Weekend Stupid Questions Thread – 03 June 2023

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.

34 comments
  1. Is there a phrase or common hashtag people use when uploading photos of foreigners?

    I was at a store with a friend, both of us the only conspicuous foreigners in the store. Someone took a photo of us shopping and I’m curious if it ended up online. Is there something like “people of Wal-Mart” mean posts?

  2. I’m a dumbass and while troubleshooting my mini pc that wouldn’t connect to the wifi after updating the wifi driver, I switched on airplane mode despite using wireless keyboard and mouse. Any secret way to get back in there without getting a wired device from somewhere?

  3. I’m finishing up work here soon and will change my work visa to a temporary visitor visa at immigration for some travel around Japan before I go back to my home country.

    Multi-tiered stupid questions:

    1. Is it possible to purchase a national JR Rail Pass without leaving Japan? My friends from abroad insist a voucher to receive the pass has to be sent to a non-JP address. Said friends can help send me said voucher if I need outside assistance.

    2. May I purchase it online ahead of my visa change? Then to pick up the Rail Pass after I’ve completed my change into tourist.

    Or will I have to complete the visa change first, then purchase and pick up the pass after the fact?

  4. If I wanted to move from Kobe to Kyushu with a couple kids and a dog, and didn’t want full power city like Fukuoka — nice at it is supposed to be — are there any particularly pleasant or charming areas I might want to consider? (working remotely, so need elementary school but not employment)

  5. Any network expert here?
    I have ONU router at second floor but all electronics device on first floor. What is the best way to connect then with wire? Wirelessly its affecting performance.
    My current setup is
    ONU router -> Lan cable outside window all the way down to first floor to -> switch -> PC, Ps5 .
    Now I have tv on another room on first floor, how can I get it wired? Add another switch or buy another long cable? Will two switch decrease in performance?

  6. do people really think matsuya is nasty?? i saw some guy say “how many times do you have to force yourself to eat there to notice the menu change” in response to a post about the menu. and a good amount of people seemed to agree with him. i still eat there often if im out of groceries or something and i think it tastes great. what do you guys think?

  7. Where is everyone buying FFXVI? I’m debating on Amazon since it’s the cheapest or maybe rakuten for the points

  8. I’m confused how kindergarten works here. When I was a kid kindergarten was incorporated into elementary school, hence “K-6” or sometimes K-12 for larger schools, minimum age is 5. But when I talk to people here it sounds like Japanese kindergarten is equivalent to an optional preschool or daycare that isn’t part of the primary education system?

  9. I currently get my income from Hello Work with unemployment insurance benefits. My question is do I have to pay income tax for this income? And how about health insurance? I couldn’t work for a month and got 60% of my salary from the health insurance.

  10. Can anyone tell me what it’s like transferring through Hong Kong airport? 🙂

    I’m going next month for the first time with Cathay Pacific to London. I’ve heard that Chinese airports are times a bit of a pain, but does that apply to HKG too?

  11. My wife just got her driver’s license! Any recommendations for day trips or weekend trips around the Tokyo area?

  12. Ffffffffff I’m trying to switch up the software I used to file US taxes – I used to do it through fileyourtaxes.com or Taxact for several years but I paid a fee every time, and I keep seeing people being able to do it for free so I want to get on that. I tried using TaxSlayer just now since a lot of people were saying good things about it – it seems like it’s working, but when I file as “Married Filing Separately”, it wants me to add a SSN for my Japanese spouse and there is no way around it that I can find. And so now I can’t proceed with filing the damn thing…

    Does someone know how to get around this, or have any other ideas for free ones that work…. I can get around the US phone number requirement for sign-up if needed.

  13. I’ve got OCN Hikari Fiber running to a Yamaha RTX830 with Virtual Connect configured…. Why the heck can’t I get more than 125~200 downstream when my in laws in the middle of the countryside get like 700 down with *Softbank*? Ugh.

  14. Why is “Gonzales” a popular Spanish-origin name in media? I see it thrown around often enough for it to stand out from other spanish names.

  15. I have a question for people working in Schools. I know that kids help to clean their schools here but I always assumed they would have a cleaners come through afterwards and clean for real. Judging by my kids white indoor shoes I’m not so sure anymore. They’re black under the soles and on the toe cap at the end of every week.
    I know this might be different between schools, but would you say that they usually have real cleaners also?

  16. Where can you find a good hamburger restaurant, preferably around Fukuoka, the American in me is craving for a proper hamburger that’s not McDonald’s

  17. Where can I buy small men’s suits? Looking for the size for a 15-16 yo boy.

  18. I’m in Northern Kanto and found a green snake in my garden today. Should I be worried? Are garden snakes typically harmless?

  19. I have a big heavy piece of furniture I’m thinking on selling. The last time I tried a recycle shop, they came to my place and said they wouldn’t take it.
    Do you have any suggestion? I cannot carry it myself downstairs for sodaigomi…

  20. How should I throw away a blanket? When folded it fits in a 30L trash can. Is it considered oversized or burnable trash?

  21. I know it isn’t out here yet, but I’m looking into seeing the new Spiderman movie in theaters. However, I really don’t want such a cinematic movie be ruined by Japanese subtitles or even worse, a dubbed version. Does anybody have any idea of a theater that shows the raw version of foreign movies?

  22. At Kura Sushi, there’s the prize game every 5 plates that get inserted into the slot. Is there a way to get prize credits for the red and black bowls too?

  23. Curious, are the people at the gym you go to friendly to one another. I used to go to Tipness and now I go to Golds and I’ve always been surprised at how unfriendly people on the gym floor are to one another. People who go to classes, they seem to become friends but on the workout floor I almost never see people talk to one another — and I’ve been there for five years. No one asks for a spot. Maybe a grunt of acknowledgment from time to time but not much else.

    I’m curious if that’s a Kanto thing or a man thing or something else.

  24. What do the red triangles on windows mean? Seeing that a lot on tall buildings from my train window today. I am it a simple inaka person can a city person please explain 😂

  25. Made Pokémon cafe reservations but I rushed through it cause I didn’t want to lose my slot, because I rushed through it I wasn’t able to buy any additional items. (They’ve been selling out within two minutes of opening up, it’s crazy). Would anyone know if I could buy the chef pikachu key chain in person since I didn’t purchase it when I made my reservation?

  26. Ah fuck, I bought a cooking thermometer from Don Quixote and it’s not working/defective and I disposed the receipt right after packing.

    Is don quixote strict on that kind of stuff?

  27. I’m planning to move together with my Japanese boyfriend. My job has yet to start so I’d be the one looking for an apartment. But because of salary benefits, we’ll rent under the name of my boyfriend.

    Would it be weird/lead to problems to go to a rental agency but being like btw I’m not the one signing? Also, can we expect the typical gaijin rejection if I’m looking for the apartment but not the one signing?

  28. Where can I go to see success stories of non-Japanese people who have settled in Japan and made a place where they’re a contributing member of society? I’m especially after stories of people who figured out how to fit in without conforming, people who made success around authentically maintaining some aspects of their identity without having to play the role of the nail that gets hammered down or playing “the panda act”. Especially people who leveraged their authentic identity and skills from before Japan into a livelihood.

  29. Has anyone renewed or changed their visa recently in Tokyo? How long was the processing time?

    Applying for new jobs and figuring out the timing is giving me a headache when I have to consider bureaucracy. I’m trying to get things sorted out before Obon.

  30. I got caught up in todays travel delays going down from Tokyo to Hyogo. Instead of swallowing my ticket at the end, it got spit back out with “輸障” printed on it. I originally wasn’t expecting a refund (it was a non-reserved” seat after all), but I can’t get a clear answer anywhere. Some people (searching through Japanese Twitter mainly) suggest you can get a refund, others say no, others say you need to prove your the specific train you boarded was 2hr+ late (mine wasn’t). Anyone on here with experience?

    In any case I’ll stop by the station tomorrow to ask.

  31. Was looking at a round trip flight to Seoul… 70,000 yen from Tokyo. Okay, I’ll stick to domestic… 60,000 yen for Fukuoka. Just for fun I tried Taipei… 140000 yen! What’s going on? I went to Seoul at Christmas for less than 30,000 yen. Yes it was cold and less desirable but it was also winter break. Was searching a few weeks from now in June. Is that the issue? TIA

  32. What’s the point of Prime shipping if they don’t even bother starting the shipping process for a few days?

    I know there was a typhoon but damn, I ordered a bunch of stuff on prime a few days ago for my business trip but nothing will arrive until after I get back

  33. How great is Prime shipping? Everything I’ve ordered recently has come same day. Even heavy rain day.

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