Foreigner's Finances

FF Update: Tokyo, Visa, Soccer, and Big Purchases

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My girlfriend and I returned from Tokyo last week. We spent a wonderful four days touring the city and we visited three of the four sites I previewed in my Tokyo preview post. I’ll make sure to add the Ghibli Museum to my itinerary for my next Tokyo trip.

We arrived in my apartment Wednesday night and it has been an eventful six days. Here’s a rundown of what’s been happening.

- A job at a local English school has opened up and my girlfriend has been given a temporary position! The details are still being worked out, but this means she’s about 85% sure going to get a visa and will be able to stay in Japan. She will be observing for a couple of weeks and then begin leading classes for kids and adults in October. The position appears to be a temporary tryout to see if she can successfully teach a class, but I’m more than confident in her abilities and I’m sure she’ll do a great job. I can’t say enough about networking and communities as finding this job solely happened because I spread the word before she arrived that she was looking and someone decided to help us out by recommending a name. You never know what type of opportunities are out there unless you ask.

- Since I neglected cleaning the dark and dirty areas of my apartment for two months, we spent 2-3 days tidying up every area of my apartment. It has become much more livable and makes me appreciate having a clean girl around to keep me in check. I’ve been attempting to unclutter my life and having my apartment feel more like a comfortable and welcoming home is great for the mind.

- As some of you may remember, I’ve been playing soccer every Sunday afternoon with other language teachers in my prefecture. This weekend we are headed north to Nagano, Japan – home of the 1998 Winter Olympics – for a big soccer tournament that includes around sixteen teams from all over Japan. We’re playing four to five games over two days so I’m already stretching in anticipation for the pain my muscles will feel. My soccer experience ended after two seasons of indoor when I was twelve so I’m interested to see how I fair on a real field. Wish me luck.

- A couple of large purchases have been on my mind lately. Since my girlfriend didn’t know how long she would be staying in Japan, she decided against buying a laptop. However, after only a week it’s fairly obvious that we could each use our own. It will give us more flexibility in our free time and allow me to take a laptop to school without leaving her stranded at home. Also, my laptop of 4+ years is reaching the end of its life so we’re trying to expedite the buying process in case mine decides to die one of these days. We both want a laptop with American software and it looks like buying one at home and having one of our parents ship it to Japan is our best option. If you have any recommendations for I would love to here them!

- We’re also looking for a couch for our tatami room. We only have one desk chair in the room and the floor just becomes uncomfortable after a while. Couches are pretty affordable here as we found a brand new black, leather sofa for around $180. We’re also keeping our eye on recycle shops but transportation is an issue because of my next big money concern.

- I bought a car from my predecessor but haven’t needed it. I decided to get it since I knew my girlfriend would be coming and I didn’t know if she would need it to get to a job or not. The office she will be going to is accessible by train, but it will take about an hour with transfers and walking. Meanwhile, a car ride would only take ten minutes. To complicate the issue, the radiator has overheated the two times I have driven the car and I need to take it in to get looked at. We’re currently debating our options and figuring out if the expense is worth the ease. Stay tuned for more on this topic.

Some post topics in the near future will include how I deal with letting go of certain money situations in Japan, the benefits of organizing a work space, and a mix of outrageous debt facts that will scare anyone into getting their finances in order.

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