CUBED

The following story isn't meant to bash Japan, it's mostly just meant to show you how difficult it is to get things done here sometimes...

I bought a car. It's a 1998 Nissan Cube. It looks a lot like a refrigerator on it's side... with wheels. It's nice though, clean. Getting a car in Japan couldn't be harder (unless of course you had to catch a unicorn and deliver to the DMV yourself) and it couldn't be more ridiculous.

First, getting the car was difficult because I had two options. Take a train for over two hours to this guy for a 30 minute meeting to look at cars that I could lease for 300 bucks a month, then take the train back home. THEN one week later take the train BACK out to him to get the car, then drive two hours to get back. OR I could do a one time, hour long drive to a guy nearby and BUY a car for $2,000. CLearly, I went for the second.

I was leaving work on a friday and I got a text from a local lady who is helping me. It said 'you need to drive to city hall and get a special sheet to buy the car, then you have to drive to Muikamachi (one town over) and go to the police station and get more papers. We can pick up the car on sunday if you do this.' I really wanted this car. I didn't have much going for me. So I walked home, and then I got a second text saying 'YOU MUST COME OVER NOW! RUN! THE POLICE STATION CLOSES AT 4:00! I WILL DRIVE YOU' It was about 1:30. So I walked to this ladies house, it was now 2:00. She explained what I needed to do and that I would have to borrow her car to do these things. I drove to city hall. Filled out obnoxious paperwork then I was stuck. I didn't have a hanko... they wouldn't let me put the car under my name if I didn't have one.

*a brief note on hanko. A hanko is a name stamp. Instead of signing for things here, you hanko for them. Signing, in Japan, means nothing. It's no good. You have to get this stamp and register it with city hall and keep it on record. Then they can check against their scanned version of your hanko. I was supposed to have a hanko made and registered for me when I got here, apparently. But my school not only didn't have it ready for me when I got here, but they didn't make one at all or mention that I needed one.

Back in action:
Luckily the local-lady appeared out of nowhere at the city hall with her husbands hanko. She put the car under his name and then put me as the primary driver. I was saved. Briefly. Then she said 'YOU MUST LEAVE NOW FOR THE POLICE STATION IN MUIKAMACHI!!!' So I get back in her and drive myself to Muikamachi, it takes about 20 minutes to get there. At this point it was 4:00 when we arrived. Apparently they don't customers after 4:30 because "they are very very mean" according to Yoko (the local lady who is helping me... I shoulda just told you her name earlier). So we get to the station I ask for the paperwork. They look at me for a second and then are like"You can't get that here... it's at a different building now. I'll take you there." So we walked a block down and I go into this other building. There are a bunch of people just sitting there. This is, basically, the DMV of Japan. They stared at me. I asked for the paperwork and they did the rude *Siiiiiiiiigh* kind of thing and then helped me. They gave me the stuff and were like "By the way, we CLOSED at 4:00" It was 4:15. They helped me anyway... even though they actually closed at 5.

On the papers I had to fill out my name and address and all this other random info. Then I came to a page that said I had to draw a map. Actually, two maps. One showing a map of how to get to my apartment. The other, a map of the parking lot where I will park. I went to Yokos house that night and we filled the stuff out. I drew a map of Urasa and marked where my apartment was. It was a fine map. Detailed. Not amazing. But you could definitely find the apartment on it. The parking lot map was fine too. So I gave it to Yoko and she said 'This may not be good enough... but maybe its ok... we will see' My first thought was "Why don't they just copy a REAL map and I'll highlight where my house is. OR why don't they just use google maps and I'll show them where I live. Why did I have to draw this map anyway?"

Sunday, I picked up the car and gave the dealer the papers. He looked at them and cringed. "These won't be good enough." We went over them and said MAYBE the map of Urasa would be good enough, but the parking lot one wasn't good enough. It needed to be relative in scale. If 4 centimeters = 2 meters then it needed to all over the whole thing. I was pissed. This was stupid.

The reason I needed to do this was to prove I had a parking space because there is no street parking in most of Japan, especially Urasa. He said he'd try and turn it in but wasn't sure. I literally spent between 30-45 minutes drawing these maps. First in pencil. THEN over it in black ink.

I drove the car home. It had temporary 3-day insurance. I needed to, first, get new insurance, then bring the car back to the dealer and he's register it and give me my new license place.

So yesterday I got an urgent call, my temporary insurance ran out. I needed to get new insurance THAT day. So during my 40 minute lunch break I drove to the insurance company where Yoko anxiously waited for me. I sat and we talked about insurance with a guy for 20 minutes. It was decided that I couldn't get insurance because... I didn't have a hanko. So I left, I had to go back to school. Yoko got insurance for the car under HER name and I just had to pay her for it. Let me just step back and take a look at what Yoko has done for me so far... she purchased a cellphone for me on her family plan, she bought a car for me under her husbands name, and now she bought car insurance under her name. This woman needs an award. Seriously. I'd be phoneless and car-less without her.

Friday I was going to the car dealer to get my new plates. But as it turns out... my maps didn't go through. So he redid them himself and I have to go monday.

This is getting to be a bit ridiculous.

On a side note: I was just informed that this weekend is a walking festival that I am required to partake in. I have to walk a half marathon with my students and other teachers. In a giant loop. Faaantastic. I do, however, get a day off of school for doing it. (I walk on sunday and don't come to school on monday. Probably because I won't be able to walk.)


Here's the "Cube"
(It looks like a minivan but it's a bit smaller... it's closer to a Scion)