Monthly Archives

December 2020

16/12/2020
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How to build a new internet connection to your home

By | Electric Appliance

To install a new internet in your home, first select an internet service provider, complete the procedure, and then set up your machine. This sequence of tasks is more complicated than you might think, and can be confusing if you don’t see the steps very accurately. The person who manages the procedure must have all the information.

Yodobashi Camera has a counter called “Consultation anything about the Internet”. Other consumer electronics retailers have similar consultation desks. It is recommended that the contractor himself or herself go there. If you are a foreigner, please go to this consultation desk with an interpreter who understands Japanese. Since “identity verification” is required for the contract procedure for the Internet, the contractor must bring his / her identification card and go directly to the consultation desk.

In the case of NTT FLET’S Hikari, you can make a contract by telephone. However, if you want to compare the price with other internet service providers, you need to go to the internet consultation desk of the electronics retail store.

(1) NTT FLET’S Hikari

(2) au Hikari

(3) eo Hikari

(4) J.com

(5) Softbank

(6) docomo

(7) UQ WiMAX

(8) Y! mobile

Select from these (1) to (8) Internet service providers.

If the line is not laid in the house, NTT FLET’S Hikari will pull the line from the utility pole on the road, so it is unlikely that NTT FLET’S Hikari cannot be connected. However, NTT FLET’S Hikari is more expensive than other Internet carriers.

Softbank Hikari, docomo Hikari, and Biglobe Hikari use NTT’s internet connection. However, it is a little cheaper than NTT FLET’S Hikari.

“Au Hikari” tends to be strong in apartments, and “eo Hikari” tends to be strong in detached houses.

Also, if the mobile phone company you already have is au, Softbak, or docomo, if you sign up for a residential internet connection with the same company, you will get a package contract, and the monthly payment will be about 500 to 1,000 yen cheaper.

In order to complete the contract procedure at the “Internet consultation desk” such as Yodobashi Camera, you must exchange a lot of documents such as explanations of important matters. The contractor and the interpreter must be present at the contract procedure during that time. The paperwork can sometimes take several hours.

Also, if the documents are incomplete, you will have to go to the counter again, which is a little annoying. Therefore, please proceed with the procedure accurately, confirming and reconfirming, and carefully.

As for the wireless router, a mesh router is recommended to send the Internet radio waves over a wide area in a large house. One way is to install a relay machine. Consumer electronics retailers such as Yodobashi have the latest models, and there are various models from expensive to inexpensive.

First of all, please go to the “Internet consultation” counter of home electronics retailers such as Yodobashi.

14/12/2020
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Geo Tower Tenroku 　(About Tenjinbashisuji 6-chome area)

By | Regionality

“Geo Tower Tenroku” is located at the intersection of Tenjinbashisuji 6-chome and is directly connected to the subway station. This station (station name “Tenjinbashisuji 6-chome”) is a station that can be used along the Sakaisuji subway line, the Tanimachi subway line, and the Hankyu Kyoto line and Hankyu Senri line. The apartment called “Geo Tower Tenroku” is very convenient for those who commute to stations along the Sakaisuji Line and Tanimachi Line. It is a very convenient place as it is connected to Higashi-Umeda Station, which is the most downtown area in Kansai and Osaka.

Even though Osaka Station and Namba Station are directly connected to the nearest station, their terminal buildings at the station are too large, so you actually have to walk a lot. On the other hand, “Geo Tower Tenroku” is only a 10m walk to the entrance of the station.

For shopping, there is “Hankyu Oasis” on the first floor of the same building of “Geo Tower Tenroku”. Hankyu Oasis is a grocery supermarket with a wide selection of high-quality products such as vegetables and meat.

In addition, Tenjinbashisuji Shopping Street is right in front of “Geo Tower Tenroku”. This Tenjinbashisuji shopping street is one of the most famous shopping streets in Osaka. The shopping mall is about 2 kilometers long and is lined with a wide variety of shops. From Tenjinbashi 6-chome Station, beyond JR Temma Station and Minamimorimachi Station, it is one of the busiest shopping streets in Osaka. There are many popular shops, and you can shop cheaply. Compared to Umeda and Namba, you can shop more closely to your life.

Tenjinbashi 6-chome is a traffic intersection where many people gather. Nevertheless, security is a good place. Namba and Umeda are okay as long as they are on the premises of a large-scale building, but there are night towns where people can drink alcohol, and depending on the area, it may be unsafe. As a residence, Tenjinbashi 6-chome is a convenient and safe place for residents’ everyday life.

13/12/2020
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How to make a wall

By | DIY

You might think that only a carpenter can make a wall, but you can do it with DIY. If you can DIY and make your own wall, you can save millions yen. What’s more, you can make better walls.

I think the most important point to make a house comfortable is “insulation”. It’s been December and the temperature is getting colder, but it’s very cold in uninsulated concrete houses because the concrete gets colder. It feels colder inside the building than outside it. I think that “insulation” can make a very comfortable house if the insulation is firmly installed inside the wall.

To create a new wall, first set up studs (Mabashira). A plasterboard is pasted on the studs, and a finishing material or cloth is pasted on the plasterboard to create a beautiful wall.

First, you have to screw the wood to the concrete. Use concrete screws. Unlike wood, concrete cannot be fixed with a screwdriver without making a pilot hole. To make a pilot hole in concrete, you can also make a hole with a vibrating drill, but it takes time. Hammer drill is good.

　

For 5 mm screws, drill a pilot hole of 4.3 mm to 4.5 mm. For screws with a length of 60 mm, make a pilot hole to a depth of 70 mm. The pilot hole is dug 10 mm deeper than the length of the screw.

Secure the floor and ceiling wood base with concrete screws. The base of the ceiling must be a heavy hammer drill pointed at the ceiling while holding the wood. For this work, I first fixed it to the ceiling with a reinforcing metal fitting with a screw, and then drilled a pilot hole with a hammer drill. At the construction site, I think you  think of a good method for yourself and adopt it.

The walls are of course must be vertical and flat. However, straightening the wall requires “Sumidashi”. I found out how to make a wall perfectly flat by using a laser machine. A chalk line is OK. Draw a line with a pencil is also good. But lasers are very useful.

Next time, I will add insulation.

10/12/2020
1

New Year’s card for Japanese

By | Japan Culture, Life in Japan

Japanese people don’t write much Christmas cards, but they write “Nengajo (New Year greeting card)” by December 25th and post it to the mailbox. The post office delivery staff will distinguish this New Year’s cards from other mails and deliver them to the destinations on January 1st, no matter when they are posted. Therefore, Japanese postal workers are quite busy this season.

Japanese people write about 100 New Year’s cards every year. The number varies from person to person, but my university professor receives 2,000 New Year’s cards in January. When Japanese receive a New Year’s card, it is normal to reply. However, it is difficult to reply to 2,000 people, so my teacher announced an apology and said, “I am very sorry that I could not reply to everyone.”

Writing 100 New Year’s cards is hard work. It takes me three days to write 100 New Year’s cards. It takes a lot of time, so Japanese people these days print using a personal computer. However, I am a little happy to receive a machine-copied New Year’s card, but to be honest, I feel that it is a little unsatisfactory.

On the other hand, Japanese people are very impressed when they receive a handwritten New Year’s card. Washi (Japanese paper) is the traditional paper in Japan, but if Japanese can get a New Year’s card of such paper, their happiness will be doubled. If you go to the stationery section of a Japanese department store, you can find good quality Washi postcards.

商品詳細｜鳩居堂　はがき・カードの専門店 (kyukyodo.co.jp)

For Japanese people, New Year’s cards have a greater impact on the Japanese spirit than Christmas cards and birthday cards. This is because the history of the Japanese people is incorporated into the DNA of the Japanese people.

Japanese people write the following contents on New Year’s postcards.
“I would like to express my heartfelt gratitude to those who took care of me last year. And I would like to thank you for your cooperation in the New Year.”

By all means, please send the New Year’s card to the Japanese with all your heart, not by copying, but by handwriting. I’m sure Japanese people will feel very happy for your card.

09/12/2020
0

Floor plan of 2 toilets～in the case of Osaka

By | Real Estate

The design of the floor plan of apartments is basically different between Japanese and foreigners due to their different lifestyles. For Japanese people, housing is designed so that they can feel at ease and relax. In order to feel at ease and relax, it is necessary to have a floor plan that does not require you to worry about the glance. Therefore, there is “AGARIKAMACHI (=the timber frame at that part of a house through which one steps into the house proper)  at the entrance, and the bedrooms and living room are separated by a wall so that no one else can see it.

The reason why there are two toilets in a Japanese apartment is that it is inconvenient to go to the toilet place because it is “far”. If the floor plan is 160㎡ or more and the floor plan is long and narrow, the human path of flow from one end to the other is too long, so two toilets may be created. The floor plan in the photo above (Kita-ku, Osaka, 180㎡) is an example of this.

Even if the floor plan is 160㎡ or less, there may be two toilets. It is a case where a toilet is installed in the master bedroom. It is convenient to have a toilet nearby when people are sleeping at night in the master bedroom. Again, the reason there are two toilets is that the toilets are “far”. The floor plan in the photo below (Fukushima-ku, Osaka, 120㎡) is an example of this.

In the case of a detached house, it will be 2 to 3 floors, so it is “far” to move up and down on the stairs, so toilets will be installed on each floor, so there will be two or more. Detached houses are located in the suburbs, not in the center of Osaka. Again, the reason there are two toilets is that the toilets are “far”. The floor plan in the photo below (a detached house in Suita City, Osaka Prefecture, 140 m2) is an example of this.

The floor plan of a tower-type apartment in the center of Osaka city tends to become smaller year by year. Tower apartments have the advantage of being a convenient location because they are close to the station and convenient for shopping. Tower apartments take up a lot of common area (entrance, reception space, guest room, party room, gym, etc). On the other hand, the space of the exclusive part (individual ownership space) is narrowed. The floor plan in the photo below (newly built “Proud Tower” in Kita-ku, Osaka, 70㎡) is an example of this.

08/12/2020
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Nature of the locality – “Horie” area

By | Life Style, Real Estate

We have the opportunity to visit various areas to guide our customers to apartments in Osaka, but when we actually visit the area, each area has its own “nature of the locality”. I think this “land pattern” is a very important point when choosing a house.

We introduced a young couple to a rental apartment in Minamihorie, Nishi-ku, and when we contracted with a customer, a few months after moving in, we asked the customer, “This apartment is very good. I like it very much. ” This is because the apartment property was good, but the “local environment (= nature of the locality)” where the apartment is located was also good.

From the Horie area in Nishi Ward to Shinmachi on the north side to Utsubo Park, there is a slightly similar atmosphere. However, when you cross the Dotonbori River on the south side and become Naniwa Ward, the atmosphere changes completely. The area around Shin-Imamiya Station has a place to introduce the work of day laborers, so the regional characteristics will change completely. In a city like Osaka, the types of residents are completely different depending on the area.

I think history creates the ” nature of the locality ” of the region. What kind of people lived in the area in the past determines what kind of people live in the area now, and those who will move in the future will be dominated by the history of the area. Therefore, when choosing a house, it is important to control not only the interior of the room, the distance to the workplace, and housing-related facilities, but also the ” nature of the locality ” of the area.

The area seems to be connected by some invisible thread between humans. “Life” and “life” may be connected. There is always a connection between the past “life” and the present “life” as well as the “life” that is alive now. This is history.

When thinking about which property to choose, try walking and feeling the atmosphere around the property. I’m sure you will discover something.

There are many fashionable cafes and interior shops centered around Orange Street in Minamihorie and Kitahorie Park. The American Village is nearby, and the culture of young people such as live houses continues to the Horie area.

However, while the American Village is a night town with bars, the Horie area is calm. The younger age group is better. In addition, there are many luxury apartments in the Horie area. This means that many high-income people live there.

People with high incomes consume high added value. Horie has many select shops because it fits the local pattern. It is highly likely that fashionable shops will continue to develop and the area will be fun.

06/12/2020
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The Kitahama and Complex Use

By | Life Style, Property, Real Estate

The Kitahama is located directly above Kitahama Station on the Sakaisuji Subway Line. It is also connected to Kitahama Station on the Keihan Line by an underground passage. Because it is near the street of Doshomachi, a historically famous pharmaceutical company town in Osaka, there are many historic buildings nearby. The Mitsukoshi department store was demolished and The Kitahama was built using the site.

The Kitahama is proudly the number one in the popularity ranking of Sumitomo Realty & Development’s 2020 edition.

 

In Japan, industrialization progressed rapidly from 1950 to 1990 after the war. In order to develop the manufacturing industry efficiently, restricted areas (zoning) have been defined in the urban development plan by Japanese government. The factory area, residential area, and commercial area have been set separately. As a result, good housing was located in the suburbs, and the living environment in Osaka was not good. Since around 1990, tower type high rise apartment buildings have been built in central Osaka. And people who lived in the suburbs began to move to the center of Osaka. This is because tower type apartment have made it possible to create a better living environment than a quiet living environment in the suburbs.

The Kitahama area has the historic atmosphere of “Doshomachi” and the atmosphere of the office district of the stock exchange. It’s not a bar like Namba or Dotonbori, so Kitahama area is safe and the nature of the locality of Kitahama is elegant. There are no large department stores. There is no electric shop, so people have to go shopping to Yodobashi Camera in Umeda.

The Kitahama is adjacent to a commercial facility called KITAHAMA PLAZA. It is very convenient for daily life to have a Konami gym, a food supermarket and restaurants. Konami here is classified as a high-grade one with a large facility and beauty. All the shops in KITAHAMA PLAZA are of high grade, so they are preferred by wealthy customers. The residents of The Kitahama are also wealthy people, so the building and the surrounding area have a luxurious atmosphere.

Such real estate development is called “Complex Use”. Complex development is close to work and residence. Complex development means a break from the Japanese old-style life of working at a factory for a fixed amount of time and returning home on a crowded train. People work in a cafe on a laptop computer. Work meetings end up in a cafe next to the apartment. Playing while working. From such a lifestyle, people can generate intellectual ideas. The “Complex Use” is a lifestyle for intellectual labor in a knowledge-information society, not Japanese traditional mechanical labor in a factory.

05/12/2020
1

Tower apartment and health

By | Life in Japan, Life Style, Real Estate

Tower apartments are very popular because they have a good view, but various problems have been pointed out. In this article, I would like to consider only about the health of the residents of the tower apartment.

From my 20 years of experience, a 40-year-old Japanese-American wife who lived on the 38th floor had a miscarriage. On the other hand, the foreign wife who lived on the 34th floor gave birth to her second child safely.  I have no scientific basis for whether these things are related to tower apartments. That’s my actual experience.

Scholars have studied this issue and published treatises. Even if scholars criticize tower apartments, realtors deny scholars’ claims. Scientific proof does not seem to be clear yet.

It is known that the atmospheric pressure of 10hPa drops when it rises 100m. The height of one floor of the condominium is about 3 meters, so 100m ÷ 3 = 33 floors. In other words, the atmospheric pressure on the 33rd floor is 10hPa lower than on the ground.

When the weather is fine, it is high pressure. A heavy rainy day is a low pressure. The difference in atmospheric pressure between a clear day and a heavy rainy day is about 17hPa. Generally, the difference in atmospheric pressure between a sunny day and a bad day is considered to be about 10hPa.

“The number of patients undergoing cecal surgery is higher on rainy days than on sunny days,” said one medical doctor.  Certainly, on a clear day, humans become more energetic and motivated to work. On a rainy day, if we feel depressed and a low pressure system such as the rainy season continues, we may want to start crying even if there are no problems. The weather seems to have a huge impact on the human body. And the pressure difference in the weather is 10hPa.

I am a member of a fitness club and am doing underwater walking exercise in the pool. At first, I used to breaststroke, but at some point I began to think that walking in the water was more effective in improving my health than swimming. When I swim flat, my body floats on the surface of the water, but when I walk, I drop my feet to the bottom of the pool, which applies “water pressure”. Because of this “water pressure”, I go to the fitness club every day.

Thinking in this way, living on the upper floors of a tower apartment is thought to have at least some impact on the body.

If you are staying at a hotel for a few days, it is good to enjoy the view. It’s okay for a healthy adult to rent for a few years. However, if you have a pregnant wife or a weak person, it may be safer to avoid the pressure difference of 10hPa.

04/12/2020
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Umeda’s large-scale project “La Tour”

By | Life Style, Maid Service, Real Estate

“La Tour”:  https://www.sumitomo-latour.jp/osakaumeda/

The brand “La Tour” is owned by Sumitomo Realty & Development, mainly in the Tokyo metropolitan area, and is planned for expatriates from the architectural design stage. “La Tour” is a full-fledged foreigner’s house that knows the lifestyle of expatriates very well. There are other properties in Tokyo designed for foreigners, but “La Tour” is the number one in Japan.

There are many buildings of “La Tour” in Tokyo, but never in Osaka. 99% of the number of expatriates living in Japan is concentrated in Tokyo, and the market for expatriates in Osaka is so small that foreign housing designed well by major real estate developers wasn’t in Osaka.

In Osaka, expatriates are supposed to live in luxury homes for the wealthy Japanese. The floor plan that Japanese people like and the floor plan that foreigners like are fundamentally different, so no matter how high-class a house for Japanese people is, it was not enough for foreigners unless it was built for foreigners from the planning stage.

For example, Japanese people do not have a lifestyle of frequently inviting visitors to their homes. However, foreigners often have guests staying at home. Therefore, foreigners want more than one bathroom. Foreigners also want two or more toilets. In Japanese houses, the bathroom, the toilet and the wash basin are clearly separated, but Japanese don’t really want more than one.

Also, Japanese people, even wealthy people, do not want such a large housing space. There is not much habit of hiring maids or housekeepers to clean the room. However, foreigners feel that the Japanese housing space is small. “La Tour” prepares more than 300㎡ of residential space for foreign customers.

Also, Japanese people do not ask for services like a hotel concierge from a house, but for foreigners who are not very familiar with the situation in Japan, it is very helpful and happy to have a concierge service at the front of the house. It is very convenient for foreigners to have staff in their homes to support their lives in Japan.

Since the foreign rental market in Osaka is extremely small, it seems that most of the “La Tour” in Osaka are supposed to be Japanese renters. However, Sumitomo Realty & Development’s “La Tour” brand will no longer be “La Tour” unless there are at least some expatriates occupying it.

It is expected that talented and talented foreigners will move in this property and create a high-quality “full-scale foreign housing” in Osaka. For foreigners, this is Osaka’s first big news.

Related article: https://www.dios.co.jp/archives/3337

03/12/2020
0

Hard and soft aspects of rental housing

By | Real Estate

When choosing real estate, you need to look at both the visible and the invisible. “Visible things” are hardware aspects such as buildings. “Invisible things” are human services that you can receive after you move into the property.

For rental apartments, this is a management service provided by the real estate company and the owner. Some properties provide quick response when equipment breaks down, but some properties are slow to respond to customer complaints and take weeks. Waiting for a long time is very painful. It is very comfortable to live in if the real estate company responds promptly.

Also, if the real estate company is a large company, it may be safe, but no personal relationships will be created. The systematic manual service is not so impressive. The person in charge will change in a few years. There are no long-term relationships. Rather, smaller real estate companies have more human warmth. Also, smaller companies may actually be more flexible and respond faster to customers than larger companies. I think a community-based real estate company that “sees the face” is good.

If you spend too much money on the hardware side such as the size of the building and less money on the software side of the service, it seems that the “visible thing” has succeeded, but you are dissatisfied with the “invisible thing”. Will occur. Rather, I think that the satisfaction level will be overwhelmingly higher if you spend money on software instead of spending money on hardware. There is nothing better than human service.