Some general Qs about living in Japan

[mercedesjin]

Originally Posted by burkhartdesu

Wow -- a homestay where they make you pay? That kind of defeats the whole purpose.

In my experience most people have to pay families, especially students.

[MMM]

Originally Posted by mercedesjin

In my experience most people have to pay families, especially students.

Internet by the hour? I have never done a homestay, but I understand paying a monthly fee, but food by the mean and Internet by the hour seems odd to me.

[mercedesjin]

Originally Posted by MMM

Internet by the hour? I have never done a homestay, but I understand paying a monthly fee, but food by the mean and Internet by the hour seems odd to me.

The family I stayed with explained that it's ridiculously expensive to pay for Internet, so I'm not too surprised that someone would ask for compensation if it's that expensive. I also think that paying for each meal is weird, but most homestays do want money for rent, food, etc.

[Skuu]

It's certainly different from what I expected but I've gotten to know the person and it would be too difficult to find another. I may move to another after a while and look for a better deal.

MMM, I just asked for general advice about staying in Japan. I'll be in Kyushu near Fukuoka (town called Namazuta).

Thanks to all again.

[trunker]

that internet charge thing sounds very odd. its not that expensive here really.

on the other hand, it could be that they are putting it in for you?

you can bring in up to 1 million yen on your person through the airport.

if you can, get a debit ATM card. credit cards will kill you cos you'll be charged for both the service, buying or getting cash, and then you'll lose out on the exchange rate. som of them have massive spreads. but its good to have in case of emergency.

debit cards work pretty much everywhere, make sure you have soemthing like visa electron or maestro on it. i know citibank atms have english, i think some of the big ones have that option as well.

bring as much cash with you as you like. it is very safe here and provided you're not careless, its unlikely anything will happen to you. walking around with Y100,000 in your pocket isnt really dangerous unless youre flashing it around.

and yeah at $10 per meal, i would be making my own food as well, regardless of the vegan thing. average decent meals here can range from Y298 for the cheapest bento, to 500-700 for some thing nicer, but still average. so $10 is quite much.

your homestay people are definately in it for the dough.

[Tsuwabuki]

Originally Posted by mercedesjin

The family I stayed with explained that it's ridiculously expensive to pay for Internet, so I'm not too surprised that someone would ask for compensation if it's that expensive. I also think that paying for each meal is weird, but most homestays do want money for rent, food, etc.

What? Internet is not expensive at all!

I have broadband and pay 6000円 per month, and my first three months were free. I hardly even notice it. And unlike in some countries, it's unlimited broadband. No bandwidth caps.

If someone told internet in Japan is expensive, that's ridiculous. The providers are the same nationwide, and so are the rates. I have the paperwork about seven feet away.

:|

[Skuu]

I'm not assuming anything about the family either way, but from what I've been told they don't use the internet a lot. I think they have a USB internet thing.

I'm not too fussed as I'd actually quite like to be going on the computer less, but I wanted to talk to my family regularly in the morning on Skype or whatever.

I'll let you know their situation when I meet them.

[blimp]

as reference, i think i pay 4,200 jpy/mth. no limitations 100Mb/30Mb
perhaps they don't even have a dedicated internet connection meaning that they use dial-up. in this case NTT might charge them per minute.

[Nyororin]

Internet in Japan is ridiculously cheap when compared to the US, at the very least. I also have unlimited 100Mbps - both up and down - FTTH for 4000/month.

Dial-up internet isn`t really expensive as a service, however phone calls in Japan are charged by the minute regardless of where you are calling - local or long distance. So being online can seriously add up.

[Skuu]

Thanks again to all for the information. I'll just have to see what things are like when I get there. I'm keen to reduce my internet/computer usage anyway, but I'd still like to be online for maybe a few hours a day without it costing the world. Hopefully I can find a free wifi area locally otherwise.

The lady I'm contacting said something about getting errors on her computer a lot, which tells me she doesn't really know how to use it lol. If I end up staying with them for a long time maybe I could work something reasonable out?

Oh and just FYI. I'm going to be staying in Iizuka shi in Fukuoka ken. Don't know whether anyone knows much about this area.