I'll most likely be going to TGS on Sunday around noon time and staying for an hour or two. If you guys will be there, wanna try meeting up for a cup of coffee?

LOL ... sure sure.

Unfortunately nope... We didn't really had much time to go and sample all the onsen... only managed to go to 2 of them. But nonetheless, it was great fun and relaxing.

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Added on September 24, 2009, 10:35 pmWorking on Sunday??? Skip work la~~

This post has been edited by PsyCHZZZ: Sep 24 2009, 10:35 PM

Haha.. cool. Tomm I'm kinda busy so can only make it on Sunday. Perhaps you can post up what's good to check out if you find anything interesting so I can look forward to it on Sunday.

KaihinMakuhari is the station you'll need to get off. It's the nearest station and only about 5 min walk to Makuhari Messe. You can take this from Tokyo Station. (Check http://www.hyperdia.com/cgi-english/hyperWeb.cgi for details from your nearest station).

JR accident? Didn't hear any news... but if it's like human accident etc... then it's ermm... quite normal.

Just got back from TGS... Managed to try out a few games this time.

heterosapiens: I called your friend's number but no one pick up... I'm guessing you guys are busy queuing or something. Anyway, if you guys wanna meet up on weekdays, I'll be free after normal work hours.

I was there from noon till around 4:00pm.
Next Friday got work and dinner plans already... gomen ne~

Haha... maybe cause everyone busy?
I didn't hear any news from heterosapiens... Apa jadi bro? Runaway with nihon chicks already? LOL

Sunday evening... I'm free. What you wanna makan?

Haha... ok ok ... hmmm... Wanna go for some hainanese chicken rice in Ebisu then?
http://bento.com/rev/2414.html

Anyone else in Tokyo wanna join?
(Sorry... not sure if the restaurant is Halal or not as I've not been there before... just found it on bento.com).

Okie dokie.

Eiraku: Reply you tomm... a bit drunk now and can't think straight... LOL

I think konbini food will prolly be the cheapest. Also, if you're wiling to shop night time, usually an hour before any supermarket closes; they do like 50% discount on all their perishable food (bento, salads, bread, fruits etc... ). That's a great way to cut cost if you're on a tight budget. Also, I don't really find the food being sold during matsuris being cheap but then if you can go and experience one; it'll be nice.

There's like 2 onsen that I know of in Tokyo (one is Oedo Onsen in Odaiba and the other is in LaQua near Tokyo Dome). As for the price I think the range is about 2000-3000 per person. Not sure about other parts though.

I think RM2k should be sufficient to last you for a week minus any extra shopping.

Haha... what to do... biasa-lah~



I've posted my average monthly budget on this thread before here - link

1. Rental per person based on 1LDK (as Musha mentioned) will range between 70-120k. The thing is that this really depends on the location where your apartment/mansion is. So, if you plan to stay central Tokyo area; be prepared to fork out more but if you stay slightly on the edge of Tokyo then it'll get cheaper but this means you gotta travel a bit further to get into Tokyo.

Having said this, it really depends on you cause since you'll be paying your own transportation fees; you'll need to figure out if it's worth staying further away and traveling everyday plus dealing with the train crowds in the morning. Also, you'll need to budget in the first time payment for your place (which can include a down-payment of 2 months worth of fees - sucks I know).

2. My food budget per day is about 1500JPY but I do tend to spend a bit more on weekends. This budget for me is comfortable enough to eat out and cook occasionally at home.

3. Transportation fees will vary depends on how much you have to travel but there's also those monthly pass that you can buy to save a bit.

4. I think it's pretty attractive considering that it's nett income. For me, I gotta pay like the income tax, then the city tax, national health insurance cost, and the pension fund (like EPF but this one can get back lump sum when I decided to leave for good) so that kinda takes a chunk out of my monthly income already. but luckily after all that, I still can have some savings monthly so it's still not too bad.

5. I've been here for 2 and a half years; my Japanese still sucks like hell. So, it's okay to get by the daily life without much knowledge of the language but then I'm lucky enough to work in an environment that uses English on a daily basis plus colleagues that are very helpful.

Ermmm ... Kyoto is like heaven for Japanese culture and stuffs. So many temples, shrines, Unesco World Heritage sites and Geishas/Maikos. Very tourist friendly city as well.

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Added on October 3, 2009, 9:20 pmJust tell them you got no TV at home... LOL ... that's what I do.

This post has been edited by PsyCHZZZ: Oct 3 2009, 09:20 PM

I think retiring to a nice cosy part of Japan is really nice. Not Tokyo though (too much hustle bustle of a big city). Then just relax and enjoy the 4 seasons and perhaps summer go back to Malaysia (since no diff in weather or possibly hotter here)

As for the 'long term' question; I'm still on the fence.
Currently, there are no terms of the duration for me to stay with my company so I guess as long as I don't get fired; I'll be able to keep my job. For me, The pros of working in Japan is of course the money (stronger yen; able to save more) and the unique culture and experience this country offers. Plus, I'm a techie and there are only a handful of countries that are so technologically advanced as Japan and it's willingness to channel funds into R&D. The cons is that there's some office cultures and practices that kinda 'irks' me a little. Not to go into great details; but let's just say that there's always a limit as how much you can contribute and get because of such factors.


One thing for sure, Internet here is fast enough to cater to your online streaming needs but then cinema is a different question.
Some movies are released slower than the rest of the world because they gotta dubbed it to Japanese first (especially for animation/movies cater to younger crowd). Tickets are approx 1,800JPY each... so I wouldn't really call them cheap.

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Added on October 4, 2009, 11:07 amLOL ... it's some TV program about how to prevent kids bento contents from spilling all over the place.

I got a prompt about Microsoft Silverlight and some protected contents prompt before the vid starts playing.
I'm guessing you're not accessing this from Japan? Perhaps it's limited to users by geographical locations eg Hulu services.

You might want to try and connect using a proxy in Japan and see if it allows you to view it?
http://nntime.com/proxy-country/Japan-01.htm

This post has been edited by PsyCHZZZ: Oct 4 2009, 11:07 AM

Ahh... so, you've tried the proxy and it still didn't work. Hmmm... there's like more than 100 episodes of this series man If it's just 1 or 2 ep... I might still be able to help out.

LOL ... I don't know anywhere near Kyoto station cause the only place I know is Potoncho but it's near Shijō Kawaramachi area.

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Added on October 4, 2009, 10:07 pmYeah, the pension fund is something that even the Japanese do not like. Unlike our EPF where we can get lump sum back when we retire; for them it just converts to monthly payment when they reach the age of 60 and continue for the rest of their life. BUT if they "suey suey" like not so long life; then all the money they paid during their working life is just gone. So, it's really not worth it at all for them. :S Luckily for me, when I leave I can get back lump sum so it's still not bad.

I do share the same opinion as you in their National Health Insurance scheme. I like the fact that it'll cover any illness and even have to cover it if it's known before you sign up. That is something NOT possible with private insurance firms. While the insurance do not cover 100% of the medical fees; it's still a significant amount of savings when we only need to pay 30% of the bill. I've learnt that unless it's emergency; if you make appointment prior to your visit - then there's no need for the waiting and things gets done pretty quickly and efficiently.

I think musha is well acquainted with the Japanese working culture judging from his response. One thing I do agree is that the spin cycles and the long process in decisions making is like part and parcel of their culture. Like at one time Google Translate used to translate "お疲れ様でした" into "It is the tired way" ... I laughed at this translation but then I think it's quite true at the same time. It's always the tired way and not the easy way. Fortunately/Unfortunately, it now translates to like "Cheers for good work" or "Thank you for the good work".

This post has been edited by PsyCHZZZ: Oct 4 2009, 10:10 PM

It's a pity that I can't meet up with you guys in Malaychan on Saturday evening.
Hope you've had a great time here in Japan and have a safe flight back. Looking forward to see your trip summary.

Words of wisdom from Dr. asuk

Congratulations!

Anyway, I would advice you to change your money in Malaysia and bring Yen instead because
1. RM is not really a widely acceptable cash.
2. There's not much money changer around and imagine the hassle if you run out of cash and need to find a money changer.
3. The rates will almost certainly be lower than what you'll get in Malaysia so it's not worth it (and worse still as now yen is strong).

So, bring along your credit card (as it's widely accepted here in almost all stores) and have Japanese Yen with you. I wouldn't really bother about bringing a lot of RM with me cause of the reason I mentioned above.

Quick question before I give my opinion - your RM4k cash (approx 100,000 JPY based on current exchange rate); what do you plan to cover based on this? I'm guessing that you'll be paying for the larger items such as accommodation and shinkansen/air ticket by credit card. Is that correct?