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fjef

SnowJapan Member
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Posts posted by fjef

  1. Unfortunately, even though your skill set may be in demand, most headhunters get paid for finding bilingual Japanese. Most employers that require IT skills look for 1) bilingual Japanese, 2) Bilingual non-Japanese and 3) people who don't speak Japanese but have the necessary skills (in that order).

     

    A slight exception is the financial industry (in some cases) where the skill set is the priority but then you need to be 100% on spec if you are not Japanese and don't speak japanese....

  2. I do - f9, f10, f11, for Expose in OS X and f12 to bring up dashboard. I probably use f11 most often.

     

    ...and with windoze, f8 (or f5 or whatever depending on your computer) is how you get into the bios to fix things and reinstall when you try repairing and find out it doesn't work...

  3.  Quote:
    Originally posted by spook:
    anyway, i've got a mac and am using azureus. but what sort of conveter program do i need to view movies. any movies i download (even quicktime format ones) won't play on my computer. apologies if these questions are incredibly basic.

    oh yeah, and once i get into this whole torrent thing, how do i then share stuff, as oppossed to be a hit and run user?
    You need to get VLC from www.videolan.org - it will play everything on your Mac (there is a windoze version too).

    To share stuff, the easiest way is to leave the bit torrent application running after your download is complete so you are uploading as much as - or more - than you are downloading. If you stop a download as soon as its complete, you may not have shared it enough. Most BT clients show you your upload/download info so you know where you stand. Some trackers will ban you if you do not share enough. You may also want to change your client setting to allow you to upload at a faster rate - the more you upload, the faster you download in most cases.

    Another 'must have' application is UNRARX (google it) on the Mac - it will allow you to expand the strange .rar compressed files that can't be opened with Stuffit Expander. Windoze users need to be warned that behind many .rar files are many viruses/malware - but Macs are immune...
  4. I was in China last May and tried to get to the Changbaishan ski area but the lifts closed a few days before I arrived. It was hard to get information.

     

    There is some info here:

    http://www.chinahighlights.com/travelguide/ski/changbaishan.htm

    Do be careful about being in captivity during your stay should you try free style.

     

    There is a place in this area where if you look behind you on the chairlift, your view is of North Korea...

  5.  Quote:
    Originally posted by keba:

    Our in-car navi is in Japanese only, so we have only the map and the arrows to guide us...
    Ask the rental agent to program the Navi for Hakuba - you don't need it English to follow the arrows - it will also warn you before you need to make decisions about where to turn and which direction to take.

    If you ask them to set for highway for the whole route, it should make navigation easier. It will also let you know which Parking Areas have food and how far the next one is - it will be very useful even in Japanese. You might want to ask them to turn the voice off - it may drive you crazy. And don't believe the ETA - I have never seen an accurate calculation yet!
  6. If you are leaving from Narita Saturday morning, I'd try and miss the early traffic and leave about 9am. You'll pass through Tokyo sometime after 10 and miss the morning rush. Maybe. All it takes is an accident (even a small one or a car with a flat tire can jam the highways here) or construction on the road and you may get held up.

     

    Saturday morning rush toward the mountains is not worth getting stuck in -everyone in Japan tends to leave at the same time. Maybe its because their cars are nicer to sit in then their homes and they can still watch TV so they don't mind being stuck in the jams.

     

    Whatever happens I would not recommend getting off the highway near or in Tokyo - there are a few rest stops on the highway if you need them (not many in the immediate Tokyo area) but it is tricky getting back on the ramps even if you have a navi system. I'd wait until you clear Tokyo before you stop if you can.

  7. Don't get off the highway - there are 2 main routes through Tokyo from Narita - North and South. The Southern route (follow Bayshore signs from Narita) is slightly longer than the Northern route (follow #7 Hakozaki signs) but traffic is usually better and you get to go over the Rainbow bridge - a sight worth seeing.

     

    The Northern route is only slightly shorter in distance but just before Tokyo it narrows to one lane near Hakozaki and the traffic can be really bad. I usually avoid this route unless its late evening because of traffic.

     

    Once in Tokyo on either route, the Shuto Expressway makes a few loops but you want to stay on it and follow the signs for #4 Shinjuku. Once you get off the highway, its hard to find the ramps to get back on if you don't know the city well. Just keep going until you have cleared the city and see the mountains (or start going up if you are driving at night). Then stop for a break.

     

    I think the Southern route around Tokyo and then the Chuo highway from Shinjuku is an easier drive than the Kanetsu (follow Shuto #5 if you want to go this way) mainly because you stay on the highway right through and usually avoid more traffic.

     

    There is no escape from Tokyo traffic if you are in the morning 6:30 am to 9 am - lunch 11am to 1pm - or evening 4:30 pm to 7 pm high traffic periods on weekdays.

     

    When are you planning to drive?

  8.  Quote:
    Originally posted by sydneybound:
    thanks to all.

    i have a japanese/aussie lawyer here in sydney, so he'll take care of the details once i get to that step.

    i'll have to go visit. i'm not interested in a local company who 'helps' me out with the process. they would be charging fees that i'm not willing to pay.
    hmmmm -you would be wiling to pay lawyer's fees but not pay for local assistance? This will not earn you a red carpet into a Japanese community where personal relationships are most important. In a very non-legalistic country, I would say that this is exactly the wrong way to enter a Japanese community.

    Local introductions to builders, suppliers and the community as a whole will provide far more benefits than having an offshore lawyer involved - doing it your way will be sending all the wrong messages.
  9.  Quote:
    Originally posted by tsondaboy:
    If you commit suicide like that in Japan, not only you mast hate yourself, but you must also hate the guts of your family too. The fines that the family has to pay after one of their members dives in front of a train start from 10,000,000 ¥ and can go up to 100,000,000 depending on how long the trains were stopped if it was on rush hour etc.
    From Wikipeadia:
    'People who kill themselves by jumping in front of a train in Japan are often charged by the railway company for the cost of the delays and cleanup. Of course, with the person being dead, the money is deducted from the relatives' inheritance, often giving the impression that the relatives are being charged for the person's having died. This is also an attempt by the railway companies to reduce the number of suicides by train.'

    'families being forced to pay' is not exactly right but it has certainly become Japan urban legend material...

    I would also think it would not be a good deterrent if someone was jumping because they were upset with their family.
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