[Tyler]

I'm going to be in Osaka for a year for study so I won't be working. At least, not officially.
I talked to someone who went to the same school I'm going to be going to and she said she got an account with a bank near the university without much of a problem.
But, she said the bank card they gave her only worked with the ABM machines in the bank.
Not only that, but she said that bank hours are only during the times I'll be at school so its going to be a pain in the ass to do banking there. And when the bank is closed, the machines are closed too.

I looked into getting a credit card in Japan and it sounds like it would be pretty difficult for me to get one.
I read somewhere that some companies don't even accept applications from foreigners.
But I guess this isn't too big of a deal. It sounds like credit cards aren't too useful in Japan at the moment. I just wanted something for emergencies really.

Samokan: is that 1% a charge for wiring money to another bank? Thats not too bad!