General Discussion Thread – 28 February 2023

12 comments

1. I’ve heard people said that some foreign residents in Japan may get hay fever after staying here for a long time. Is it true?

2. How do you stop the keep the smell from your living room when after cooking? I have the range Hood on high and my living still have lingering smell.
   Also my entrance to kitchen is too big for 1 door curtain and too small for 2… -.-lll

3. Anyone going to see Arch Enemy in Tokyo? I was thinking about going but they only have tickets for Friday left..

4. I’m actually kind of liking not using my heater. Bought a bunch of warm stuff for the first time ever(slippers, hand covers, hat) and wear it inside rather than turn on the heat. More comfortable to be slightly cold but warmly dressed than to have the stuffy heater on.

5. I was hanging out with some friends last weekend. There was a new guy there. He kept sprinkling in bits of Japanese into the conversation. It was *weird*. He would say things like “oh you mean that new bakery near the station? Yeah I’ve seen the line out the door. It’s really popular ね.” Like…what? Or “yes, I got it, はいはい.”

   It was a mixed group of Japanese and foreigners but the language we use is English. The Japanese people who are part of the group use English in their personal and professional lives. So he’s not switching to Japanese to make himself more clearly understood. It was just so strange to me. Maybe *I’m* the weird one here but were those little bits of Japanese really ねcessary?

6. I just had a class of special needs kids who freaking cheated at Uno. Never gotten so frustrated and confused at a game ever lmao.

7. Anyone owns a cotton candy machine? Any recommendations?

8. The end of an era: today is the very last day to buy multiple-trip train tickets on the Tokyo subway system, something semi-frequent riders have been relying on for decades. What you buy today will expire on March 27.

9. My girlfriend and I are very poor so her mother has offered that we could live with her for a while to save money.

   This is obviously an incredibly generous offer, and saving all that rent money is certainly tempting, but I’m also very hesitant. I like my girlfriend’s family a lot, but seeing them every few weeks for dinner is very different from actually living with them. I’m afraid living with her parents would introduce a lot of tension into the relationship and end up just making everyone unhappy.

   Has anyone done anything similar or have any advice? Thanks!

10. Sorry for a question but I’ll be changing departments within my company starting in April. I don’t believe I’ll be signing a new contract (正社員), just moving from one team to the other.

    In these instances, is there any legal requirement for when employers are to give me official notice? Or is it just “sometime before,” or “the day of” kind of thing?

    E: to add, I’ve had conversations with my boss about moving and it’s been decided I will, but due to restructuring in the company it’s not official on paper yet

11. Any Toyota Sienta owners? We’re about to order a hybrid which should be with us around June. Felt good on the test drive but would be nice to hear how people who’ve had one for a while like it.

    We prefered the Honda Freed initially but it wouldn’t arrive before our current car’s shaken in August.

12. Do any 100 yen shops sell a plug for a kitchen sink? This is like a basic fundamental thing in the UK, but it’s not popular here at all.