Cash card (and the ceramics festival)

About 10 days after I arrived, my host professor took me to open a bank account.  This was a moment of great relief for me because I had in my possession over $12,000 worth of cash from Fulbright.  Yes, a huge stack of 10,000 bills ($100) worth over 12,000 dollars.

We ordered a cash card (debit card).  I kept thinking it would come into the mail slot on my door. But it did not.  After maybe 2 or 3 weeks,  nothing had come, so I searched for another mailbox. Turns out there was one on the side of the building that held a lot of junk mail, PLUS a postcard addressed to me and written in Japanese.

One of the support staff at work helped me realize that this was an attempted delivery notice, and it had taken so long for me to find it that the mailed item had been returned to the sender (presumably the bank).

So I went to the bank with the notice and asked if it might be possible to pick up the card at the bank.  They indicated that was not possible, but that they would try to send the the card again.  They emphasized the importance of putting my name on my mailbox.  Unaccompanied women everywhere are reluctant to announce their presence, but I cut the name off my name card (in katakana) and taped it on the mailbox.

Monday I discovered an item with my name on it in the mailbox on my door.  Since this door is inside a locked lobby, I thought it might have to do with my rental.  I was paying the rest of the rent that day, so shared the notice with the rental agent.  He indicated that it was an attempted delivery notice, phoned the post office, and asked me to choose from several time slots.  I thought that it would be re-delivered in that time slot.

But nothing happened during that time slot.  So Wed. I went to the nearest post office.  The clerk kindly showed me on my map where my main post office was, and I went there, was shown to the right window, and got my card!

My first attempt at using the card was at a combini (convenience store).  I pushed the button for English, it lead me on a couple of steps, then it said it could not provide guidance in English, and this I must press cancel.  Finally, the machine at the post office gave me cash!  And, I noticed, I could have put in my bank book at any time to get cash........

Wait, I said above that I paid the rest of my rent.  What this means was that I paid $5000 cash (in yen) to complete the payment for the entire 6 months that we will be in the larger apartment. Yes, I have not moved in yet, and have paid the entire rental amount in cash.

As I was walking from the small post office to the main post office for my neighborhood, I saw a multilingual sign like they use at historical sites.  It said that this was a neighborhood famous for potters, and that they had a pottery festival every year from from August 6 to 10.  Darned if it was not the morning of August 6, and tons of vendors were setting up for the pottery festival!  And I now have some interesting small items.