5 posts tagged “banking”

Upon arrival, us newcomers and a few tutors hit up Fukuoka Bank for some checking accounts. They could be savings accounts, but I think they're checking. Either way, we skipped a class to do this, so I was all for it. These are my notes for people who, like me, suck at Japanese.

• Take a native speaker. Without practice filling out these forms, a dictionary still won't help you. The bank still used their emperor-based year-counting system, the form assumes (though doesn't require) the use of a はんこ (hanko - personal stamp), and there were plenty of other little traps. Even with our tutors there, we all had to fill out the application multiple times due to mistakes.
• As mentioned above, the application forms assume that you have a はんこ, even though you don't need one. You're meant to sign instead of stamp if that's what you prefer, but you wouldn't know this from looking at the box. One form offered about two square centimeters of space for はんこ/signature.
• You need an initial deposit in cash. Our accounts had a minimum opening balance of ￥１００ (<$1 USD), so it was no problem.

Know that ATMs here have business hours. They're completely closed during certain parts of the day (for us, around opening and closing time), and charge extra fees for use during evenings, nights, and weekends. But they make up for this by allowing you to use your bank book as an ATM card. They fill out the right columns with your most-up-to-date amounts as you make transactions, then spit the book back at you. That was an awesome first-time experience.

I almost forgot about this, but there was so much more to my cell phone adventure yesterday. You see, before the other new JTW students and I could buy cell phones, we needed bank accounts. But before we could comfortably get to a bank to open accounts, we needed bicycles. But before I could get a bicycle, I needed money.

So I borrowed ￥１０，０００ (~$84 USD) from a buddy. That was the kind-of boring part.

We each get assigned a Japanese tutor, a student of Kyudai (abbreviation of Kyushu Daigaku, i.e. Kyushu University). Two days ago we grabbed two of them and got bikes at a store in BoxTown, a shopping center near campus. We all bought very cheap variations on the same cheap model, and though I paid about $15 USD less than for the trash bike I got at Walmart in the US last year, these bikes are actually put together well and don't feel as breakable. Additionally, store staff inflated the tires and checked that they were in working condition before we paid. Unfortunately, they're street bikes, and can't switch gears.

We also bought bike locks to use in addition to the locks that came standard. Every bike here seems to come with a cheap lock on the back wheel that you can easily slide shut. But I guess these locks are so prevalent that they've become easy to pick. Judging by the simplicity of the keys, I'm not very surprised. Several bikes have been stolen from JTW students this year, though some were returned by the police because they were registered.

Anyway, wielding our bikes and extra locks, we went to Fukuoka Bank, the largest bank with convenient access in the area. We arrived around 9:30 AM, maybe. It wasn't very crowded and we were rushed to a small table in the back corner to fill out applications. For the nth time this week we were asked to write our names in the English alphabet as well as the Katakana alphabet (a Japanese alphabet), write our room phone numbers, and write our mailing addresses.

The last are most annoying, being in Kanji (Chinese characters). I've had Japanese people offer several times to write my address for me, after they watch how long it's taking me to copy the characters down.

All of us had our applications returned with a fresh copy to start over on at least once. For some people it was because we didn't write our English names in block letters, and I didn't write my name exactly as it was on my alien registration card. They also used a signature box that was smaller than postage stamp size because it was mainly to accommodate はんこ (personal stamp). Fitting a cursive signature in that box was fun.

Basically, they were very fussy people, but eventually gave us accounts despite themselves. ATM cards are in the mail, but if you use your bank book at an ATM, then it fills it out for you, which I think is awesome enough not to use the card.

Oh, and minimum balance is ￥１００ (< $1 USD).

That's my story. As see---learned my lesson and so did she. Now it's over, and I'm glad. 'Cause I'm a fool for all I said! She freakin' hates meh!! TRUST! She freakin' hates meh!! La la la la! I tried too hard and she tore my feelings like I had none---and ripped them away! La la la la la la la la la la! TRUST! La la la la la la la la la la la! TRUST! La la la la la la la la la la! TRUST! La la la la la la la la la la! She freakin' HATES MEH!!

In response to my last post, "Back to the bank thing," moebly left a good comment that is summarized well by the first sentence: "The advice you've been getting from people so far, has been quite outdated." However, that doesn't do it justice, so if you're planning a trip, read it yourself as well.

A better summary would be that while the Citibank advice may have been good a few years ago (although it doesn't sound like there were ever all that many branches), their site is probably correct about there being only two ATMs left in the area, as many of the branches have been closed.

moebly recommends instead opening a bank "at one of the major Japanese banks, like Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Mitsui-Sumitomo, or Mizuho," who are large enough to be experienced with overseas money transfers, and certainly don't require the はんこ (hanko: personal stamp).

A lot of things I learned about the culture---the things I learned early on and have passed to long-term memory---I learned from the Nakama textbooks, volumes one and two. They were copyrighted in 1998 and 2000, respectively, and the second credits photos taken in 1986 (granted, only of food). Basically, it's great to get a reality check! Thanks a lot!

I forgot to mention that in addition to recommending Citibank (see my previous post, "Fleshing out travel details..."), I also got the recommendation to open the account in Japan with my conversation partner. An interesting thought, especially as it would give me the chance to open an account using a はんこ (hanko: personal stamp) rather than a signature. Interesting thought, but I'm very afraid of the limbo my money would get stuck in were I to mess up in any of the trillion ways this option makes available: not being able to open an account in Japan, not being able to transfer the money to my Japan account, losing my stamp, having my money stuck in Japan, etc. I might get a stamp just because, though. Have you seen them?

Also, I will look into getting an International Student Identity Card, which I can use as proof that I'm a student at various institutions for discounts, or at student hostels for entry.

Words of the day?

新幹線 - しんかんせん - bullet train
郵便受け - ゆうびんうけ - mailbox
振込 - ふりこみ - bank transfer
外国為替 - がいこくかわせ - currency exchange

Classes have ended and finals have begun, but I talked to two Japanese professors today. I found out that while unlikely members of the rest of the faculty had heard of my trip, many people in the East Asian Studies department had no idea.

I went to the first professor, the one who teaches my class, with questions about surviving the trip. Hearing on JPod about (small) train stations with only the kanji (Chinese characters) for destination names, I was worried that I wouldn't know enough of the lingo to survive from the terminal at Fukuoka Airport to the exit (where, thankfully, transportation will be waiting). She told me that the airport is big and popular enough to have all signs in both Japanese and English. Unfortunately I found this so encouraging that I came away without learning any new vocabulary, like the words for baggage claim, line, terminal, etc. I should look these up in case I have to ask questions.

I also learned that to access my money in Japan, it would be good to get an account with Citibank, which she said has a lot of ATMs in the Fukuoka area. Maybe it does, but they only list two on their site, and one is at the airport. At any rate, Bank of America is my current bank and only has facilities available abroad to business travelers, so opening a secondary account at Citibank sounds like a good plan.

If I decide to stay in Japan for a little while after Kyushu University kicks me out, she tells me that hostels would be a cheap way to live, and amazingly didn't have anything negative to say about the capsule hotels either! She tells me security and safety are not a concern there, so I should just try to find the cheapest available housing.

After our talk, I spoke with the director of the East Asian program about my trip. I had spoken with him for advice before I applied, but had completely forgotten to follow up! He was very happy to hear that I will be making this trip, citing the great amount of money that goes into our school's membership to the study abroad consortium, and how only 1-2 people go every two years.

I'm always surprised to hear these dismal figures for the number of people studying abroad in Japan, and even the number of people studying the language. It seems to lag far behind the other languages in general interest, despite how deeply its culture has permeated ours in America.

Anyway, we talked for a few minutes about various topics, the most interesting of which to me were sumo and trains. According to the JTW site, the only sumo trip planned this year already took place. I can't blame them as the tournament only comes to Fukuoka once a year and the dates are set, but it's a bit disappointing to me. I will be there for the May and July tournaments, but I have yet to look up how far from me they will be.

On the subject of trains, I asked about distance from Tokyo. He claims it would be a 6-7 hour journey on the bullet trains, which isn't bad for a a multiple-day trip, but basically bars spur-of-the-moment trips. A few friends from home are planning a stay near Tokyo (with family) some time this summer, and it would be amazing if I could visit. Hopefully our schedules will align and I'll get to see some familiar faces while I'm on the opposite side of the globe.

As a quick note to round off this incredibly long post, I recently discovered an amazingly interesting blog written by an American who lived in Japan for a few years in Okinawa. There are some great insights hidden in the archives (she has since moved back to the US), and I've had a great time reading through. I recommend it for people planning to travel there, and people looking to reminisce about similar "gaijin" experiences they had abroad.