Getting My Japanese Phone And Residence Card

In today’s article, I’ll talk about my first few days in my new town. I’ll talk about the hassle of getting your residence card, and cellphone. I’ll also introduce my manager from that year, she was a character to say the least. She was anything but boring.

Nicities

So, as I stated we were off to our school that we would be working at for at least a year.
I had to transfer at Yokohama because my school was a bit far. This is where I met my manager...
Oh, my first manager in Japan. I thought she was a cute Japanese woman. She was in her mid-thirties, and I thought she seemed pretty nice. She introduced herself and asked me about myself as well.
We got to our destination, which was what I would call a suburban town. It reminded me of my own hometown, which is in the suburbs of Kansas. It had Starbucks, and a bunch of American fast food restaurants so I was all set, and the place already gave me a homely vibe.

My Apartment

I was soooo excited to see my new apartment!
She showed me to the company provided apartment, I was so happy.... At first glance. It came equipped with everything I needed. I had a microwave, pots and pans, dishes, towel, a futon set, blankets, tv, and it even included cleaning supplies. What I hadn’t noticed at first were the EXTREMELY dirty walls, and the disgusting microwave. They should have cleaned it better or gotten a new one, but I later found out that the manager was being cheap.
So she dropped me off and told me to meet her somewhere. I got lost as I normally do, but it was okay.
She showed me a little around the town and she also showed me the school, which was only a 5 minute walk, I thought this was great at the time so I had no complaints. I also met the teacher that I would be replacing, he seemed nice enough, he just seemed a bit stressed yet high energy.

The Hell Had Already Begun, I Just Hadn’t Notice

We went to get my residence card, and to get my phone on that Monday. I was told to meet the manager at the school. Mondays were supposed to be our off day, but she was teaching a class.
She told me to go look at the lessons while I waited. It doesn't sound like a big deal, but I was a bit flustered. I thought, oh I should look at this on my day off... Keep in mind that this was only my second week in Japan, and I still had to process everything.

Waiting…Waiting…Waiting…

After she finished, we went to get everything I needed for Japan. They don't sound like lengthy processes, but trust me, they were!!!
The paperwork in Japan is insane, even in Kanto.
EVERYTHING is done by paper, and not computer, it's the longest I felt I've ever had to wait. Getting my residence card took maybe two hours.
Then I went to get my phone, which I thought would be simple... WRONG...DEAD wrong.
I first went to SoftBank, which is the biggest in Japan. I already knew I wanted to get the Samsung Galaxy! I was ready!!! Only they didn't offer the new Samsung Galaxy... Okay...
So I guess I'll get the new iPhone, which was iPhone 8. I had chosen my phone, filled out the paperwork, and then gave them my discover card.
We waited..and waited..and waited.. Until TWO hours had passed. I guess they kept trying my card, and after two, yes TWO hours, they told me that they don't accept discover card... What a headache. We asked if there was some other way like if I paid in cash..NOPE.
At that time foreigners couldn't get a cellphone UNLESS they had at credit card. To say that I hate SoftBank would be an understatement.
So we ended up going to AU, they were more hospitable from the go. I still couldn't use my credit card, but I COULD at least pay cash for the phone. I also had to return after I got my bank account so that they could take my bill out automatically.
By the time we had finished, there was no more time for us to go to the bank... It had been a LOONG day. The next day I would be going to my school and meeting the rest of the staff and my students. I was so nervous, but luckily work didn't start until 11, so at least I could sleep in, right??