w00kie's ramblings

Tag: japan

  • JLPT Results craze

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    w00kie
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    The results for the 日本語能力試験, more commonly known as JLPT 2008, should be getting in everyone’s mailbox in the imminently and it shows: Visits to my blog post of receiving the results last year have been spiking in the past week. Good news: a colleague of mine got it in the mail this morning before…

  • Kick the demons out

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    w00kie
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    Today, February 3rd, is the day of Setsubun in Japan. As we live in a new place, my girlfriends mother told her we had to start on the right foot and follow the good old traditions to bring us luck. On this day, which marks the turning point between winter and spring, you have to…

  • Address Power

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    w00kie
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    Last July I wrote about a popular Japanese webservice that built an image of your brain out of your name. Everyone at work and on TV was talking about it. The concept was even copied overseas (replacing the kanjis with emoticons). This weekend I saw on TV another of those websites that you know everyone…

  • More tax fun!

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    w00kie
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    January sees its share of administrative tasks for the new year that just started. So I received some new forms from my office’s executive assistant and as usual the English information sheet is of great help: Special Tax Credit Inform of special tax credit (deduction of housing loan) system like house loan etc. of residence…

  • Another tip about teeth

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    w00kie
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    I just received the new Health Insurance Bulletin from my company and we have a new installment of my favorite healthy advice series about dental hygiene: A tip about teeth Winter is here. Do your teeth feel sensitive when you bite into something cold? It might be a gapalong the line between your teeth and…

  • New year woes

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    w00kie
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    In Japan, the new year is a big thing. Unlike in western countries, it’s a family holiday when all come, eat traditional food (new year soba) and go to the temple for a blessing and good luck in the coming year. It’s also a rare time when all all shops, banks, etc. can close for…

  • Ricoh GR Digital II – Best Seller

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    w00kie
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    Still haven’t decided if I’m going to get me a new GRD or not, my finances look bleak so it’s probably going to be a no-no. But according to the sales ranking of cameras in Japan for the month of November, many people don’t have the same qualms as me: It shot straight to 1st…

  • 80cm of fresh snow

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    w00kie
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    I was in Kagura Saturday for a my second day snowboard of the season. We left at 5:30AM to get there by 7AM, get dressed and catch the first ropeway car up the mountain. I was snowing big flakes the whole day, no wind. Deep powder everywhere, leg-deep out in the forest where we spent…

  • FON Anniversary Campaign in Japan

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    w00kie
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    If you’re in Japan and you want a free (or almost free) WiFi router, here’s your chance. One year after its introduction in Japan, the FON network gives away their Fonera routers for free this weekend only: Saturday 8th and Sunday 9th December. These cool little boxes let you share your connection safely with the…

  • Surf or Study

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    w00kie
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    Sunday December 2nd is for many of us in Japan the dreaded day of 日本語能力試験 – also known as JLPT or Japanese Language Proficiency Test. But this weekend is also the start of what looks like the best ski season I’ve seen since I’ve come to Japan. Trying out my new snowboard gear on 130cm…

  • Year-end tax adjustment

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    w00kie
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    I was just handed by my service’s executive assistant a 2 page “Year-end tax adjustment declaration for 2007” with a little not saying the deadline is in 5 days. The forms are accompanied by an English leaflet full of statements like this one: Special exemption for spouses Due to the change of income low (sic.),…

  • Dating guide TV show

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    w00kie
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    Yesterday I was watching TV pretty late as I was backing up my laptop to prepare for installing Leopard, and I found a pretty cool program called 恋愛百景 on TV Asahi. The name translates to “The 100 views of Love” referring to the famous series of artist Hokusai. The concept of the show is to…

  • Japanese Credit Card

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    w00kie
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    Sunday as I was going to the old apartment to give back the keys, I had the nice surprise to find both my JLPT convocation and my Flying Blue VISA credit card. Nice surprise since I was rejected twice by the Japanese VISA company and I was starting to lose hope. The situation was getting…

  • A tip about teeth

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    w00kie
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    In exactly 4 days I will officially become a fully local employee in my company. My salary will be in Japanese Yens, I will pay Japanese taxes, be under a Japanese pension plan (although I still retain an extra pension plan in France as a bonus) and be protected by a Japanese health insurance. Although…

  • Moving Preparations

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    w00kie
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    Today, I took 2 hours out of my not so busy schedule and called all the utility companies to cancel and/or open the gas/electricity/water/internet contracts for my moving next week. To help with the process, I found this cool webservice by TEPCO, Tokyo’s main electricity provider. You enter your old and new address and it…