Japan Diary - The day of the massive earthquake

It was yet another normal day. We got ready to go to office as usual. Since it was my turn to drop Richie at the nursery, I tried to hurry up. Usually Richie makes a big fuss to get ready and it takes almost an hour before he is tucked in his baby-car and is off to the nursery. But today was different. Richie willingly got ready and I was so proud of my young boy that I prayed hope he is like this always.

After dropping him to the nursery, I shoot off to office. It was a normal day at office. We were preparing for our big release in 4 days time. In the afternoon, one of our Japanese counterpart came in for a meeting and as Japanese custom goes they bring in sweets if they are known people.

He had got castella cake for us. As it was nearing tea time, we thought we would have a piece of the cake. I was enjoying a piece of the cake and suddenly the office shook. We thought it was usual earthquake which were experiencing for the last couple of years. We were cool. But it continued shaking and it increased in magnitude. We realised it is not a simple earthquake. Somebody has made the earth angry and it was rattling back. We held onto our dear lives.

The emergency door exit was kept open. We could not stand. Some rushed under the table. The things on the table started falling. It was the worst experience I had of the earthquakes. Though people were scared, they were calm. Even it was a first time experience for them, but they seemed mentally prepared. I saw somebody holding onto the printer and coffee machine and I was amazed at his bravery. As soon as the shocks died down we rushed out of the office with our little belongings.

We went to the nearby park where all the people had gathered. The phones were not working. Some people could access the internet and they told us that the earthquake happened near the east coast of Japan near Sendai and the magnitude was >8.5. Internet/Iphone came to the rescue. There was no means of contacting my hubby or finding about Richie. I was a little nervous but was praying that all were fine. After sometime there were more strong aftershocks and we could see the trees swaying in the park.

It was like when will it end. I was pregnant and was trying to remain calm as too much excitement is not good for the lil one. While I am writing this I am getting goose bumps remembering all that had happened. After sometime the shocks died down and colleague offered me a lift straight to Richie's nursery. I was lucky in one way.

Met Richie and I was relieved. I came home and saw that luckily not much damage was done. After I fed Richie, I remembered my hubby can access mails using his iphone. I had completely forgotten about it. I started my computer and there his mails were waiting for me.

Happy that we were able to get in touch again. But the day did not end there. There were a series of aftershocks. The trains had stopped. And the vehicles on the road were moving at snail's pace. My hubby came walking all the way from office and I was waiting for him with bated breath burning the lamp after midnight.

More to come.....

I am expecting the second one

Wow !! There is news. I am expecting the second one. I am excited. Time passes so fast. Just the other day I thought I was pregnant with Richie and here it is again. Richie toddling away and I am preparing for the coming of the second one. :)

Formalities after childbirth in Japan- Part 2

After the formalities at the city office are done, you need to apply for the passport and visa for your little one within 30 days after birth. We had found out the procedure for obtaining a passport for our baby. So we took the necessary documents i.e baby’s birth certificate, our alien registration card copies, our passport copies etc. and proceeded to the embassy.

Now there is one interesting thing which had happened when we were filling the passport application form. It is so fresh in my mind as if it happened yesterday. Richie was 4 weeks old. The application form needed baby’s photo and signature or thumb impression. Now the photo needs to be such that baby’s both ears are seen, fully awake etc. Babies are fidgety. It is difficult to hold them in one position. And Richie has the habit of sleeping on his side. So getting a good photo was difficult thing. I must say my hubby is very patient. He held Richie and even managed to click a good photo of him.

The work was not over. We had to get Richie’s fingerprints on the form. Richie’s dada used to come home late those days. After having dinner we decided to give it a try. We tried putting Richie to sleep first. After that was done, the thumb impression had to be correctly taken without spoiling the form. I was rocking Richie in my arms while dada took the fingerprints. It was not once but 3-4 times on the form. Sighhhhh. It was 2 am by the time we finished.

Next was visa application (residence permission) at the Immigration bureau of Japan. To avoid any penalties, you have to apply within 30 days, whether you have got the child's passport or not. Actually we did not know this as we thought we need to apply only after we get the passport and we crossed the 30 days limit by few days. They expressed their concerns as laws in Japan are very strict. Luckily the penalty was not too much. We had to provide our income tax certificate as well as the certificate of employment (COE) along with other documents (mentioned above). It actually delayed the process, which could have been avoided if we had done within 30 days. I am not sure if there is a payment penalty. If you have applied for a passport but haven't got it yet, take the document showing that you have applied for the passport to the immigration office. It is very important to apply for visa within 30 days regardless of whether you have your baby's passport or not.
Here is the Immigration bureau of Japan site link. You can browse to get all the details.

After all this is done you can sit back and relax and enjoy the time with your little one.

All the very best!!

Formalities after childbirth in Japan - Part 1

After 5 days in hospital, Richie and I came home. Giving birth in a foreign country, you have to abide by their rules. We were given a birth certificate by the hospital of which one side was filled by the hospital and the other was supposed to be filled by us and submitted in the city-office. My hubby went to the city-office with our passports, alien registration cards, mother-child handbook and of course the birth certificate. Our baby was registered and an alien registration card was issued to him. Also the city-office gave a official birth-certificate which will be a proof of Richie’s birth in Japan for years to come. An official copy of the birth certificate costs around 300-400 yen.

Now my dear hubby was smart. He thought of finishing all the official work on one day. He had National Health Insurance(NHI), so he entered our baby's name on to the insurance card. He also applied for "marufuku," which is free medical care for infants. That is a very wonderful service in Japan. You can go to any hospital and if you have the card, you can get free treatment for your child till he goes to elementary school

He also applied for the hospital child birth expenses (around 350,000-380,000 yen) which I had already mentioned in my post “Pregnancy and childbirth in Japan - What to expect”. There is also a child benefit programme . The Japanese government pays 10000 yen per month for the monthly expenses of the baby. You can do all this in one go. Remember to take all the documents with you. More about passport and visa in the next post.

Pregnancy and childbirth in Japan - What to expect

Pregnancy and child birth is said to be a life-changing experience for a women. Doing it in one’s own country is difficult enough and in a foreign land (for me here in Japan) where you do not even understand the language much, makes it much more difficult.

I decided to take up the challenge as I and my hubby are working here and wanted to be together during the delivery. Here are some guidelines of what to expect if you are having your baby here in Japan.

Once my pregnancy was confirmed, the doctor told us that we must register our pregnancy at the city office or nearest health center.The city office gave us a Maternal and Child health handbook (boshi techo), in which we will have to record the course of my pregnancy and the birth, prenatal classes record, as well as our baby's development and immunization records. This is a very important document and will serve as proof wherever baby development and benefits thereof are concerned. Along with the "boshi techo" is a packet containing local information, prenatal classes and immunization schedules. Also included are 10-12 coupons which will give you discount for health check-ups during the course of your pregnancy.

A prenatal visit to the doctor costs between 3,500 and 10,000 yen. Since we had the coupons it came out cheaper. We had ultra sound as a routine and was included in the fee. We also had HIV, blood sugar test, as well as Pap smear test. We had to bear the extra cost for these tests which was between 6,000 – 20,000 yen. Whoops, that seemed like a big expense for us. But for our baby, anything was fine.

The average cost for a normal delivery and a 5-7 day stay in the hospital with food included is between 350,000-850,000 yen, depending on whether you have taken a private or a shared room.

The city office gives around 350,000 to 380,000 yen as assistance for childbirth expenses as of January 2009. You need to apply for this aid at the city office with the boshi-techo and/or child-birth certificate, which may differ based on your locality. You will have to inquire at your city office for the exact procedure. You can decide to get the childbirth expenses amount in your account or directly pay at the hospital.
All the best for your pregnancy!!

more in the next blog...