The Mystery of the Baked Goods
A lot of the food stores have a small bakery attached. You pick up a tray and tongs and then go around selecting your preferred products. At first glance they appear to sell things like bread rolls and fruit cakes. Ah ha! They appear like but aren`t. A bread roll may have cream cheese or vanilla custard in it. A fruit tea cake can be delivered hot from the bakery. Not always obvious but the bottom of the tray starts to heat up. Bite into the tea cake and hot apple and custard can come squirting out. Yum but messy on your shirt if you are not prepared.
Do you celebrate White Day?
Lets Celebrate!
If you don’t sell enough cards and chocolate at Valentines Days then add another day a month later so you can have another opportunity. This isn’t a celebration from centuries ago but, apparently, a commercial opportunity from the end of the last century.
Do you worry that your chairs get cold feet?
Always a problem. The heating goes off at night and the chairs and tables get cold feet. What do you do? Get them socks!
Things you didn’t know you needed.
Chocolate Fries
I came across this story whilst still in the UK. It is not as bad as I originally thought however adding chocolate sauce to chips still wouldn’t be my choice over vinegar.
I thought it was a Jaguar
Futsukaichi, near the Aeon supermarket and 7-11 store. I thought this was a Jaguar at a distance but as I got close I realised it was not a full scale version of the Inspector Morse car. Bigger than a Dinky though.
What is growing on your roof?
Fukuoka near the city hall. It is difficult to get an idea of scale with these images. It is not just a bit of grass that is growing on each level of the building. Close up you can see that there are a number of bushes along with steps that could take you to the roof.
Do you fancy an aquarium but haven’t the time to maintain it?
Came across this craft activity. Buy yourself a fish tank and then decorate it with a range of soft clay items.
A place to live
Renting a place to live in Japan
Do you know anyone who is Japanese and will act as a guarantor for you in case you abscond from your rental property? No? OK, that makes it more difficult then. Plan (What letter are we up to?) means that you will have to use a Guarantor company, if your employer will not. If you are not Japanese then you may find it more difficult to get an owner to rent a property to you. If you have recently arrived from the UK you may have a problem with the Guarantor company accessing your crefit history from the UK. Do not expect things to happen in a rush. Estate Agents have access to all properties on the market so if you do not like the approach of the first agent you speak to go next door. Chances are another Agent is not too far away.
Shipping your stuff from the UK? Oops. If you decided that you were going to ship you have probably too much stuff. Most rental market properties, and remember the issues raised above, are for young couples or single people. If you have a lifetime of goods on their way from the UK then you may struggle to find anything large enough to be able to rent. Imagine all your furniture in a European holiday apartment and think if it will fit. Anything bigger will probably be for sale, not rent. A double bed, two bedside tables and that will probably be the main bedroom furnished.
