It’s really quite easy, actually. I think NOT having 25 cent pieces makes things so much easier. There are 3 bills and 6 coins, whereas the US has 7 bills ($1, $2, $5, $10, $20, $50, $100) and 6 coins (1c, 5c, 10c, 25c, 50c, $1).

Here is the Japanese currency:

Another wonderful thing about Japanese money is that most places include tax in the price. So you don’t even have to sit there and think about what the hell the exact cost will be.

The exchange rate isn’t exact … Right now it’s about 98 yen to the US dollar. It’s just easier to round.

Pretty useful, imo.

Not much happened today. We went to the school at 10 to fill out some paperwork. We filled out papers for national health insurance, a copy of the alien registration certificate, and a form to open a bank account. After all that was done, we went to the president’s office, who rambled for a while. I didn’t understand anything except “benkyou” - study. I’m sure it was probably a motivational speech about how we will study hard!!

After we were all done, Chris, Chloe and I went to eat at the ramen place again. This time I took pictures – I had the same thing I ate last time: Pork and rice, and gyoza.

I also had some ice cream. This cost 100 yen, which is just over $1 at the moment:

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