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I was wondering if my general bank card would work in the ATM's there. I have a Lloyds TSB Visa electron card. I was just wondering if i was going to need a different account or not. Since i'll be out there for a year i'll end up setting up a bank account out there anyway. Any help is great.
 
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Well, I know there is a LloydsTSB in Tokyo:
http://www.lloydstsb.co.jp/en/about/index.php but, I don't know if you can use Visa electron cards at normal ATM's or wothout being heavily charged. I do know that you can use forign cards at Citibank, but I don't know how much they charge for handling.
I would recomend betting a Post Office account in the UK, then one in Japan, so you can get money sent to you from the UK. The Post office has the cheapest handling charges but, you have to have an account in both countries. Also, if you have a PO account it can be a lot easier than having a bank account- if you use other banks ATM's you get charged and sometimes there's not a branch of your bank when you go somewhere, but there's always a post office.

A lot of foreign bank cards/credit cards can't be used in Japan. So, its best to check with your bank at home and see how much it will cost and where they are.
 
So if i wanted to set up a post office account in Japan i couldn't do it from here before i left? I'd have to set one up here and then set one up there, right?
 
yeah, you'd have to do it when you get here. Your job should give you a document, saying that you work for them, and you'll have to get registered as an alien and also get a document stating your address in Japan. These can all be done at the city/ward office (except the one from your job of-course).
It sounds a bit tricky, but it's standard proceedure. You'll probably have to get and "Inkan" (name stamp thing") made up, since banks/etc... won't let you open accounts and all that without one. They're quite cheap, about Y3000.
 
Thanks chris. Puts my mind to rest a little more, i was panicking a little because its getting pretty close till i leave
 
I'll arrive on the 8th of september. The gap year company i'm going with help me sort out jobs and things while i'm there. I'm looking to get a teaching assistant job of sorts, but they offer other jobs too.
 
What's the opinion in Japan over the latest NK missile tests? Is there concern or is it just "Meh, more of the same?" or what?
 
It's actually quite tense really. North Korean is probably the biggest threat to world peace at the moment but seems to get little coverage on worldwide media. Forget the Oil Wars in Iraq and the mess that has become Afghanistan, if we leave them alone they'll sort themselves out. North Korea on the other hand is the most backwards country in the world. Watching their news chanels is hilarious! It's like a comedy show, telling everyone how great and powerful that spud on legs is!

There were news flashes throughout the night and morning when the missiles fired. I really worldn't put it past the freak to launch an attack. I wish someone would put a few bullets in his head ASAP, or kidnap his kids till he gives back the people HE has kidnapped and kept in that joke of a country for 20-odd years.
 
I wish someone would put a few bullets in his head ASAP, or kidnap his kids till he gives back the people HE has kidnapped and kept in that joke of a country for 20-odd years.
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anyone but the marines then, u know how well they did with Sadam on that attempt in the first Iraq war
 
Well, we're in the rainy season at the moment and its always really hot at this time of year, over 30 degrees almost every day till the middle of September.
 
I'm pretty sure they use the same as western ones. If they used different ones it would be a little confusing I guess.
 
It's a kind of general question, but I'd love to know, does Lupin III still enjoy a wide popularity in Japan, or has he been relegated to the occasional TV movie with little else?
 
You see it every now and again, but yes, only really the odd TV movie. I never really saw much of any appeal in it really. My wife used to watch it when she was a kid though.
 
dunno why i thought of this but how well do people speak english in Japan?

You see alot of shows when most people only understand Japanese, but i've noticed quite a few anime intros/endings use quite a bit of english in them (girls on film for Speed grapher and the shinigami no ballad theme for example). Yet alot of tv documentary's about Japan have them comming off like they know very little English
 
The level of English in Japan is a joke. They learn it from primary school but for a number of reasons, including the fact that a lot of the teachers are Japanese and have appalling accents when speaking English, and when they have foreign teachers they just play stupid games and sing/dance with kids. Its only really in Secondary and High school when English is taken seriously, and even then its more focused on grammar and written English so most people can only speak VERY basic English, VERY basic.

Sometimes even if you speak to someone in perfect Japanese they answer you in English, which is REALLY ****ing annoying even when its (very rarely) good English, but even worse when its something that sounds like a broken Speak-&-Spell with almost run down batteries.

Japan is FULL of stupid-English, which nobody seems to be bothered about changing. Take Japanese music for example. Artists seem to think its cool to use English in thier songs, even though its almost incomprehensible some of the times and down-right crap most of the time.

If you even come here and have a problem, don't rely on people on the street, go to a police-box, of even better one of the big hotels, especially the one I work at :)
 
Thanks for answering all our questions Chris. Maybe you should pretend to be Dutch, can't be many Japanese who can speak that language at you. ;-)
 
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