True Story??
This is a long post, but I basically had to document my first day so far...
Arrival in Tokyo at 5 PM. 2 hours until my connecting flight to Fukuoka. I passed a couple of ATMs but I figured, hey, might as well hold out until I get where I'm going. I use up 100 of my 500 yen to surf the net for about 10 minutes, and wait for my flight to leave.
Arrival in Fukuoka at 10:00 PM. It's just as I remembered. Clean as hell, jacked up hairdo's, and random bursts of laughter coming from groups of hot girls walking down the sidewalk. Now I decided to finally get some cash from the ATM at the 7 Eleven in Solaria Plaza.
"Invalid Card" said the machine as I tried to withdraw 50,000 yen. No time to panic yet. Just go to another convenience store and try your card there. Turns out that 7 Eleven is the only store that will accept a card with a visa logo so now I'm officially fucked. Hmm, just try your credit card. The interest rate for withdrawing cash is ridiculous, but I have the money so I wouldn]t incur any financing charges during the grace period.
"Enter PIN" said the machine. Fuck! Do I even have a PIN for my credit card?? How the hell should I know that??! After 3 unsuccessful attempts to guess the PIN for a card i didn't even know there was a PIN for, I fumbled through the change in my pocket and knew I had only one other option...
I called Bank of America from a payphone. I deposited 4 of the 100 yen pieces, my absolute last exchangeable piece of currency, and dialed the number on the back of my card.
As soon as the recorded guy started talking about this and that, I started shouting "Operator!! Operator!! Operator you bastards!!" It's only been 1 minute and one of my 100 yen pieces just dissappeared on the computer screen that tracks how much money I put into the machine!!!
My hopes faded when the Japanese voice came on and said something about "No money", and I didn't even get so much as a breath from a living person on the other end of the line.
Evaluate the situation. I had 150 yen in my pocket, about 2 bucks, so I walk back to the park near the subway to strategize. It was late. I thought maybe I should go back to the airport. I went to the ticket machine and what do you know, the subway started closing down for the night. "Last train!!" yelled the station manager. I decided I would change my mind about going back to the airport. How would that even help me??
All I needed was a phone to call my bank, or to hook up my USB which has Skype installed on it so I could call someone from my bank to chew them out. I went to the internet cafes, but they all looked at me like and idiot and said they didn't take VISA. I went back to the park and sat down. I pulled out my guitar and started playing a few melancholy songs into the night, hopefully to blend in with the atmosphere and appear as just another random, wandering soul in a park.
I had less than two dollars in my pocket, a heavy duffel bag with enough clothes for 2 months, and a bookbag weighing me down as I walked probably close to 5 miles. I thought I should sit still from now on. Any further walking was gonna burn more calories and leave me with a horrible choice to make. I could use that last change to do my train scam and make it all the way back to Hagi, or I could buy something to eat in the morning.
I started reclining in the wooden chair I was sitting in, resolved to the point where I knew I was gonna sleep in that park that night. Before I left to come to Japan, my girlfriend pleaded with me not to do anything which would be on par with what a homeless person would do, and i was about to do just that. Its not so bad, I thought. At least its Japan. Everythings cleaner here. Its not like sleeping in a park in America.
I found the darkest part of the park to lay down for the night. I began hoping that some Japanese wanna-be gangsters would try to mug me so I could beat the shit out of them and take all their money instead. There are no guns in Japan, and to be quite honest there aren't many things a Japanese person can do that would frighten me in the least, except if they somehow morphed into The Predator.
I started playing music but I wasn't getting tired at all because of the jet lag. What the hell, I thought, and hid my duffel bag and guitar behind some bushes while I tried one last time to resolve the predicament I was in. I walked to a police station, and they called all the net cafes in the area that would accept VISA. There was one. In Japan you have to pay after you're done using the room, and knowing that my card was going to get rejected anyhow, I took a chance.
Conclusion
While in my room I took out my USB and plugged it in. Ok its recognized my device. Now to see if Skype works. BALLER!! Now to plug in my headset and see if the line for Bank of America is still toll free.. PIMP!! While I'm talking to the lady from the bank, the Japanese woman who works at the cafe knocks on my door and says that says that I'm not allowed to talk on the phone. Meanwhile the woman on the line from the bank is thinking, "WTF is going on," while I'm explaining to the Japanese woman in Japanese my situation.
We compromised that I would talk at a whisper, and now the woman from the bank really thinks I'm crazy because I'm whispering to her my account information. She never quite said it, but I could sense the change in the tone of her voice that let me know she was basically telling me, "You are a fu##ing douchebag-idiot!!"
On the phone she says there's no hold or freeze on the account, and that the problem was that I can only withdraw $500 a day. Before hanging up the phone, I tell her to go screw herself for getting rude with me, leave my passport at the front desk so they don't think I'm leaving for good, and this time tried to withdraw about $400 from the ATM. I was playing it safe.
"Invalid Card"
Here's the funny part. Because I chose to withdraw an amount that the bank would let me, NOW they decide to place a freeze on the account. I run back to the cafe and go through pretty much the exact same process, tell the woman on the phone to go screw herself for getting rude with me, leave my passport at the front desk so they don't think I'm leaving for good, and withdrew succesfully 40,000 yen.
All is well. In the future, before you go somewhere, always call your bank to let them know you'll be leaving the country so that they don't freeze your money. I've got a few hours on the room, and in the morning I'm off to Hagi.
Arrival in Tokyo at 5 PM. 2 hours until my connecting flight to Fukuoka. I passed a couple of ATMs but I figured, hey, might as well hold out until I get where I'm going. I use up 100 of my 500 yen to surf the net for about 10 minutes, and wait for my flight to leave.
Arrival in Fukuoka at 10:00 PM. It's just as I remembered. Clean as hell, jacked up hairdo's, and random bursts of laughter coming from groups of hot girls walking down the sidewalk. Now I decided to finally get some cash from the ATM at the 7 Eleven in Solaria Plaza.
"Invalid Card" said the machine as I tried to withdraw 50,000 yen. No time to panic yet. Just go to another convenience store and try your card there. Turns out that 7 Eleven is the only store that will accept a card with a visa logo so now I'm officially fucked. Hmm, just try your credit card. The interest rate for withdrawing cash is ridiculous, but I have the money so I wouldn]t incur any financing charges during the grace period.
"Enter PIN" said the machine. Fuck! Do I even have a PIN for my credit card?? How the hell should I know that??! After 3 unsuccessful attempts to guess the PIN for a card i didn't even know there was a PIN for, I fumbled through the change in my pocket and knew I had only one other option...
I called Bank of America from a payphone. I deposited 4 of the 100 yen pieces, my absolute last exchangeable piece of currency, and dialed the number on the back of my card.
As soon as the recorded guy started talking about this and that, I started shouting "Operator!! Operator!! Operator you bastards!!" It's only been 1 minute and one of my 100 yen pieces just dissappeared on the computer screen that tracks how much money I put into the machine!!!
My hopes faded when the Japanese voice came on and said something about "No money", and I didn't even get so much as a breath from a living person on the other end of the line.
Evaluate the situation. I had 150 yen in my pocket, about 2 bucks, so I walk back to the park near the subway to strategize. It was late. I thought maybe I should go back to the airport. I went to the ticket machine and what do you know, the subway started closing down for the night. "Last train!!" yelled the station manager. I decided I would change my mind about going back to the airport. How would that even help me??
All I needed was a phone to call my bank, or to hook up my USB which has Skype installed on it so I could call someone from my bank to chew them out. I went to the internet cafes, but they all looked at me like and idiot and said they didn't take VISA. I went back to the park and sat down. I pulled out my guitar and started playing a few melancholy songs into the night, hopefully to blend in with the atmosphere and appear as just another random, wandering soul in a park.
I had less than two dollars in my pocket, a heavy duffel bag with enough clothes for 2 months, and a bookbag weighing me down as I walked probably close to 5 miles. I thought I should sit still from now on. Any further walking was gonna burn more calories and leave me with a horrible choice to make. I could use that last change to do my train scam and make it all the way back to Hagi, or I could buy something to eat in the morning.
I started reclining in the wooden chair I was sitting in, resolved to the point where I knew I was gonna sleep in that park that night. Before I left to come to Japan, my girlfriend pleaded with me not to do anything which would be on par with what a homeless person would do, and i was about to do just that. Its not so bad, I thought. At least its Japan. Everythings cleaner here. Its not like sleeping in a park in America.
I found the darkest part of the park to lay down for the night. I began hoping that some Japanese wanna-be gangsters would try to mug me so I could beat the shit out of them and take all their money instead. There are no guns in Japan, and to be quite honest there aren't many things a Japanese person can do that would frighten me in the least, except if they somehow morphed into The Predator.
I started playing music but I wasn't getting tired at all because of the jet lag. What the hell, I thought, and hid my duffel bag and guitar behind some bushes while I tried one last time to resolve the predicament I was in. I walked to a police station, and they called all the net cafes in the area that would accept VISA. There was one. In Japan you have to pay after you're done using the room, and knowing that my card was going to get rejected anyhow, I took a chance.
Conclusion
While in my room I took out my USB and plugged it in. Ok its recognized my device. Now to see if Skype works. BALLER!! Now to plug in my headset and see if the line for Bank of America is still toll free.. PIMP!! While I'm talking to the lady from the bank, the Japanese woman who works at the cafe knocks on my door and says that says that I'm not allowed to talk on the phone. Meanwhile the woman on the line from the bank is thinking, "WTF is going on," while I'm explaining to the Japanese woman in Japanese my situation.
We compromised that I would talk at a whisper, and now the woman from the bank really thinks I'm crazy because I'm whispering to her my account information. She never quite said it, but I could sense the change in the tone of her voice that let me know she was basically telling me, "You are a fu##ing douchebag-idiot!!"
On the phone she says there's no hold or freeze on the account, and that the problem was that I can only withdraw $500 a day. Before hanging up the phone, I tell her to go screw herself for getting rude with me, leave my passport at the front desk so they don't think I'm leaving for good, and this time tried to withdraw about $400 from the ATM. I was playing it safe.
"Invalid Card"
Here's the funny part. Because I chose to withdraw an amount that the bank would let me, NOW they decide to place a freeze on the account. I run back to the cafe and go through pretty much the exact same process, tell the woman on the phone to go screw herself for getting rude with me, leave my passport at the front desk so they don't think I'm leaving for good, and withdrew succesfully 40,000 yen.
All is well. In the future, before you go somewhere, always call your bank to let them know you'll be leaving the country so that they don't freeze your money. I've got a few hours on the room, and in the morning I'm off to Hagi.
posted by Alex Cruz at
1:22 PM
2 Comments:
actual a real world traveler would know to do several things when it comes to cash
1) call the bank (now you know)
2) travel with american dollars to exchange for local currency at the airport to at least get you to your destination (even though the exchange rate does suck but its the minimum amount needed)
3) travel with traveler's checks in case of emergency
i just think its funny cause you always try to play the game of how "experienced you are at traveling" yet you forget the simple basics. oh brother. so much you have yet to learn.
the more you know.....
glad you didn't have to spend the night in the park though.
This would only happen to you. It is as if you will these things to happen to you haha.
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