Snow

Got quite a bit of snow overnight. Here's a picture of our car.

Sapporo Shopping

Kazumi and I went shopping in Sapporo yesterday. Got out of bed around 7AM (too early for a Saturday) and left for Sapporo at 8AM. Took route 5 from Kutchan to Otaru and drove the highway (Sasson) from Otaru to Sapporo (Kita Hiroshima exit). Arrived at Costco around 10AM. Costco is a large warehouse and they sell a nice selection of imported items.

Most Japanese supermarkets only offer a very limited assortment of cheese, so I had to get me some in Costco. Not quite cheap, but so very delicious.



After shopping at Costco we had lunch at McDonalds. Finished lunch around 12:30 and were all set for some more shopping. First we needed to find a parking spot though. We decided to park the car in one of the Sapporo Station's underground parking lots.

From the parking lot we went on foot to an outdoors sports shop (Shugakuso 札幌市北12西3). Bought me some winter gear (boots, snow goggles and ski pants and gloves).

Next stop: Yodobashi Camera. Had been looking for a decent set of PC speakers for a while now and decided to buy some finally. Got me a pair of Edirol MA-15D speakers.

By the time we left Yodobashi Camera it was time for dinner. We went for a simple bistro somewhere below Sapporo station.

To finish up the day we went to see a movie (Leatherheads) and drove home around 8:30PM. Was raining all the way from Sapporo to Kutchan. Soon this rain will turn into snow. Still a little bit warm for snow at the moment, but according to the weather forecast this will change soon.

Winter in Hokkaido

Went for a walk at 7 AM this morning to enjoy the winter landscapes. Bit chilly (0 degrees Celcius, but seemed colder because of a strong wind) but very enjoyable. Here are some pictures.

Our car (putting up the wipers is standard practice during winter):


Road in front of our apartment:


Fields and mountain in the background:

Car Trouble Part 2

We got our car back last Friday (31st October). Cost us around 90000 JPY (slightly over 700 Euro) to get it fixed (had to repair the starter engine). And since winter is coming close we also had to get some winter tires. Another 80000 JPY (approx 650 Euro). Expensive times for car owners here in Hokkaido.

Our car is 10 years old and we're planning to get a new one. But first we need to save up money of course. Let's hope our current car doesn't experience anymore expensive breakdowns.

The new car we're looking into is the Nissan X-Trail. A car that seems very suited for the harsh winter conditions we experience over here.

Car trouble

Yesterday my car wouldn't start after visiting one of our construction locations. Tried like 5-6 times but the starter engine would not come one. Contacted JAF (Japan Automobile Federation) and asked them to come help me out. The guy arrives and.... is able to start my car without any problems. He checked the battery and generator and they both are ok. Nothing more he can do for me.

Today I took the car to a car repair shop and we got it diagnosed. Apparently the starter engine is no good. Getting it fixed now before winter really starts.

Hopefully no more car trouble after that.

Japanese Driver's License Part 2

Yay, got a call from the license center today and everything is in order now. Will be going to Sapporo next week to get the license. ^^

Japanese Driver's License

I need to vent a bit, so here it comes.

At the moment I'm driving a car in Japan using a translation of my Belgian driver's license. Using this translation I'm allowed to drive a car for 1 year. After that I'll have to use a real Japanese license.

So some weeks ago I went to the administration that can change my license. If you have a Belgian license you can just switch it to a Japanese without any exams or tests. You only need to proof that you have been in Belgium for 3 months after obtaining the driver's license.

No problem it seems... I got a nice document from the local authorities in Belgium stating that I had lived in Belgium all my life till departing for Japan (lived in Belgium full-time for approximately 10 years after obtaining my license).

However...

The clerk at the license center in Japan refused to accept this document. I got a new travel passport before going to Japan (got passport somewhere in February). And based on the issue date of the passport and my entrance date in Japan... I haven't been in Belgium for 3 months. Unfortunately I don't have my old passport anymore, so I cannot use that to proof that I really was in Belgium for more than 3 months after obtaining my driver's license and before going to Japan.

No problem I thought, let's just ask my embassy to write a document stating that I really really was in Belgium for more than 3 months.

After a week a received this document and faxed it to the license center. Again they refuse to accept the document. Now they're saying they need a document that states from day to day (for a period of 3 months) that I was in Belgium. Like for example a time registration card from a previous job in Belgium. Hmmm.... Only time card I ever used was a digital one and I don't have printouts for that. >< According to the clerk rental contracts stating a start and end date are not sufficient to proof that I was in Belgium. Same goes for my university diploma, etc ...

At the moment of writing the license center is in contact with my embassy trying to sort things out.

In my opinion this situation is rather ridiculous. I obviously lived in Belgium for a long time... Why not accept it?

I can only hope that this get sorted out. I need my driver's license for my job. According to the clerk I would have to start from zero if I cannot prove I was in Belgium for more than 3 months after obtaining the license. But I really don't have enough time to get a license from zero.

I'm keeping my fingers crossed and hope I'll get a positive answer soon.

Will keep you updated.