Hokuriku Odekake Pass

Staying in the area over Golden Week? If you want to use your three and four-day weekends to explore the area without spending a lot on train fare, JR West has you covered. You may have seen the Hokuriku O-dekake Pass (北陸お出かけパス）advertized before:

Basically, this is a day-long all-you-can-ride pass for anywhere within the area listed on the map. The zone goes as far north as Tanihama (谷浜）in Niigata Prefecture, and as far south as Nagahama, Fukui on the Hokuriku Line and Aonogou, Fukui on the Obama Line. (Yes, you can visit the city of Obama.) The zone also includes the Noto Line as far as Wakura Onsen. If you haven’t visited Echizen, the Noto, or Toyama Prefecture yet, this is a cheap way to get there and back in a day. Fare from Kanazawa to Aonogou on local trains is 3,570 yen one way, so if you want to go far north or south, this pass can pay for itself at least three times over.

So, how does it work? The pass costs 2,000 yen. It can ONLY be used for local trains (no Limited Express trains like the Thunderbird, Shirasagi, or Hokuetsu). It can also ONLY be used on Saturdays, Sundays, or national holidays. You can get on and off as many times as you would like. The biggest catch perhaps is that it must be purchased AT LEAST three days in advance. You can purchase it as early as one month before the day you want to use it, but they are quite strict about the three days. Passes are definitely available at the larger JR stations like Kanazawa and Komatsu, and must be ordered at the counter. Smaller stations may or may not have them. The offer ends September 30th of this year, but it will probably be back.

Intrigued, but not sure which direction to go? The southern part of Fukui might be familiar to most Ishikawa JETs, but only from out the window of an Osaka or Nagoya-bound train. The Echizen area of Fukui  (normally 1,600+ each way from Kanazawa) is full of temples, shrines, and ruins to explore. 

For those of you living in Southern Ishikawa, this is a cheap way to explore the lower Noto, as tickets from Komatsu to Wakura Onsen usually run about 1,890 yen each way. Similarly, folks in the Noto can get to places like Natadera and Yunokuni no Mori in Kaga.

Your Hokuriku staycation can still be awesome and within budget–just make sure to get your Hokuriku O-dekake Pass at least three days in advance!

 

 

Clean Up Your Act Without Cleaning Out Your Wallet: Baking Soda and Vinegar Cleaner

Take a look at your household cleaning products. How many bottles of cleaners do you have? One for the bath, one for the kitchen, one for the toilet, one for mold, one for drains…. You can save a lot of money and make your home healthier and more eco-friendly by switching to cleaners made with two inexpensive, easy-to-find products: baking soda and vinegar.

Photo from Amazon.co.jp

Baking soda (juusou, 重曹) is, regrettably, not as cheap as it is in the US, but vinegar (su, 酢) is fairly inexpensive (and can be used on its own as a cleaner). If you don’t feel like mixing your own cleaner, you can buy it premixed. Several companies make this product: One is “Baking Soda and Vinegar Kitchen Cleaner” (juusou tasu osu daidokoro kurinaa, 重曹+お酢台所クリーナー), which, of course, can be used all over the home; another is Baking-Soda-chan (juusou-chan, 重曹ちゃん).

Image from amazon.co.jp

Baking soda and vinegar is a great disinfectant and household cleaner. I use it to clean my kitchen counters and sink, my bathtub and bathroom, my oven range and gas range, the top of my kotatsu, and my toilet. That’s at least four separate cleaners I don’t have to buy! I bought my first bottle pre-mixed, and I refill it by mixing powdered mix with water in the same spray bottle. A 500-gram box of powdered Juusou-chan is extremely cheap at 250 yen and will last forever.

There are quite a few benefits of using baking soda and vinegar.

Dressing for Winter

Running your heater constantly is bad for the environment and bad for your wallet. By changing how you dress and how you think about clothing, you can save money and save the earth.

1. Get Thermal Wear
Thermal wear, 保温下着 (ho-on shitagi), is a type of undergarment designed to trap heat and keep you warm while being much thinner and smoother than traditional long underwear. There are undershirts, of course, but you can also buy socks, leg warmers, scarves, underpants, gloves, stomach-warmers, etc. I like the undershirts and leg warmers best. Throw a undershirt under your pajamas, suit, or casual wear, and you’re set! Thermal wear is sold mainly at Uniqlo, Jusco, Shimamura, and Aeon.  Uniqlo’s line is called Heat Tech (hiito tekku, ヒートテック). Be sure to measure (bust/chest, length, waist) before you hit the stores because they tend to come prepackaged. Jusco/Aeon tends to have a better selection of sizes than other stores. Also, while this trick doesn’t work quite as well in reverse, if women’s sizes are too small or fit strangely, try men’s!
English explanation

The labels are often in English and have pictures of radiating heat; in department stores, they are usually with the underwear and socks.

2. Buy wool blends
100% cotton garments, especially thick sweaters, take forever to dry in the winter. Instead, shop for wool blends—the wool will dry much faster AND be warmer. Wool is ウール (uuru); acrylic is アクリル (akuriru); nylon is ナイロン (nairon); and cotton is 綿 (men).

3. Bring a blanket to work
If you work in one office (or even two), purchase a small lap blanket to use while you work at your desk. Your coworkers will be doing it, too.

4. Get better pajamas and home-wear
If you are used to running around your apartment back home in a tank top and cotton pajama pants in the dead of winter, you’re going to need to reevaluate your winter wear. If you have guests, you can always throw on a nicer sweater, thermal wear, and some leg-warmers under your jeans, but if you’re just watching TV, reading, or studying alone, it’s okay to not be 100% fashion forward to stay warm.

• Make lighter pj pants last into winter by wearing leg-warmers underneath.
• Get a bulky wool sweater to wear around the house or invest in some fleece pajamas or a housecoat from Uniqlo or Jusco.
• Fingerless gloves are great for nights at home Skyping; an “indoor” hat will prevent the heat from escaping from your head before your shower/bath.
• Thick wool socks or Heat Tech “home socks” will prevent your feet from freezing; wear thinner Heat Tech socks with your work shoes.

5. Get indoor “boots”
These slippers are fuzzy on the inside and cover the ankles. Shimamura tends to have then for fairly cheap, and they’re the best thing when you need to get out from under the kotatsu to cook, do laundry, or just move around.

6. Make the most of your wardrobe by layering
Japanese offices and schools do “cool biz” in the summer to reduce the use of AC. “Warm biz” is encouraged in the winter. You can extend the use of lighter clothing by layering.

• Women’s dress shirts that have ¾ sleeves are great under long-sleeved sweaters (covers the arms).
• For long-sleeved dress shirts, add Heat Tech underneath and/or a sweater vest, cardigan, or sweater on top.
• Invest in a good winter suit, or at least warm dress pants/skirts and a wool blazer, especially for events and for staying warm before and after sweater season.
• Leg-warmers are great because you can add or remove them more easily than long-johns—take them off before the long bike-ride to work and put them on when you get there.
• Get a tube-scarf (neck-warmer) for home—unlike a regular scarf, it won’t get tripped on or dunked in your dinner.
• Turtlenecks are another option for keeping your neck warm at home and work. I personally don’t really like the way I look in them, so I tend to add a nice scarf to some outfits to keep my neck warm.

Also, see this post on how to keep your apartment warm in the winter.

Stay warm!

Leah Zoller is a second-year CIR in Anamizu and the editor of this blog. She believes staying warm in winter and living an eco-friendly lifestyle absolutely go hand-in-hand.

Sales and bargains! WOoo-Hoooo!

Regardless of how long you’ve been here, you’re always looking for ways of getting rid of things and adding things to your home. Sometimes it takes a long time to find the good places to find affordable items – from household needs and furniture to media and entertainment. With winter coming on, most people get a really strong nesting urge, because you start spending a whole lot more time in your house. Even if you are leaving at the end of your current contract, unsure how long you’ll be here, or staying for the long run – the winter lulls can be helped by a nice, welcoming, uncluttered home.

So here are some places to supplement your needs.

Getting rid of and finding stuff from the people you know!

The JET forum For Sale/Wanted Section

When you want to give folks a chance to buy your unwanted items – this is a good way to give those useable things a new home! Likewise, if you are looking for something, post your need and someone who may happen to just have that lying around can fulfill your need.

Here is our original post about what to do and guidelines for posting. Please read it before posting. There are items up now, take a look! Any thread on the forum that is locked is an old posting and the item has sold or the person has had found the item they needed.

Nonoichi

Nonoichi is *the place* for making your home a little lighter and brighter. Between the slew of affordable homestores, media stores, and recycle shops (the nomer for second-hand stores here in Japan),  even from the Noto it can be your best bet for good items.

One of our former contributors also highlighted some of the more fun uber-boutiques to go to! http://ishikawajet.wordpress.com/2009/03/23/get-your-shop-on/

Here are the big ones to note!

Second Street

We’ve all got these nearby, but the stock at each store has a lot of to do with the socio-economic demographic that the store is located in. I’ve got a bit of cheapskate streak and have been known to go to various locations all over Ishikawa just to see what I can find, so I have noticed that quality varies between the locations greatly.  If your Second Street is located in an area filled with established families, you’re going to find a lot of higher end items – maybe some really great unidentified antiques to take back home when you leave Japan (which I’ve done!).  If you are near one of the universities, you’re going to find some wacky décor items and a lot of cheap, ready-to-carry house items, clothes and shoes.

The two locations that I have found most of the larger items in my house are the Nonoichi and Kencho locations.  Keep in mind, the closer you are to the location, the lower the delivery charge is for items larger than you are able to transport. If you live in the Noto and buy something large from the two following locations, it will be a lot more than buying from the Hakui Second Street.

In Nonoichi: 石川県石川郡野々市町本町６丁目２１−２１ 076-294-1622 (Google Map link)

Near the Kencho: 石川県金沢市戸水２丁目６４ 076-267-5070 (Google map link)

Something to keep in mind if you are trying to get rid of things from your house: you can take these (cleaned) items to Second Street and sell them. The staff will go through everything and ask you to wait in the store. If they are unable to take any of the items you’ve brought in, they will give them back to you. For large items, you can schedule a day for a staff member to come to your home and look at the items, and they will take what they think they can sell.

When getting rid of usable items, I would use Second Street as a last resort, because you will not get a lot of money for the items you are selling. It’s better to try the forum and people around you first.

RO-MAN-YU

http://www.mandaishoten.com/modules/contents9/

Wonderful Store of Wonderfulness

Located on Route 8, across from Nonoichi SATY is a place, when we didn’t know what it was really called, we referred to as ‘The Wonderful Store of Wonderfulness.”  This place is not so much on the home furnishings, but where you go for the things to put in that new bookshelf, TV cabinet and wardrobe you just found for cheap on the forum. They have every gaming system ever created for sale, games, game guides, new and used CDs and DVDs, new and used manga and books, musical instruments, clothes, shoes, sporting goods (I got a pristine Burton snowboard there for 6000 yen, for example), toys, pop-culture goods, posters, gaming cards, some electronics, phones, crane games (UFO), and a other random finds! (Google map link)

Nitori

Nitori is where you go to buy new furniture, from the inexpensive to the really nice amazing couch that everyone vies for sitting rights on when they come to your place. They pretty much have everything you need for your house. Right now they also have Christmas decorations, a huge selection of kotatsus, and clearance items!

http://www.nitori.co.jp/en/index.html (yay! English!)

Ishikawa locations: http://www.nitori.co.jp/en/shop/hokuriku/index.html#ishikawa

Other ideas for your home: Ikea

http://www.ikea.com/jp/en

No, unfortunately there is not an Ikea location in Kanazawa (though, there bloody well should be!!!). The nearest and easiest location to get to is Amagasaki (Osaka). It makes for a great road trip to Osaka if you haven’t been yet and is pretty much exactly like every other Ikea in the world.  Ikea will help you set up delivery to Ishikawa for large furniture items. The floor staff isn’t as knowledgeable about the options as the shipping staff you talk to after the cash register.

If you cannot get to Osaka yourself, there is this option through the Yoyo Market personal shopper: http://www.yoyomarket.jp/Articles.asp?ID=151

If you have any other ideas for making your home a little more home-like, please post them in the comments!

-t

Sweet Remittances

It’s been all over the news that the yen is at high point. At 83 to 85 yen to the US dollar, you might have gotten a better rate for sending money home in the 1980s, but not by much. If you’re fresh out of college, this rate is just in time for the first payment of student loans; if not, well, it’s still a great rate and your savings will no longer tempt you from your bank book balance.

Many people working abroad recommend GoLLoyds for their money transfer needs. However, GoLloyds charges 2000 yen to send the money, and then will charge your overseas account to recieve it. Your bank might even hand you more processing charges after that, possibly doubling the 2000 yen you thought was enough. As convenient as GoLLoyds is, there is another option with less fees.

Post office money orders (郵便為替　ゆうびんかわせ) are a slightly slower way of getting your money abroad, but are less complicated and less fee-laden than instant transfers. For the same 2000 yen, the post office will take up to 30 man yen cash and exchange it for you, turning it into money order (like a traveller’s check) in whatever currency you like. (Unless you want to sent money to Ireland. Then it doesn’t work at all.) That check is then sent via post to a designated recipient at home. You can send the check by EMS (express mail) and insure the amount enclosed.

All you need to bring with you is your Alien Registration Card, the cash you want to send plus 2000 yen, and your hanko. The forms are in both Japanese and English, but the two instructions that might not be intuitive are as follows:

Fill out the form with your address in romaji. Ishikawa Prefecture, etc. Fill in your name EXACTLY as it appears on your gaijin card–last, first, middle name.

The Bank section of the post office gives you checks, and then you write your address and the address of the recipient before you take them to the post office proper to have them mailed. You can choose regular, registered or express mail, the latter of which will set you back 1000 yen.

While perhaps not as convenient as GoLloyds or PayPal, it is a secure service that allows you to avoid fees on the other end. It’s also handy for repaying to a specific recipient for loans or gifts.

Ishikawa For Sale/Wanted Forum

Sold through the For Sale/Wanted forum in under an hour

If you’re starting to think about packing up your apartment and preparing to leave Ishikawa, you may have come across a few useful items that you’d like to sell (or give away for free).  Fortunately, there’s a great For Sale/Wanted Forum for Ishikawans, where you can put up a post about your item.  A lot of JETs already use this forum, so you have a built-in audience!

You can often get better prices by selling on the forum than selling to a second-hand store (although that’s a good alternative to taking it to a landfill/tossing it in the trash).

Similarly, if you’re going to be in Ishikawa for another year, check out the forum.  There are some great deals to be had!

Basic Guidelines of For Sale/Wanted Forum

- You must register on the forum to post.  It takes about 3 minutes.

- Post photos of your items for sale, so we know what we’re getting.

- If you include an email address, write it in a format so spambots won’t get it.  For example, “ishikawajet [at] gmail [dot] com”.  (Note: you can just use the “message” function of the forum so people don’t know your email address).

- Comment on your post once the item has been purchased.  We want to keep the forum up-to-date.

- Posts are moderated and can be deleted/edited at the moderators’ discretion.  Be businesslike.

How to Register

• From the main page, click ‘Join this community’. The link is on the top left.
• Click ‘Join J-talk’.
• Choose a username, and enter it along with your email address. Prove you’re not a robot by entering the captcha. Decide if you just want a username, or if you want a J-talk blog as well.
• Go to your email. You should have an email from J-talk, entitled ‘Activate [username]’. Click on the link.
• Congratulations, you have an account with a password!
• Go to j-talk.com/forum. Log in. Post.
• ???
• Profit!

Thanks neotaiko for the info I yoinked about registering on the forum!

What are you waiting for? Sign up now!

Weekend Opportunity: Foreign Ministers Needed

We had a tip-off about a unique opportunity for foreign guys in Ishikawa — if you’re interested or know someone who is, pass on the message.  Thanks for the tip, Jess.

Anyone who has spent some time in Japan would have realized that in Japan its common to have a western style wedding conducted by foreign male priest regardless of whether they have been formerly trained. Yes believe it. To all male foreigners living in the Kanazawa area, Yoko  is currently looking for priests. It’s 1 hr 20 mins work, usually on a Saturday or Sunday for ￥12,000.  Nice little earner I think!

Call or email Yoko for further details. (She speaks English): 090 8265 0283; kawamori (dot) 3 (at) ezweb (dot) ne (dot) jp

Economy Backpacker’s Hotel New Koyo

Image from the New Koyo website

If you’re going to Tokyo and want to stay somewhere conveniently located but inexpensive, I recommend the Economy Backpacker’s Hotel New Koyo in Tokyo. The hostel is located in between Minami-senju Station 南千住駅 on the JR Joban Line and Minowa Station 三ノ輪駅 on the Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line. The hostel is 20-30 minutes by train from Shinjuku, where most of the Ishikawa-Tokyo nightbuses go; 10 minutes from the electronics/otaku Mecca of Akihabara; 20 minutes from Tokyo Station; and about an hour from Tokyo Disney and Yokohama. The location is really ideal for traveling around Tokyo.

Welcome Inn Reservation Center

Japan has a few very heavy traveling seasons (Obon, Golden Week in May, New Year’s, and school breaks), and if you’ve ever traveled during those times, you know that Japanese people make their travel plans far in advance.

My husband and I once made the mistake of traveling to Kyoto during cherry blossom season with no hotel reservations, and when we asked the tourist office for help finding accomodations, we were able to grab the last room available.  At that point, individuals weren’t even being considered for rooms, and the tourist office was frantically turning away travelers who had assumed that somewhere in Osaka, Kyoto, or Nara there would be room for at least 1 person to fit in.  No such luck.

The Welcome Inn Reservation Center (WIRC) is the answer to the foreign tourists who don’t speak Japanese, but would like to have a little control over their accomodations when traveling.  It’s actually the same system that the Kyoto Tourism office uses when you go ask for them to help you find a hotel.

The WIRC features business hotels, ryokans, minshuku, capsule hotels, and other forms of accomodation (confused? — WIRC explains types of Japanese accomodation).  The accomodations must be priced “affordably”; they can’t charge more than 8,000 yen per single room or 13,000 yen per double room for most of the year.  They also have to be welcoming to foreign guests.

Using  WIRC

The website has recently been redesigned, so it’s more visually appealing and easier to use.  Just choose a region you’re interested in traveling to, then search through the accomodation options.  (Be sure to note if you’ll be traveling during the ON, REGULAR, or OFF seasons, as that can really affect pricing!)  Many of the listings include maps, photos of the rooms, and other important details to help you make your decision.

When you’ve decided on a place you like, click the “Apply Now” button.  You’ll need to fill out some details about your check in/check out time, as well as who will be staying with you.  If you’ve never used this site before, you’ll need to sign up for an account in order to make the reservation.  When you confirm your details, they’ll send a request to the hotel for you to stay there.  Within 3 days you will receive an email saying if your reservation has been arranged.  You can make your payment to the hotel when you arrive.

**Important: When you sign up for an account, you need to give them your credit card number.  Your credit card will not be charged when you make a reservation (you’ll pay when you get there).  However, if you have to cancel your reservation, most accomodations have a cancellation fee and you may be charged.  Since there’s a potential 3-day wait to hear if your reservation has been accepted, be sure to give yourself plenty of time when making travel plans through this website.  Always double-check your travel plans to be sure you won’t need to cancel!

Also, for those of us in Ishikawa, you can see that there’s a pretty sorry selection of accomodations for our region.  This doesn’t reflect the truth of the number of affordable accomodations out here (nor does it mean they’re all foreigner-phobic!).  If you happen to know someone who runs a small ryokan or affordable accomodation, recommend that they add their accomodations to this website!  It’s a great resource and a great way to get their business known to more foreigners.

Stay Warm: Use a Hot Water Bottle

While it’s hard to avoid using electric heaters (space heaters, kerosene heaters, and kotatsu) while at home in the winter, you can reduce your overnight electric use by using a hot water bottle to stay warm in bed. Sold at home-goods stores, the Japanese 湯たんぽ (yutanpo) are hot water bottles made of durable hard plastic and come with a soft cover.

Colorful Hot Water Bottle; image from Amazon.com