Alcoholism in Japan: Information and Support [Lifelines]

Living in a foreign country isn't always easy. For some people it's downright stressful on a regular basis. Others might feel depressed or constantly anxious. And in many cases, problems or issues you faced in your home country might surface to a greater extent while you're living abroad.

Then what?

What if you're struggling alone and have no support system, or your support system is across an ocean, thousands of miles away? 

It is possible to get help here in Japan if you can't speak any Japanese, even if it's difficult in some cases, especially if you live out in the countryside.

I'd like to refer to alcoholism in particular though for today, as my latest Lifelines column delves into alcoholism in Japan, how it's perceived, how difficult or easy it can be for foreigners to deal with it in Japan, and treatment and support options. 

Facing up to alcoholism in foreign land can help or hinder recovery (The Japan Times; Jan 31, 2012)

I hope that this may be of help to you or those you know who may be seeking help. Please do let me know if you have any resources or thoughts to add regarding dealing with alcoholism in Japan. 

Survive Earthquakes, Flu, Pollen and Platforms Without Barriers While Hello Kitty Shows You Japan - Top Japan Links Jan 29

Kitty-chan and the black egg from Owakudani in Hakone. The egg looks surprisingly cheerful for one with a cracked head.

Back again for another edition of "Top Japan Links" I've shared over social media the past two weeks. Enjoy!


Living in Japan

Number of flu patients surpasses 1.11 million as epidemic spreads (Japan Today) - Be careful!

How to direct emergency services to your house from (Tokyo Weekender) - Some useful phrases and information if you ever find yourself in (hopefully not) such a situation.

Japan’s best-selling home appliance brands of 2011 (世論 What Japan Thinks) - In case you're planning to buy a rice cooker or water purifier or some other appliance, this may give you an idea of what customers liked best last year (if you even care about that).

Health ministry aims to get smoking rate down to 10% (Japan Times) - Will they succeed? I'm doubtful. Not that I don't think it would be beneficial.

New 'Big One' forecast: four years (Japan Times) - Be prepared for the next big quake, Kanto folks! Now, what is their prediction for the Tokai quake? They keep saying it's "overdue," and that's it.

What to call baby? (Japan Times) - All about choosing names and name kanji in Japan. I find the methods and thoughts behind choosing names for children really interesting, so it's certainly worth a read if you're into that as well. (We chose a Japanese first name for our little one and a more western, though uncommon, middle name).

Meteorological Agency says pollen will come later than normal (Japan Today) - Allergy sufferers, supposedly the pollen will not only come later than usual, but is forecast to be at lower levels than last year.

Platform doors (Japan Times) - What's the point of the barriers on train platforms? Most of us might think to prevent accidental falls, and you'd be right! Aside my facetiousness, this article is an interesting read. Did you know there were 119 platform accidents in Japan last year between April and September?

Visa Worldwide (Japan) Co Ltd (Japan Today) - Boring title, yes, but some good-to-know info about getting a credit card as a foreigner in Japan.


Travel and Recreation

The Tears of a Cat: Hello Kitty’s Guide to Japan, English and Japanese / ハローティの英語で紹介する (Japan Subculture Research Center) - Kitty-chan will teach you all about Japan in this guidebook, from culture to cooking to lifestyle. It may sound childish, but the reviewer didn't think so (sounds neat to me, anyway).

Book Review: Tokyo On Foot (zonjineko!) - A nontraditional take on Tokyo guidebooks, this "graphic memoir and sketchbook" offers probably the most visual experience of any tour book. Just seeing the hand-drawn maps and handwritten type was enough to pique my interest.

Foreign tourists to get fixed-rate expressway pass (Japan Times) - In an effort to promote tourism, the Central Nippon Expressway Co. will offer a fixed rate toll pass for visitors between March 21 and June 30.

Foreign visitors log sharpest decline ever (Japan Times) - This was one of the most "retweeted" from the past two weeks. Apparently the worst decline since 1950.

7 Unique Winter Activities in Japan (BootsnAll) - Some of these you can do all year round, and some aren't unique to Japan at all (well, maybe most), but still some good ideas if you're trying to think of something else to do.


Food

Maru no Uchi Tanita Shokudo – Eating for the Patient (The Blog Side of Life) - I previously shared this article on a new restaurant that offers healthy, low-calorie meals and free nutrition advice, and asked on Facebook and Twitter if anyone do something like this. Well, fellow Japan-blogger @franeymoon visited recently and wrote a great post about it with pictures.

Fresh nabe ideas bubbling up (Japan Pulse) - Some yummy ideas if you're into nabe but tired of the same flavor(s).


Working in Japan

JET Program Application Process: How Does JET Select Candidates? (Constantine in Tokyo) - An not-so-new post from 2010, but still an informative read regarding the JET Program and how participants are chosen, the application process, among other things. Worth a read if you plan to apply for JET (although I found it interesting as a former JET).

Selling a school or eikaiwa business (Japan Today) - Obviously not applicable to everyone, but I'm sure there are quite a few people out there who own an English school or eikaiwa.

Resources for Business in Japan: Office Supplies (Blooming in Japan) - This blogger shares a useful online office supply store (though it's all in Japanese).

36 national universities in Japan are considering or will consider shifting undergraduate enrollment to autumn (Daily Yomiuri) - This is school-related, but would likely have some effect on the job system here.


Fukushima Nuclear Crisis/Tohoku Earthquake and Tsunami-related

Fallout from Fukushima No. 1 on rise (Japan Times) - Apparently January numbers were higher than December numbers.

Photohoku Project Provides Smiles And Memories  (Japan Trends) - A great project designed to "give back" photos and memories to those who lost precious photos and albums.

Dairy firms to do own fallout checks (Japan Times) - Large dairy companies plan to do their own radiation checks and disclose this information to consumers.

What to do if You're in a Car Accident in Japan - Part 2

Editor's note: I'd like to again introduce David for this week's guest post, part 2 of "What to do if You're in a Car Accident in Japan," a continuation from two weeks ago.

***

A few weeks had passed since the accident. The insurance company was handling everything related to damages and cost for the other party and I naively thought that everything was dealt with. Until I got this paper in the mail from the police department (translation is mine):

Before I continue with that story, let’s rewind a couple of weeks.

I received a rather confusing form from the insurance company in the mail. I read it over but couldn’t make heads or tails of what the form was actually about or what to do with it. I put the letter aside with the intent of asking one of my co-workers what to do with it, but never actually got around to it. Eventually, the insurance company called and asked if I had received the form. Then they asked if I knew how to fill it out and I told them, “no.” So they walked me through it (it was easy if you knew what you were doing…). The form was basically me giving the insurance company permission to pay the other party. Oh Japan and their obsession with paperwork...

That is aside the point. So I opened up the pamphlet I had received from the police department only to find this:

What does this mean? They were informing me that I was required to take a beginner’s driving class because I had been given five infraction points for the accident (will go into more detail about this in the next post). I only had a month in which to take it or else…. (also will talk about this in the next post)

Now, some of you might be wondering why I would have to take a beginner’s driving class despite the fact I have had a driver’s license for over 13 years. Well, if you remember back to when you got your Japanese license, there’s a requirement that says you need to have your license for 90 days in your home country before coming to Japan.

What they don’t mention is that if your license also doesn’t show you’ve had it for longer than a year then you are considered a beginner driver in Japan. Since I had renewed my license 10 months before coming to Japan and U.S. licenses typically don’t have the issue date of your very first license on them, I didn't have documentation that showed I had driven for over a year. You can use expired licenses as proof, but I stupidly didn’t bring them with me and wasn't able to locate them back in the US.

At first I thought, it’s no big deal. This beginning class is probably only a couple of hours and I could take it in the evening. So I let time go by until a week and a half before the deadline I started calling various locations printed on the back of the pamphlet.

And then.

I found out the beginner’s class was eight hours long and most places only offered it once a week on a weekday (meaning I would have to take leave from work). On top of that, the only place nearby that offered the class was on a day that also happened to be my busiest day teaching classes… Luckily, I was able to rearrange classes with my teachers but it was an inconvenience. Oh yeah, and did I mention it cost 16,000 yen.

(Note: If you don’t speak Japanese, you should have someone who does call the phone number on the front page and see if they have classes in English and if they don’t, find out what you need to do. I called our prefecture's Department of Licensing at the police headquarters and they said beginner English classes aren't offered and in that case the person taking the class must bring along someone to act as a translator. However, this likely varies by location around Japan.)

I called a local driving school where the class was offered and signed up. I was supposed to show up at 9:45am the day of with my pamphlet, money and writing utensils. After getting over my initial annoyance, I thought this might not be too bad and I would get a day off of work, but that didn’t last very long once the class started...

To be continued...


My last post on this series will be about this "fun" class and some useful tips and facts I was able to take away from it.

You may also want to read: What to do if You're in a Car Accident in Japan - Part 1

Have you had a similar experience? Please share it with us in the comments!

****

David Thompson is currently in his fifth and final year on the JET Program, teaching English at a technical high school. When he's not busy trying to convince teenage boys to pay attention in class, he helps coach baseball at the school (officially), helps Ashley with research and checking Japanese for accuracy, and takes care of baby Ai-chan. He's currently looking for a new, full-time career opportunity in Japan starting in August/September, particularly if it involves working with youth and/or non-profit organizations. You can check out his credentials and connect with him on LinkedIn.

Breastfeeding in Japan: Nursing Room Locator App

For any mothers who breastfeed but also for parents who bottle-feed and/or change diapers, it helps to know where you can go when out and about. I previously covered two helpful resources for finding nursing rooms in Japan, and in response, Annamarie sent me an email about a useful little app called Milpas.

The name might sound a little strange, but this app allows you to search for nursing room locations in Japan on your iPhone, in English (though, names and such are Japanese, as to be expected).

The main screen - you can add a photo if you'd like to fill the gray background.

As you can see on the main screen, you have options for "Nursing Locations," "Growth Diary" and "BBS." Personally I use a different app for growth and keeping track of everything (Total Baby, if you're interested - it's really helpful), but if you just want a simple place to keep track (not including your Mother and Child Health Handbook) you might find that feature useful.

BBS allows you to chat with other parents, although so far it doesn't seem like anyone really uses it.

In this post I want to focus on the "Nursing Locations" feature.

Once you click on "Nursing Locations," you have a few options, such as searching by nearest location (using location services on your phone), or searching by keyword. You can also bookmark locations, which will be saved under the "Bookmark" option above.

Choosing "Nearest Location" results in a list of places closest to your location - in Japanese.

You can also choose "View Map" (upper right corner under the "Nearest Locations" option), which will open Google maps and show pins of the listed nursing locations relative to where you are.

Choose any result and you are given the available information, including name, address, phone number, location at place (such as if it's in a building), what facilities it might have, hours and website (the latter two aren't shown in the following image - have to scroll down within the window for them).

The red words in English are mine, but you can bookmark the location, add it as a contact, open the location in maps with a marked route, or email the result to yourself or a friend.

Currently available only for iPhone. There is also a Japanese language version (search for ミルパス in the Japan iTunes store.) According to their about information they also have plans to expand the app to other countries as well.

Thanks to Annamarie for the tip!

If you have any suggestions for helpful apps you think other expats living in Japan would find helpful, please let me know.