Japan Times

After many many months of procrastinating, I finally decided to open a bank account. I figured that I'd need a bank account if I was going to do bank transfers to pay for things like plane tickets home and whatnot. (Lots of places don't take credit cards). I'd been to the bank once or twice before with friends, and to exchange money, and I've got to say that the Japanese banks have the Canadian ones licked when it comes to service (not that that would come as a surprise). First of all, there are no lines.. just take a number and sit on the comfy sofa while you wait to be served. It's a small thing, but a nice one. But the thing that blew my mind was the supreme awesomeness of the ATM machines. As I said, I needed to make a bank transfer; the problem was that I didn't yet have my ATM card since they have to mail it to your house. Well oddly enough the security guard of all people showed me how to do the transfer from the machine in cash with no ATM card. I didn't even need an account; just put the money in the machine (it accepts stacks of bills and handfuls of coins), the machine counts the money, sends it, and gives you back the change. No standing in line (or in this case waiting for your number), no waiting for the bank managers approval, no fuss, no muss; just instant transfer satisfaction. Brilliant.

Labels: japan, osaka

Well after another long hiatus I'm back with another tale to tell. This one stars a big wooden holy man and a lot of deer. This was an especially interesting trip because it was a school field trip, so I got a day of class to frolic with my classmates in the fields and forests of Nara. Nara was once the capital of Japan, a long long time ago.. before Tokyo (Edo) and before Kyoto. Nara is the place to see the sites.. temples.. Buddhas.. deer. The place is crawling with deer (or galloping or prancing or whatever it is that deer do) and they've gotten quite used to people so they pretty much act like pigeons; swarming anyone with food and generally getting in the way. That being said, they're much cooler than pigeons, so of course I had to take some pics of them.. Besides deer, Nara is home to a monstrously huge wooden statue of the Buddha inside a monstrously huge temple. I'd estimate the size of the statue at about 30 to 40 feet high. It's big and definitely worth a visit if you're in the neighbourhood. Here are the pics.

Labels: japan, osaka