Fwd: credit/debit cards in Japan
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Paul Asimow
Aug 13, 2012, 2:32:59 AM8/13/12
to japan-enrichm...@googlegroups.com
Begin forwarded message:
From: Joel Scheingross <jschei...@gmail.com>Subject: credit/debit cards in JapanDate: August 12, 2012 10:56:38 PM PDTTo: Paul Asimow <asi...@gps.caltech.edu>
Hi Paul,I'm not sure how all these things work, but it may be worth e-mailing the group to remind them to call their customer service number for their credit/debit card if they plan on using their card abroad. I know with my debit card, their fraud prevention service shuts the card down if it is used internationally without me calling beforehand to alert them of my travel.-Joel
=======================================
Paul Asimow asi...@gps.caltech.edu
Professor of Geology and Geochemistry
California Institute of Technology M/C170-25
Pasadena, CA 91125 USA
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Joe Kirschvink
Aug 14, 2012, 2:50:32 AM8/14/12
to japan-enrichm...@googlegroups.com, Meltzner Aron, Steven Skinner, Asimow Paul, Kobayashi Atsuko
Dear Japan Enrichment Group:
Advice on the plane: GET SOME SLEEP! It will be a temptation to watch movies all night, but we need to get moving towards Sendai fairly soon after breakfast the first day. To help with this, I strongly advise you to bring some melatonin to help get over jet lag for the first day or so. Melatonin is the hormone that controls circadian clock rhythm in all of the Animal Phyla. It is produced in ng quantities at night in the pituitary gland, where it tells the brain that it should be asleep. In California it is available over the counter in most health food stores (e.g., ‘Granny’s Pantry’ on Arroyo and California blvd). I prefer the ‘Source Naturals’ brand, 2.5 mg tablets that are flavored to dissolve slowly under the tongue (sublingually), or between the jaw and the cheek. If you can’t sleep when you should be sleeping, take a tablet and pretend to sleep. One tablet lasts ~3 hours. The melatonin will act to make your brain think you WERE sleeping, and you will be much less drowsy the next day, and your biological clock resets much faster. 120 tablets (way too much for one person for this trip) sell for ~ $15, so it might be worth pooling resources and getting a communal bottle or two.
Narita – It seems that Singapore Airlines actually comes in/out of Terminal 1, not terminal 2 as mentioned in the Guide. Paul – can you find the departure times for the bus to the Ikebukuro area from Terminal 1?
Everyone will want to change some currency for snacks and drinks, etc. There is ONE CitiBank ATM in the arrivals level of Terminal 2, which would take forever to everyone to use it. (Paul – it is to the far LEFT of the exit from the customs inspection area – past several banks of Japanese ATM machines that will not work on US ATM cards.) The 7-11 stores (7i) have international ATMs, and their locations are shown on the default Google Maps on my iPhone. It shows that there is one not far from the path between the JR Ikebukuro station and the Sakura Hotel. Most ATMs in Japan give cash in units of one man yen (10,000, about $125). There does not seem to be a charge to do currency exchange for the Caltech Credit Union ATM cards, if you happen to have one, but you can only withdraw 3 man yen (30,000 yen) at one time.
Bring your student IDs. These may be useful for discounts on park entrance fees, etc.
We just purchased all the tickets for everyone (including Aron) for the Shinkansen from Tokyo Station to Sendai, but the non-Caltech participants will need to reimburse the Caltech fund for their tickets, preferably in yen on this trip. Also, we will want to get to Tokyo Station a bit earlier than on the schedule in order to activate the JR Passes for everyone, so don't plan on touring Tokyo in the morning! (The Schedule so far is fairly accurate wrt the shinkensan times, but there was a bit of a hassle organizing it today!).
It is hot and humid – Osaka just got ~ 20 cm of rain last night in one drenching lightning storm. As part of this, the mosquitoes are out. Atsuko claims that they are less bothersome than the ones in LA, but if you are sensitive to mosquito bites, please be sure to bring your bug repellents, anti-ich medications and such.
See you soon!!
Joe
Advice on the plane: GET SOME SLEEP! It will be a temptation to watch movies all night, but we need to get moving towards Sendai fairly soon after breakfast the first day. To help with this, I strongly advise you to bring some melatonin to help get over jet lag for the first day or so. Melatonin is the hormone that controls circadian clock rhythm in all of the Animal Phyla. It is produced in ng quantities at night in the pituitary gland, where it tells the brain that it should be asleep. In California it is available over the counter in most health food stores (e.g., ‘Granny’s Pantry’ on Arroyo and California blvd). I prefer the ‘Source Naturals’ brand, 2.5 mg tablets that are flavored to dissolve slowly under the tongue (sublingually), or between the jaw and the cheek. If you can’t sleep when you should be sleeping, take a tablet and pretend to sleep. One tablet lasts ~3 hours. The melatonin will act to make your brain think you WERE sleeping, and you will be much less drowsy the next day, and your biological clock resets much faster. 120 tablets (way too much for one person for this trip) sell for ~ $15, so it might be worth pooling resources and getting a communal bottle or two.
Narita – It seems that Singapore Airlines actually comes in/out of Terminal 1, not terminal 2 as mentioned in the Guide. Paul – can you find the departure times for the bus to the Ikebukuro area from Terminal 1?
Everyone will want to change some currency for snacks and drinks, etc. There is ONE CitiBank ATM in the arrivals level of Terminal 2, which would take forever to everyone to use it. (Paul – it is to the far LEFT of the exit from the customs inspection area – past several banks of Japanese ATM machines that will not work on US ATM cards.) The 7-11 stores (7i) have international ATMs, and their locations are shown on the default Google Maps on my iPhone. It shows that there is one not far from the path between the JR Ikebukuro station and the Sakura Hotel. Most ATMs in Japan give cash in units of one man yen (10,000, about $125). There does not seem to be a charge to do currency exchange for the Caltech Credit Union ATM cards, if you happen to have one, but you can only withdraw 3 man yen (30,000 yen) at one time.
Bring your student IDs. These may be useful for discounts on park entrance fees, etc.
We just purchased all the tickets for everyone (including Aron) for the Shinkansen from Tokyo Station to Sendai, but the non-Caltech participants will need to reimburse the Caltech fund for their tickets, preferably in yen on this trip. Also, we will want to get to Tokyo Station a bit earlier than on the schedule in order to activate the JR Passes for everyone, so don't plan on touring Tokyo in the morning! (The Schedule so far is fairly accurate wrt the shinkensan times, but there was a bit of a hassle organizing it today!).
It is hot and humid – Osaka just got ~ 20 cm of rain last night in one drenching lightning storm. As part of this, the mosquitoes are out. Atsuko claims that they are less bothersome than the ones in LA, but if you are sensitive to mosquito bites, please be sure to bring your bug repellents, anti-ich medications and such.
See you soon!!
Joe
Joe Kirschvink
Aug 14, 2012, 11:01:34 AM8/14/12
to japan-enrichm...@googlegroups.com, Meltzner Aron, Steven Skinner, Asimow Paul
Also, note that there seems to be a minor head/throat cold circulating around Japan. Bring your favorite homeopathic medicines and spiritual chants to ward it off …! The Japanese recommend you wear a cotton face mask to make it obvious that you are either infected, or afraid of being infected.
Joe Kirschvink
Aug 15, 2012, 3:36:11 AM8/15/12
to japan-enrichm...@googlegroups.com, Meltzner Aron, steven skinner, Asimow Paul, Puig Teresita
Dear Japan Group:
We have 16 students, and ~ 16 days in the excursion. On past trips (particularly in Antarctica), we have asked one student per day to write a few paragraphs (in a light-hearted vein) covering the days events, and the we would send that along with an image or two back to Tess Puig in GPS, who would then spam it to an E-mail list of significant others. It is a great start for the ultimate WWW page on the field trip, which is important for convincing potential donors to contribute for future trips. I'ld like to do this again.
Can I ask you to send Tess the e-mail addresses of folks you would like to receive the daily updates? Also, let's sort the student list into writing days ...
One further note, I finally found a bag of "sugar-free Cold-Eeze" zinc gluconate glycine throat drops from Rite-Aid that Atsuko forgot to throw away, and it has nailed nicely the itchy throat that hit me a few days ago. I can't find a similar thing in stores here, so if you are prone to catch such things, might be a good idea to bring some. Zn is an essential trace metal for many anti-viral enzymes, btw, so it makes sense even if labeled 'homeopathic' …
Atsuko and I will arrive in Tokyo around 4 pm tomorrow, a few hours before most of you land in Tokyo. It would be great if someone would pop me an e-mail when you arrive, and get through immigration and customs. (Remember both the Americans and Japanese do not like you to use cell phones when going through immigration or customs.) We will try to meet you for breakfast at your hotel in Ikebukuro.
Cheers from Osaka,
Joe
We have 16 students, and ~ 16 days in the excursion. On past trips (particularly in Antarctica), we have asked one student per day to write a few paragraphs (in a light-hearted vein) covering the days events, and the we would send that along with an image or two back to Tess Puig in GPS, who would then spam it to an E-mail list of significant others. It is a great start for the ultimate WWW page on the field trip, which is important for convincing potential donors to contribute for future trips. I'ld like to do this again.
Can I ask you to send Tess the e-mail addresses of folks you would like to receive the daily updates? Also, let's sort the student list into writing days ...
One further note, I finally found a bag of "sugar-free Cold-Eeze" zinc gluconate glycine throat drops from Rite-Aid that Atsuko forgot to throw away, and it has nailed nicely the itchy throat that hit me a few days ago. I can't find a similar thing in stores here, so if you are prone to catch such things, might be a good idea to bring some. Zn is an essential trace metal for many anti-viral enzymes, btw, so it makes sense even if labeled 'homeopathic' …
Atsuko and I will arrive in Tokyo around 4 pm tomorrow, a few hours before most of you land in Tokyo. It would be great if someone would pop me an e-mail when you arrive, and get through immigration and customs. (Remember both the Americans and Japanese do not like you to use cell phones when going through immigration or customs.) We will try to meet you for breakfast at your hotel in Ikebukuro.
Cheers from Osaka,
Joe
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