Bi-Weekly Boss Premium Edition Questions Thread – 27 July 2022

As per usual, feel free to ask any silly stupid questions or not so silly stupid questions that you haven’t had a chance to ask here. Be kind to those that do and try to answer without downvoting. Please keep criticism and snide remarks out of the thread.

23 comments
  1. Can anyone suggest any hair clinic in Tokyo that really solves the male pattern baldness.

  2. I don’t own a TV yet, but Im interested in getting one to watch NPB among other things. My googling in English usually leads me to information on American MLB fans trying to watch Japanese baseball in the states through VPNs etc, which isn’t helpful for me as I’m in Japan. So:

    How much of the NPB is available on TV? Is it free to air, even just the odd game, or are they all behind a subscription TV channel? I don’t think my apartment has satellite dishes, so I assume I’ll just get terrestrial TV. I find the TV stuff with terrestrial/satellite pretty confusing in Japan

  3. Was gonna order something off Amazon.JP but then I found it for much cheaper on Amazon.US even with shipping cost applied. It says its to arrive by end of next week which I find too good to be true. Is this common for an overseas Amazon purchase?

  4. What do foreigners do when they see you in your city that you currently live?
    I find all here stare me down like I didn’t ask them permission to arrive or they act like they discovered this city and it’s theirs
    I only know one guy here who interviewed me recently but wanted to keep in contact, but just wondered how it’s been for everyone else

  5. I know it’s a debate as old as time but why do foreigners keep using Gaijin instead of Gaikokujin? Because it’s shorter and easier to say? Embrace the term instead of being derogatory? People who don’t know Japanese and think that Gaijin is the official term for foreigner because they see/hear it often in foreign places/sites?/

    I’m not gonna go full Karen if someone calls me “gaijin” but if a Japanese person called me as such, it’d surely be derogatory. Japanese people don’t say Gaijin unless in a shit talking way. I know if we’re hanging out with both foreigners and Japanese people and a foreign friend keeps referring to themselves or foreigners as gaijin, the Japanese friends kinda flinch each time.

    I’m not trying to start a whole “stand in arms my dudes we gonna stop saying Gaijin!” but I surely don’t refer to myself as such and no one else around me says the word, and I do try to tell my friends if they don’t know.

  6. Is it possible to change the name on my Suica commuter pass from alphabet to katakana without any official IDs with that katakana name (health insurance, etc.)? Alternatively, how do I register my alphabet-named Suica for JRE Point?

    The Suica registration form for JRE Point simply throws an error when I tried inputting an alphabet name. [The help page](http://jrepoint.okbiz.okwave.jp/faq/show/538?category_id=110&site_domain=default) says that I have to change the name on my Suica to a kana name at the station, which leads to my first question on how possible it is to change the registered name on a Suica card without official IDs.

  7. So what’s the deal with Pizza-La pizza dough/crust? I ordered one last night (hand tossed) and the crust was so weird I can’t even work out why. Almost like a Dutch pancake? Is it supposed to be like that? It’s diabolical

    (Apologies for the age-old jlife pizza question)

  8. Any other simple measures to take to dehumidify the house? Have the AC blasting on dry mode yet the hygrometer only went down a few percent after the whole day. Currently reporting 78% humidity with a ぽんぽこりん water drop character next to it.

  9. Does anyone else notice that on some items, the recent going prices for sold items on Mercari are weirdly more expensive then other internet shopping sites?

    Sometimes you can find it new for cheaper than the used price on Mericari

    Seen this for Computers, Pop Culture Items, Niche brand Clothes etc.

  10. Traveling back to the US and will be renting a car part of the time, using family car part of the time. Do I legally need to get some sort of car insurance?

    Edited to add:

    I have a Japanese license + international driver’s license.

  11. So I am heading back home (Germany) for the first time in 4 years – first time since I am a resident as well. I am a bit confused by the information provided online.

    1. It seems like I don’t need a pcr test to enter Germany, but will I still need to have one to board the plane?
    2. If so, can someone recommend a place for a pcr test in Tokyo? Also, how long will it take?
    3. If you are coming from a blue country there is no need to have a vaccination certificate or do isolation upon re-entry into Japan right? Just a pre-flight pcr test.
    4. I am tripple vaccinated. The international proof for that I could get at city hall right?
    5. Special re-entry permit I’d get at the airport, but where? Is there like a counter or will there just be a checkbox on a form while I got through the procedures?

    Thanks!

  12. Is there some kind of plant blooming now that smells like skunk and/or weed? I’ve been smelling it all over the place lately and since I don’t live in Colorado anymore I’m confused as to what it could be.

  13. thinking of buying a quality L-shaped table, around the same size or bigger than what you would find in an office. for work from home.

    any recommendations of where to shop? and in particular has anyone tried the more expensive selections at Ikea?

  14. Do people here actually know the names of all the prefectures and different things about them? My boss randomly gave me this pop quiz about the prefectures and I couldn’t answer any of the questions and he was shocked and said I had a lot to learn. I know a few but by name and not exactly where they are. I know about my prefecture a little and I know Japanese kids learn about them but I’m not Japanese and didn’t grow up here so… Am I expected to know?

  15. I’m not posting this on the COVID thread because it feels stupid….

    I don’t understand what does proper protective equipment mean in terms of COVID safety measures. Am I close contact or not? I did the research local and foreign. It all leads to this proper protective equipment thing. What does it mean? Do they mean the face masks because it sure is not so-effective? Is it really it?

    Someone at work got COVID and, that person aside, no one is asked to isolate. I don’t know why. Probably because of the vaccine. I’ve read that asymptomatic-vaccinated people aren’t mandated to isolate now at least by USA’s CDC . As for Japan, it’s still Japan. They do have the same criteria for close contact though.

    So, employees are still expected to work. I don’t feel at ease with this criteria. I use public transportation. What if I bring back COVID to the trains? …. Wait, what if I brought COVID to work from the train? @_@

  16. Looking for recommendations on quality 24/7 and/or international hospitals, the closer to Chiba the better but I’ll take Tokyo too.

    Not an emergency, but I’d love to have it written down.

  17. Other than the famous cat Island where do all these tame cats hang out? Seen a few of them youtubers who go around harbour areas peting and feeding cats. Near where I live I have hardly seen any.

  18. I recently changed jobs and apartment and now got a huge bill from my old city which I think is resident tax? Is this normal? (Like 120k)
    I think before it was taken out of my salary? I assumed it would be the same at my new job/city.
    Or do I have to pay it twice because I moved?

  19. just got a ps5, thanks to the YEN dropping.

    But it seems like I’ve been railroaded into signing up with a Japanese region, and language. (not that big of a deal) BUT, does that mean, games I download will be the Japanese version, and not an English version? If so, fuck, is there a way to change my region?

    (Switch doesnt have this problem, as if it’s available in English, you’ll be able to play it in english, even with a japanese switch)

  20. Has anyone here gone out with and/or married someone in their 30s or older, but still living with their parents?

    If so, were they OK human beings, or was/is there something severely wrong with them that they would still be living with their parents (overly attached, mentally stinted, dependent, etc.)?

    I know it’s obviously a lot more common in Japan to live with one’s parents longer than the typical westerner does, but it seems to me that if you’re 35+ and living with your parents, perhaps something is wrong. Can you prove me wrong?

  21. Does anyone actually like or see a benefit to having the “bathroom” sink of a hotel room in the actual room, rather than in a separate bathroom space?

    It seems to be the more common setup for medium range hotels built in the past 10 years.

    I hate it.

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