{"id":718,"date":"2004-04-13T23:00:34","date_gmt":"2004-04-13T14:00:34","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2004-04-13\/718"},"modified":"2004-04-13T23:00:34","modified_gmt":"2004-04-13T14:00:34","slug":"getting-settled-in-japan-cell-phones-and-air-conditioners","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2004-04-13\/718","title":{"rendered":"Getting Settled in Japan: Cell Phones and Air Conditioners"},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<style>\np.editorialf  { width:700px }\n.editorial    { color:#AFA  }\n.editorial a  { color:#CFC  }\n<\/style>\n\n\n<div style='padding:5px 40px; background-color:#444; border: solid 1px #666; margin:10px 30px 50px 10px'>\n\n<p>The text of this post was originally written in April, 2004 as part of\nan online diary I kept before I actually started my blog. I'd forgotten\nabout it until I ran across it in February 2008. I inserted it into my blog\nthen, assigning dates appropriate to the content instead of to the time I\nactually added it. Thus, these April 2004 posts show up as my &#8220;first\nposts&#8221; in my <a nocross='1' href='\/blog\/toc\/'\nclass='quiet'>list of posts<\/a>, even though I didn't actually start a blog\nuntil a year later with my first post about <a nocross='1' class='quiet'\nhref='\/blog\/2005-04-01\/1'>buying a car in Japan<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<p>There's nothing here of interest to anyone but me; I insert it here so\nthat it's together with my other posts (which are also of little interest\nto anyone but me :-)) <span class='editorial'>Any comments I add while posting this to my blog in February 2008 appear like this.<\/span>\n\n<\/p>\n\n<p>This was originally written just after we moved from California to\nJapan, so our days were dominated by jet lag, and trying to set up our\nlife and newly-acquired apartment. Anthony was 18 months old.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>\n\nAnthony mercifully slept until 5:15. By 6:00 <span class='nobr'>I was<\/span> walking to the train\nstation on my way to the apartment. <span class='nobr'>I got there<\/span> exactly an hour later. <span class='nobr'>The fridge<\/span> we'd ordered had <span class='nobr'>a width<\/span> of 75cm, and I'd measured that we had 75cm\nof space, so <span class='nobr'>I wanted<\/span> to make sure that the space really was 75cm, and not\n74.9cm. Also, <span class='nobr'>I wanted<\/span> to make sure that there was clear passage from the\nstreet to the kitchen, so <span class='nobr'>I measured<\/span> the elevator door and all the passage\nways. <span class='nobr'>It should<\/span> just fit everything, although it won't hurt to have <span class='nobr'>a screw<\/span>\ndriver on hand to take off the occasional doorknob that sticks out too far.\nWe'll see. <span class='nobr'>It's slated<\/span> to be delivered on Friday.\n\n<\/p><p>\n\nI also measured the various places where the four air conditioners might go\n&mdash; both the in-room unit, and the outside compressor. <span class='nobr'>The way air<\/span>\nconditioners work in Japan is that the main compressor (the size of <span class='nobr'>a large<\/span>\nsuitcase) sits outside somewhere &ndash; usually in <span class='nobr'>a conspicuously<\/span> inconvenient\nplace to achieve maximum ugliness &ndash; and inside on the wall is <span class='nobr'>a\nheater<\/span>\/blower unit that's maybe <span class='nobr'>a yard<\/span> wide by 8&quot; tall by 8&quot;  deep. <span class='nobr'>The two are<\/span> connected by some coolant pipes &#8220;hidden&#8221; in plastic conduit that snakes\nfrom the wall unit, up down and all around to <span class='nobr'>a hole<\/span> in the wall where it\npasses to the outside, where it then snakes again to wherever the\ncompressor unit is. This method of snaking conduit does an impressive job of\nachieving maximum ugliness, both inside and out.\n\n<\/p><p>\n\nOn the way from Sanjou Keihan train station to the apartment, <span class='nobr'>I'd stopped<\/span> by <span class='nobr'>a convenience<\/span> store (convenience stores are, appropriately named,\neverywhere) to get some breakfast. Between measurings, <span class='nobr'>I'd sat on<\/span> the floor\neating, enjoying the view of the tree-covered hills that <span class='nobr'>I had<\/span> out the back\nwindows. That view will eventually go away when the next stage of the\napartments are built (in about <span class='nobr'>a year<\/span>), but for now it was nice to enjoy. <span class='nobr'>I was surprised<\/span> to see that <a\nhref=\"\/i\/pic\/2004-04-11_12:58.11__09089.jpg\">the\nconstruction site<\/a> was quite &mdash; I'd expected it to be <span class='nobr'>a noisy<\/span>\nhustle and bustle by 7am, if not earlier. <span class='nobr'>It was still<\/span> quiet when <span class='nobr'>I left<\/span> at\n8:30.\n\n<\/p><p>\n\nAfter arriving home, <span class='nobr'>I then set<\/span> out to get <span class='nobr'>a prepaid<\/span> cell phone. We don't\nhave the time nor energy to figure out all the different plans and phone\nand features and such, so just want to get something that's easy and will\nwork for <span class='nobr'>a few<\/span> months, until we have that time and energy. Unfortunately,\nit turns out that they're neither easy nor cheap, at least not at Docomo,\nthe largest cell provider. They'd have to order them, and each one would\ncost something like $300 to start. (We want three &mdash; one for each Fumie,\nme, and her mom.)\n\n<\/p><p>\n\nSo, <span class='nobr'>I thought<\/span> to just get the cheapest plan and figure it out later, but\nsince I'm <span class='nobr'>a foreigner<\/span> and <span class='nobr'>I don't<\/span> have <a\nhref=\"\/blog\/2006-05-18\/194\">my alien registration card<\/a>\n(getting it is high on the priority list), <span class='nobr'>I can't<\/span> enter into contracts.\nSo, <span class='nobr'>I need to<\/span> go back with Fumie.\n\n<\/p><p>\n\nFumie wanted to go to <a\nhref=\"http:\/\/www.yamada-denki.jp\/\">Yamada-denki<\/a> (the electronics shop)\nagain, to take care of the air conditioners, so we headed off there while\nMom watched Anthony. While she sat in one massage chair with pamphlets\nlooking over the features of the various makes and models, <span class='nobr'>I sat in<\/span> another\ntrying to read the long and complex descriptions of plans for the cellular\ncarrier Au (pronounced 'ey you').\n\n<\/p><p>\n\nTheir cheapest plan, on the surface, is something like $40\/month, but when\nyou get into discounts like <span class='nobr'>a yearly<\/span> contract and <span class='nobr'>a multi<\/span>-phone family\nplan, it comes down to about $25\/month. <span class='nobr'>But then you<\/span> need to add $3 for\naccess to text messaging (hugely popular here, as it's cheaper than\ncalling). There are <span class='nobr'>a variety<\/span> of other fees, too. <span class='nobr'>But choosing<\/span> the plan is\nthe most confusing. This particular company has two classes of plan, and\nwithin each class they have many different plans. <span class='nobr'>One class<\/span> allows for\nunlimited text messaging and internet, for $50\/month extra, but the other\nallows for <span class='nobr'>a cheaper<\/span> base cost. After spending quite <span class='nobr'>a while<\/span> trying to\nunderstand the plans, <span class='nobr'>I put that<\/span> on hold to look at the phones.\n\n<\/p><p>\n\nJapan has four big cellular providers, but <span class='nobr'>I was<\/span> limiting myself to just\none (&#8220;Au&#8221;), since they support <span class='nobr'>a feature<\/span> that Fumie wants &mdash; a &#8220;car\nnavigation unit&#8221; type feature (that you can use while walking as well, of\ncourse). Phones that support this have GPS built in, and so you can\ndownload maps that will lead you to your destination. <span class='nobr'>It turns<\/span> out to be\nquite expensive (about $2.50\/mile), but would be useful in <span class='nobr'>a pinch,<\/span> and,\nthe price would come down considerably if we get <span class='nobr'>a special<\/span> (for <span class='nobr'>a fee<\/span>)\nusage plan.\n\n<\/p><p>\n\nAnyway, they had three phones that supported that feature, and many that\ndidn't. <span class='nobr'>I didn't<\/span> need it, so didn't want to limit myself to only those\nthree phones, so started looking over all of them. When in The States, <span class='nobr'>I had a<\/span> Sony\/Erricson T616, which has <span class='nobr'>a camera<\/span> built in. <span class='nobr'>I was extremely<\/span>\ndisappointed in it, though, as the postage-sized pictures it took were of\nthe worst quality &mdash; essentially, worthless. <span class='nobr'>I never<\/span> really used that\nfeature. There was one phone in the Au lineup, though, which had <span class='nobr'>a\ntwo<\/span>-megapixel camera &mdash; its quality should be very good. <span class='nobr'>It caught<\/span> my eye.\n\n<\/p><p>\n\nFumie had eventually decided on the air conditioners, so we went over to\nmake the purchase. <span class='nobr'>We needed<\/span> four of varying sizes: rooms sizes in Japan\nare measured in how many tatami mats fit (or would fit). <span class='nobr'>A tatami<\/span> mat in\nthis part of the country is one meter by two meters (they're <span class='nobr'>a bit<\/span> smaller\nin the Tokyo area). <span class='nobr'>A six<\/span>-mat room is sort of the standard bedroom, with\nsmaller 4.5-mat rooms often for kids or college students. <span class='nobr'>Air conditioner<\/span> and heating units are then measured in what kind of rooms they're for. For\nexample, <span class='nobr'>a unit<\/span> might be rated for an 8-10 mat room (with the eight being\nfor <span class='nobr'>a wood<\/span>-constructed building, and 10 for <span class='nobr'>a modern<\/span> concrete\nhouse\/apartment, as ours is).\n\n<\/p><p>\n\nSo, we got at 14-mat unit for the Living room, <span class='nobr'>a 10<\/span>-mat unit for the dining\nroom, and two 6-mat units for the bedrooms. <span class='nobr'>The total<\/span> came to about $7,000. <span class='nobr'>We tried<\/span> to pay with our credit card (the same one we'd used the previous\nday to buy the $1,700 fridge), but there were &#8220;issues&#8221;. <span class='nobr'>The credit<\/span> card\ncompany wanted to verify who we were (<span class='nobr'>a good<\/span> thing), but someone at the\nintermediate bank in Japan screwed things up by asking us our address\ninstead of <span class='nobr'>a former<\/span> address, which the US credit card company was asking us\nfor. <span class='nobr'>In the end<\/span>, <span class='nobr'>I called<\/span> the number on the back of the card and\n(amazingly?) ended up talking to the same person who had talked to the\nJapanese intermediate. <span class='nobr'>I verified<\/span> my identity to her satisfaction (upon\ngetting my birthday right, she wished me <span class='nobr'>a happy<\/span> birthday &mdash; it was still\nApr 12th in The States) and then found out that the charge had indeed been\nauthorized (the address screwup wasn't enough to nix it, especially\nconsidering that the US agent could tell that the Japanese agent just\ndidn't know what was going on). But, the transaction, if it went through,\nwould put us over our credit limit. Sigh. <span class='nobr'>For the last<\/span> 15 years I'd had <span class='nobr'>a\ndebit<\/span> card, that debited from my brokerage account (and margined me if <span class='nobr'>I\ndidn't<\/span> have the cash), so <span class='nobr'>I never<\/span> had to care about credit limits (nor\npaying bills every month).\n\n<\/p><p>\n\nIn the end, we got the transaction canceled, went to <span class='nobr'>a bank<\/span> and withdrew\n$8,000 from an ATM (no &#8220;$300\/day withdrawal limits&#8221; here), and paid in cash. <span class='nobr'>The whole<\/span> payment ordeal wasted more than an hour, but in the end, we were\nhappy to have the air conditioners taken care of. They'll be installed next\nMonday, hopefully.\n\n<\/p><p>\n\nWe then went to talk to the cell phone people. <span class='nobr'>It was an<\/span> ordeal in and of\nitself on many levels, but made much more bearable by Ms. Mori, who was\nkind, patient, and very knowledgeable. With my previous research while in\nthe massage chair, <span class='nobr'>I'd tentatively<\/span> picked out <span class='nobr'>a plan<\/span> and phones, but it\nturns out that the one plan wasn't compatible with the phone &mdash; I'd\napparently missed that most basic tidbit of information. <span class='nobr'>In the end<\/span>, we\npicked <span class='nobr'>a cheap<\/span> plan and some phones. <span class='nobr'>I got the<\/span> two-megapixel phone, and\nFumie got one that supports the navigation feature. <span class='nobr'>We decided<\/span> to get the\nsame phone for Mom as for Fumie, so that Fumie can explain the workings (or\nvice-versa &mdash; Mom is pretty savvy, although she pretends she's not).\n\n<\/p><p>\n\nThe main ordeal here was getting the family-plan discount. For that, you\nmust prove that all are related, and although they provide for <span class='nobr'>a variety<\/span> of\nways to do so (all have the same last name, and same address on driver's\nlicense, etc.), none applied to us. <span class='nobr'>I mostly<\/span> left that to Fumie, and in the\nend, after much wailing and grinding of teeth, it was figured out. <span class='nobr'>The paperwork<\/span> would take an hour to do, so Fumie and <span class='nobr'>I went<\/span> home to check on\nMom and Anthony. (We'd left at about 11am, and it was now getting towards\n6pm).\n\n<\/p><p>\n\nWe arrived to find Anthony sleeping in the stroller just inside the front\ndoor, where <a\nhref=\"\/i\/pic\/2004-04-14_12:54.11__00015.jpg\">we'd left\nhim seven hours earlier<\/a>. <span class='nobr'>He'd been up<\/span> and active during the day, but\napparently had slept often after strolls with Mom.\n\n<\/p><p>\n\nAfter a while, we drove back and picked up the phones. <span class='nobr'>I paid with<\/span> my point\ncard &mdash; when you buys stuff there, you generally get points (from 2 - 15%)\nthat you can use for future purchases. <span class='nobr'>The fridge<\/span> and air conditioners had\nleft us with about $600 worth of free stuff, and the phones themselves took\nabout $400 of it.\n\n<\/p><p>\n\nWe stopped by a bento (&#8220;boxed lunch&#8221;) place on the way home to pick up\ndinner. <span class='nobr'>By this time<\/span>, we were ragged tired. Anthony, having slept so much\nduring the day, was wide awake and genki, and didn't sleep (nor let me\nsleep) until about 11.<\/p>\n\n<p><i><a href='\/blog\/2004-04-15\/720'>Continued here...<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The text of this post was originally written in April, 2004 as part of an online diary I kept before I actually started my blog. I'd forgotten about it until I ran across it in February 2008. I inserted it into my blog then, assigning dates appropriate to the content instead of to the time I actually added it. Thus, these April 2004 posts show up as my \"first posts\" in my list of posts, even though I didn't actually start a blog until a year later with my first post about buying a car in Japan.<\/p> <p>There's nothing here [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=718"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/718\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=718"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=718"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=718"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}