Do My Bank Books Hate Me?

I was actually about to blog about Tosu Premium Outlets today, but then this happened.

When I say this I mean to say that I had to get a new bankbook. This makes it my fourth bank book, and I'm only entering my third year here.

Now, these bank books are insanely useful. I didn't use them very often in TUFS, but since I moved to Fukuoka and started to pay things through my bank account, I've found them to be very helpful in tracking my spending habits. Withdrawing money through the ATM card is convenient, but it doesn't tell you if you're withdrawing money too frequently, or if there are other purchases you made but forgot about.

And for some reason, ever since I moved here, I've had three bank books die on me. It appears that something went wrong with their magnetic strip at the back of the book.

So, for all of you living in Japan (and all of you to come), here is the advice that I've gotten from the people at the Yuuchou bank:

• Don't put two or more bankbooks together. Apparently the magnetic strip is very sensitive and the fiction can spoilt it. 
• In that vein, placing pieces of paper (like receipts) and such with your bank book is also a rather bad idea. 
• In fact, you should totally keep it in the plastic case they gave you. 
• And because these magnetic strips are so sensible, don't keep them in your bag with your handphone for long periods of time. Apparently the handphone will ruin your magnetic strip. 

Now that I know all this, here's to hoping that my fourth bank book will last much longer than the previous three. 

Misc. News.

1) +InasWH, my junior studying at TUFS now has made a video about studying in TUFS. For all your prospective scholars curious about MEXT/TUFS, you should definitely go watch it!

2) Today is commonly celebrated as International Labour Day, but you might not know that this is the day that Minamata disease was officially diagnosed (the things I learn in the doctor's office). Minamata disease, if you didn't know, is one of the four big pollution diseases of Japan and came about due to companies not caring about the environment. If you're ever in Kumamoto and near Minamata, you should go to the Minamata Disease Municipal Museum. If you're not, well, I did transcribe an account that I heard from a survivor. You can find it here. Let me warn you though, I only transcribed it, which means the grammar is a little choppy.