Some notes on daily life in Tokyo

Thought my reply to an e-mail from a friend who is coming to study here in Tokyo might benefit others too...

"Dear Achoi,

Congratulations on being granted Mambusho scholarship to do your MA in GRIPS.

Since we are in different programs, I could only hope that my responses to your queries would be relevant. Yours is a one-year MA program, while mine is from being a research post graduate student and could be extended until I finish my PhD should I wish to do so. (I had only asked for extension until I finish my MA though). However, you will receive higher monthly stipend. Right now while under Cuti Belajar Bergaji Penuh, JPA is paying my salary but I am not sure about your program, so you might want to check with JPA on that.

Ok, now to address your questions.

While Mambusho does not provide family allowance, you are entitled to get monthly child allowance from your ward/city office. The rule of thumb is 5000 yen per child for 1^st and 2^nd child and 10,000 yen for third and subsequent children. However, if your 1^st or 2^nd child is under three years of age, then s/he is also eligible to get 10,000 yen monthly allowance.

As for medical expenses, if you sign your family up for National Health Insurance plan, chances are your children’s medical expenses would be subsidized, either partially or fully, depending on your locality. For instance, when I was living in Chiba, any medical treatment for Huzaifah costed 200 yen and his medicine costed 40 yen. Here in Asakusa, where we pay higher premium for health insurance, medical expenses (both consultation and prescription) for children under 6 (or is it 9?) year old are fully subsidized.

As for part-time jobs – it might be easier for a person who can speak nihongo to get it. You also must apply for a work permit if either you or your wife wishes to engage in some baito (as we call part-time job here). Since you are going to be a full-time student, you /your wife could only work up to 28 hours per week, and 8 hours per day during vacation. You can check with GRIPS office on the procedure to apply for a work permit – I got one for my hubby and the procedure is quite tedious even though there is no charge for it.

As for kindergarten (hoikuen) or nursery (youchien), you have to check it with your ward/city office on the availability and charges. Sometimes the ward/city office also provides daycare and charge it per hours for children who are not attending either hoikuen or youchien. Again, you might want to check this with your city/ward office.

Ramai tak melayu kat sini?
Heh. Relatively speaking – boleh tahan ramai. But whether you get to meet/interact with other Malay on daily basis is another issue. Should you feel like staying in a kampong Melayu, you might want to consider staying in Gyotoku or Hachioji. There are many post graduate Malay students living there, where monthly rental for a two room apartment would be around 60,000 - 65,000 yen.

There are plenty of halal shops in Tokyo, and my personal favorite is Nasco. You could purchase halal stuff by going to the shop yourself, by calling the shop or shopping online.

I am not sure of the exact population of Muslims in Tokyo and surrounding areas, but there are plenty of mosques and musollas, so I guess Muslims here pun boleh tahan ramai jugak la kot.

You have to buy electrical appliances here due to differences in voltage and plug used. Malaysia uses 240 volts whereas in Japan the voltage is 100. You can buy certain used appliances such as rice cooker, fridge, heater, washing machine and gas cooker at recycle shops.

As for formula milk and cereals, you might want to consider bringing a lot of stock from Malaysia. Relatively speaking, disposable diapers are not that expensive, but children wear could burn a hole in your pocket. Many friends here buy used children wear at flea market or recycle shops – especially those thick warm clothing that you won’t consider bringing back to Malaysia. Sometimes though you might want to consider buying brand new t-shirt or two at bargain price when there’s sale going in Gap or Uniqlo outlets (I personally found that Gap outlets in Shinjuku and Ueno usually carry more stock on children wear on sale).

Based on past experience, it could be rather chilly in October, but not quite cold yet. So, you don’t have to buy winter clothing yet, but do be prepared with some sweaters/jackets upon arrival.

A good car is worth buying only if you intend to bring it back to Malaysia because cars are costly in many respects. Parking is expensive (it’s around 20,000 yen monthly in Tokyo, less in outskirts). Gas is expensive. And Tokyo has lots of tolled roads. Not to mention taxes, insurances and maintenance. That being said, buying used car here could be quite an investment if you intend to bring it back to Malaysia. For example, a 2004 used Toyota Wish is about the same price with a brand new Perodua Kancil – so that could be a factor to consider.

Chances are you might be traveling a lot using trains. Life here is organized around train stations, and distance is usually counted in minutes (by foot) from the nearest train station. Housing prices fall as one moves further from the station. You can use Hyperdia to help planning train travel between any two stations in Japan, complete with information on cost and time. For travel in and around Tokyo, you could also refer to Tokyo Transfer guide page.

And you might want to consider buying a bicycle. Almost everyone cycle here – from young kindergarten kids in cute bikes to frail 80 year old grannies in tricycles. Men in suits, women in skirts and high heels, students - from elementary school through college – all could be seen riding bikes. Children under 6 years old are allowed to ride on bikes with child carrier seats. Maintenance is all time low – air for tires could be found at bike shops or paid public parking areas, free parking areas are plenty and bike owners don’t have to worry about gas prices or toll rates.