21st Annual Nagoya Walkathon Charity Festival takes place on May 20th, 2012 (Sunday) from 10 a.m. – 4 p.m. at Expo 2005 Aichi Commemorative Park (Moricoro Park)

Tickets

Special: 5,000 yen (includes raffle to a luxury resort package)
Regular: 2,000 yen
Student: 1,000 yen

www.nagoyawalkathon.com for more information on how to buy your tickets!

———————————————————————————————–

About

In 2011 we were able to raise 5,000,000yen for the Eastern Japan Disaster Relief Fund and 7,700,000 yen for 26 Charities in the Chubu Area. Over the past 20 years, we have raised over 91,300,000 yen in total. Our Big Goal this year is to reach the 100 Million Yen mark in total monies raised in 21 years.

This year, the Walkathon is celebrating 21 Years of Giving Back to the Chubu Community.

This year we have a target of 8million yen that we want to raise to help orphans, victims of child abuse, the physically or emotionally challenged and people coping with illnesses such as HIV/Aids and cancer. Also we want to give 10% of this money raised to a charity organization helping people in the Tohoku area. While it is always a pleasure to help so many members of our community, every year the number of those who need our help increases. Together, we can strive to make an even bigger difference in people’s lives this year, and bring smiles to more faces than ever before.

Performers

The list of performers for this event are as followed:

• The Hospys (Pop cover band)
• Fish Tank TV (Alternative rock)
• Vinny Vintage (Hip hop)
• Tomo Shagger Tribute Band (Funk Rock)
• Hula Dancers (Hawaiian)
• Adas Mexico (Garage rock)
• Nagoya Swings (Jazz)
• Budo Grape (J-rock)
• The Ghost of Matsubara (Punk / alternative rock)
• Shooters Steppers (Country dancers)
• The Watanabes (Indie rock)

Access

Check out the official Nagoya Walkathon homepage here for access details.

Get Involved

There are numerous opportunities to get involved from helping to sell tickets or volunteering on the information booths. Check out this page for more details.

This really is one of Nagoya’s events of the year so please do come along and join in!

With currently with 15 stores already in Japan, Swedish retailer Hennes & Mauritz (H & M) opened their 16th in Nagoya this morning.

The new Nagoya store opened in the ‘Matsuzakaya’ department store in Sakae, Nagoya’s busiest shopping district, covers 2 floors (Ground floor and 1st Basement) and 3,200 square meters, making it the largest H & M in Japan.

Before the tape was cut at 10:50am , over 2500 people (mostly young girls and supportive families) lined up outside to be one of the first to get theirs hands on a brand they had previous traveled up to either Tokyo or Osaka for.

In reality it was well overdue for a city renowned for it’s love of fashion and with a population of over 2.2million.  With 12 stores in and around Tokyo, 2 in Osaka and 1 in Fukuoka, the central Japan region gap has now been filled. Next on the list for H & M is the opening of another outlet not too far away, in the gigantic ‘Morera’shopping complex located in Gifu Prefecture’s Motosu City.Plans are set for September this year.

This is an example of what your classified would look like once displayed on the site. In this case we show an example of a bicycle for sale. Talk about the product you are selling and make sure to add details so that people know as much about the product as possible. Don’t worry about having to remember what information to send us as the intuitive “submit a classified” contact form prompts you for all the details people need to know.

Price: 5000Yen

Condition: Excellent

Delivery and Pick-up: Pick-up only

Contact: me@gmail.com or 080-1234-5678

HOPE Night is a regular event put on by HOPE International Development Agency Japan once each month at “Shooters Sports Bar & Grill” on a Tuesday night. The event is informative and social and a great chance to get involved with the volunteer and charity community in Nagoya.

They say on the homepage that “talk” is geared toward non-native English speakers, but is informative for all. There’s drink and some finger food included. We look forward to seeing you there!

Schedule of HOPE nights

March 6th
April 17th
May 15th
June 12th

The next HOPE Night will be held on April 17th from 19:00 to 21:00

Exactly a year has passed by since the North-Eastern coast of Japan was left shattered by one of the most powerful and destructive tsunamis the modern world has even seen. Over 15000 people lost their lives,  around 4000 are to this day still missing and unaccounted for, and in total over 110000 buildings were completely destroyed.

A testament to the times and modern construction was that the earthquake itself at a magnitude of 9.0, shook the country but left it standing.  However, it was the towering 50ft wall of water (up to 60ft in some places) racing through just minutes later that did the damage, crushing almost everything in it’s path and leaving many, without even the chance to turn and run.  So many people lost loved ones, the stories from those left behind are heart-wrenching. The the video footage now and will forever, send a cold shudder running down our spines.

Like the events of 9/11,  people will always remember where they were and what they doing  on March 11th at 2:46, on a sunny Friday’s afternoon in 2011, and never forget how the events unfolded.

I personally remember translating Japanese news in commentary form to those in other countries, eager to know if friends and family in Japan were in danger.  In Tokyo, people walked all night to get home after the entire train network was shut down.  In other parts of the country, people stayed glued to the television in disbelief, watching repeated footage of entire towns being swept away. People felt helpless, all they could do was watch and wait.

A minute silence was observed around the country today at exactly the same time the earthquake struck a year ago. Flags flew at half-mast and some trains even stopped running for a short period in respect and remembrance.

Japan has moved forward in great strides in the one year that has passed.  Media coverage waxed and waned but volunteer efforts continued steadily throughout the year.  Bus droves of volunteers from all over Japan departed daily to affected areas. The way the people of Japan showed their support was heart-moving.  The foreign community in Japan too was commendable to say the very least.  Everything people could do, they did although it seemed at times simply not enough.  In Nagoya efforts were organised through the Hilton hotel to send truck loads of desperately needed supplies. There was a sense of unity in Japan, never felt before.

Recovery hasn’t been smooth and problems are still left unsolved. Over 100000 people were forced to flee their homes after the meltdown of three reactors at the Fukushima Dai-ichi nuclear power following damage caused to the cooling unit by the tsunami.  The government is expected to review the 20km exclusion zone at the end of March and declare some areas uninhabitable for decades to come. In total, over 300000 remain in temporary housing awaiting reconstruction plans to be finalised for the towns they once lived in.  For those and many others, the future is bleak and prospects not good. Jobless and with little hope of ever returning to a life they once lived, a sense of complete loss will be felt for many years to come.

Tourism however is said to have picked up after it dropped over 90% in the first  month directly after the earthquake. By August there were still over 60% less tourists in Japan compared to the previous year, but figures have steadily climbed, now just 10% fewer than average.  The panic that followed news of the nuclear explosions caused foreigners in Japan to flee in droves and most who planned to visit, cancelled or were advised not to make the trip.  There were issues with how news was filtered to those outside of Japan, the Japanese government  not helping the country’s cause by being unclear and unspecific with facts on more than one occasion.

Japan is back on it’s feet and looking back over the year it’s not hard to see how far the country has come.  Still, it’s only too easy to forget that even though the rubble has been cleared, there is a tremendous amount of rebuilding and readjusting ahead.  If as much progress can be made this coming year as was last, there is certainly a chance many can regain some kind of normality and stability in their lives. Some never will and that is why this is so important for us all to reflect and remember how lucky we are.

Who is affected?

Anybody currently residing legally in Japan for the mid to long-term, more specifically;

(1) Persons married to a Japanese resident and on a spouse visa,
(2) Persons working for a company or school in Japan (with the “Specialist in Humanities/International Services” or “Engineers” status.
(3) Persons holding either “Child of Japanese National”, or “Long Term (Permanent) Resident” status.
(4) Those on “technical Internship” or “students” (留学生）

Who isn’t?

It is NOT ALL foreigners currently in Japan who will be affected by the new residence system.  Those who fall into any of the categories listed below WILL NOT be affected.

(1) Persons granted permission to stay for 3 months or less
(2) Persons granted “Temporary Visitor” status (Tourist Visa holders)
(3) Persons granted “Diplomat” or “Official” status
(4) Persons recognized by Ministry of Justice ordinance as equivalent to the foreign nationals in the aforementioned 1 to 3.
(5) Special permanent residents (Japanese of Korean decent)
(6) Persons with no resident status

What changes will I see?

1. Away with old Alien Registration Card

The current 外国人登録書 gaikokujin tourokusho (Foreign / Alien registration card) will be replaced with a new “residence card”. You will have to show up in person at your local immigration office to apply for this new card.

2. Extension of the maximum period of stay

The status of residence with a period of stay of 3 years under the present system, will be extended to 5 years. As for the “College Student” status, the maximum period of stay will be extended to 4 years and 3 months, up from the current 2 years and 3 months.

3. Reentry become less of a hassle

The new “presumed permit of re-entry” laws will make re-entering Japan much simpler, as you wont need to apply for reentry permission if re-entering within a year of departure (from Japan).

So, do I need to immediately replace my current alien registration card with the new resident card?

In a word, No. So don’t rush off to the immigration department on the 9th of July. You’re not required to replace your current alien registration card immediately, but those who wish to, can. For the time being, the alien registration card you currently possess will be deemed equivalent to the new resident card. When you go to renew your status, that is when you will get the new card.Those with “permanent residency status” will be required to apply for a resident card within three years from the start of the new residency management system.

The New Residence Card in more detail

The residence card will be issued to in addition to landing permission, permission for change of status of residence, and permission for extension of the residence period, etc. The card (like more recent alien registration cards) has an IC chip inside which records all or part of the information included on the card. Fingerprint information will not be recorded in the chip. The card will contain a portrait photo of the individual and the following information:

• Legal items given
• Name in full, date of birth, sex, nationality
• Place of residence in Japan
• Status of residence, period of stay, date of expiration
• Type of permission, date of permission
• Number of the residence card, date of issue, date of expiration
• Existence or absence of working permit
• Existence of permission to engage in an activity other than those permitted under the status of residence previously granted

For further information, visit http://www.immi-moj.go.jp/newimmiact_1/en/index.html or call the Immigration Information Center at 0570-013904 (weekdays between 8:30 a.m. and 5:15 p.m.)

Tsuruma Park　/　鶴舞公園

Literally thousands of people enjoy ‘hanami ‘ parties under the cherry blossoms in Tsuruma Park. Over 1,200 cherry trees feature in the beautifully designed park, located right in front of Tsurumai subway station. In 1990, Tsuruma Park was also chosen as one of the best 100 cherry blossoms viewing spots in Japan by The Foundation for Nippon Sakura-no-kai.  It is likely the most popular and well known place in Nagoya city to go and enjoy the cherry blossom partly because of it’s central location (with access on both the subway and JR lines), but also because of the layout, allowing for large areas to sit under the lit trees.  Around 30 small stores (yatai) come and sell the traditional festival food (okonomiyaki, karaage, sausages, yaki-soba etc) during his period, so you don’t even have to worry about bringing your own picnic food.  Beware however, many local companies send their young workers to either lay ground-sheets down early in the morning, or sit out all day, reserving spots for the company to sit in the evening.  Although you should be able to find somewhere to squeeze into if coming late, doing a similar thing  if you intend on taking a largish group, would be a wise idea. Cherry blossoms are illuminated here until 21:00 but parties will continue until much later.

Access: Take the Tsurumai subway line to Tsurumai park station. You cannot miss the park.

Yamazaki River　/　山崎川

Along the Yamazaki river (From Ishikawa-bashi Bridge to Ochiai-bashi Bridge / approximately 2.8 km in length) in Mizuho-ku,  approximately 720 beautiful cherry trees line the river. This area was also chosen as one of the best 100 cherry blossoms viewpoints in Japan by The Foundation for Nippon Sakura-no-kai, back in 1990. A beautiful area to walk under the Blossoms during the day, although much less space to actually sit around with groups like at Tsurumai. Cherry blossoms are illuminated until 21:30.

Access: Get off at Mizuho-Kuyakusho Sta. on the Sakuradori Subway Line. Walk 10 min. (Kanae-bashi Bridge)

Heiwa Park　/　平和公園

Located near to Nagoya University, this beautiful and very peaceful park boasts approximately 2200 cherry trees and wide open spaces to spread out and barbecue . It is very much worth a visit, especially if you want to get way from the large crowds at Tsuruma and Nagoya Castle.

Access: Get off at Higashiyama-Koen Station on the Higashiyama Subway Line and walk 10-15 minutes.

Higashiyama Park　/　東山公園

Almost 4000 cherry trees (100 different kinds from all over Japan) have been planted in Higashiyama Park. Trees are illuminated until 8pm and from March 19th until May 7 you can also enjoy the Higashiyama Spring Festival.  The Higashiyama area is great for hiking around with lovely courses taking you through the forests and hills.

Access: Take the Higashiyama subway line to Higashiyama-Park station.

Nagoya Castle /　名古屋城

Nagoya Castle & Meijo Koen 名古屋城 & 名城公園 are popular places to enjoy the Cherry blossoms and are very centrally located. With over 1600 Sakura trees illuminated until 8pm each night and with the stunning Castle as a backdrop, you are assured some beautiful pictures.

Access: Simple- Just take the Meijo line to Shiyakusho station and walk for 3-5 minutes.

Arakogawa Park / 荒子川公園

Located on the outskirts of Nagoya, Arakogawa Park takes a little longer to reach but is a nice option if you fancy getting away from the city. The park is popular in the warmer months for camping and the beautifully arranged gardens and vast spaces ideal for picnickers. There are over 1000 Sakura trees in the park to wander around and relax under and plenty of space for the kids to run around.

Access: Take the Aonami Line from Nagoya station direct to the park. The journey takes 14minutes.

Inuyama Castle / 犬山城

Inuyama Castle, constructed in 1440, stands as the oldest in Japan and is located just 40 minutes away from Nagoya station by train. The area is surrounded by hundreds of cherry trees in the Spring and the Autumn colours of the Nov-Dec make it one of Japan’s most celebrated photograph spots. The area around the Castle and station in Inuyama is beautiful so combining the trip with a stroll down the river is highly recommended.

Access: Take a train from Nagoya Station on the Meitetsu line heading for Unuma （鵜沼）. Get off at Inuyama-Yuen Station and walk for about 5 minutes.

Do you know of any other great spots around the area to enjoy Sakura? Let us know buy posting a comment of contacting us here.

Is really not an easy thing to do……

So why is so much to effort to get your hands on a credit card in Japan when they are practically throwing them at you back home?

The difficulty in getting hold of a credit card stems from the idea that a foreigner with a credit card in Japan is a liability, capable of upping and leaving without notice, abandoning unpaid debt. In fact, it is for this reason that in most cases you will get turned down for a card, unless you have been working steadily at the same place for at least 3 years.

In my case, I had been refused for 3 applications before on the 4th I finally got accepted. Financially I wasn’t earning a great deal, about Y3.5 million a year, but it was considered enough to meet their conditions to advance me on to the next stages of acceptance. I had been working at a company for exactly 3 years at that time, something I had to prove.

It’s then common for credit companies to call your place of work to confirm details about you and your time working there. I got call part way through the application to say they had called my office but nobody had answered and that they would try again and continue the assessment once they had got in contact. Thankfully they did and all was finally settled that I got the elusive card.

Factors that affect the success of you application:

1. Type of Visa

It seems you would have more chance of getting accepted if you are on a ‘spouse visa’ than on a regular working visa. Tourist = no chance and working holiday, little. The more secure your status appears, the greater the chances of success.

2. Income

Most applications require you to prove your income before being accepted. Where as it’s not important that you be a high earner, having a steady salary, with a base of Y3million+ yearly is required.

3. Japanese ability

This may sound discriminatory but being at least conversational in the language is a helping factor when going through the application process. It’s quite obvious if somebody else has filled the application out for you. in which case the issuing company may assume you have little ability with the language reflective of intentions to leave Japan. They will call you at least once to confirm details of the application and your workplace and if you cannot converse with the operator, the application may hit a sticking point.

4. Years working

As mentioned above, this can be a crucial factor if you don’t have permanent residency, a spouse visa or a 正社員（せいしゃいん/seishain/full-time company employee status). Think 3 years working at one company as standard. This is not always fact but in many cases has seemed to apply.

Tips for being accepted:

1. Be thorough

When applying don’t be sloppy with the application and make sure everything is filled out exactly as they want it and you provide everything they ask for. Be specific about dates, your company, your position and salary as they will be most likely be checking up on this.

2. Japanese assistance

Not to be confused with the point above. Get a Japanese friend to help (but not actually write for you) fill out the application to make sure everything is in order and you have understood the small print. Try and get some confidence in Japanese before applying too. At least be familiar with some of the terms on the application as they most likely will ask you questions related to these when they call you.

3. Don’t give up if you get turned down

It can also be one of those ‘hit and hope’ situations where you may get accepted on your very first try. I had a friend who got very lucky on his first attempt after being here less than a year. It’s better to think of 3 years in the same place as being a standard as mentioned before, in Japan this indicates stability.

4. Try different cards

There are so many different cards on offer, not only those offered by your bank. Aeon shopping centres, Gold Gyms, Department stores (Parco, Mitsukoshi) are just a places you may frequent often and will often have application desks set up. If you use Rakuten to shop on-line, there is no harm in applying for a card at the same time (they are in the process internationalising the company and have a Japanese web page in English). Depending on the time of year, need to collect customers, conditions required etc, some cards can be easier to get accepted for than others.

Good luck with your card application.

The term “work-life balance” has being mentioned more and more in the Japanese office over recent years.  However, the idea of having a healthy work and home life is seemingly difficult to get across to many in Japan.  The way of work up until now, has meant a commitment to your company, so great, that little time is left to pursue a meaningful life outside of the office.

My current employer is certainly being proactive in trying to become global. They have hired more foreigners than ever in the last year and are moving many operations abroad. Even still,  making changes within Japan is a slow and painful process.  The HR department talks very passionately about the importance of not overworking and taking holidays but looking at the company statistics, reality paints a very different picture.

In a new company wide rule, employees are actually being forced to take a day off per month to reduce the days in lieu, many have been accumulating over the years.  The current  system means that after 2 years, outstanding vacation days get cancelled however, even this hasn’t encouraged the majority of people to take holidays.  Every morning at the end of the main meeting, one administration assistant stands up in front of the office of 200 people, bellowing out in a large voice that “today we must all finish by 6:30 – please be sure to adhere to this”. Then there is the 育児休暇 (いくじきゅうか/ maternity leave) that the company offers yet so few actually take. They have been offering it to male employees for over 2 years now and not a single person has taken it. I don’t think they ever will.

Of course, it would be a generalisation to assume all Japanese companies suffer similar trends but these examples are not isolated cases either.

A desire to be at work

There seems to be two ways of thinking that rule how people in companies work by.  The first is that they do genuinely love the office, so much so that they would rather be there than anywhere else. I was told by one worker that he would spend even weekends at the office if he could.  Another employee told me that there was nothing to be at home for (he was married with 2 children).

This idea was summed up in a group meeting I attended, in which an older employee announced that he was to be away from the office for the next 2 days. He then said:

“I’ll be off from work but it’s going to be lonely and to be honest I have nothing to do. If there’s anything, no matter how small, just a give a call and I’ll answer straight away. Let me put it another way, just call me please”.

He joked that his wife didn’t want him at home but I think he was being serious.

A pressure to be at work

I spoke with a friend recently, a foreigner who also works at a large company in Tokyo and he spoke of this non-existent fear people have of what consequences their actions might lead to.  This unsubstantiated fear  is what he feels stops people in their daily lives doing things that may cause them to stand out. This reflects in work-life too.

In the workplace, to be the first to take a holiday when others in the team haven’t, or even just being the first to leave the office at the end of the day, is often made to be a bigger deal than in reality it is. There is also a tendency for people to say that an action might not look good or an excuse for not doing something out of the norm would be 「難しい」.  Is it really going to put somebody else? In many cases no.

A co-worker of mine was extremely stressed out recently and when I asked what the problem was, she told me she was confused about how to act at work. Apparently she felt these pressures on her to be amazingly obedient, jump up at the sight of a senior worker and stay until after certain people had left the office.  I asked her about vacation and she told me she didn’t plan to take any until she had worked there at least 18 months.

I do think there are huge pressures created with the false belief that others will look down on, or badly of you but I do think there are cases that stepping out of the box can have some backlash. I’ve heard stories of people getting sent to other departments or far off offices, missing out on promotions or responsibility being taken from them, in cases where they haven’t shown an absolute commitment (time and effort) to their company. In many cases an outdated order of hierarchy and coercive management practices make employees feel underpowered to take initiative, privileges or rights.

Of course, this discussion is a huge one and the ideas presented here don’t paint the entire picture or explain the psychology of those who find it hard to find a good work-life balance.  The Japanese office is a very unique place with complex groups dynamics and office relationships and maybe it’s not easy to understand fully unless you are Japanese. In that respect, I feel lucky to a foreigner working here.