{"id":845,"date":"2026-07-29T00:14:49","date_gmt":"2026-07-28T15:14:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/ais-official.sfc.keio.ac.jp\/hub\/?p=845"},"modified":"2026-07-29T19:48:43","modified_gmt":"2026-07-29T10:48:43","slug":"sfc-survival-guide-student-interview-1","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/ais-official.sfc.keio.ac.jp\/hub\/sfc-survival-guide-student-interview-1\/","title":{"rendered":"SFC Survival Guide: Student Interview #1 (ft. Pawit)"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>Contributed by Pawit (Year 2 GIGA Student)<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Transitioning to life at Keio SFC as an international student can be both exciting and overwhelming. To help you navigate your first few months smoothly, we sat down with Pawit, a 2nd-year GIGA student who recently moved from on-campus dorms to an apartment in Shonandai.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Here is his ultimate survival guide on housing, city hall administrative procedures, banking, mobile carriers, and everyday grocery shopping!<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Housing &amp; Commute: Moving from Dorms to Shonandai<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Why Shonandai?<\/strong> While living on-campus in H-Village is convenient, moving near Shonandai Station cuts commute time to central Tokyo and Yokohama by <strong>20\u201330 minutes<\/strong>. Plus, you get direct access to gyms, restaurants, supermarkets, and local amenities.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Monthly Rent:<\/strong> Approximately <strong>\u00a590,000\/month<\/strong> (around <strong>\u00a595,000<\/strong> including utilities).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Commute to SFC:<\/strong> ~10\u201315 minutes by bicycle (approx. 3 km) or local bus. Biking is highly recommended on busy campus days!<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">City Hall &amp; Health Insurance Hacks<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Administrative processes in Japan are famous for paper forms and limited English support. Here is what to expect across different municipal offices:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">1. City Office Breakdown<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Endo City Center:<\/strong> Local and convenient, but staff support is <strong>100% Japanese-only<\/strong>. Best visited with a bilingual friend or an RA.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Fujisawa City Hall (\u85e4\u6ca2\u5e02\u5f79\u6240):<\/strong> Claims to have English support, but in practice, staff rely heavily on hand-held translation devices. Official forms are strictly in Japanese.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Shonandai Civic Center (\u6e58\u5357\u53f0\u5e02\u6c11\u30bb\u30f3\u30bf\u30fc):<\/strong> Offers English forms for basic documents (like your <em>Juminhyo<\/em> \/ Residence Certificate), though staff interaction remains primarily in Japanese.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">2. National Health Insurance Discount<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">To claim your <strong>student discount on National Health Insurance<\/strong>, you must explicitly declare <strong>zero income<\/strong> at the city office.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">The process involves visiting multiple departments within the city office to sign zero-income declarations and confirm the discount. It can be lengthy and confusing without Japanese language skills, so prepare your translation apps or bring a Japanese-speaking friend!<\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">3. My Number<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">You do <strong>not<\/strong> need to wait for the physical plastic My Number Card to complete most basic registrations. The paper notification containing your 12-digit number is sufficient for administrative processing.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">SIM Card &amp; Banking Setup<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Best SIM Option: Rakuten Saiky\u014d Plan<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>Why it&#8217;s great:<\/strong> Extremely cheap student rates, <strong>100% online application in English<\/strong>, and instant eSIM activation. No physical office visit required!<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>What you need:<\/strong> Japanese residence address, Residence Card (<em>Zairyu Card<\/em>) details, and a payment method.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Banking Essentials<\/h3>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\">\n<li><strong>First Bank (JP Post \/ \u3086\u3046\u3061\u3087\u9280\u884c):<\/strong> Most dorm students open this first because of its proximity to campus. However, it only provides a basic <strong>cash card<\/strong> (no credit\/debit card functionality).<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Recommendation:<\/strong> Keep JP Post Bank for basic cash deposits\/withdrawals, but consider opening an online bank account later if you need a proper debit card for online shopping.<\/li>\n\n\n\n<li><strong>Daily Payments:<\/strong> Cash remains king for daily small transactions. Use <strong>PayPay<\/strong> for peer-to-peer transfers with friends, and international credit cards for Amazon JP.<\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">Grocery Shopping in Shonandai<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Knowing where to shop will save you thousands of Yen every month:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-table\"><table class=\"has-fixed-layout\"><thead><tr><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Supermarket<\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Location<\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Best For<\/th><th class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Price Level<\/th><\/tr><\/thead><tbody><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\"><strong>OK Super (\u30aa\u30fc\u30b1\u30fc)<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Next to Shonandai Station<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Daily staples, meat, rice, drinks<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Very Cheap (~\u00a51,000\u20132,000)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\"><strong>Gyomu Super (\u696d\u52d9\u30b9\u30fc\u30d1\u30fc)<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Near Shonandai<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Bulk buys, frozen goods, weekly meal prep<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Great Value (~\u00a53,000+)<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\"><strong>Ito-Yokado (\u30a4\u30c8\u30fc\u30e8\u30fc\u30ab\u30c9\u30fc)<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Near SFC \/ Endo<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Convenience for dorm students<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Pricier \/ Smaller portions<\/td><\/tr><tr><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\"><strong>AEON Supermarket<\/strong><\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Shonandai<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Purchasing official Fujisawa garbage bags<\/td><td class=\"has-text-align-left\" data-align=\"left\">Standard<\/td><\/tr><\/tbody><\/table><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<hr class=\"wp-block-separator has-alpha-channel-opacity\"\/>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\">The #1 Advice for Freshmen<\/h2>\n\n\n\n<blockquote class=\"wp-block-quote is-layout-flow wp-block-quote-is-layout-flow\">\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\"><em>&#8220;Make a bilingual Japanese friend as early as possible!&#8221;<\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">During your first month, you will receive dozens of official letters and administrative tasks written entirely in formal Japanese. Having a friend who can help you read mail, translate city hall procedures, and navigate student discounts will save you time, stress, and money!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Contributed by Pawit (Year 2 GIGA Student) Transitioning to life at Keio SFC as an international student can be both exciting and overwhelming. To help you navigate your first few [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[54,68,75],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-845","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-giga","category-interview","category-student-life"],"blocksy_meta":{"styles_descriptor":{"styles":{"desktop":"","tablet":"","mobile":""},"google_fonts":[],"version":7}},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/ais-official.sfc.keio.ac.jp\/hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/ais-official.sfc.keio.ac.jp\/hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/ais-official.sfc.keio.ac.jp\/hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ais-official.sfc.keio.ac.jp\/hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ais-official.sfc.keio.ac.jp\/hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=845"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/ais-official.sfc.keio.ac.jp\/hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":873,"href":"https:\/\/ais-official.sfc.keio.ac.jp\/hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/845\/revisions\/873"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/ais-official.sfc.keio.ac.jp\/hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=845"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ais-official.sfc.keio.ac.jp\/hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=845"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/ais-official.sfc.keio.ac.jp\/hub\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=845"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}