question - so i decided to just write it down and re-direct them to the blog instead.  Why?  because i get so long winded at times.. and I end up talking for so long and not getting my work done.

So here we go - instead of staying in a luxury hotel in Japan - i strongly suggest staying in a traditional Ryokan - what is it..?  A Ryokan is a traveler’s lodge - literally translated, the Ryokan is designed very traditionally and they usually have the tatami mats and traditional bedding.

Mount Fuji is a must not missed - afterall, it was considered one of the wonders in the world if i was not wrong.  If it wasn’t it was pretty wonderful to me.  I strongly suggest you go in August where it isn’t too hot but the weather is clear enough - going during the early spring -  can only disappoint because some of the stations are closed because of the weather.  The most easily accessible is the 5th station - it seems that most tour buses or private cars stop there just for a break.  And in the 5th station - there is also a place to visit -  whereby pregnant woman are advised not to visit - for the life of me - i cannot remember what is the name of the substance - but i will update once i remember.

While one can go to Disneyland just about anywhere in the world these days - you don’t have to waste a trip now to visit.  So if you are in Japan - i strongly suggest you do away with Disneyland but go for Sanrio Puroland instead.  Some may said that they might puke - but it’s a very interesting place especially for the kids and ladies in the family - so it’s not all about you - buddy!

If you are going to Japan - you have to try the sushi there - even if you don’t go to the restaurants near Tsukiji Fish Market - you still have to try something there.  You’ve NOT been to Japan if you don’t try the sushi eh.  I recommend Sushi Bun to anyone out there - you can’t beat Sushi Dai nor Daiwa Sushi - but if you wanna wait like for 2 hrs - you go right ahead eh.  I prefer Sushi Bun because it has a English menu and a good meal cost like only 3,500 - 4,000 yen.  I suggest you order the omakase (chef’s choice) - you let the chef decide for you - but if you are not adventurous enough  - then you order from the menu eh.

Visit a real geisha - many of you are mistaken that a geisha is a prostitute but it is not true because a real geisha is someone who is very talented in instruments, tea making and also in singing.  The present geisha i was told are still around because of the culture in Japan.  There you have it - the 5 things and places I would do and see if I was in Japan only for a few days.  But having said that I’m sure there is the Toyota showroom you want to see - and go take a ride around their newest car.  And the Fuji TV, Akibara, Pachinko and all the electronic stores in Shinbuya. Well, good luck !  i hope you enjoy them.

More Shrines In Japan

There are just so many shrines in Japan - the Japanese can’t get enough of it - it would seems - just like my dear friend with her acne treatments - she gets them treated everytime - while the Japanese goes to the temple or shrine for different purposes.  Different shrines are for different stuff - like you can have one for business and another to get pregnant and another one to find love.

My grandmother used to say that the Japanese are just another breed of people originally from China but branch out to be in Japan and created their own clan - i don’t know how true it is - but the Japanese sure has a lot in common with us the chinese.

This temple is known as the God of Business - so if you are a busines man or anyone who doesn’t want to lose their job - they come pray to Kanda Myojin.  I heard that it was so famous that companies from far and near Tokyo comes here to pray for good business every year.  As we all know - the Asians including myself are very superstitious people - so yes - anything to help the business.