The deposit thing is getting better. The “rei-kin” non-refundable deposit is verrrrrrry slowwwwly being phased out and a lot of newer buildings (i.e. those owned by corporations) don’t ask for them. Privately held or smaller buildings still require them 90% of the time.

I just moved to a new place near Ginza and I paid no rei-kin (brand new building). Paid 2 months shiki-kin (refundable deposit) but that’s normal. Along with all other expenses (agents fee, 1st month rent, insurance etc) it cost me about 750′000-yen to start the new lease. So it’s still a complete bastard to move apartments but not as much as it used to be. And if you look around you can find some good deals on the newer buildings.

Agents still breaking renter’s balls on nonrefundable deposits and stuff? Is the inverted population pyramid beginning to increase apt vacancies in the big city?

No, seriously though I’m actually RIGHT in the middle of my move and I’m on one side of Tokyo and my Wii and TV are on the other side of Tokyo, at the moment. All my stuff gets delivered on Sunday afternoon.

Good luck with the new company, can’t wait to see what you guys create.

And I don’t have my crappy job anymore! Awesome! Nice to hear things are going rather well at your end of the world. Power to you, Mr Yongfook. It’s a brave thing you’re doing. Good one!

All is well in the world of Yongfook. Some of you had trouble understanding that I’m not really unemployed (by “some of you” I mean those of you who come here, look at the post titles, look for naked pics and then leave). I never was unemployed-unemployed, there was simply a 3 day limbo period between jobs where I had no employment. I had, of course, something set up - the preparation of which can be traced back by a good few months. I am now working at jonkenpon and have been for the last month or so. Jonkenpon - which, unless you are Jester to the Royal Court of Retardus, you will have worked out is my new venture - is going well and naturally I’ve been busy with the set up of servers, interviewing hot, skankily-dressed and woefully under-qualified women to be administrative assistants, and also starting work on our first couple of projects. Very soon we’ll be launching the Jonkenpon blog so more info when that time comes.

Other than that, things are also fairly hectic in my personal life. I’m moving apartments and have been on what seems like this perennial cycle of being introduced to really shit places that I thoroughly dislike, or being shown awesome apartments that I take 2 days to think over, decide to take, then discover that they were taken by some psychic fucking apartment-hunter about 5 seconds after I left the building.

Also, fueled by PS3 / Wii frenzy and being unable to purchase either (due to them being sold out or, in the case of the Wii, not even released here yet - whodathunkit, Nintendo releasing to the rest of the world first? Cats and dogs living together, mass hysteria etc) I, in a fit of next-gen gaming lust, bought an Xbox 360. And so far I’ve been pretty damn happy with it. Gears of War is a beautiful and awesome game, and playing online and hearing other players actually talking to each other is delightfully bizarre - and slightly depressing when I realise that all the other players are 12 year old boys who call each other “bitch” and have screen names that ReAd lykE tH1S.

Anyhoo, will be updating some…time…soon…