Shukatsu（就職活動＝就活）－Job-hunting activity

"Shukatsu" is one of the big life events for university students.

Japanese students usually start contacting companies in the second semester of their 3rd year of study; a year and a half before they graduate.

Students collect companies' brochure, attend recruiting fairs, company information sessions and finally apply for multiple jobs through the Internet. Companies check through students' CVs and applications, and select some candidates.

Students who are selected take some tests and the 1st, 2nd and 3rd job interviews. Finally successful students received an offer letter from the company.

Unfortunately Japan's economy is not so good at the moment and so some students apply to over 60 companies before he/she gets a job offer. It must be very stressful.  

Work starting date is always April 1st. If you see young people wearing black recruitment suits, they are probably university students who are visiting recruiting fairs or company information sessions.

General rule in Japan vol.2

Taking off shoes:
I think that most foreigners know the taking-off-shoes rule in Japan. There is a small space when you enter the house/apartment, or temples to take off your shoes and put on slippers before going inside. Even some Japanese restaurants have this system. Slippers are usually small for western men. When you visit a Japanese home or temple, check whether your socks have any holes and take extra socks with you for rainy days or sweaty summers. 



Restrooms:
Public restrooms in Japan are very clean. Also the toilet features advanced technology to make us comfortable but there are many buttons to press for each function so it can be hard to find which button is for flushing!

Have you heard "Washlet" and "Otohime" system?
Japanese toilet has several functions such as a seat warmer, or a bidet to clean your bottom, or the Otohime, which is the sound of splashing water so people can't hear you.  



Bath room:
In a hotel, a bath tub and shower are a single unit but in Japanese houses, bath tub is purely to just warm your body in hot water (usually about 40 degrees C). When you wash your hair and body you have to wash in the space next to the bath tub.


Futon on the balcony:
One Japanese custom is to put futons outside to dry. You may see some people hang their futon over their balcony. Many newer apartment forbid the hanging of futons over the balcony so if you want to dry your futon under the sun please hang it inside the balcony and not higher than the balcony wall. 

Some people bang their futon to get rid of mites inside the futon but actually it is not practical. Using a vacuum cleaner is a much better way to do it.

Withdrawing cash and opening a bank account in Japan

When you want to withdraw cash at the ATM with your international cash card in Japan, you need to look for an ATM machine which accepts "PLUS" or "Cirrus" (which is written beside the ATMs). You can use ATMs at post offices, Seven Bank at the convenience store "Seven Eleven" or Citi banks. Some other Japanese banks' ATMs also accept international cash card but not all.


Post office
http://www.jp-bank.japanpost.jp/en/ias/en_ias_index.html

Seven bank
http://www.sevenbank.co.jp/intlcard/index2.html


Citi bank
http://www.citibank.co.jp/en/banking/branch_atm/


How to open a bank account:

If you want to open a bank account in Japan, you need to go to a special counter at the bank.
Banks open from 9 am to 3 pm, Mon to Fri., but they will be very crowded on the 10th, 15th, 25th and the end of the month because those days are paydays for many companies.

To open a bank account in Japan you will require the following things:

・Resident card, driver's license or a public health insurance card to confirm your address in Japan
・Passport
・Inkan, Hanko (persona name seal/stamp)
・Fill out the application forms.
・Initial deposit (Usually people put 1000 yen to start the account, but there is no minimum amount so you can deposit 1 yen.)

In Japan, there are 2 types of accounts. One called Futsu (ordinaly/savings account) and Toza (checking account usually for company use).

Some banks accept your signature instead of your seal.


When the bank completes the process, you'll receive your bank book which will keep your bank records and a cach card will usually be sent to your address within a week.



You may want to ask some help your Japanese friend or work mates to go to the bank because unfortunately the workers at the banks or post offices are not good English speaker.


Citi bank (will require the monthly maintenance fee) and Shinsei bank have service in English.

Shinsei bank
http://www.shinseibank.com/english/
Citi bank
http://www.citibank.co.jp/en/banking/branch_atm/


Public information site for how to open a bank account:
Osaka
http://www.city.osaka.lg.jp/contents/wdu020/enjoy/en/services/11.html
http://www2.ofix.or.jp/english/pdf/8-4.pdf

Kobe
http://www.kicc.jp/kicc/guide/bank/index_eng.html

Private information site for how to open a bank account:
http://www.thejapanguy.com/how-to-open-a-japan-post-bank-account/
http://www.digi-joho.com/en/living-japan/165-opening-bank-accounts.html

Octoberfest 2013 in Kansai- German Beer festival

This is very popular event in Osaka. You can enjoy German beer and food. The German song "Ein Prosit" will be sung on the stage and people sing along and dance.  It is an outside event so it will be hot but it is very enjoyable.

Official HP:
http://oktfest.jp.net/


You need to pay 1000 yen for deposit with your first order of beer,  but when you don't want to drink beer anymore you take your glass to the counter and they will return the deposit.


In Shin Umeda City (from JR, Hankyu, Hanshin and Osaka subway Umeda station)
8/21 (Wed)  -9/1 (Sun)
Weekday 16:00-22:00 (L.O. 21:30)
Sat&Sun 11:00-22:00 (L.O. 21:30)
http://www.tv-osaka.co.jp/oktoberfest/

access
http://www.skybldg.co.jp/access/walk.html



It will be in Kobe too.
9/14-9/23

General rule in Japan

I've heard about some disputes between foreign residents and Japanese neighborhoods over 2 issues. Garbage and Noise. It simply come to a cultural gap or misunderstanding.

<Garbage>

Japanese government is trying reduce the garbage quantity and recycle resources as much as possible but garbage collection is controlled by local governments. 


You have to be careful because each region has different garbage disposal rules because there are no nation-wide rules. Your apartment complexes might hire a private garbage services for their residents and have more rules you need to follow.  Don't forget to ask about how to sort your garbage.

Sorting  garbage is a headache for new comers (I can understand that feeling because when I was working in Shizuoka the separating garbage rule was much more complex than in Osaka so I had to think about how to separate it before throwing anything away every time.) and you may feel like too much trouble but when you learn the rules and get used to them, it becomes easier for you.

As an example, you need to purchase designated garbage bags to throw away garbage in Kobe, but not in Osaka.  Find out more here:


Osaka city
http://www.city.osaka.lg.jp/contents/wdu020/kankyo/english/life/life01.html

Kobe City
http://www.city.kobe.lg.jp/life/recycle/waketon/img/english.pdf


<Noise>

When I lived in Australia, I didn't mind the noise from neighbours but when I came back to Japan, I sometimes had trouble with neighbours' noise such as washing machine, vacuum cleaner, high heel sound in the corridor etc. I wonder the building materials and environment are different?
You may need to lower the volume between 10 pm to 8 am. Talking on the balcony is also not a good idea. Balconies echo your voice to your neighbours and they can hear your conversation quite clearly.

I don't say that all Japanese are quiet but I noticed that Japanese rarely have visitors and when they do, they tend to have a smaller group of visitors. (It is not always true though.) I think that complaints occur mostly because there isn't enough communication due to the language barrier. If you know each other, you or neighbour don't mind the noises which come from next door. So my suggestion is to try to greet your neighbours when you see them. 

Osaka ben - Osaka dialect

In Japan, the standard Japanese dialect is Tokyo-ben (Tokyo dialect) but there are many other regional dialects and special words across Japan.

In the Kansai area it's called Kansai-ben (Kansai dialect), but it is not just one dialect. People in Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe and so on all use slightly different words and accents.

Osaka-ben is not taught in text book's so you may have difficulty understanding it in the beginning but you'll get use to it soon. Why don't you go out and learn Osaka-ben from Osaka people?


There are several sites teaching Osaka-ben.

http://www.city.osaka.lg.jp/contents/wdu020/english/osaka_dialect/index.html

http://hougen.u-biq.org/osakaben.html

http://www.osaka-info.jp/en/about/dialect.html

Udon - Gourmet in Osaka

Udon is a thick noodle made from wheat flour. It is served with fish stock, soy sauce and a sugar base soup. There are many varieties of toppings such as Tempura, egg, beef, wakame (seaweed), curry etc. In Osaka, Kitsune udon, which is served with sweetened deep-fried thin tofu, is popular. Sanuki (Kagawa pref) udon restaurants are popular in Osaka too. Sanuki udon's noodles are firmer and chewy and there is less soup than Osaka udon style.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Udon

http://japanesefood.about.com/od/udon/a/aboutudon.htm

http://www.japan-guide.com/r/e105.html