Gaijin Story #11 - UTokyo WiFi Networks for Newbies

When the first time I became student of Todai, I barely used the wifi connections provided by the university except the one at my research institute (AORI). Moreover, as a research student, I have never been provided UTokyo account by the university or the student affair section of my graduate school. I survived somehow by cable and wifi connection from my laboratory. It's such a hard life to become a kenkyuusei, wasn't it?

After (officially) becoming a graduate student however, the university bombarded me with so many information, procedures and guidelines, including for the wifi networks on campus. One of my fellow student joked that with such massive information, we may not be able to finish reading all of them in 3 years of our study.

I write this post for student or anybody (including visitors) at UTokyo who needs wifi connection at the university and still confused with the guidelines. Please note that the wifi connections I mentioned here are the ones provided by the main university network system, not the graduate schools/faculties as they have their own wifi system.

If you're at any campuses of Todai (e.g. Hongo, Komaba, Kashiwa etc) and turn on the wifi connection of your device (laptop or smartphone), you may notice some wifi connections available like this one:

There are basically three kinds of wifi connection at Todai (in red circle), with their own advantages and disadvantages.

1. UTokyo-WiFi

User            : UTokyo students, staffs and faculty members only

Account issuance: Using UTokyo account

Network setting : Required

Pros            : Fast and reliable, Free access to many e-journals, Good for academic works

Cons            : Limited locations, Complicated network settings, Expired after 6 months

This is the official wifi connection of Todai which could be accessed exclusively by the members of the university. In order to use this wifi, you firstly need to obtain your UTokyo account. The account should be distributed during the guidance session of your department when you firstly admit as the student of Todai, and it's extremely important for accessing any on-line academics/administration system (course registration/UTAS etc.)

After obtaining UTokyo account, you should login and register an email address for any contacts/notification regarding the account. After that, you can issue UTokyo-Wifi account by accessing this website. Please keep in mind that UTokyo-Wifi account is different from UTokyo account. In the past, UTokyo-Wifi account could be issued after taking seminar of ECCS at Hongo campus. Starting from FY2018, the account could be issued directly after admitting into the university (no seminar needed).

Log in using your UTokyo account and make new account application. The account information (user id and password) will be sent to your registered email address. After obtaining the account information, you should add the UTokyo-Wifi connection using the settings as described on this page. Tell the truth, the network setting is quite complicated, even for me who used to work with network systems in the past. If you feel confused with the settings, you can ask help from friends or inquiry form of the above mentioned website. Another important thing is, the UTokyo-Wifi account will be expired after 6 months, thus you should issue/renew new account periodically in order to use this service.

The good thing of using this wifi connection is, it's fast and reliable. It's also extremely important if you want to access academic information system such as UTAS or e-journal libraries from campus. 

2. UTokyo-Guest

User            : Visitors, Anybody at UTokyo campuses

Account issuance: Using cellphone number

Network setting : Not required

Pros            : Easy access, No account expiration, Free

Cons            : Limited locations, Slow connection, No academic services provided 

This wifi connection mainly targets the visitors of  Todai. In order to use this wifi, you just need your phone number to get an account (your user id). Either international and domestic phone numbers are eligible to use this service, as long as they can receive call (from audio guide). It's free and no network setting required for using UTokyo-Guest, hence it's really convenient for visitor or user with limited knowledge in network settings.

Users can directly connect to the wifi and open web browser. When trying to open a web page, user will be forwarded to the login page. The login information will remain even if the browser is closed (reset only in shutdown/restart). For more information about this wifi, you can access this page and manual.

Anyway, as the name suggests, it basically can not be used to access academic information systems of the university. The users however, could use this wifi and VPN to access the internal network of the university if they have UTokyo account. Another bad thing about this wifi is, it's slow, especially in the period of high network traffic.

3. Eduroam

User            : Anybody who uses participating institution email service

Account issuance: Using participating institution's email

Network setting : Depends on the visited institutions/locations

Pros            : Fast, Worldwide access, Free

Cons            : No academic services provided, Network setting could be complicated

This wifi connection is the most interesting (at least for me) of all. Eduroam is a free international roaming service for user in research, higher education and further education. Using this service, you can access wifi connection not only at Todai, but also at any participating institutions, all over the world. So let's say you join a conference at a university in US or UK who uses the same roaming service, you still can access the wifi using the very same account you use at your home institution (in this case, Todai) and vice versa. The authentication system/network settings however, should follow the ones of the visited institution.

In order to issue an account, it's necessary for the user to have an email address of participating institution. In case the user is a member of Todai, he/she needs to have an email address using Todai's domain (u-tokyo.ac.jp). Next thing to be keep in mind is, if the user uses eduroam service at Todai, then the network settings should follow the ones used in Todai. That means, the network settings will be the same with UTokyo-Wifi, which is yeah ... quite complicated. Anyway, if you have done the settings for UTokto-Wifi, you should be able to do it again with ease for eduroam.

For issuing an account (for Todai's member), go to this page, click on the "New Account Application" link, and input your name and Todai's email address. After confirmation, you will receive an account notification on your email with user id and password information. You can log into the account management page to check the details (change password etc.).  After issuing an account, you could do the very same network settings as UTokyo-Wifi as explained above. Just remember, if you want to use eduroam anywhere else than Todai, the network setting should be different.

The account will be expired after 1 year, but could be renewed if the registered email address is still valid at that time. Another important thing is, similar with UTokyo-Guest, eduroam could not be used to access academic information system of the university, unless the user uses VPN and UTokyo account.

Gaijin Story #10 - Income Tax Return dan Asuransi Kesehatan Nasional Jepang

Februari 2017 adalah salah satu bulan tersibuk selama saya tinggal di Jepang. Saat itu anak pertama lahir dan saya lumayan kelimpungan mengurus berkas kelahirannya, mulai dari rumah sakit, municipal office, kantor imigrasi sampai KBRI. Ujung-ujungnya, saya melupakan salah satu hal paling penting yang harus dilakukan setiap orang-terutama kepala keluarga-di Jepang setiap tahun: melaporkan pajak pendapatan alias income tax return ke municipal office. 

Laporan ini bisa dilakukan dengan mengisi form yang dikirimkan municipal office ke rumah via pos, atau datang langsung ke kantornya, dan biasanya deadlinenya adalah tanggal 15 Maret. Laporan pajak pendapatan ini wajib dilakukan setiap orang, terlepas apakah ybs memiliki pendapatan atau tidak. Mahasiswa yang hidupnya bergantung pada beasiswa seperti saya termasuk yang tidak memiliki pendapatan, tapi tetap diwajibkan untuk melapor. Tapi seberapa penting laporan pajak ini?

Informasi pendapatan yang ada di laporan tersebut akan menjadi dasar perhitungan berbagai subsidi yang akan diterima dari pemerintah. Salah satunya adalah asuransi kesehatan nasional (NHI/hokensho). Bagi yang tidak memiliki pendapatan (0 Yen income), akan mendapat diskon premi asuransi yang jumlahnya lumayan. Selain itu laporan ini juga dibutuhkan untuk memperoleh subsidi pengobatan anak dari pemerintah kota.  

Saya baru ngeh atas kealpaan melaporkan income tax ini ketika menerima slip pembayaran hokensho terbaru bulan Juni 2017. Tahun lalu, saya membayar sekitar 24,000 Yen untuk premi hokensho selama 10 bulan, untuk dua orang (saya dan istri). Alhasil, matapun terbelalak ketika menerima tagihan baru hokensho sebesar 120,000 Yen untuk 10 bulan. Itu artinya 12,000 Yen per bulan. Bagi mahasiswa MEXT yang beasiswanya pas-pasan seperti saya, tentu tagihan sebanyak itu bisa mencekik leher. 

Slip Premi Hokensho

Income Tax Return Form (Kashiwa-shi)

Kejadian lupa melaporkan income tax seperti ini lumrah terjadi di Jepang, terutama oleh foreigner, dan untungnya, pemerintah kota masih "berbaik hati" memberikan kesempatan kedua bagi orang-orang yang alpa tersebut. Setelah datang langsung ke municipal office dan melaporkan pendapatan ke bagian pajak, saya pun melapor ke bagian asuransi. Pihak asuransi nantinya akan menyesuaikan tagihan premi dan mengirimkan slip baru ke rumah. Berita bagus lainnya, tidak ada denda atau pungutan atas keteledoran saya. Alhamdulillah.

Pelajaran berharganya, kalo anda mahasiswa di Jepang dan tiba-tiba dapat tagihan premi asuransi membengkak, coba cek lagi, apakah income tax anda sudah dilaporkan. Intinya ya jangan sampai lupa lapor pajak setiap tahunnya (=  

Gaijin Story #9 - V-Preca, Kartu Kredit Pra-bayar di Jepang

Kartu kredit mungkin adalah metode pembayaran paling populer di dunia saat ini, termasuk di Jepang. Hampir semua transaksi di negeri sakura mendukung pembayaran dengan kartu kredit, baik on-the-spot maupun via online. Namun, mendapatkan kartu kredit di Jepang bukan hal yang mudah, terutama bagi gaijin (foreigner). Selain proses screening yang ketat, aplikasi kartu kredit di bank juga butuh kemampuan bahasa Jepang yang cukup, dan penolakan aplikasi oleh bank juga tidak jarang terjadi. Umumnya, foreigner yang ingin mendapatkan kartu kredit akan membawa temannya yang orang Jepang untuk membantu komunikasi dengan pihak Bank.

Nah, salah satu hal menarik yang saya temui di Jepang adalah kartu kredit pra-bayar. Ya, pra-bayar dan bisa diisi ulang seperti pulsa ponsel yang ada di Indonesia. Kartu kredit jenis ini bisa dibeli dengan mudah di berbagai convenient store dalam beberapa nominal, mulai dari 2000 - 10000 Yen, dan tentu saja, tidak perlu aplikasi yang ribet seperti di bank. Tinggal bayar di kasir, isi via website dan anda langsung bisa menggunakannya untuk berbagai transaksi. Sayangnya, kartu kredit jenis ini hanya bisa digunakan untuk transaksi online.

Voucher V-Preca

Salah satu kartu kredit pra-bayar yang saya gunakan di Jepang adalah V-Preca (Lifecard), yang bisa digunakan untuk transaksi di berbagai merchant online yang menerima pembayaran dengan kartu kredit VISA. Walaupun namanya kartu kredit, tapi V-Preca ini lebih mirip voucher. Untuk bisa menggunakannya, kita perlu melakukan registrasi via website dan memasukkan kode yang ada pada voucher tadi sebelum menggunakannya untuk transaksi. Untuk proses registrasi, anda harus memiliki nomor telepon Jepang yang bisa dihubungi, karena kode konfirmasi akan dikirimkan via SMS.

Kartu V-Preca Gift

Bagi yang tidak punya nomor telepon Jepang, tersedia juga V-Preca Gift dalam bentuk kartu yang bisa langsung digunakan untuk transaksi, namun hanya sekali pakai dan nominalnya berbeda dengan V-Preca biasa.

V-Preca bisa digunakan untuk transaksi online di dalam maupun luar Jepang, misalnya di Amazon.com atau ETS (untuk test TOEFL/GRE). Hal penting yang perlu diperhatikan, pada beberapa situs yang membutuhkan registrasi kartu kredit (untuk pembayaran berkala), V-Preca tidak bisa digunakan, karena nomor kartunya akan berubah setiap kali diisi ulang. 

Keunggulan V-Preca:

• Bisa dibeli di berbagai convenient store
• Bisa digunakan pada berbagai merchant online yang menerima pembayaran dengan VISA
• Registrasi mudah dan disposable, cocok bagi foreigner/mahasiswa asing
• Tidak ada bunga atau biaya aneh-aneh, jadi tak perlu khawatir belanja berlebihan atau debt collector ;-)
• Bagi yang tidak punya nomor telepon Jepang, bisa menggunakan V-Preca Gift Card

Kekurangan V-Preca:

• Hanya untuk transaksi online
• Nominal yang terbatas
• Tidak bisa digunakan untuk pembayaran berkala, misal untuk fee registrasi bulanan di Yahoo!Auction.
• Website untuk registrasi/isi ulang, 90% dalam bahasa Jepang

Website V-Preca : http://vpc.lifecard.co.jp/en/

Gaijin Story #8 - Registering Newborn Child in Japan (for Foreign Students)

Having a child in Japan is definitely one of the most unique and memorable life experience ever. While the living is complicated enough, cultural and regulation differences, as well as the language barrier could be really challenging for foreigners, especially students, to conceive and raise children in Japan. One thing that could bring anxiety is probably the registration procedure for children being born in the country. Complicated paper works and the penalty (for anybody who fail the rules) may sound scary, but as long as you stick with it and prepare the necessary documents, everything should be OK. 

I'm a foreign student and my son was born in Kashiwa last February, and this time, I would like to share my experience about how to register your newborn child in Japan.

Basically, there are three things you should do after your child was born:      

1. Registering Your Newborn Child to City Ward

This is the very first step you should ever do. Why? Because he/she only has 14-days since the birth for being registered to the city ward. More than that, there will be troubles. How bad? There could be penalty, complicated paper works or even a visit by police to your home. So, do it as soon as possible after your child is discharged from the hospital.

Some documents you should prepare (bold ones are the most important):

• Birth certificate (出生証明書: Shusseishoumeisho) and Birth registration (出生届: Shusshoutodoke). For my case, these two documents are printed in one paper, and should be handed by the hospital where your child was born. Shusseishoumeisho will be filled by hospital with birth data of your child (date, time, weight, height etc.), while Shusshoutodoke should be filled by you when you register your child to city ward. These are extremely important documents and you will need them again for obtaining visa for your child. Therefore, make sure you receive it from the hospital.
• Mother and child health handbook (母子健康手帳: Boshikenkoutechou or simply, boshitechou). You should be familiar with this book, as it's been used since the pregnancy.
• Residence cards (Zairyu) of  the representative parent.
• National Health Insurance card (国民健康保険:Kokuminkenkouhoken) of the househead (father) for making child's NHI card.
• Your university student ID.
• Passports of both parents. You will need them for registering child support system from city ward (you could receive 15,000 Yen/month subsidy for raising your child).
• Your bank book or cash card. Needed for child support system registration and expenses reimbursement (if you need it). 
• Hospital receipts for birth expenses, in case you didn't use direct payment system and want the money reimbursed. Otherwise, you can omit this.

Birth certificate (right side) and birth registration (left side) from hospital

Visit the city ward with the documents and register your child. Asked for help from the city ward staff if you need it. During the registration, make sure you also apply to get these following documents:

• Acceptance certificate (受理証明書: Jurishoumeishou). This document is a prove that your child has been registered at city ward. You'll need this document for applying your child's visa (and register him/her at your national embassy in Japan). It will costs 350 yen for 1 copy of jurishoumeishou. Apply at least 2 copies of it for future uses.
• Residence record (住民票: Juuminhyou). You should be also familiar with this one, because it's a very important document for opening bank account and registering for NHI. This time, you'll need the updated Juuminhyou for registering NHI and applying visa for your child. The cost will be 300 yen for 1 copy of juuminhyou. Apply at least 2 copies of it for future uses.
• Copy of Birth certificate and birth registration. The original documents will be kept by city ward, thus don't forget to get the copies to apply your child visa.

Jurishoumeisho, the acceptance ceritificate.

After the registration is completed, you should have those three kinds of documents above. The city ward staff should return the boshitechou to you with stamp of city major on the first page, acknowledging the registration of your child.

After you finished registering your child, don't forget to do these next important things at the city ward:

• Apply for NHI for you child. You'll need your NHI card and Juuminhyou as mentioned above. You could also ask for reimbursement for hospital expenses if you need to.
• Apply for Child support/subsidy system by the city ward. As mentioned above you could get 15,000 yen/month support from the city. For my case, the paper works need bank account information (bank book/cash card) and passport/visa from both parents. So make sure you prepared these documents.
• Apply for immunization and medical support to have free (primary) immunization and free medication for your child.

Basically, after child registration at city ward is finished, and the next important step is applying visa for your child at the immigration bureau office closest to your city to obtain residence status for your child, and you must do this no more than 30 days after the birth. Some documents you obtained at city ward will be used for the visa application. 

2. Applying Child's Visa at Japan Immigration Bureau

This is the next mandatory step you MUST do after registering your child to city ward and you MUST do this no more than 30 days after the birth. Otherwise, your child will be considered as an "overstayer" or even an illegal resident which could lead to deportation from Japan. Scary it may sound, the visa application process is in fact not so complicated, as long as you prepare the necessary documents. It's not necessary to have your child passport for the visa application.

What I will write here is the process I took to get my son's visa at Regional Immigration Bureau in Shinagawa, Tokyo. There might be few differences with other immigration offices, but overall the process should be similar.

Before applying visa, make sure to prepare these documents:      

• Application form for permission to acquire status of residence in Japan. You could get the form on this link. Any other documents you need to submit also shown on that page (even though the description is quite ambiguous). It's better to fill this form before you visit the immigration office.
• Your residence card (Zairyu), as the legal representative of your child.
• Acceptance certificate (Jurishoumeisho) from city ward.
• Registration record (Juuminhyou) from city ward.
• Copy of birth certificate (Shusseishoumeisho) from city ward.
• Copy of birth registration (Shusshotodoke) from city ward.
• Copy of mother and child health hand book (boshitechou). Just copy the pages which state the birth of your child.
• Copy of your marriage certificate.
• Certificate of enrollment from your university. This document is a prove of your student status in Japan and it MUST be the most recent one. It should be issued in maximum 3 months before your visa application date.
• Any documents which indicates your incomes. For scholarship awardee, you should prepare the most recent scholarship acceptance certificate, e.g. MEXT certificate etc.

What you should know during the visa application at immigration office:

• It's obvious that immigration office is always crowded. Therefore, make a visit at your earliest convenience. At Shinagawa office, there are so many people even before the working hours started (at 9 AM) because the ticket number counter is already open, and the queue is ridiculously long. I came around 9:45 AM, got ticket number 302 and finally called to the counter at 4:10 PM!
• Monday and Friday are usually the most crowded day.
• If there are more than one immigration office near your city, visit the closest and smaller one. I live in Kashiwa, and I was applying CoE for my wife a year ago at Chiba immigration office. The queue was much shorter than Shinagawa, even though I visited the office around 1 PM.
• The immigration office will send notice (postcard) to inform you that the application result has been finished. I got mine after 1 week. Return to the same immigration office after you received the post card, together with visa application receipt. Don't forget to bring your resident card and documents which prove your relationship with your child (ex. Juuminhyou and Jurishoumeishou).
• It's also recommended that you come early to pick the result (in this case, your child's resident card). While the queue is not as long as the application one, it will still take time to wait for your number to be called.

Return to the immigration office after you received this post card in your mail box

Visa application receipt

Finally, resident card for your child

3. Making Passport for Your Child

This is the final step you should conduct after getting visa for your child. The regulations for passport application might be different for each embassy, thus I will not describe it in details here. Anyway, as other steps mentioned above, some documents should be prepared and you should check the specific information on your nation's embassy in Japan.

Some embassies (like mine) require the child to be presented for the passport application (taking photo and bio-metrics), thus you should better make a visit when your newborn child is strong enough to be brought outside. No need to rush on the passport, because as long as your child has visa, he/she should be considered legal to stay in Japan. Nevertheless, don't forget to apply for passport, especially if you plan to travel outside Japan with your child.    

Gaijin Story #7 - Paying Electricity, Gas and Water Bill in Japan at Convenient Store

When I came and started living in Japan for the first time, one of my biggest worries is about how to do money transactions for daily living. As a foreigner, I imagined many troublesome things due to the language barrier. After living for almost one year though, I've finally realized that Japan has one of the most sophisticated online transaction systems in the world, which means, you have so many options for money transactions. You could pay almost everything by credit card, debit card, bank transfer, net bank and convenient store. And for this post, I would like to specifically share my experience for paying utilities bill at konbini (Japan pronunciation for convenient store), which is in my opinion, the most "friendly" option for foreigner.

Utilities such as electricity, gas and water are the most mandatory for houses in Japan. They are also interconnected with each other for specific purposes, for example, water heater is a must during winter and it needs water (of course), gas (for heating) and electricity (for power). So, you practically won't survive without all of them. Therefore, it's very important to pay the bills in time to avoid trouble with the utilities companies (they can stop the service if you're late).

For my case (3 members family), I usually pay around 3000-6000 Yen/month for electricity. The most expensive periods are usually in summer and winter, due to the extensive use of air conditioner and heater. For gas, I usually pay around 2000-6000 Yen/month. The most expensive period for gas is in winter, due to water heater (nobody wants to take a bath with freezing water). Finally, the water usually costs me 5000-7000 Yen/2 months, which means around 2500-3500 Yen/month. Water costs usually not fluctuated much as electricity and gas.

Electricity bill

Gas notice (Left) and Water bill (Right)

Gas bill

I live in Kashiwa and as other cities, the electricity and gas bills come to the mailbox once a month, while water bill comes once every two months. Sometimes, the company will send notice before the real bill comes. The notice may look similar with bill, but its purpose is just to inform you the upcoming amount of payment and you could not use it to pay utilities. Meanwhile, the "real" bills will have a specific bar code which could be use for utilities payment. So far, I have paid electricity bills at 7/11 and Familymart, but I suppose any konbinis (Sunkus, Lawson etc) will do so.

Konbini cashier display. Ask the cashier staff about utility payment, give the bills and push the button in the center to confirm bill payment.

Bill receipts. From left to right: water, gas and electricity.

For paying bills, just give the them to the cashier counter and they usually understand even if you don't talk about it. The cashier will ask you to press a specific button on the cashier machine for payment confirmation. After you pay, they will give you give one part of the bills as receipts with specific date and place stamp of the payment. That's all, very easy and convenient.  

Gaijin Story #6 - How to Transfer Money from JP Bank ATM to Rakuten Account

What I would like to write this time is about the procedure to transfer money from JP Bank account to a Rakuten account (e.g. for online shopping) by JP Bank ATM. Of course, it could also be applied for money transfer to any other Japanese bank accounts, with slight modifications. 

Please keep in mind, that the deposit type I will mention is an ordinary deposit, and you should already have JP Bank account. Therefore, prepare your passbook or cash card beforehand. Another important thing to remember, the money transfer have to be done by using Japanese menu on the ATM. It may sound ridiculous, but the ATM doesn't provide remittance to other bank account other than JP by English menu. Why? I don't know.

Oh, one more funny thing. Most ATM in Japan don't operate 24-hours. They're usually only available during weekdays (Monday-Friday) and work hours (9 AM-5 PM). Some ATM may be available overtime, or even during weekends or holidays at crowded places, for example train stations or convenient stores, but mostly are not. In regards with the remittance on this post, the transferred money will arrive at the destination account only on weekdays. That means, for example, if you transfer money on Saturday, the money will be received by the Rakuten account on Monday. The same thing applies for holidays. So, consider your timing before transferring money.

Without further ado, lets start.

1. Firstly, select Remittance (Gosoukin ご送金) on the menu of the ATM. It's the button on the left third row of the screen. The next screen will show you the warning of fraud (in Japanese), just proceed.

2. Select remittance to another bank account (Takou kouza e no go soukin 他行口座へのご送金). It's on the last row button.

3. Insert your passbook or cash card, and type the PIN number.

4. You'll see bunch of bank names on the screen. Select show next (Tsugi o hyouji 次を表示). It's on the low right corner of the screen.

5. On the next screen, select other (So no hoka その他). It's on the last row button. 

6. The next screen will ask you to enter the first letter of the bank name in Katakana. In this case, select "Ra" (Katakana: ラ) for Rakuten. As soon as you choose the katakana, the screen will show a button with the name of Rakuten Bank (Rakuten Ginkou 楽天銀行). Proceed by selecting the button.

You will be asked again to enter the first Katakana of the name of Rakuten branch. Select "Ra" again as previous step.

7. The next screen will ask you to select the Rakuten branch. For example, if you want to pay for Rakuten online shop, select Rakuten market branch (Rakutenshijou Shiten 楽天市場支店). It's on the right hand side of the screen. Important: this is just an example, please check your own destination Rakuten branch.

8. Select ordinary deposit (Futsuu Yokin 普通預金). It's on the uppermost button showed on the screen.

9. Type the destination account number. If it's correct, proceed by confirm by pressing the green button (Kakunin 確認). If you want for correction, press the orange button (Teisei 訂正).

10. Type the amount of money you want to transfer. For example: 1661, then press the green button (Yen 円). The ATM will ask you again if you sure with the money amount. If yes, select green button. If not, select the orange one and you will be asked to retype the amount of money again.

11. If you transfer money on weekdays, proceed to step 12. Otherwise, as I mentioned above, if you transfer the money on weekends or holidays, the ATM will inform you that the transferred will be completed on the closest weekday. You can proceed by pressing the green button or cancel (by pressing the top right corner button with "X" sign).

12. The next screen will ask if you want to use your registered name at JP account. If you agree, select Yes on the green button (Hai はい). If you want to add another information on your name, select No on the orange button (Iie いいえ).

13. The next screen will ask you to enter your phone number (without hypen "-"), for example: 07011112222. Select green button to confirm or orange button for correction.

14. The next screen will ask you to check again the destination account information (which will be shown next) before confirming the money transfer. The remittance could be failed if you put wrong account number (in which the transfer fee would not be refunded). Select green button to proceed.

15. The next screen will show the transfer information including the name of destination bank, the branch, destination account number and its name, the amount of money will be transferred, as well as your account information. Check again very carefully. You can correct the information by selecting orange button next to each information. For transfer amount below ￥50,000, the transfer fee is ￥216, higher than that the transfer fee is ￥432. If you agree, proceed by selecting green button.

16. The next screens is just optional. It informs you if you want to save the destination account (for future transfer, hence you don't need to reenter same information next time). It can save up to 10 accounts. Another screen will also inform about the importance of passbook update you if you use cash card for money transfer).

Save your transaction destination?

Passbook update request

17. It's finished. Take your card/passbook and receipt.

Gaijin Story #5 - Cara Menggunakan Bus Kota di Jepang

sumber: wikipedia/Tobu Bus

Jepang terkenal sebagai salah satu negara yang memiliki sistem transportasi terbaik di dunia. Bila anda berkunjung ke Tokyo misalnya, anda bisa mengunjungi hampir seluruh bagian kota hanya dengan menggunakan kereta atau bus. Selain itu, moda transportasi publik di Jepang terkenal sangat tepat waktu dan jarang sekali telat. Itu sebabnya, bepergian dengan transportasi publik di Jepang sangat nyaman, karena kita bisa menentukan dengan tepat, kapan dan berapa lama waktu yang dibutuhkan dalam perjalanan.

Di Kashiwa, kota tempat saya tinggal, jaringan keretanya tidak sekompleks Tokyo, sehingga bus menjadi alat transportasi utama di sini. Saya yakin kota-kota lain yang tidak sebesar Tokyo juga mengalami hal yang sama. Menggunakan bus di Jepang memang sedikit lebih rumit dibandingkan kereta, dan inilah yang akan dibahas dalam tulisan kali ini.

Menggunakan bus di Jepang, tentu saja berbeda dengan di Indonesia. Berikut beberapa hal yang perlu anda perhatikan ketika akan menggunakan bus di Jepang :

• Bus hanya berhenti di halte/bus stop.
• Satu pintu digunakan untuk naik, sedangkan pintu lain digunakan untuk turun. Jadi, penumpang harus/naik dan turun di pintu yang sesuai.
• Tidak ada kenek yang menagih ongkos. Pembayaran dilakukan dengan mesin (kadang dengan bantuan supir).
• Pembayaran dilakukan dengan uang pas, secara cash atau dengan menggunakan IC card (semacam kartu e-money).
• Ongkos ditentukan berdasarkan jarak tempuh dari tempat asal ke tujuan.
• Relatif tepat waktu (walaupun belum setepat kereta, karena bergantung lalu lintas jalan).
• Rentang waktu antar jadwal bus umumnya bergantung pada rute bus ybs. Pada rute yang ramai (misal dekat pusat kota), bus ada setiap 5-10 menit sekali. Pada rute yang sepi (misal pinggiran kota), bus biasanya ada setiap 30 menit - 1 jam sekali.
• Jadwal bus dibedakan untuk hari kerja (Senin-Jumat) dan weekend (Sabtu-Minggu). Pada beberapa kasus, jadwal bus bisa terbagi menjadi tiga, yaitu: hari kerja - sabtu - minggu/hari libur. 

Kalau diurutkan, berikut langkah-langkah menggunakan bus di Jepang :

1. Pastikan Rute dan Jadwal Bus. 

Periksa rute dan jadwal bus yang akan anda gunakan sebelum bepergian via Internet atau langsung di halte bus. Cek lagi haltenya, apakah benar rute bus yang akan anda gunakan berhenti di halte tersebut, karena satu halte bus bisa digunakan oleh beberapa rute yang berbeda. 

Seperti halnya jadwal kereta, jadwal bus di Jepang umumnya berbentuk tabel yang terbagi menjadi beberapa kolom. Misal untuk hari rabu, periksalah jadwal bus pada kolom hari kerja (平日- "Heijitsu"). Kolom yang paling kiri (di baris berikutnya) adalah kolom "Jam", sedangkan kolom-kolom berikutnya adalah "Menit". Jadi, pastikan anda melihat jadwal sesuai dengan hari, jam dan menit yang tepat.

Contoh jadwal bus di halte

Kalau anda sudah tahu jadwal bus, tunggulah di halte sebelum jadwal kedatangan bus dan antrilah (kalau sudah ada orang lain di halte).

Bila bus sudah tiba di halte, pastikan nomor dan tujuan bus yang tertera di layar/depan bus sudah sesuai dengan rute yang anda inginkan. Jangan sampai salah naik.

2. Naik ke Bus

Untuk bus kota/umum, penumpang biasanya naik dari pintu tengah. Bila anda ingin membayar dengan cash, ketika naik, ambilah karcis dari kotak karcis yang ada dekat pintu tengah bus. Perhatikan angka yang tertera pada karcis tersebut, itu adalah kode halte asal yang nantinya akan menentukan ongkos yang harus anda bayar. Simpan karcis tersebut baik-baik.

 Kotak karcis (kiri) dan alat tap IC card (kanan)

Bila anda ingin menggunakan IC card untuk membayar, misalnya SUICA, PASMO dll, ketika naik, tap-lah kartu anda pada tempat yang sudah disediakan, yang biasanya berada di sebelah kotak karcis dekat pintu tengah. Ketika melakukan tap, perhatikan saldo kartu yang tertera pada layar. Pastikan saldo yang dimiliki cukup untuk membayar ongkos bus.

Karcis bus

IC Card SUICA

Pada beberapa kasus, misalnya bus charter, penumpang masuk dari pintu depan, dan menunjukkan tiket atau semacam kartu PASS kepada supir yang menunjukkan si penumpang memang berhak naik ke bus tersebut.

3. Duduk atau Berdiri di Bus

Seperti halnya di kereta, tempat duduk di bus umumnya terbatas. Jadi ketika jam-jam sibuk, anda kemungkinan harus berdiri di bus. Beberapa kursi bus juga diprioritaskan untuk penyandang cacat, manula, anak-anak dan ibu hamil. Jadi, perhatikan sekeliling dan keterangan di kursi sebelum anda duduk.

4. Periksa Ongkos yang Harus Dibayar

Pada bagian depan bus ada semacam layar yang menunjukkan halte pemberhentian berikutnya dan ongkos yang harus anda bayar. Ongkos ini ditentukan berdasarkan jarak dari halte asal dan halte tujuan. Misalnya di karcis tertera angka "1", maka carilah angka tersebut pada layar. Bila sudah ketemu, di bawah angka "1" akan tertera ongkos yang harus anda bayar bila anda turun di halte berikutnya, misal "170", yang berarti 170 Yen.

Layar penunjuk ongkos bus

Pengguna IC card bisa lebih santai, karena tidak harus selalu memperhatikan layar (selama saldo di kartu anda masih cukup untuk mebayar ongkos bus).

5.  Membayar Ongkos dan Turun dari Bus

Beberapa saat sebelum halte tujuan, announcer/speaker bus akan menginformasikan nama halte tersebut. Bila anda ingin turun di halte tersebut, tekanlah tombol berhenti (とまります- "Tomarimasu") yang terletak di dinding atau dekat kursi. Tombol akan menyala disertai dengan suara denting, dan announcer akan berkata "Sugi tomarimasu" yang artinya kurang lebih: "berhenti di halte berikutnya".

Tombol berhenti di bus

Pada bus kota/umum, penumpang turun melalui pintu depan. Sebelum turun, masukkan karcis dan ongkos pada tempat yang sudah disediakan, di dekat supir. Bentuknya kurang lebih seperti celengan dengan lubang besar. Di depan "celengan" tersebut, ada layar yang menunjukkan ongkos yang harus anda bayar.

Bagaimana bila anda tidak bisa membayar dengan uang pas ?

Di sebelah celengan ongkos, terdepat satu mesin celengan lagi (umumnya berwarna biru/ungu, dengan lubang yang lebih kecil) yang fungsinya untuk menukar uang besar dengan uang kecil. Misal anda memasukkan sekeping koin 100 Yen, maka mesin tersebut akan mengeluarkan sekeping koin 50 Yen, dan lima keping koin 10 Yen. Mesin ini juga bisa menukar uang kertas dengan pecahan yang lebih besar, misalnya 1000 Yen.

Setelah menukar uang dan mendapat uang kecil, masukkan uang tersebut ke dalam celengan ongkos, bersama dengan karcis.

Pengguna IC card cukup melakukan tap pada tempat yang sudah disediakan. Layar akan menunjukkan ongkos yang dibayar dan sisa saldo pada kartu. Mudah sekali.

Bila anda ingin membayar ongkos untuk dua orang, katakan "futari desu" ke supir. Bila menggunakan IC card, supir akan mengatur mesin tap agar memotong saldo kartu untuk ongkos dua orang. Jadi jangan lupa memberitahu supir sebelum anda melakukan tap.

Pada bus charter, penumpang bisa langsung turun dari pintu tengah tanpa membayar karena sebelumnya sudah menunjukkan kartu PASS ke supir ketika naik bus dari pintu depan.

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Demikian cara menggunakan bus di Jepang. Berikut ada beberapa beberapa tips tambahan :

• Jadwal bus umumnya tidak sesering dan setepat kereta. Jadi pastikan anda tepat waktu bila ingin menggunakan bus.
• Membayar ongkos dengan IC card lebih mudah dan lebih cepat dibandingkan cash. Selain itu, anda juga mendapat sedikit diskon bila membayar dengan IC card.
• Bila harus membayar dengan cash, pastikan anda sudah memiliki uang pas sebelum naik bus untuk menghindari antrian dan waktu yang terbuang ketika menukar uang sebelum turun dari bus.
• Antrilah baik ketika naik dan turun dari bus.
• Jangan makan, minum atau berisik ketika di dalam bus (orang Jepang umumnya sensitif, dan mudah terganggu bila anda ngobrol dengan suara keras).
• Bila bingung, misalnya ketika akan turun atau membayar, jangan segan bertanya pada supir. Umumnya supir masih bisa berkomunikasi dengan bahasa Inggris (atau isyarat).