Thanks for the tip!  I will check it out.  

I really appreciate all the help everyone is offering, it really helps
to be able to tap the brains of people who have already been there.

I am also looking for information on ISPs-- I would love to hear from
anyone who uses "gol" for broadband internet access.  I am strongly
considering using them, and could use any information on pricing or
services that anyone can offer.

Also, I am leaning toward getting a "J-phone" after receiving numerous
recommendations.  Does anyone have any experience with using them?  I
am looking to get good-to-adequate service, for prices comparable to
the U.S.

Finally, I have heard that opening a bank account in Japan is very
difficult.  Does anyone have any information regarding the documents
or fees that are needed to open a bank account in Japan?

Thanks, I'm sorry if you have heard these questions a million times
before, but they are important to me and would make my passage to
Japan a lot easier.

worthj1970@yahoo.com (John W.) wrote in message news:<73fde4f0.0307191803.1aa69c61@posting.google.com>...
> larry_fitzsimmons@hotmail.com (Larry Fitzsimmons) wrote in message news:<ecd56b51.0307181111.688a36c5@posting.google.com>...
> 
> > 
> > Thanks a lot, I'd appreciate any help anyone can offer.
> 
> If you go to www.newsonjapan.com, in addition to news the left side
> menus have tons of links to just about everything you need.
> Apartments, nightlife, restaurants, cars, etc. It's fairly
> comprehensive; there might be better databases out there, but I like
> this one.
> 
> John W.