Some useful links (in English) for Tsukuba's daily life use

• One of the best site that help you to travel in japan using JR

http://www.hyperdia.com/cgi-english/hyperWeb.cgi

The contents of these data are the present in December, 2006.
JR timetable data are provided by ©KOTSUSHINBUNSHA.
Private Railway timetable data are provided by ©JTB Corp.

• Jorudan
• • Delivering lastest technologies by introducing "Train Route Finder" - We believe that "Train Route Finder" will enable you to communicate more efficiently each other at the virtual spaces in the near future, just like a real train station where people gathers for making their own lives, environment and cultures.
  Mobile contents service for Norikaeannai is also available in English.
  http://www.jorudan.co.jp/english/

Maps:

A map of hospitals in Tsukuba included different types of treatments available there. Please, click to download the PDF file.

References:
- http://www.jistec.or.jp/house/daily_info/hospital_map1.htm
- http://www.city.tsukuba.ibaraki.jp/hp/e_hp/guide/hospitals.html

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Vocabularies:

In the following a list of some useful vocabularies that may be useful in a hospital
(Hospital vocabularies ver. 2)

Reference:
- Japan Health Handbook, M. M. Maruyama et al., Kodansh International, 1998.

Another list (especially for pregnant women) is here. This list is prepared by Tsumra Women Group.
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Searching for a doctor:

Do you want to find a doctor in Tsukuba who can speak your own language. Please click here.

Reference:
- TsukuBlog
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Searching for a drug:

A short list of the nonprescription drugs in Japan (i.e. available in the Drug stores) is here

Reference:
- Japan Health Handbook, M. M. Maruyama et al., Kodansh International, pp 257-261, 1998.

Before reading the above list, please consider the following comments received from a trusted Moslem medical doctor living in Japan about the nonprescription drugs

A Japanese driver’s license or an international driver’s license is essential for automobile use. You can drive a 50cc motorcycle using an ordinary license. An international license is only valid for one year from the date of issue. It is highly advisable for students to change their foreign licenses into Japanese licenses or apply for new Japanese licenses. (This is an expensive and difficult procedure.) For converting a foreign driver’s license into a Japanese license, the following items are required. A short test will be given, depending on which country you are from, and your driving skills and eyesight will be examined.

1. A valid license (used for more than 3 months in the issuing country)
2. International driver’s license (if you have it)
3. Japanese translation of the above license by Japan Automobile Federation or your country’s Embassy in Japan.
4. Passport
5. Alien Registration Card
6. 2 photos (3cm×2.4cm)
7. 2,400 yen for revenue stamps for an ordinary license (3,300 yen for motorcycles)
8. 1,750 yen when u have passed.

Attachments:

File	Description	File size	Last modified
Track A		80 Kb	5/3/2010 04:14
Track B		41 Kb	5/3/2010 04:14

Note: 1) Submitted documents are not returned to the applicant regardless if the application is accepted.
2) All certificates must be issued three months to submission at most.
3) All documents drawn up in a foreign language should be submitted along with a translation into Japanese.

Map links
Tokyo: http://www.intersc.tsukuba.ac.jp/image/tokyomap1.jpg
Mito:   http://www.intersc.tsukuba.ac.jp/image/tokyomap1.jpg
For more info. : http://www.intersc.tsukuba.ac.jp/01prospective/visas.htm

View Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau

View Mito Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau

• Kawachi: Although this store is not mainly a food store but it has a good variety of food items. Besides that it sells cleaning items, toiletries, kitchen requirements, school stuff, all baby requirements and pharmaceutical items. It opens from 9:00 till 21:00 daily.

• Kasumi: This store has a wide variety of food and drinks. Plenty of fruits and vegetables are sold here too. Meat products and chicken are not Halal. Few house items are available. This store is open 24 hours 7 days a week.

• Marumo: this store is very similar to Kasumi and has cheaper items. Opening hours are from 9:00 till 24:00

• Athena: This shop is just opposite of Marumo; it specializes in furniture and house items, the prices are very good also. It opens from 10:00 till 20:00 daily.

• Seria (100 yen shop): This is a big store with plenty of cheap stuff to buy. Many house items are sold, kitchen utensils and a lot of food stuff. It opens from 9:00 till 20:00 daily.

• Terashima: This shop is divided into three sections, one to sell 100 yen items, a pharmacy and house items from food to cleaning stuff. It opens from 10:00 till 22:00 daily.

• BigBen Video/DVD Store: This Video store is open 24 hours a day supplying DVDs, CDs, audio and visual.

• Jusco: this shop has a food section in its 1^st floor (open 24hr) with its 2^nd floor specializing in clothing items.

• Seibu: this 6 floor building has different products in each floor, 1^st; food items, 2^nd; perfumes etc, 3^rd; ladies wear, 4^th; baby stuff & men clothing, 5^th; music store, kitchen items, 6^th; restaurants. The department is open till 20:00 but restaurants are open till late.
• QT: many say this shopping mall is an alternative to going to Tokyo’s Odaiba; well it has many good shops. Restaurants are in the 1^st and 3^rd floor (3^rd floor only open till late).

• Yamaya: Just between QT and Jusco, this international shop has a variety of some foreign products. Shop time is from 10:00 till 20:00.

• LaLa Garden: this space out shopping mall is very popular for families, it has a huge baby store (Akachan Honpo), a cheap clothing shop (UniQlo) and many other shops and restaurants (no Halal food here, unless seafood). Shops times are from 10:00 till 20:00

• Days Town: Just 100 meters to the south of Jusco, this shopping building has a huge 100 yen shop in the 1^st floor (Daiso) and variety of shops in the 2^nd. Open from10:00 till 20:00.

• Hanamasa: This shop sells food items really cheap as it sells in large quantities. If you are a starving student or just want to save some money you can find your nearest store here: http://www.hanamasa.co.jp/company/sm/tsukuba-h/index.html , http://www.hanamasa.co.jp/company/sm/tsukuba/index.html .

• Hommak: This is a great DIY (Do It Yourself) shop. This shop has everything you need to furnish a house or an apartment. Its open from 10:00 till 20:00 daily.

• Kawachi: Although this store is not mainly a food store but it has a good variety of food items. Besides that it sells cleaning items, toiletries, kitchen requirements, school stuff, all baby requirements and pharmaceutical items. It opens from 9:00 till 21:00 daily.

• Kasumi: This store has a wide variety of food and drinks. Plenty of fruits and vegetables are sold here too. Meat products and chicken are not Halal. Few house items are available. Opens from 10:00 till 21:00 daily.

• Sanki: This shop has many items in very low prices, such as blankets, clothes, children toys, footwear and many more. Opens from 10:00 till 19:30 daily.

Find renting apartment through internet by  following this link

Apartment info new

Tsukuba University (TU) is surrounded with many residential areas with lots of different types of accommodations. These accommodations vary in type of building such as apartments or mansions which may include an elevator. For simplicity Japanese housing agents use the terms L (lounge), D (dinning) and K (kitchen) whenever a search is requested together with a number which refers to the number of rooms within the residence. Therefore a 2 LDK would mean an apartment or a mansion with 2 rooms and a lounge, dining and kitchen. A 1DK refers to a single room with a small dinning and a kitchen. All apartments and mansions come with a toilet and shower.

The rent ranges according to the location or area surrounding TU. As the university is about 2-3 km from the city centre, the closer you are from the city the higher the rent would be.

Parking is available as each accommodation comes with 1 parking per house hold. The charge would range from 2000 yen to 4000 yen per month. Certification from the police is required.

Kasuga: Located on the east and south side of TU, this is the most popular area for students looking for a place to stay. The rent starts from 25,000 yen for 1K to 55,000 yen for a 2DK.  Kasuga has many convenient stores which are open 24 hours. The hospital is just few minutes walk.

Amakubo: Located on the south west of TU, this is the 2nd most popular area for people searching for a cheap and to be in close proximity to the university. Rent is in the range of 27,000 for single users to 60,000 yen for family users. This area has more shops and plenty of convenient stores too. The hospital is just few minutes walk.

Sakura: Located on the west side of TU, this area is quite new and has the major supermarkets for your daily shopping including restaurants, video shop, pharmacy and a furniture shop. As it is a new area the rent starts from 50,000 yen for single rooms to 85,000 yen for 3 rooms. Small houses (detached villa) start from 60,000 yen.

The Halal And The Haram In The Private Life of Muslim

Resource: The Lawful and Prohibited in Islam , by Yusuf al-Qaradawi

Download the list of HALAL Ingrediance

The Prohibition of Eating What Is Dead and Its Wisdom

1. Eating the flesh of a dead animal is repugnant to civilized taste and is considered by thinking people in all societies to be contrary to human dignity. We also observe that all peoples possessing a revealed scripture have prohibited it and that they do not eat the flesh of an aunless it is slaughtered. However, the methods of slaughter may vary.
2. In whatever he does, the Muslim acts with a set purpose and; intention; he does not use a thing nor reap its benefit without directing his intention, aim, and effort toward it. The significance of slaughtering, which is a purposeful act, the intention of which is to take the life of the animal in order to use it as food, is to remove the slaughtered animal from the category of "dead animals." Allah Subhanahu wa Ta'ala does not desire that man should eat of what he did not intend or think of eating, as is the case with the dead animal; conversely, slaughtering an animal or hunting it as game both require an intention followed by effort and subsequent action.
3. If the animal died a natural death, it is quite likely that it died of some acute or chronic disease, through eating a poisonous plant, or other similar causes; hence eating its flesh would probably be harmful. The same is the case when the cause of death is old age or starvation.
4. By prohibiting the flesh of a dead animal to human beings, Allah in His Mercy provides source of food to animals and birds, who, in the words of the Qur'an, constitute an ummah (nation) like themselves. The truth of this is demonstrated by the fact that the carcasses of animals lying out in the open are devoured by birds and animals.
5. This prohibition encourages the owner of an animal to guard it from disease and malnutrition lest it die and be wasted. Accordingly, in the case of disease, he will be quick to seek a cure for it or will hasten to slaughter the animal.