Paying Up Front

So here's the scenario: Your school took care of your shinkansen ticket and room reservation for that upcoming conference (sometimes without even talking to you first!), and then asks you for money. Or, without giving you a single yen, they ask you to take care of it all yourself. Or perhaps one day someone at your school comes up to you and asks you to pay 50,000 yen for that conference you attended months and months ago. Either way, you're probably wondering why you are paying out of your own pocket, when you're sure that your Contracting Organization is supposed to cover it. Well, here's your answer!

What is this "Paying Up Front" Nonsense?
In Japan (or at least on the JET Programme), this is very common. The bills need to be paid before the funding comes through, and the employee is the one that has to foot the bill for the time being. Or, sometimes you get a little extra with your paycheck, only to find out later that it was money for you to cover your travel expenses. When you see that you've gotten extra money on your paycheck, ask about it! Don't spend all your money and then find out you were supposed to use some of that extra cash to pay for your conference costs--and now you don't have any money to pay. The best advice we can give you is as soon as you can, set aside about 50,000-100,000 yen of emergency money (it's a lot, but better safe than sorry), so that when they ask you to pay up front for something, you won't be caught off guard.

Some Cultural Notes
Unlike most Western countries, you will often be paid a fixed rate no matter what hotel you stay in or what means of transportation you use. If this fixed rate is 10,000 yen per night for a hotel and you stay in a 5,000 yen hotel, you will be allowed to pocket the remaining 5,000 yen. Conversely, if you stay in a 20,000 yen hotel, you will be responsible for the remaining 10,000 yen.