Tech Trouble in Japan

Pamela Gudobba
Major: Japanese and Global and International Studies
Ritsumeikan University, Academic Year 2018-2019

Upon arriving to Japan, I had the unfortunate experience of having to replace both my cell phone and my laptop back-to-back. My phone screen short circuited for whatever reason, and my laptop was accidentally pushed off my desk and the screen was ruined. The cell phone was an easy and cheap fix. I just walked into Bic Camera, an electronic superstore here in Japan, where I was able to buy a sim card and a new cell phone for around $200… but of course I am now realizing it was a terrible idea to buy the cheapest phone they had to offer, and I am having a new iPhone sent to me by my family. You win some, you lose some, I guess.
My laptop, on the other hand, was much MUCH more complicated. For as many Apple repair stores as there are here, it took me days of searching online to find one that repaired laptops. And of course, the first store I went to didn’t actually repair computers like it said on their website. They were kind enough to give me the directions to another store that would, though. I made the trek over to the next store where I was assigned a consultant who spoke absolutely no English. My Japanese isn’t terrible by any means, but I had a lot of trouble explaining what happened and what I needed. My mom was adamant to me that I needed to get it fixed rather than replace it altogether. It was a $2000 MacBook so really, replacing it wasn’t an option if I wanted the same one. What the consultant informed me of, though, was that through the co-op at my school, I could get a discount on a new one, making it the same price as replacing the screen. He suggested that I talk to my mom about it, and if I still wanted the screen replaced, he would be happy to do it for me.
Well unfortunately for me, there’s a 14-hour time difference between here and home, so I wasn’t able to call my mom. I went over to Bic Camera to look at their selection of Macs, and found out that the cheapest one they had was $900 and was a newer model than the one I previously used. I sent my mom a quick “sorry, but I’m buying a new one” text and sadly pulled out my credit card. While the money hurt, I am incredibly happy that I opted to buy a new one. Having a Japanese keyboard has been especially useful.