So it’s been a little bit over a month since I started working at IW and almost two month since I arrived in Japan. So how is life? Well on the one side I can say with confidence that I am enjoying it right now, for the most part at least. I love my job, so no complaints on that side (no I am not writing this because my boss will read it, trust me. Hi Masato).
In fact, what is probably bothering me the most right now is the pace things in my private life are going. Not gonna lie I expected things to be a little difficult over here but I didn’t account for the problems that occured.
The first big hurdle to overcome was, and still kind of is, to get settled. This means for me getting a flat in the center of Fukuoka, get a phone number, open a bank account, a credit card and so on. Basically getting to the starting point. A point from which I only need to calculate my monthly expenses. A point from which I can operate my daily life not spending thought on it. Yet almost two month later I still have a long road ahead of me.
Let me introduce you to the vicious circle you will also most likely need to overcome when you decide to move to Japan:
It starts with a bank account. You want to open one? Better have an address! Also you are going to need a phone number, a japanese one. And how do you get those two things? Well you need a bank account of course.
It is not impossible to break through thought. Some places accept a temporary address as well as international credit cards. But things are complicated – and they take time. Often you request something to someone who then needs to ask his superior, who needs to ask his superior (and so on) and in the end you will get eventually the answer that it sadly not possible to handle things the way you requested because after all things have to be done in the way they are always done. Understandable but never the less frustrating if you are on the receiving end. If it weren’t for the support of my japanese colleagues and friends I probably would’ve never made it out of the circle or it would have taken me atleast a bunch of extra time.
The good news are, if you made it out of the circle things starting to go faster – still not as fast as I would like to (bureaucracy is a thing after all), but I take what I get at this point.
Let’s just hope that I get to the starting point until the end of May, that would be great. And as things are looking right now it seems not to unrealistic!
