Getting a Bank Account
For those of you that don’t know, Aaron and I left Tokyo yesterday morning and took the shinkansen (bullet train) to our new home in Gifu-shi (Gifu city). Since arriving in Gifu city we have been dragged around to do multitudes of things. One of the things to do on the list today was get a bank account.
We have all accomplished this task at one time or another in our home country. It is usually a fairly simple task but does take some time. Getting a bank account when you are an alien in a foreign country is a completely different story.
First of all, everything is in a different language. Truth be told, I wouldn’t have even known that we were walking into a bank if my supervisor hadn’t told me. Fortunately, Takano-sensei, was there with me every step of the way. She translated what the teller was saying. She was even so kind as to try and save me some hassle and frustration by filling out the forms to open a new account ahead of time.
We took those forms to the bank, along with my passport, alien certification, my hanko (personal seal), and 1000 yen. We picked a number and proceeded to wait in line. Once our number was called (I had no idea that my number was called until my supervisor told me) we went up to the teller and handed her all the documentation. The teller took one look at my paperwork, said sumimasen (excuse me) and hurried over to who I believe is her supervisor. In hushed tones they talked for a few moments before the teller returned to us.
When she returned she asked Takano-sensei who filled out the forms and Takano-sensei informed her that she had. The teller hurried back again to talk to her supervisor. When she returned she had the unfortunate news that I, despite my lack of knowledge in speaking and writing the Japanese language, would have to fill out the forms on my own in Japanese.
Unlike the U.S. they do not send you off to another area to work on filling out the forms. Instead, you stand there at the teller station, while others with numbers are waiting in chairs. I stood there for close to 45 minutes, during which time the bank closed, recopying the forms. Many times I had to ask my supervisor to write the kanji (chinese characters) larger so that I could see them more clearly. Even with all of her help, the forms looked atrocious but at least they were finished and I was given a Japanese bank account.
As we left, I asked Takano-sensei if the bankers would actually be able to read what I had written on the forms. With a laugh she said, “even though it was horrible, they will read it.” And so, one more thing was checked off the list and one more frustration was surpassed. Thank God!