Comments on: The dreaded bank and other random thoughts… http://www.cherryblossomadventures.com/2009/06/26/the-dreaded-bank-and-other-random-thoughts/ An Aussie girl living in Tokyo with her Japanese boyfriend trying to make sense of her crazy yet funny Japanese life... Wed, 28 Jul 2010 16:06:30 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.9.1 hourly 1 By: Brenda http://www.cherryblossomadventures.com/2009/06/26/the-dreaded-bank-and-other-random-thoughts/comment-page-1/#comment-40522 Brenda Tue, 30 Jun 2009 11:52:34 +0000 http://www.cherryblossomadventures.com/?p=636#comment-40522 Wow! That bank thing was incredibly rude, even by my very low American standards LOL, it's off the charts for Japan! You should definitely have Shun complain! I love Kichijoji too! We really enjoy the park, especially on the weekends, it's an awesome place to "people watch"! I've always heard fainting is a pretty common thing for lots of pregnant women, but I'm sure it's scary, and it could be dangerous! Especially near a train! Hope it's just an early pregnancy thing that will go away soon! Wow! That bank thing was incredibly rude, even by my very low American standards LOL, it’s off the charts for Japan! You should definitely have Shun complain!

I love Kichijoji too! We really enjoy the park, especially on the weekends, it’s an awesome place to “people watch”!

I’ve always heard fainting is a pretty common thing for lots of pregnant women, but I’m sure it’s scary, and it could be dangerous! Especially near a train! Hope it’s just an early pregnancy thing that will go away soon!

]]> By: April Marie Claire (aka Girl Japan) http://www.cherryblossomadventures.com/2009/06/26/the-dreaded-bank-and-other-random-thoughts/comment-page-1/#comment-40506 April Marie Claire (aka Girl Japan) Sun, 28 Jun 2009 12:13:19 +0000 http://www.cherryblossomadventures.com/?p=636#comment-40506 I'm biting my tongue Lulu! "wink"! I’m biting my tongue Lulu! “wink”!

]]> By: Turner http://www.cherryblossomadventures.com/2009/06/26/the-dreaded-bank-and-other-random-thoughts/comment-page-1/#comment-40505 Turner Sun, 28 Jun 2009 09:17:13 +0000 http://www.cherryblossomadventures.com/?p=636#comment-40505 Maybe you had to be there, but I wish you wouldn't perpetuate the "angry foreigner" stereotype, yelling and throwing things. I've had problems with Japanese banks too, but nothing like that kind of personal attack. Maybe you had to be there, but I wish you wouldn’t perpetuate the “angry foreigner” stereotype, yelling and throwing things. I’ve had problems with Japanese banks too, but nothing like that kind of personal attack.

]]> By: Emsk http://www.cherryblossomadventures.com/2009/06/26/the-dreaded-bank-and-other-random-thoughts/comment-page-1/#comment-40504 Emsk Sat, 27 Jun 2009 22:04:21 +0000 http://www.cherryblossomadventures.com/?p=636#comment-40504 Outrageous Lulu. I know this probably sounds really unrealistic given it's Japan we're talking about, but is there anyone you can complain to about this? Outrageous Lulu. I know this probably sounds really unrealistic given it’s Japan we’re talking about, but is there anyone you can complain to about this?

]]> By: Lulu http://www.cherryblossomadventures.com/2009/06/26/the-dreaded-bank-and-other-random-thoughts/comment-page-1/#comment-40503 Lulu Sat, 27 Jun 2009 13:41:05 +0000 http://www.cherryblossomadventures.com/?p=636#comment-40503 Melanie- Oh! Yeah They always write mine (before marriage) last name, first name, middle name in Katakana. Now, it is written the same way, with Katakana surname then first name, middle name. On my drivers licence (Japanese version) My name is written in English exactley the same as my Gaijin Card- Last name, first name, middle name! Okay, well we will try and make our trip to the park in Kichijoji on a Tues or Wednesday!!! I am not sure all banks have the same daily limit from atms but Sumitomo Mitsui and UFJ Mitsubishi definitely have a 500,000 a day limit. If you go to the window though, you can get more if you have all the right stuff including the inkan attached to the account. Melanie- Oh! Yeah They always write mine (before marriage) last name, first name, middle name in Katakana. Now, it is written the same way, with Katakana surname then first name, middle name.

On my drivers licence (Japanese version) My name is written in English exactley the same as my Gaijin Card- Last name, first name, middle name!

Okay, well we will try and make our trip to the park in Kichijoji on a Tues or Wednesday!!!

I am not sure all banks have the same daily limit from atms but Sumitomo Mitsui and UFJ Mitsubishi definitely have a 500,000 a day limit. If you go to the window though, you can get more if you have all the right stuff including the inkan attached to the account.

]]> By: Melanie http://www.cherryblossomadventures.com/2009/06/26/the-dreaded-bank-and-other-random-thoughts/comment-page-1/#comment-40502 Melanie Sat, 27 Jun 2009 13:15:26 +0000 http://www.cherryblossomadventures.com/?p=636#comment-40502 I think the problem when I changed my name was that they didn`t know how to write it. It had been my first name and then last name in katakana, but they had a meeting (everyone gathering at the back of the bank) to figure out how to do it. Do they put it last name first first name second because the name is Japanese, do they put it in katakana or kanji. Ended up with last first middle all in bold romaji. Tuesdays and Wednesdays are my days off, though I have a week off at the end of July and then the week of Obon off. Let me know if you are heading over this way! Ah, so there is a limit to how much you can take out in one day, good thing to know. Never had to worry about it before I think the problem when I changed my name was that they didn`t know how to write it. It had been my first name and then last name in katakana, but they had a meeting (everyone gathering at the back of the bank) to figure out how to do it. Do they put it last name first first name second because the name is Japanese, do they put it in katakana or kanji. Ended up with last first middle all in bold romaji.

Tuesdays and Wednesdays are my days off, though I have a week off at the end of July and then the week of Obon off. Let me know if you are heading over this way!

Ah, so there is a limit to how much you can take out in one day, good thing to know. Never had to worry about it before

]]> By: Lulu http://www.cherryblossomadventures.com/2009/06/26/the-dreaded-bank-and-other-random-thoughts/comment-page-1/#comment-40501 Lulu Sat, 27 Jun 2009 13:00:30 +0000 http://www.cherryblossomadventures.com/?p=636#comment-40501 April Marie Claire- I think that their issue was that I didn`t have the stamp, which I could understand but I think she insinuated that I was firstly not married and then trying to steal his money because I was foreign. I probably had more issues because I was not Japanese....I tend to lose my temper easily, and that is definitely my "foreigness" coming out!!! Nay- The credit card thing is a good idea- but what about things like train fares, buying little things etc. It is fine for me to use a card with Shun`s name on it (I use his credit card too and just sign his name!) and they issued it knowing it was for me- there issue the other day was the amount of money I was taking out! LOL- it was a large sum, so I CAN understand but that does not mean they had to be so rude. Gah, totally hate banks here! Shun and I have four bank accounts all together and two are in my name and two are in his name- one of those is my Australian account which has a chunk of savings in it as well. I have the cards to all of the accounts and Shun just has a card for one- plus his credit card. We could get extra cards issued but since he is fine with the system we haven`t. Rachel in Sydney- Oh yeah- The banking system here is so odd- like even the lack of user friendly internet banking drives me a little insane, as in Australia it is so simple!!! I have to laugh here that on public holidays ATMs shut down- seriously, that is insane but something I have learned to live with after getting stuck one golden week without cash!!! Melanie- Haha, oh changing my name was fun too on my Japanese account I have had since I was a student because I had no Japanese document with my maiden name on them only my old passport and my aussie drivers licence!!! That was also a mission and I had to wait until our Koseki was completed. The daily limit was 500,000 and I needed more than that which is why I could not take out in seperate transactions- I did try though, to no avail!! Kichijoji is awesome and I used to go to that Yuzuwaya a lot for yarn! Awesome place- what are your days off again? Next time I am heading that way on one of your days off we should go together! Sara- Shun certainly takes the "shoganai" attitude in japan although he was truly pissed off when he found out the accused me of trying to steal his money and of not being his wife. I doubt he was pissed enough to make a formal complaint- in fact he thinks that they will not let me in the bank again because they might see me as "violent" hehehe I had a lot of friends in the Tokyo area already but it is nice to meet so many new people recently too- I figure you can never have too many friends!!! Thanks for the apartment hunting vibes- today we saw three places, one of which would be okay but not exactly in a good location but we will continue hunting tomorrow :-) Gaijinwife- I had a lovely sleep in, Sorry to hear that you didn`t although I figure once goma-chan arrives sleep ins will be a thing of the past for us too!!! We only have to pay half by 20 weeks but have decided to pay it all since it is easier for us- we will get 350,000 or 380,000 back AFTER the baby is born from the city. Our hospital though does not accept the payment direct from the city like some hospitals do (I know Sara`s does!) I had to laugh that everyone in the "inaka" knows everyone so they wouldnt care if you tried to take money from your hubs account- I think I am a little infamous now in the Moto-Yawata banks as well! LOL Khea- That is the place! I have never been to the open air Thai place that both Tentoumoushi in Tokyo and Cassie spoke about but I have spent A LOT of time in the park- in fact the yochien where I used to work we used to take the kids to the same park 2 or 3 times a week- it is truly a beautiful part of Tokyo! Corinne- The fainting thing thanfully has only happened once since getting pregnant (although I had several fainting spells when I was in highschool, once into the ocean which was scary and my sailing coach saved me and I had to go to the hospital) but I have been getting dizzy a lot. I always carry water with me and some kind of gummi candy just in case I feel I need a drink and/or sugar! I am hoping it stops happening soon though! It is definitely scary and I hate the hearing feeling you get because you know it is coming.... Will take some doggy style pictures next time! Jessica- Oh the post offices here are not TOO bad- but if you are sending stuff overseas it can be difficult. Mainly the banks and the town halls cause issues! LOL. Oh and the apartment hunting places if you are foreign and unmarried- even when Shun and I were looking together we got a lot of "foreigners, no" responses. So rude! I also have a temper when it comes to these kinds of things!!! Cassie- Hahahaha, yes I like lettuce! I will eat anything, and just pick out what I don`t eat (lol, I know I am picky!) I will mail you before Wednesday though! Oh and yeah I eat Capsicum/bell peppers- I would eat a whole one! Love them! Beamies- Thanks for the vibes! I hope they work! I giggle everytime I pass the "doggy style" shop! April Marie Claire- I think that their issue was that I didn`t have the stamp, which I could understand but I think she insinuated that I was firstly not married and then trying to steal his money because I was foreign. I probably had more issues because I was not Japanese….I tend to lose my temper easily, and that is definitely my “foreigness” coming out!!!

Nay- The credit card thing is a good idea- but what about things like train fares, buying little things etc. It is fine for me to use a card with Shun`s name on it (I use his credit card too and just sign his name!) and they issued it knowing it was for me- there issue the other day was the amount of money I was taking out! LOL- it was a large sum, so I CAN understand but that does not mean they had to be so rude. Gah, totally hate banks here! Shun and I have four bank accounts all together and two are in my name and two are in his name- one of those is my Australian account which has a chunk of savings in it as well. I have the cards to all of the accounts and Shun just has a card for one- plus his credit card. We could get extra cards issued but since he is fine with the system we haven`t.

Rachel in Sydney- Oh yeah- The banking system here is so odd- like even the lack of user friendly internet banking drives me a little insane, as in Australia it is so simple!!! I have to laugh here that on public holidays ATMs shut down- seriously, that is insane but something I have learned to live with after getting stuck one golden week without cash!!!

Melanie- Haha, oh changing my name was fun too on my Japanese account I have had since I was a student because I had no Japanese document with my maiden name on them only my old passport and my aussie drivers licence!!! That was also a mission and I had to wait until our Koseki was completed.

The daily limit was 500,000 and I needed more than that which is why I could not take out in seperate transactions- I did try though, to no avail!!

Kichijoji is awesome and I used to go to that Yuzuwaya a lot for yarn! Awesome place- what are your days off again? Next time I am heading that way on one of your days off we should go together!

Sara- Shun certainly takes the “shoganai” attitude in japan although he was truly pissed off when he found out the accused me of trying to steal his money and of not being his wife. I doubt he was pissed enough to make a formal complaint- in fact he thinks that they will not let me in the bank again because they might see me as “violent” hehehe

I had a lot of friends in the Tokyo area already but it is nice to meet so many new people recently too- I figure you can never have too many friends!!!

Thanks for the apartment hunting vibes- today we saw three places, one of which would be okay but not exactly in a good location but we will continue hunting tomorrow :-)

Gaijinwife- I had a lovely sleep in, Sorry to hear that you didn`t although I figure once goma-chan arrives sleep ins will be a thing of the past for us too!!!

We only have to pay half by 20 weeks but have decided to pay it all since it is easier for us- we will get 350,000 or 380,000 back AFTER the baby is born from the city. Our hospital though does not accept the payment direct from the city like some hospitals do (I know Sara`s does!)

I had to laugh that everyone in the “inaka” knows everyone so they wouldnt care if you tried to take money from your hubs account- I think I am a little infamous now in the Moto-Yawata banks as well! LOL

Khea- That is the place! I have never been to the open air Thai place that both Tentoumoushi in Tokyo and Cassie spoke about but I have spent A LOT of time in the park- in fact the yochien where I used to work we used to take the kids to the same park 2 or 3 times a week- it is truly a beautiful part of Tokyo!

Corinne- The fainting thing thanfully has only happened once since getting pregnant (although I had several fainting spells when I was in highschool, once into the ocean which was scary and my sailing coach saved me and I had to go to the hospital) but I have been getting dizzy a lot. I always carry water with me and some kind of gummi candy just in case I feel I need a drink and/or sugar! I am hoping it stops happening soon though! It is definitely scary and I hate the hearing feeling you get because you know it is coming….

Will take some doggy style pictures next time!

Jessica- Oh the post offices here are not TOO bad- but if you are sending stuff overseas it can be difficult. Mainly the banks and the town halls cause issues! LOL. Oh and the apartment hunting places if you are foreign and unmarried- even when Shun and I were looking together we got a lot of “foreigners, no” responses. So rude!

I also have a temper when it comes to these kinds of things!!!

Cassie- Hahahaha, yes I like lettuce! I will eat anything, and just pick out what I don`t eat (lol, I know I am picky!) I will mail you before Wednesday though! Oh and yeah I eat Capsicum/bell peppers- I would eat a whole one! Love them!

Beamies- Thanks for the vibes! I hope they work! I giggle everytime I pass the “doggy style” shop!

]]> By: beamies http://www.cherryblossomadventures.com/2009/06/26/the-dreaded-bank-and-other-random-thoughts/comment-page-1/#comment-40500 beamies Sat, 27 Jun 2009 04:50:56 +0000 http://www.cherryblossomadventures.com/?p=636#comment-40500 Sorry about the complications at the bank, especially the rude teller. Ha ha Doggy Style makes me giggle too. Sending good apartment finding vibes your way! Sorry about the complications at the bank, especially the rude teller. Ha ha Doggy Style makes me giggle too. Sending good apartment finding vibes your way!

]]> By: Cassandra Harada http://www.cherryblossomadventures.com/2009/06/26/the-dreaded-bank-and-other-random-thoughts/comment-page-1/#comment-40499 Cassandra Harada Fri, 26 Jun 2009 22:56:56 +0000 http://www.cherryblossomadventures.com/?p=636#comment-40499 Hey Lulu, Thanks for linking me! Looking forward to this wednesday and trying to come up with some fantastic ingredients that don't include broccoli or cauliflower to go in the salads....you like lettuce right? How about capsicum? Red bell pepper? can't wait to rid my apartment of baby stufff!!! See you soon! Hey Lulu,
Thanks for linking me! Looking forward to this wednesday and trying to come up with some fantastic ingredients that don’t include broccoli or cauliflower to go in the salads….you like lettuce right? How about capsicum? Red bell pepper?

can’t wait to rid my apartment of baby stufff!!! See you soon!

]]> By: Jessica http://www.cherryblossomadventures.com/2009/06/26/the-dreaded-bank-and-other-random-thoughts/comment-page-1/#comment-40498 Jessica Fri, 26 Jun 2009 15:06:07 +0000 http://www.cherryblossomadventures.com/?p=636#comment-40498 Like Corinne, I get the fainting thing while pregnant too. It happened to me while teaching a couple of times this semester. I think it is pretty normal, I've heard the extra blood explanation too. Sitting down right away really does help, it seems much much worse if I'm standing (and it seems the subways in Japan aren't very good about giving seats up to pregnant women!). Anyhow, I don't think it is anything to be super concerned about, just another one of those lovely pregnancy things that happen to some people. And ugh about the bank. Our bank account is actually in my name, but the ATMs here are stupid, they have a "limit" but you can just use the same ATM over and over and over again until you have the money you need. You'll see some people at the ATM taking out money for like 10 minutes, lol. But I hear you on the stupid teller, I hate dealing with people like that, as they are usually unnecessarily rude. My pet hate is the post office. I once had to pick up a Western Union wire and they wouldn't give it to me because the sender had not written my middle name on the the wire. Never mind that I had ALL the other information, tracking number, address, phone number, sender's name, etc. correct and the sender was my dad so we had the same last name! I threw a right fit, I'll tell you, but it did no good. I get so angry and just cannot contain my temper when things like that happen. Like Corinne, I get the fainting thing while pregnant too. It happened to me while teaching a couple of times this semester. I think it is pretty normal, I’ve heard the extra blood explanation too. Sitting down right away really does help, it seems much much worse if I’m standing (and it seems the subways in Japan aren’t very good about giving seats up to pregnant women!). Anyhow, I don’t think it is anything to be super concerned about, just another one of those lovely pregnancy things that happen to some people.

And ugh about the bank. Our bank account is actually in my name, but the ATMs here are stupid, they have a “limit” but you can just use the same ATM over and over and over again until you have the money you need. You’ll see some people at the ATM taking out money for like 10 minutes, lol. But I hear you on the stupid teller, I hate dealing with people like that, as they are usually unnecessarily rude. My pet hate is the post office. I once had to pick up a Western Union wire and they wouldn’t give it to me because the sender had not written my middle name on the the wire. Never mind that I had ALL the other information, tracking number, address, phone number, sender’s name, etc. correct and the sender was my dad so we had the same last name! I threw a right fit, I’ll tell you, but it did no good. I get so angry and just cannot contain my temper when things like that happen.

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