moving service from hokkaido -> worldwide

A friend of mine and her Japanese bussiness partner are offering moving service from home to port, from Hokkaido to whole over the world, as the website claimed :)

Here is the website --> http://www.ace-solution.com/

The service is suitable for foreign student/worker who plans to return to home country for good.

They also sell used cars for those who are interested.
I myself bought a second-hand cute Kei-car from them, and it was no hassle since she can speak English, Malay and Japanese. Everything was clear. Just quote your budget, car specs and they will search for the matched one.

10mths medical check up and polio vaccination

Yesterday we went for Iman's medical check up at Kitaku Health Center.
As usual, communication was the big problem. However the kindness of the staffs diminished the communication barrier.
At first, we register our attendance at the entrance, hand over the boshi techo and waited to be called.
After having some "chicken to duck" discussion about our baby development, our baby weight and height was measured. She was over 9 kg and sixty something in centimeter (I am having bad memory to remember numbers). A little bit heavy for a little 10mths girl :)
Then we met the doctor to have more detail on her body condition and so on.

I thought the polio vaccination will be given in the same session. But it was scheduled in the other time. We asked the staffs and they said the polio vaccination will be ONLY on October and May. They kindly give us the schedule for October and we were lucky that one of the session would be in the afternoon, yesterday. So, we went out to have lunch and returned back in the afternoon.

The polio vaccination was given in liquid form to be drunk by the baby, not through injection. After the vaccination, the baby should not eat or drink anything for 30 minutes. One of my friend's baby vomit the liquid immediately after drink. She was detained for detailed examination. I don't know what happened next, since we just went home immediately after the vaccination. Iman did not showed any rejection toward the vaccination. yokatta ne..

The second polio vaccination would be the next May 2010. Just don't miss it.

visa extension

Next month my visa will be expired.

What I did
1) went to International Student Center (ISC) to get advise.
2) gathered the necessary documents
- Alien Registration Card
- Passport
- Enrollment certificate （在学証明書） - ask the faculty office
- Academic record certificate 　（成績証明書）- ask the faculty office
- Student Card
- Financial proof - in my case I have a letter from my scholarship supporter
3) went to Immigration Bureau (Odoori Nishi 11, 7th Floor) and filled the necessary form
- they checked all the supporting documents
- the officer asked me to write my name and address on a postcard.
- the postcard will be mailed to the written address to inform the status of the visa extension.
- I received the postcard after two days and went to the immigration office on the next day.
4) brought the postcard to the immigration office and collect the visa
-with passport
- JPY4,000 for the revenue stamp per application
(buy it from Seicomart at the underground floor.)
-I got two years visa extension starting from the expiration date.
5) went to ward office to update the information on the Alien Registration card.
6) went to faculty academic office to inform them that I have already extended my visa.

Since the process takes time (a week or more), it 's advisable to start the paperwork within 2 months before visa expiration date to avoid any "unknown effect from the sky". Usually, the process cannot be completed in one time visit only depending on specific individual requirement.

pink moss and tulip farm

I went to Takinoue and Kamiyuubetsu on May 23rd July.
4時間位が自動車で札幌からかかったのに、楽しかった！
Takinoue (滝之上) and Kamiyubetsu (上湧別) are very small towns which are located near to Monbetsu (紋別), the nothern part of Hokkaido.

Takinoue is popular with its pink moss, beside than Oozora near to Abishiri (大空, 網走) while Kamiyuubetsu is popular for its large scale of tulip farm. Both of the flowers are blooming in about the same time, end of May. I was lucky because at the day I went there, the weather was really nice with clear sky. However, when I reached Kamiyuubetsu, the weather started to change with cloudy and strong wind.

Here for more info --> takinoue and kamiyuubetsu

practical guide for living in Japan (especially Hokkaido)

1) a collection of practical articles from the website of Hokkaido JETs
http://www.hajet.org/hokkaido-life/

2) What's on Sapporo : monthly English periodicals. Information from City Halls, flea market, Fiesta, Japanese lessons, etc.
http://www.plaza-sapporo.or.jp/periodicals/whatson/whatson.html

hanami

Hanami Spot around Sapporo

Hanami and barbeque
Maruyama Park 円山公園 : popular for sakura viewing party place


Japanese plum flower blossom
Hiraoka Park 平岡公園　: In hokkaido, plum and sakura are blomming in about the same time.


For other park around sapporo, visit this website
http://www.sapporo-park.or.jp/ (in Japanese, but click for the particular park website for other language option)

here is a link to flower blooming and interested spot around hokkaido
http://kanko.pref.hokkaido.jp/flower/english/index.html