Budget Trouble

I "heart" Brazilian Supermarkets

My friend just called and told me she was on her way to a Brazilian restaurant in Moka. And that resulted in two things:
1. me getting very hungry, and
2. this blog post.

Funny, because just yesterday I was reading on some other blog a bunch of useless, racist drivel about Brazilian Japanese (no link, because racist nonsense shouldn’t be advertised). And the day before I went shopping at a Brazilian supermarket in Moka (bought pickled beets, sausages and Inca Kola).

Takara Brazilian Supermarket in Moka

So, yes, in case you didn’t know, there are Brazilians living in Japan. Quite a few of them. And Peruvians. Also quite a few of them. And Bolivians and other South Americans, but not so many of them.

How did they get here? By plane, presumably. And yes, they are of Japanese descent, but it might be hard to realize by looking at some of them.

The story goes like this: back in prehistoric times, sometime around the beginning of the 20th century bunches of impoverished Japanese peasants were enticed to immigrate to Brazil. And so they did. Until 1941 almost 190 000 people left Japan in search of a better life in Brazil.

The immigration from Japan to Peru had started even earlier, back in the late 1890. Anyway, fast forward to the end of the 20th century – that’s when the descendants of those Japanese, in order to escape the instability of Latin America, came knocking on the door of their “motherland”.

A small mercado in Kanuma

Those “returnees” are known as “dekasegi” and while many do struggle in Japan, because even though they may look Japanese, culturally they are not, there are also many success stories. But you don't hear much about those successes, because really, like, who cares?

You just hear about those who lost their jobs due to the economic downturn and about the Japanese government’s scheme to pay them some laughable amount of cash and send them back to wherever it is they came from.

But where were we? Ah yes, Brazilian supermarkets. Yes, these people need to eat, and I for one, am very glad for this fact. Since this is not Tokyo and I can’t just hop to a local import food store, I am very grateful for our local Brazilian markets. Because they stock all sorts of stuff, and not only from Brazil. And while I am very happy in Japan, every once in a while I crave pickled beets or proper chorizo, and yes, even Inca Kola.

And now, if you excuse me, I have a lovely beet salad to consume.

I "heart" konbinis

Two words for you: convenience stores. Actually, only one word if you say it in Engrish (or Japanese – depending how you look at it) – konbini.

Japan does them like nobody else. They’re everywhere, easy to get to, sell all sorts of stuff, they're clean, efficient, and well, convenient. Konbinis were the one thing about Japan I missed the most when living on the northern outskirts of Europe.

But they’re not just simple convenience stores. They’re conveniently convenient stores, too. And not just when it comes to melon bread and adult manga. Want to pay your car insurance and electric bill? No problem, you can do it at your local Lawson.

Want to shop on-line but don’t have a credit card? Or have a foreign credit card and don’t want to get whacked with massive currency exchange fees? No worries, you can still shop on-line and then pay for the goods at a convenience store. That’s how I bought my new MacBook – paid for it at 7-Eleven.

Want to withdraw money but can’t find an ATM that would accept your foreign bank card and there’s no post office around? Just head to the nearest 7-Eleven. Their ATMs do what many Japanese banks’ ATMs are unable to do – process a transaction on a foreign bank card.

We have two konbinis within 300 meters of our apartment building. One is a Lawson’s and the other 7-Eleven. There’s a Sunkus just a few minutes further up the road and a Family Mart, if you decide to walk in the opposite direction.

Not every konbini is open 24/7 (regardless of what some misguided visitors may tell you), but most open early and stay open until late. A huge contrast to a certain European city where the only thing still open around midnight was one lonely gas station.

And now, if you excuse me, it’s time for my late night walk to Lawson’s to get me some caramel ice cream. See you later!

When a Cheap Person Goes Shopping in Japan

Some people say I’m cheap (as in “she doesn’t like to spend a lot of money” and not as in “red lipstick, fishnet stockings and a push-up bra”). Personally, I’d prefer the term “budget minded” or “frugal” but whatever. I can live with cheap.

I’m cheap because I’m also chronically poor. And if you are poor, it’s only logical that you don’t have a lot of cash to throw around. Why I’m poor is a whole another story. My husband says that perhaps if we traveled less we’d have more money to spend on other things. I nod in agreement, and then we both come to the same conclusion – we’d rather travel.

But every so often, even if you are a perpetual traveler, you need to buy stuff. And every so often, even a perpetual traveler needs to settle down for a while. And with settling down come additional expenses like spoons and sofas and skillets and even an occasional cake pan or two. (I refuse to live out of packing boxes and sit on milk crates – been there, done that and I’m too old and cranky for that kind of life now.)

So yeah, every once in a while even a chronically broke tightwad needs to go shopping.
And where do tightwads like me go shopping in Japan? To the Off Center, of course.

In the beginning there was Book Off – a used book store. There’s even one in New York, on 41st Street between 5th Ave and Madison. They have used books and other media (also in languages other than Japanese), all in pretty much excellent condition. I know because I sold them a truckload of my stuff when I was leaving town.

There are Book Offs in other cities in the US and also in France, Canada and Korea.

But I think it’s only in Japan where Book Off became a whole “Off” institution.
There’s “Off” everything now – from clothes to furniture to electronics and pretty much whatever else you can think of in between. All used, all in excellent condition (if not, junk is clearly marked as such), and all cheap.

Last week I went to my local “Off” center, no reason - I was in the neighborhood, that's all, and bought three dresses, which just happened to be new. They still had the original tags on them – that’s pretty common in Japan. Japanese ladies like to shop and then never even wear the stuff they've bought. After one season they realize “oh crap, I won’t be caught dead in those old rags”, get rid of them and promptly go shopping for new, more fashionable things.

Well, I don’t mind wearing last season’s styles. Besides, I still have clothes from fifteen seasons ago, so last year’s is practically brand new and fresh off the runway to me. And the dresses are simple and black, anyway. And black never goes out of style.

Anyway, they cost me the equivalent of 15 bucks (US), they fit and I look nice in them. And that’s really all that matters, right?

To balance my addiction to the local Off Center, the next day we went to the outlet mall in Sano. They had advertised massive sales, but in reality, while the sales were indeed there, only some of them were of the 75% off variety. Luckily, they were at the stores where I normally shop for on sale stuff anyway: French Connection UK, Columbia Outerwear and a few others.

FCUK was this season's Sano sales winner, hands down. Their pants are lovely, black, fit nicely, and damn, they were only 3000 yen! I'm not going to say how many pairs we've bought, OK? - I need to preserve my tightwady image. LOL!

Still, I am not sure I would go to Sano just for ordinary not-on-sale shopping. Nah, definitely not. Cheapskates like me normally shop at UniQlo and for other needs visit the Off Center or 100 yen stores. Yes, we’re THAT cheap in this house!

Screwed by Cheaptickets.com?

UPDATE: On June 16th the money was finally returned to my account. So the "immediate" release of the hold took 10 days and not "four at the longest", as had been promised.

WARNING: What follows is a travel rant. Read at your own risk.

While screwing in general can be a very pleasant activity, though it does depend on who’s doing it, getting screwed is not. Not only is it painful and unpleasant, it also leaves you with all sorts of funny thoughts featuring burning buildings and car wrecks, usually occupied by dismembered bodies of the evil screwers. Such graphic acts of justice violence turn me into a miserable bitch witch, and this unhealthy attitude is something that my cats and husband tend to have serious issues with. I couldn’t care less about the husband’s issues, he's a big boy, he can deal with it, but the stress my bitchiness puts on my cats breaks my heart. So, as a preventive measure, I like to avoid getting screwed whenever possible.

This time, however, I failed.

It all started yesterday when I booked (or at least I thought I had booked) a ticket from Toronto to Tokyo, via Vancouver using Cheaptickets.com.

I admit, my experience with Cheaptickets.com was limited to a one-time booking sometime in 1999. Whenever possible, I always try to deal with the airline directly – it saves a lot of hassle later on if things go tits up. Once in 2004 I used Orbitz and things went tits up in a really bad way. But that’s a story for another time.

This time, I know, I know, I should have called Air Canada to begin with, but I didn’t. My fault entirely. But then again, I trusted that one of the biggest on-line travel services providers could do its job.

Anyway, I did my booking, punched in my credit card number and got a mysterious “records locator” instead of a normal booking number. Hmmm… odd I thought. I checked with my bank and yes, there was a hold on a bunch of money, which vaguely matched the airfare. Vaguely, because the hold was for a larger amount.

I got on the phone with Cheaptickets.com to find out why. The customer service rep was kind and pleasant but she was (or pretended to be) as clueless as I was. There was still no email from Cheaptickets.com confirming my reservation. The lady said, no problem, I am sending one right now. The “reservation” with an official looking Air Canada records locator number came and I was assured by the Cheaptickets.com rep that my reservation had gone through, the payment was OK, and that I would be getting my e-ticket shortly, normally within 24 hours.

Instead of the e-ticket however, I got a phone call. At 4AM. A very rude man, with an Indian accent so thick you could use individual words for roadblocks, demanded my credit card number. He declined to introduce himself, and instead said he was calling from Cheaptickets.com’s ticketing department.

Whoa! Hold your holy cow now. I don’t know about you, but I don’t take too kindly to being woken up at 4AM by rude Indian men who want my financial information. This man was particularly annoying. I asked him about my flight details. He said he didn’t know them. Well, fine, why don’t you go and find out then. After all, how can you ask me for money (for something that I thought I had already paid, but that’s besides the point) and not know what the money is for?

He went to find out and said it was for a flight from Toronto to Vorkuta and then to… something else he couldn’t pronounce. That Vorkuta really woke me up.

I demanded to speak to a supervisor, preferably one who could communicate in English. Another Indian voice came on the line, and explained that Cheaptickets.com needs my credit card information to process the payment. Odd, wouldn’t you say? They had my credit card information, they even put a hold on a truckload of money already. How could have they done it without my credit card info, huh?

At first the man (who upon my persistent questioning introduced himself as Mark Johnson – yeah, right, and my name is Krishna Patel, what a dumb asshat) insisted there was no hold. Then he said maybe there was, but he didn’t know about any money. And he kept badgering me for my credit card number. I checked on-line with my bank, the hold was there alright.

And then came the kicker – if I don’t pay now, the airfare will no longer be applicable and the price will go up.

I very patiently went to Cheaptickets.com website and saw that not only the airfare didn’t go up, it actually went DOWN. By 200 bucks (US). I lost it and it wasn’t pretty. I demanded that he’d cancel my reservation, after all since he said I hadn’t pay for it, canceling it shouldn’t be a problem, right? Wrong.

“Mark Johnson” told me to call Cheaptickets.com customer service. Now, mind you, I’m in Poland, customer service is in the US. I have a very strange feeling that “Mark Johnson” was hoping that I would give up and pay up. Unfortunately, he forgot that these days not only the likes of Cheaptickets.com use VoIP. And as it happened, I still had a lot of skype credits left. And by then I was totally awake anyway.

The customer service rep spoke American and tried to be helpful. No, she didn’t know why the payment didn’t go through. No, she couldn’t explain why the hold went through but not the payment. Nor could she explain why the hold was for a larger amount than the airfare. In other words – she was as useless as two tits on a bull.

I told her that I found a cheaper fare on their site and wanted to know she could switch the one I thought I had to the less expensive one. Surprise, surprise, she couldn’t do it. Or rather, and surprise, surprise again, it would cost me 200 bucks (exactly the difference between the two prices). She explained that’s how much the airline would charge for making the change. Yeah, that's how much the airline would charge, IF I had a ticket. And that's something, that Cheaptickets.com claimed, I didn't have.

But apparently, according to the rep, in my case, I would have to pay this fee for changing my non-existent ticket. Yeah, the very same ticket for which I supposedly had NOT paid yet. Yeah, I would have to pay a fee for changing it. Don't you just love this logic?

I asked her to cancel the existing (or maybe existing, or not quite existing yet) reservation and release the hold on my money. And here came the kicker – to get the money from Cheaptickets.com for a ticket that according to them I had never paid for, would take TWO billing cycles. Yep, two months. The customer service rep called it a “refund” and flustered when I asked her how it could be a refund, if according to them, I hadn’t paid anything in the first place.

She said she needed to consult with her supervisor.

When she came back she offered to call my bank to ask them to release the hold immediately. So now it’s my bank, who holds the money, and not Cheaptickets? Hmmm… interesting… But why not, I gave her the 24-hour credit card hotline and waited for results. The results were such that the rep was surprised that the selection menu was in a foreign language. No shit Sherlock! What did you expect? You’re calling a foreign bank in a foreign country, because contrary to what you may think, there is a world outside of the United States.

She went to consult with her supervisor again.

When she came back she said the hold would be released within 4 business days at the latest. Fine, but how am I supposed to buy a new ticket (the cheaper one) in the meantime?

And this is something that really brings it to an all-time new low. She asked me: “you don’t have enough money?”
“Do you?” was my response.

I don’t know how much Cheaptickets.com pays its customer service reps, but hell, if they can afford to buy trans-Pacific plane tickets like they're Krispy Kreme donughts, then shite, I want to work there, too.

In the meantime, I have to wait to get my money back for cancellation of something that, according to the company, I had never purchased to begin with.

And I’m very curious to see how much money will come back – the total amount put on hold, or the actual ticket price. Oh, the excitement is simply unbearable.

I described this story to a friend who, as it turned out, used to work for a different on-line travel provider and she presented her version of events:

Cheaptickets.com saw that someone from a country where English is not widely used is buying a ticket to another country where English is not widely used paying with a foreign credit card. What a perfect occasion to jack up the fees!

According to her, what happens in such situations is that the rep calls the person, they can’t communicate and the customer is bullied into authorizing more expensive charge. That’s why she tells me they have to have the number once again and process the payment. Because you have to willingly “authorize” it first.

She also tells me that I have to prepare for a fight to get my money back.

I had no clue that this was a common scam tactic among many internet purveyors, and not only those selling travel services. Today I heard stories about people scammed this way by on-line sellers based in China, Lithuania, Morocco, and yes, even the US.

I don’t want to think that Cheaptickets.com would fall that low (but then again, this is almost like a déjà vu all over again of my experiences with Orbitz in 2004, except that then there was no Indian men calling me in the middle of the night), though in this economic crisis, who knows? Maybe Cheaptickets.com is in financial trouble and tries to rake in cash whichever way they can?

I hope this was just a simple blunder and the matter will be resolved in four business days as promised.

And as for me, it will be a cold day in hell when I will buy a plane ticket from anyone other than the airline itself. Speaking of, I need to call Air Canada now.

Cool Gifts - Made in Prison

Are you tired of the same old gifts from Japan? You know, the kind that all gaijins buy at the airport and think that people back home will like - tacky yukatas pretending to be kimonos, chopsticks, overpriced tea sets, fans that are in reality made in China and so on…

This time I thought I’d try something new. Actually, I didn’t even think, it just sorta happened.
We went shopping and run into a massive market (inside our local shopping mall) selling items made by inmates doing time in various Japanese prisons.

The selection was simply mind-boggling, from really fancy coffee tables, to pillows, to kitchen stuff, to quite nice paintings and carvings of Hokkaido nature, to soy sauce (yes, organic and made by prisoners) and udon noodles. There was even scented soap, which totally creeped me out, especially since I just finished “The Reader” earlier that day. (By the way, I hated the English translation of this book, it’s stiff and inconsistent.)

Unfortunately, I didn’t see any T-shirts. So, instead I got this cute cell-phone holder, which I’m using as a case for my make-up compact. Yes, I got it as a gift, but then decided to keep it, because I am THAT selfish.

The holder was made by kids doing time in juvie in Hakodate. I want to contact this prison’s administrator and suggest they start making T-shirts and tote bags. What do you think?

January in France - Sales, Shopping and Short Films

It’s January and I am not going to France. This year I don’t even have a layover in France. Instead I’ll be changing planes in the UK. Yes, I’m pretty sure it means I won’t be going to heaven when I die.

We had thought long and hard whether to go to France this January or not and eventually decided on “not.” Crap, I know. But in all seriousness, we will be moving in just a few weeks and do we really need more stuff? More clothes? More everything? No, we don’t. And that’s why France will have to survive this January without me. I feel terrible about not doing my part to help revive the global economy.

What? Why do you think I go to France every January? To look at cathedrals and visit museums? That stuff’s for tourists! I go to shop.

Every January and July when French shops hold their state-sanctioned massive sales (you can’t just have a sale in France when you feel like it, oh no, over there the government must approve it first and then tells you when to have it) hordes of people from near and far (some of them are even French) descend upon the malls and stores of various shapes and sizes and shop till they drop.

In the past, I was one of them. This was my once-a-year sacred pilgrimage. Through trial and error I learned that big cities were best avoided during that time. Too much shopping competition. Medium size towns with the same shops as the shiny metropolises were just as good.

Clermont-Ferrand quickly became my favorite spot. Kind of out of the way, not really very touristy in January, and not all that convenient to get to either. But if you stick around till the end of the month, you can combine the useful with the pleasant and check out the Clermont-Ferrand International Short Film Festival. A very famous event in short-film circles that helped launch many a feature director’s career.

Sticking around for the festival will present you with an accommodation problem – the whole town will be booked up. That last week of January/ first week of February the place is a madhouse. You need to sort out a room well in advance. But if you just come for the shopping earlier in the month, you’ll be OK. No worries.

Oh, and don’t you believe these silly stories that them French are rude and unfriendly. So not true! Now, I speak only three words of French, and here they are in no particular order: bonjour, poulet and merci, and never had a problem in France. Everybody has always been very helpful and kind. Complete strangers would wave to me in the street (and mind you, I was always fully dressed when it happened), waiters were always super nice (I even got a few phone numbers, and no, I am not a ravishing beauty), and generally everybody was very accommodating.
The only rude person I ran into turned out to be a bloody Walloon. So there.
Go to France.
Do some shopping, will ya?

PS. I can't find any of my Clermont-Ferrand pictures, so you'll have to look at Paris instead.

From the Arc de Triomphe with a tele lens. Normally people take photos in the opposite direction, as you can see.

Fast food, much faster and tastier than McD.

More fast food, French style: crepes. Yum!

And a perfect stranger being friendly.

Shopping and sleeping part 1

My last post made me think about airports in general. There are some that I love, there are some that I hate, and finally, there are some that I’d rather chew my leg off and bleed to death than visit ever again. In other words, I’m just like most travelers.

But unlike most travelers, I rate my airports according to a super-sophisticated, scientific methodology. It’s extensive and complex, and took years to perfect, but fortunately, it neatly comes down to two easy to grasp points: shopping and sleeping.

(Eating is not all that important to me, as long as there’s a soda vending machine nearby and a place to buy a bag of chips, I’m all set.)

Shopping is self-explanatory. I love to shop. It’s hands-down my most favorite activity. And because I’m lazy by nature, I don’t want to go far to indulge my need for designer sunglasses and skin creams.

Some airports, simply based on their proximity to shopping nirvanas of New York or Paris, you’d think would be magnificent places to buy, buy and then buy some more. Sadly, you’d think wrong.

Paris CDG is a vile pit of dirt with pedestrian selection of big-name brands. The airport shopping options seem to cater almost exclusively to Russians and Chinese, who push and shove and scoop up make-up on sale like it’s going out of style.

New York airports are shopping disasters not even worth mentioning here.

And then, there are the likes of Dubai and Narita. As far as I’m concerned, Dubai is as close to paradise as one can get. What am I saying? Dubai IS paradise. A 24-hours a day, 7-days a week shopping paradise, all within the comforts of your departure gate. And there’s even a Baskin Robbins there. Yes, I’m sure the rest of Dubai is also lovely, but why bother? I can satisfy all my needs without ever visiting the city.

After several years of living in a third-world country without a donut in sight, this proved to be an orgasmic experience.

Narita, on the other hand, is Narita, but you wouldn’t expect anything less from the Japanese, right?

Unfortunately, when traveling to Seoul this summer, I won’t be transiting through either Dubai or Tokyo. Not even Paris. I’ll have to make do with Helsinki. Which leaves me with a serious problem, and anyone who’s seen the airport shopping options in Helsinki will understand my pain…

Dubai, oh how I miss thee, let me count the ways... Chanel, Dior, Michael Kors, Prada...

Next time, we’ll discuss sleeping in airports.

Soul Box in Tokyo

My relationship with vintage clothing and second hand shops has been evolving throughout the years. As a wee young one, I shunned anything that once upon a time belonged to other people, be it books, furniture, musical instruments or designer jeans. My germophobic self would not allow me to even contemplate getting close to such items. Eventually, this problem was solved with a proper application of anti-anxiety meds and a Great Dane puppy. My germ phobia became a distant thing of the past as I learned to clean various doggy by-products. Yet second hand clothing was still something I avoided.

Fast forward to the poor student days in Berlin. With my puny budget, I quickly realized that my fashion choices were limited to either polyester horrors at C&A, or vintage creations from one of the many swanky second hand emporiums in Kreuzberg or Schoeneberg.

I chose to painstakingly save my deutschemarks (yes kids, there was life on this planet before the euro) and make twice-yearly trips to Paris, when the really big sales were going on (January and July). I refused to even set a foot in a vintage clothing store.

And I’d probably still be refusing, if not for an enterprising friend in New York City, who tricked me into a walk to Tokyo Joe’s and other Japanese-owned consignment shops in East Village. Oh my and then some!!!
“You mean this is second hand?”
After spending 250 dollars and leaving with a pair of Jean-Paul Gaultier pants, a Trussardi leather jacket, Diesel jeans, a D&G skirt, and a bag of “everything for 5 bucks”, which included a Viviane Tam t-shirt and a Hermes scarf, my attitude towards used clothes has changed. Drastically.

What was once germy, ratty and eeeeww is now swanky, trendy and hip. In my old age I have finally seen the light. Or became a cheapskate.

Next time I’m in Tokyo, I plan to visit Soul Box. I haven’t been there yet. A friend owns this shop, and I’m very curious to see what treasures she has in there. Miki regularly scours second hand markets of London and Paris, and gets her inspiration from her own warped sense of fashion. Which just happens to be the same as mine.

The shop is located in Suginami, and you can call Miki for directions, the phone number is on the website, and she speaks good English. She even stocks vintage kimonos!

See you there!

Don't know about you, but this furry pink thing on the left has my name written all over it. I need it. NOW!

I promised Miki I will take some better photos for the shop when I'm in Tokyo.

And if you happen to be in Berlin, here's an interesting article about high-end second-hand options in that city.