The Phone Thing

You'd think getting yourself a cheap little phone for a year in a foreign country wouldn't be such a big deal.

It is.

Seriously, this deserves its own blogpost.



So since most phones are region-locked I wouldn’t be able to use my Belgian phone while on foreign exchange. Also, phones in Japan are really difficult to buy because they often come with pricy two-year contracts and the whole process is generally very complicated.

No problem! I thought. I still have an IPod touch that lets me connect to free Wi-Fi. I can reach people like that! Surely Free Wi-Fi shouldn’t be that hard to come by in a country like Japan!

There is no free Wi-Fi here aside from campus buildings and our dorm common room.

Sure! I figured. No problem! I’ll just go without it then. I don’t need internet 24/7 anyways! 

Yeah I do. In Japan people use an app called LINE to message each other. I noticed, the moment classes started that I’d have a really hard time if I couldn’t reach people whilst I was by myself.

Alright. I said. Maybe I'll just try to find a cheap, used phone on Amazon. 

Don't do that. Chances are you won't be able to find any fitting simcard. Don't ask me why. I know nothing about phones but I've seen it happen here. Buying them online is a no go over here.

Fine! I decided. I’ll just get a pocket Wi-Fi for my IPod! 

Those things are so expensive, you might as well buy a new IPhone! I was about to buy a cheaper, used one from a guy who lives here at the dorm but it would have cost me about 150 euros for the device and then another 15 or so euros each month for the use of it. But then I heard about this amazing phone deal from other people at the dorm. Basically, if you bought more than one of the same phone, the second phone would be half price. On top of that, the phone is the latest model, it's pink and it's not region locked, so I’d be able to use it when I get back to Belgium.

A bunch of us went to the phone shop with a wonderful girl who knew a thing or two about buying phones in Japan. Now here’s another fun fact about buying phones in Japan: it takes forever! We must have been in that phone shop for over three hours! And we supposedly went faster than usual because the girl who was with us made the sales guy skip the phone explanations. After a lot of waiting and filling out forms they gave us a ticket and told us to come back in about 90 minutes. We strolled around the mall for a little bit and came back to finally get our phones. At last!!

In the end, four of us got the same phone for which we paid around 71 euro each. The phone comes with a contract but we don’t want that because it’s expensive, so after using the phone for free for a month we’ll have to go back to cancel the contract (which will cost us an extra amount of money, the sum of which I've forgotten but it wasn't all that much) and then we’ll buy a prepaid sim card.



So here it is! My new phone!

Isn’t she gorgeous? Haha! After all the things I went through to get this, I’ll treasure it like a baby! (and yes I put stickers on it, because everyone in our dorm seems to be getting the same phone and I don't want to get confused)

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Some Things

Just felt like jotting down some random things I've noticed in the last couple of weeks.


100 yen stores 

I really wish we had a similar thing in Belgium. Everything single item in this type of store is only 100 yen (about 0.70 euro or 0.90 dollars) and best of all: it's NOT CRAP! They have all sorts of things like school supplies, beauty products, cutlery, pots and pans, towels, food, DVD's, storage and decoration supplies and basically everything you'd ever need. And they are everywhere! I am in love~


Mountain of Plastic Bags

Whenever you go into the grocery store to buy something they give you a bunch of free plastic bags at the cash register to put your stuff in. I know we have that as well, but believe me when I say they take it to the next level here in Japan. I keep forgetting to bring my used plastic bags back to the store so that I won’t have to get any new ones so now I have about a gazillion plastic bags stuffed in my closet and it makes me feel like a horrible person because this can’t be good for the environment.


Karaoke

If our karaoke bars were as cool as the ones here, I would go there all the time. Just the fact that you can rent a private room for you and your friends to sing in, instead of having to sing in front of the entire bar, is so awesome!


The Wonders of Our Cafetaria 

We have a cafeteria on campus and aside from everything being ridiculously cheap, it's also really delicious. There's a whole bunch of things to choose from (even for vegetarians) and you get free water and tea. I can eat there for around 2 euros and be stuffed, it's amazing.
There's also this funny thing that happens every day at that cafeteria. You see, they sell this pudding with caramelized sugar on top (like a crème brûlée) that is so popular they have special schedules for it. During lunch they'll suddenly ring a bell somewhere and you can see students shoot up from their seats and literally run to the dessert stand to get their hands on one of the puddings. It's a pretty hilarious sight. I have to admit though, they’re pretty darn good, probably the best crème brûlée I've ever had. (yes I was one of the people running for the dessert that day. I have no shame).

Crossing the Street

There is public workers everywhere to help people cross the street. Even in places where you wouldn’t think crossing the road could ever be dangerous there can be guys to guide you sometimes. At busy times there will be guys on the road to school guiding the huge stream of uni students to the campus as well, since it’s a pretty narrow road and there’s cars passing by. I suppose it’s pretty nice, but I do feel for the guys who have to stand outside in the heat for so long.


All the Energy

I am amazed by how fit and energetic people here are, especially older people. The park right next to our dorm is always filled with people running and working out. Most of the people I see working out are elder and they’re so fit I can’t even believe it! Last week I saw a woman, well over 50, in a perfect plank position on top of a bench. I watched her for about a minute and she didn’t move a single inch, as if it was taking her no effort. On top of that, it was blazing hot outside. Needless to say, I was impressed. No wonder people grow so old here; there know how to stay in shape!

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