Jassen Bowman, EA

If you’re planning a visit to Sapporo, Hokkaido, Japan anywhere in the near future, I really have only one fundamental suggestion for you: Stay at Jimmyz Backpackers. Jimmy runs the best hostel in Sapporo, hands down.

OK, so I’m biased. I’ve been here for two weeks, and will be here for two more. Oh, and I guess I should admit that I haven’t stayed at any other Sapporo hostel or hotel. And to be honest, I’m not interested in doing so.

Jimmy himself is a pretty cool guy. He speaks excellent English, which comes from going to college in Orange County, California. In addition, he’s a great tour guide, being very knowledgeable of the local attractions, both ON and OFF the beaten tourist path.

The hostel itself is pretty amazing. In all reality, it’s much more like staying at somebody’s house than a hostel. Jimmyz is much smaller than most hostels. The mixed dorm holds six people, and there is a separate room that houses another 6 in a women-only dorm-style room. On the main floor, there is a small tatami-floored dining room, hardwood-floored living room, men’s and women’s showers and bathrooms, and a small kitchen.

Jimmyz is most definitely not a big place. In fact, the entire house (yes, it really is a house) is smaller than most American 2 bedroom homes. But honestly, that’s what makes it awesome. Not a single night has gone by where I haven’t met awesome people from some different corner of Japan or even the world. I’ve hung out with several gorgeous women from Singapore, Taiwan, and Japan. I’ve clinked drinks with gents from Norway, the U.S. Air Force, Britain, America, and South Korea.

If you’re looking for either a very affordable (less than 3000 yen per night) place to stay, and/or a clean, cozy, and intimate hostel for either one week or a month (discounts for stays over 7 days), then book at Jimmyz Backpackers. It really is the best Sapporo hostel, and I say that not even needing to say elsewhere.

To book at Jimmyz, visit his web site and send him an email: Jimmyz Backpackers Sapporo Hostel (English site)

Some other cool tidbits about Jimmyz:

-only a 5 minute walk from Susukino, the largest entertainment district in Japan outside of Tokyo
-easy access to the subways (Hosui Susukino station about 4 minute walk)
-for figure skaters, about 20 minutes by foot and subway from ice rink (Tsukisamu Gymnasium, off the Toho subway line, Tsukisamu-chuo station, go upstairs, around the corner [LEFT!], down a block, just past the tennis courts)
-one block away from the awesome river running paths (currently under reconstruction from recent flooding damage)
-gorgeous girls often stay (what?!?!?! I’m a dude, this is important!)

So if you’re in Sapporo, spend the night at Jimmyz Backpackers. It really is a great place. I like it enough to stay here almost a month — it really is that nice of a place. Again, it’s small, cozy, very clean, and Jimmy speaks perfect English and can direct you where you want to go.

See you out and about in the world,
-Jassen

There are more and more web sites and articles popping up around the Interwebs regarding obtaining a second passport from another country. Because of my own interest in extensive travel, this is of major interest to me.

Why would somebody want a second passport? For a number of reasons. For some of us, it has to do with having the freedom to travel visa-free to certain countries that your native country’s passport doesn’t cover. For others, it has to do with work authorization, and being able to live and work freely in another country (or group of countries, as with an EU passport).

Be extremely careful of information you read online about the process of obtaining dual citizenship, alien registration, and second passports. Very little of what I’ve seen appears to be based on the person experience of the writer, and I’ve seen quite a bit of just plain incorrect information.

So how DO you obtain a second passport, permanent residence, or citizenship elsewhere? In short there are three major ways:

1). Ancestral lineage. Some countries, such as Ireland and Poland, may grant you citizenship under ancestral programs. The idea is to bring descendants of those nationalities back to the homeland within a certain number of generations. Ireland, for example, will go up to three generations back in certain circumstances, and still grant you citizenship. If you are Jewish, Israel has a return program that provides numerous incentives for returning to the Jewish homeland, including job placement assistance and very low interest rate government-backed mortgages for buying a home. You have to prove your ancestral lineage, of course, and there may be residency or other requirements to obtain citizenship and/or that second passport.

2. Economic citizenship. There are places in the world where, if you have enough cash, you can simply BUY you’re way in. Yep, cold hard cash. Economic citizenship requires that you either pay a sum of money to a government entity, invest a certain amount of money in the local economy, or both. There are often also residency requirements. Small island nations in the Caribbean, such as St. Kitts and Dominica, both offer this type of program for just paying a fee (it’s a lot — six figures in USD). Other countries will let you at least start the process of establishing residency simply by showing up, paying some fees, filling out some paperwork, and dunking money into a local bank account. Uruguay, for example, in order to encourage foreign investment, is allowing this for as little as $8,000, according to the last information I had from several months ago. Finally, you may be able to obtain economic citizenship by buying land and sitting on it for a while. Several of the former Soviet republics in the Baltic are currently actively promoting such programs.

3. Permanent residency. Some countries will let you immigrate and apply for naturalized citizenship simply because you’ve been there for a while. In fact, for many countries, this is the only way to obtain citizenship and a second passport from that country. Of course, you have to have a legitimate reason for being there in the first, which often requires a work visa and a sponsor. For example, in Japan, where I’m writing this from, you can apply for permanent resident alien status (a “green card”, in American parlance) after living here for 5 years. Note I said “apply” — it’s far from automatic, and you have to demonstrate that you contributed significantly to Japanese education, technology, economy, or culture. Being an English teacher at an eikaiwa for 5 years doesn’t count; being a research professor at a university often does.

The only countries I’ve researched this subject extensively on are a few Latin countries, Japan, and Australia. Australia has long been my immigration target, and I am actively engaged in working on boosting my point totals under their skilled immigration program in order to qualify for permanent residency in that country. However, it’s a 2 to 3 year process that I’m barely a year into.

If this is something you are seriously interested in, due your homework and due diligence. You may also want to speak to an immigration attorney in the country in which you are interested.

Note: I am NOT qualified to answer questions on the immigration subject — only in relation to the American taxation of your foreign earnings and investments.

Japan is a country steeped in tradition, with a rich and proud history going back beyond 300 AD. I’ve wanted to visit this magnificent country for nearly 20 years, and now that I’m here, I’m discovering that the real Japan is greater than I ever imagined. In a series of posts, I’m going to share some initial observations about the country, from the perspective of common American pre-conceived notions about coming here.

First of all, let’s talk money. Just about everybody in America believes that Japan is one of the most expensive places in the world to visit, let alone live. Actually, let me back up a bit. Any discussion about the cost of Japan has to start with the cost of converting currency. Unless you live under a rock, you know that the U.S. dollar has been getting weaker and weaker by the day. In high school and studying Japanese, I remember the dollar being worth about 140 yen. Today, I got exactly half that when I pulled money out of the ATM: 70 yen to the dollar. Think about what that means in terms of purchasing power. If you earn money in yen and spend it in dollars, you’ve got a golden ticket. But earning dollars and spending yen, quite frankly, sucks.

Next, let’s talk costs. Yes, Japan can be a very, very expensive place to visit. The standard rate for a Western-style hotel that we saw during the vacation phase of coming here was about $120 per night, for an incredibly tiny room with it’s own bathroom. However, Japan also has a huge quantity of budget accommodations. Although we didn’t do this, there are traditional Japanese ryokan for under $50 a night, and some Buddhist temples can accommodate overnight guests for under $50/night. In Nagoya, we stayed in a super budget hotel for about $25 for the night, and the place didn’t even have showers (think “sponge bath”). In Tokyo, we stayed (and I still am), at two different capsule hotels, one of which is more like a hostel than a business capsule hotel, and it is less than $40/night (plus I get to meet some interesting foreigners, but that’s a subject for another post). Some of the onsen (hot spring public baths) will let you stay the night for very cheap, if you don’t mind sleeping on the floor.

What about food and drink? Again, there is a huge range. Last night, I splurged 14,000 yen ($182) on a 6-course meal of the best bar food ever and unlimited beverages for four people (all you can drink in two hours). But today I had a delicious lunch of cucumber rice rolls, fried prawns, and shredded cabbage that was more than filling, and it was about $5. In other words, I had a fairly healthy lunch for cheaper than the McDonald’s that was a block down the street, and it was delicious.

Transportation in Japan is another thing that can be considered expensive. Flying from place to place within the country can run $100 to $300 on way, which is high compared to regional flight costs in the U.S. and Europe. Also, the bullet trains (shinkansen) can be pricey. For example, going from Tokyo to the northernmost point in Honshu (the main island) is going to be close to $200 by shinkansen. If we had traveled from Shikoku back to Tokyo all on express or bullet trains, we probably would have spent close to $1,000 on transit.

However, all the rail lines offer various discount tickets. The JR Rail Pass is a bargain if you use it a lot, but can only be purchased outside the country. In order to be worthwhile, you HAVE to use the shinkansen I think, just from a cost standpoint. We used a special ticket intended for teenagers and college kids on school breaks, but that is available to everybody, in order to get unlimited travel on JR local trains, which enabled us to see more of Japan by town hopping back to Tokyo. These tickets run about $35 per day, and are worth every dime if you travel the countryside extensively for a day on local trains. Also, if you purchase airline tickets at least 45 days in advance, the major carriers and the budget operators offer steep discounts. You can fly from Tokyo to Sapporo for well under $100 if you plan it right.

I’d be remiss if I didn’t mention the ferries. Japan is an island nation, of course, so it is well suited to water travel. Ferries operate daily between all the major cities in the country. While they are not the fastest means of getting around, they are super fun and also super cheap. We took the ferry from Tokyo to Tokushima, Shikoku. The trip took 18 hours or so, overnight, and was a blast. It was much cheaper than flying or train, also, and we had a private cabin for not much extra money — it was about the price of a Western-style hotel room for the night to make the trip. If it weren’t for the approaching typhoon (that’s what they call hurricanes here — they are the exact same thing in meteorological terms), I’d take the ferry to Sapporo instead of the shinkansen.

Within Tokyo, it can add up quickly to bounce around between the two competing subway operators and the JR trains that encircle the city. However, for $12/day, you can get unlimited use of the subway system, and for about $20 a day you can get an unlimited use pass for both subway lines and the JR trains. These tickets can be purchased at almost any ticket machine, and will save you possibly hundreds of dollars during a week or two in Tokyo.

As I plan for living here in Japan short-term, I’ve been looking at other expenses. The interesting thing I’m discovering is that Japan is not as expensive to live as people in America think it is. The horrifying sticker shock to find a place to live here really comes down to what is called “key money”, essentially the same as your first and last month’s rent plus deposit, except bigger. In many cases, two year leases are the norm on an apartment, and your “key money” is equal to six months worth of rent. In some cases, that can essentially be the equivalent of a down payment on a house in some parts of the U.S.

But, again, there are less expensive options. Since Japan is a major destination for both foreign tourists and international business people, there is an entire industry here that caters to providing short-term (which can become long-term) housing for gaijin (foreigners). The most common of these places are called “gaijin houses”. Basically, they are just regular apartments or houses that are owned or managed by property management companies that specifically cater to the foreign market, and offer deposit options that are much more “normal” to Westerners. Some of these guest houses can accommodate couples and even families. If you’re single, the options greatly expand, though. For example, dorm style guest houses, with two to four blokes to a room, can be had for under $350 per month and a $100 deposit. For a private room in a house, rents are closer to $600 to $800 per month and deposits of about $400. However, compared to your own apartment, this is a bargain, and really is in line with what most Americans are used to paying for rent if they live in any large U.S. city.

As somebody that likes to splurge on occasion, but that is basically a cheapskate at heart, exploring these kind of options is of value to me personally. My place in Sapporo (I’ve narrowed it down to two options) won’t be posh by any means, but it also won’t be any worse than where I lived in Provo before coming here. On top of that, there’s the great benefit that it’s someplace interesting and living with people from other countries. Since part of my objective here in Japan is to not only work on my Japanese, but also begin picking up a European language (such as Spanish, French, or German), the opportunities in a gaijin house are quite spectacular.

I hope that this quick and dirty guide to doing Japan on the cheap is helpful to somebody out there on the interwebs. If you have any interest in visiting Japan, just go — don’t be frightened by sticker shock perpetuated by people in the travel industry that have never been here physically on the ground. Just like anywhere you go, it’s what you make of it, and if you want to or have to do it on the cheap, you totally can.