KNOW BEFORE YOU GO

KNOW BEFORE YOU GO
credit this link http://thejapanfaq.cjb.net/

Quote :

Japan is the one of the most expensive countries on earth.

PREPARATION AND THE FLIGHT OVER
The flight is VERY long and tiring -- bring some aspirin and eye drops with you -- you'll need them. Some ear-plugs, an eye-mask, and skin lotion can also help. Before your flight, sign up with a frequent flier program -- many airlines have them, and eventually you can get free flights through them. If your final destination will be in a large or medium size city other than Tokyo or Osaka, you might consider flying via Seoul. Domestic travel can be EXTREMELY expensive in Japan; check with your travel agent as well as Japan Air Lines and ANA's website for some special deals. It may in fact be more convenient to use airlines as much as possible if you are carrying a ton of stuff since Japan's train system is not designed for people with heavy luggage. If you find you have just too much stuff for you to carry, look into luggage transport services in the Japanese airport, which can deliver your things anywhere in the country at a time you designate for a reasonable fee.

From or to the Americas you are limited to 2 suitcases (usual max wt. 32kg or 70 lbs. each, but your airline my vary) and one hand carry with a max limit of 115 cm (45 inches) (55x35x25cm) and 10 kg (I've never seen any hand carry actually getting weighed though). Excess baggage is charged at a piece-rate system, for example $110 per extra suitcase if not overweight or oversize. A backpack is also allowable. From outside the Americas they usually follow a weight system, limited to 44lbs or 20kg and excess baggage for anything more.

If you arrive at the airport check-in counter early enough, you may be able to choose a better seat. One of the best is a seat just behind the emergency door. This allows you to both stretch your legs and try and get some sleep. Then just pray you're not seated next to a screaming baby or obviously sick person sneezing their virus all over you the whole way there.

During the flight if you feel nature's call, it'd be smart to go before the meal is served since half the passengers rush for the lavoratories the second they finish their last bite.

Also make sure you'll be dressed for the occasion. Japan's rainy season is usually from June to mid-July, and the summers are extremely sticky and humid. Bring lots of deodorant! Likewise typhoon season is in August-Sept. and may disrupt or cancel transportation service for the day. The summer high temps can go up to 38C (100F) or so, and the winter temps can be as low as -2 or 3 degrees in the southern half of the country. There it rarely snows any heavy amount except for the mountains, but the northern part usually has plenty of snow in the winter. Autumn is by far the best time to visit Japan, as far as the weather goes. For help on getting from Tokyo Narita airport to the city, click here. From Kansai Int'l Airport, click here. Many newcomers to Tokyo Narita just assume they'll take a taxi to downtown Tokyo. DON'T. It's 66 km and will cost you half your plane fare to get there. Take the bus, or avoid the traffic jams altogether and take the train.


Jet Lag
Japan is 9 hours ahead of London, 17 hours ahead of California PST (16 ahead on PDT), and 1 hour behind Sydney, Australia. Generally jet lag hits hardest flying east, but largely depends on how many time zones you cross, the departure/arrival time, the flight length, and how much you can sleep during the flight. Usually the effects are sleeplessness at night or sleepiness during the day (even if you have a full night's sleep), but may also include malaise, loss of appetite, dehydration, headaches, mild dizziness, or even nausea. Some may also have nosebleeds for a few days because of the bone-dry air on the aircraft. (A saline nasal spray can help prevent and alleviate this). Taking melatonin at bedtime after arriving may help you put your body clock back in sync. It would be best to keep a light schedule for your first few days.

Changing Money
Before you come to Japan, you should change a little money into yen (photo) to be safe, or more if you'll be arriving on a weekend or a national holiday. But for the rest of your money, you'd be smart to buy yen once in Japan. Japan does a lot of trade in dollars and they have a far better exchange rate. Buying yen in other countries usually ends up costing you from 6 yen from the newspaper rate to a whopping 30% commission! Larger Japanese post offices can also change currencies at a rate that's a little better than a Japanese bank. It's also possible to get yen from your ATM card at Citibank or any of their ATMs which are open 24 hrs. and are in major airports in Japan. You can also go to any Japanese post office in the country and get Japanese cash through ATM cards in the Plus or Cirrus networks, credit cards issued by Visa International, MasterCard International, American Express and Diners Club, or debit cards in the Visa Electron or Maestro networks. Aside from these however, other cards will be virtually useless in Japan.

tourist visa to go to Japan
This depends on your nationality but those from English speaking or most European countries only need a passport valid for the next 90 days and a return ticket out of the country within that time

How do I get a work visa?"
To work full-time in Japan, you first need to have at least a Bachelor's degree in any field (or prove you have at least 10 years of experience in some industry), then find a company or school that agrees to hire you. You can apply for a visa in or out of Japan, but to change a landing permit into a work visa, with very few exceptions, you need to get it at a Japanese embassy or consulate outside of Japan. Many people come to Japan on a 90 day landing permit (in many countries now, the "tourist visa" is outmoded--also the Japanese Immigration may ask to see your air ticket to show that you don't plan to illegally overstay your landing permit), find a company/school that will sponsor them for a visa, wait around 3 weeks to get a "Certificate of Eligibility", then leave Japan to get the visa, which is typically valid for 1-3 years. (Renewals can be done in Japan). Most people fly to Korea for this. You can also get a Working Holiday Visa, if you're Canadian, British, Australian, New Zealander, or German (no, Americans are not elgible). One can also enroll in a language, martial arts, or other accredited school and get a student visa which allows you to work up to 20 hrs/week legally (there is a separate form from Immigration you'll need to fill out). To get a student visa however, many times the Immigration Dept. will demand that you have at least one million yen in a Japanese bank account, and to see your college diploma (the real one or certified copy, no photocopies). In either case, you will need a guarantor for your visa -- usually your company/school can act as one for you; if they won't, you'll need someone (often they'll demand he be a Japanese man) with a stable job and salary who'll be one for you. Your new cute girlfriend or that cool dude you hang out with will not be acceptable.

The only other viable legal options to work in Japan are through a spouse visa by marrying a Japanese, or a dependent visa by being married to a foreigner in Japan who is legally working full time.

If you think you'll be travelling a lot around the country to look for work or go sightseeing, an excellent idea would be to get a Japan Rail Pass which allows you to go on any JR train in the country for one price paid up front. You must get the pass before going to Japan and it's also good for the bullet trains (except the fastest - the Nozomi). The price may look high but transportation in general is high in Japan and you can see the costs you'll otherwise have to pay on the Townpage Japan rail fare calculator.

Another important note: Once you're on a work or student visa, and you plan to leave Japan for travel, visiting family, etc. you MUST get a re-entry permit from the Immigration Dept. (take your passport to the local immigration office). A single re-entry permit is 3000 yen, and a multiple permit, good for an unlimited number of re-entries (for the term of your visa) is 6000 yen. IMPORTANT!!: Failure to get the re-entry permit stamp in your passport may prevent you from being allowed back into Japan.

Watch out for peak travel periods as well -- the end of the year, August, and "Golden Week" (the end of April and the first week of May) are usually jammed with passengers and prices are double or worse.

For those of you considering teaching English in Japan (EFL, or sometimes called ESL), please refer to Secrets on Teaching English in Japan. The links list at the bottom also have a lot of useful information.

"Should I bring my TV/VCR/stereo/computer, etc.?"

Maybe the computer, if you'll REALLY need it. The others, you had better leave behind. Why? 1-They might break along the way, and 2-The broadcast frequencies in Japan are different. AM Radio is the same, but FM is only 76-90 MHz. TV frequencies are different as well -- starting in the US upper FM radio bands. Besides, your suitcase space is precious and you can get a used TV here for 6000 yen and up. Commercial DVDs sent to you in Japan may not work perfectly either if your player is made for a different DVD Zone. One way around this is a Codefree DVD Player. It's also possible to make excellent code-free copies of your DVDs through some free DVD PC programs like DVD Shrink and DVD Decrypter, or watch a DVD from a different zone on your PC through programs like AnyDVD or DVDIdle Pro. All DVD recorders and media in Japan appear to use -R/RW only, however. Having a computer with a high speed net connection can be quite a delight though for sending pictures, free phone calls or chatting, hearing radio from back home or seeing the news whenever you want.

A few other important items on bringing a computer with a non-Japanese OS. If you get Japanese software or hardware (with Japanese software to install the drivers) it may or may not function properly, and all the dialog windows will look like garbage. (Conversely, depending on the program and the OS some complex English programs on a Japanese OS may not work either). You can change to a Japanese OS, or you can install both on the same machine through programs like System Commander or Partition Magic. Coming from North America, electricity probably won't be a problem; but for sensitive devices it may be wise to buy an electrical transformer, widely available in electronics districts like Akihabara in Tokyo, Nihonbashi in Osaka, or larger retail chain stores like Bic Camera. If your country uses 220-40 volts a transformer is a must.

In terms of prices, these days Japanese products are not really cheaper than in North America, but still a bargain compared to Europe. If you buy something in Japan, the manual may only be in Japanese, and the warranty only good in Japan. Buying international models solve those problems but then there are far less savings. You may also need to spend even more for accessories, like software and cables to hook up a digital camera or camcorder to a computer, whereas elsewhere they may be included.

If you are in some isolated area, you can still shop at stores in the cheaper electronics districts online at Kakaku.com. You will need a Japanese friend to help if you can't understand Japanese well enough though.

If you're going to be here a while, bringing a phone, answering machine and fax machine (all very pricey in Japan) would be a good idea, but cordless phones in Japan use different frequencies, so bringing one to Japan might cause interference and land you in trouble.


"Will my electric appliances work in Japan?" -- Voltage and TV Broadcasts

In Japan, the whole country runs on 100V, with the northern half of the nation (i.e. north of the Oi River) on 50Hz and the southern half on 60Hz (same as in North America). If you're from the US/Canada most electric gadgets will work fine, but things like quartz clocks on 50Hz will go nuts. Some ex-pats also say that items with electric motors on 50Hz will run slower, and not run normally when you take it home. This may or may not affect you. For sensitive items, buying a Japanese surge protector and Uninterruptable Power Supply might be well worth the money. Another possible glitch is the plug -- while generally the same as those used in North America, some Japanese outlets may not allow you to put in polarized or 3 prong plugs. (Adapters do exist however). For TV, Japan uses the NTSC broadcast, like North America, Korea, and the Philippines. If you have family/friends from Europe or Australia send you a videotape, you won't be able to watch it. Special VCRs can play all formats but they cost over US$200 and are only sold at electronics stores that handle a lot of international tourists.

Many TVs and VCRs can play bilingual broadcasts and some have Japanese satellite tuners. These days many, but not all, western movies and shows are shown in both Japanese and another language (almost always English). And the English tracks are not censored to death to protect your dainty ears. Unfortunately, while you may be used to 500 satellite channels back home, there is a terrible dearth of channels in Japan. Cable and satellite broadcasts are changing this, if you are lucky enough to be in an area that gets it, but if you think Japan is totally "high-tech", you may be in for a rude awakening.

Dealing with Mr. NHK

Like in the UK, you are required to pay the government if you have a television. However, there are no real fines if you refuse to pay. Sooner or later you will find an old guy from the Japanese government channel NHK knocking at your door and asking if you have a TV. Say no and he'll go away for a while. Say yes and he will order you to pay. Over and over again. Even if you say you never watch NHK because it's made for insomniacs who don't respond to strong drugs, or never even turn on the tube at all, he'll demand your money. And having a satellite dish hanging out on your balcony is a dead giveaway. One way around this is to live in a building where the building has the dish, and you just plug in your "broadcast satellite (BS) tuner" from inside your room.