My friend Koyama-san (rip) told me that when you shake the hand of a white woman, as you let go you’re supposed to gently trail the inside of her palm with your finger.
British people avoid using umbrellas because it cost £5 to have them rolled back up at special stores.
Have you heard any interesting facts about the Kaigai from Japanese people?
I have a Swiss and an Italian passport. The nationality on my residence card is Swiss and my Swiss passport is also registered for the automated gate at the airport.
Now, I plan to travel to Vietnam for 6 days for vacation, but found out that I would need a visa with the Swiss passport while I would NOT need one with the Italian one (up to 15 days).
Would I get in trouble if I use the Swiss passport at the passport check at the Japanese airport but use the Italian passport for boarding and entry/exit in Vietnam?
Anyone similar experience? Visa application seems fairly easy, but I wouldn’t mind saving a bit of money. Would you risk it?
Was on a fairly packed train the other day with the standard salarymen/women, families out for shopping, friends sitting together, etc. There was also a couple of yanki looking guys drinking beer and being a bit loud. An old lady got on the train, and the yanki looking guys had no hesitation and gave up their seats to her. It’s not the first time I’ve noticed a similar situation. Just an observation but it seems like the yanki looking groups seem to have much better train manners than the general Japanese public.
What is the opposite of eikawa? Like paying 1,500 yen/hr session to learn Japanese without committing to language school. What are some places?
Not gonna make a post to clutter the sub reddit so I’ll post it here.
Tldr; Gf is Filipina and has 3 years left working in Japan. I, American, about to leave military but want to stay with her. Would language school learning japanese help me stay with a student visa?
Hey all, so I live in Japan until October this year. October I will leave military and return home. I was looking through job opportunities for visas (because I’m a little over halfway done with my bachelor’s degree) and saw there is a student visa for language schools.
I’m jumping through all these hoops because I been dating my gf for 15 months. I love her dearly but 1) She’s has a contract 2) I don’t want to live in America.
I was wondering if I could learn Japanese while working towards my degree living in Japan? This seems like something that probably has been abused in the past so I would like some insight or rules I need to follow if I go this path. Thank you😁
Any other parents of hoikuen or yochien-goers being slammed constantly by all the illnesses kids bring home? Their school stopped mask requirements from April, and they’ve brought home no fewer than 6 colds since then, with two really brutal ones that have hit us back to back (human metapneumovirus that gave me double pink eye and mild pneumonia and some other really bad cold that caused a croupy cough and 40 degree fevers that made COVID seem like a walk in the park). I’ve caught every single one! It doesn’t help that both of them sleep with me sandwiched in as they cough directly into my face all night. I haven’t stopped blowing my nose or coughing for over a month. I swear Japanese viruses hit different.
Mulling over methods to get a DL here. Driving schools are a waste of my weekends when I need every possible hour of free time to maintain my sanity and pay off sleep debt after work. Accelerated programs that are 14 12-hour days of instruction is way too much for my brain to handle in a foreign language, not to mention intrusion on my sleep schedule. Split that into 6-hour segments and I would be fine, but that option doesn’t seem to exist nearby. I might be ineligible for JAF conversion (US-JP) since my original license is expired and my current one was an online renewal while in Japan, thus no proof of driving 3 months after that renewal.
So I guess self-study, take the karimen, driving test, then menkyo test and fail until I either give up or pass?
I’m thinking about building a PC, how the f do you know which case is compatible with all other parts?
would like to buy a stuffed toy. maybe a penguin or a cat but am open to other animals. any suggestions where to buy one?
Why do people indicate in their cars at the very last second here? They often indicate just as they are turning. Surely it makes sense to indicate a little early as a heads up.
my rental agreement has a clause that says I have to pay 2 months rent if I cancel before 1 year. there’s no way to get around that is there?
Got my residence tax yesterday. Came as four bills with different due dates. Apparently that’s normal for my city but I was curious if others have this system.
I can’t find my pension booklet. What’s the best way to get a new one?
Decided to test out biodegradable shoes but most of the ones I found don’t ship to Japan. Anyone here have any experience with any of them they might have found? I’m currently considering orba shoes from NZ but was curious if there was a local alternative I hadn’t heard of…
So, I need to get my criminal record history to apply for immigration to another country. According to this: https://www.police.pref.okinawa.jp/docs/2015030100406/ I would need a document proving the necessity. But the immigration application process is entirely online and there is no document I can use to prove the necessity. What could I possibly do here?
Just had my first bonus eveeeer
Needless to say that it is way better than what I was used to back in France (33% of monthly salary once a year).
Half will be saved, a quarter will pay taxes, and I’ll have fun with the last quarter yey. Planning on buying skis. And also on sending a big package to France for family and friends. I think it is costly.
Also did my first ever presentation to kokunai customers, in Japanese, despite being in this company for less than a year.
I thanked my boss to give me the opportunity, he replied with “you made it obvious that you well prepared for the presentation. Otsukaresamadeshita”. I think it is a nice recognition.
Edit: few co-workers also congratulated me just before we finish a meeting that happened to be just before I end my work day. What a great way to end the day. I feel grateful to be in such a healthy environment.
Hey so while driving Rakuten seems to disconnect from time to time which makes the whole GPS navigation go out of whack.
Thinking of moving either to Pavo or Ahomo – any recommendations which to pick and why?
Thanks!
🌺✨ my laptop stopped charging with an unsaved assignment on it✨🌺
the only repair guy who is willing to try fixing a Huawei that isn’t a Tokyo trip away is coming over to try fix it this evening so I guess I have an excuse to go to the gym straight after class today instead of studying lmao
McDonalds is raising prices in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya. I was so impressed that McDonald’s prices stayed the same nationwide, especially when they’re all over the place in the US.
There’s no point to eating at McDonald’s if it costs too much, so I wonder how business will be affected
[removed]
For some reason I’m having a hard time finding two things here in Japan:
– shoe repair, and I’m wondering if it’s my lack of language skills or if it’s not common to seek that service. I like doc martens but unfortunately the zippers haven’t been as reliable as I’d hope, and I need a full zipper replaced.
– I wanted to volunteer at a cat rescue (or any animal rescue, I love all animals) but the internet is nothing but tumbleweeds when I search topics around that locally. I asked some coworkers, and they said they only knew of one cat cafe in my city that offers rescue cats available for adoption.
MacBook’s touchbar died. I’m not sure if I should order one online and replace it myself or take it somewhere. A shop close by said it’d cost 2.5万円, but they don’t have it so it’ll take time.
Any places I should ask around Osaka/Kobe?
Got my bonus for the summer. It’s kind of depressing because even though it’s gone up significantly every year, because of the yen losing value compared to the USD, I’m effectively making less now than two years ago…..
Saw a bunch of Diablo 4 salt on r/all and it put me in the mood to play 3 again so I pulled out my Switch copy and started up a new seasonal character. The gimmick this season is really fun and has launched my character straight up to T13 on it’s second day. I could probably push to GR70 tonight *if* I didn’t have a work thing to do.
Did we ever get an update from the guy who was going to complain to city hall about the gang of ojiisan golfers who invaded the kids party?
Every year, every summer, I curse my sharp sense of smell. While on winter, I can smell the tasty ramen, satsumaimo, and the likes from a mile away. On sumemr, I can smell the stench of countless people from around me.
Heck, we went to a bbq place but before arriving, my nostrils got bonbarded first with all the BO around.
I know, not the right thread yet to complain. But really just wanna get it out of my system.
There’s a guy in my neighborhood that shows up on a street corner and dances. Maybe it’s performance art, I’m not sure. Whatever it is, I really enjoy it. It fits the vibe of the area. It makes my day better when he’s there and I’m a little bummed when he’s not. What’s a good way to show appreciation? There’s no tip jar or anything. But I’m all for encouraging the positive energy he brings to the neighborhood.
I cannot comment anymore in Mercari, is there a bug?
I’m going to Greece in august to stay with my friends in Athens. I want to bring them a gift and bring some stuff too for my friend’s elderly mother and sister. Maybe a stupid question but I’m looking for ideas for gifts from Japan that would likely be well appreciated in Greece, things that are hard to find there etc.
29 comments
My friend Koyama-san (rip) told me that when you shake the hand of a white woman, as you let go you’re supposed to gently trail the inside of her palm with your finger.
British people avoid using umbrellas because it cost £5 to have them rolled back up at special stores.
Have you heard any interesting facts about the Kaigai from Japanese people?
I have a Swiss and an Italian passport. The nationality on my residence card is Swiss and my Swiss passport is also registered for the automated gate at the airport.
Now, I plan to travel to Vietnam for 6 days for vacation, but found out that I would need a visa with the Swiss passport while I would NOT need one with the Italian one (up to 15 days).
Would I get in trouble if I use the Swiss passport at the passport check at the Japanese airport but use the Italian passport for boarding and entry/exit in Vietnam?
Anyone similar experience? Visa application seems fairly easy, but I wouldn’t mind saving a bit of money. Would you risk it?
Was on a fairly packed train the other day with the standard salarymen/women, families out for shopping, friends sitting together, etc. There was also a couple of yanki looking guys drinking beer and being a bit loud. An old lady got on the train, and the yanki looking guys had no hesitation and gave up their seats to her. It’s not the first time I’ve noticed a similar situation. Just an observation but it seems like the yanki looking groups seem to have much better train manners than the general Japanese public.
What is the opposite of eikawa? Like paying 1,500 yen/hr session to learn Japanese without committing to language school. What are some places?
Not gonna make a post to clutter the sub reddit so I’ll post it here.
Tldr; Gf is Filipina and has 3 years left working in Japan. I, American, about to leave military but want to stay with her. Would language school learning japanese help me stay with a student visa?
Hey all, so I live in Japan until October this year. October I will leave military and return home. I was looking through job opportunities for visas (because I’m a little over halfway done with my bachelor’s degree) and saw there is a student visa for language schools.
I’m jumping through all these hoops because I been dating my gf for 15 months. I love her dearly but 1) She’s has a contract 2) I don’t want to live in America.
I was wondering if I could learn Japanese while working towards my degree living in Japan? This seems like something that probably has been abused in the past so I would like some insight or rules I need to follow if I go this path. Thank you😁
Any other parents of hoikuen or yochien-goers being slammed constantly by all the illnesses kids bring home? Their school stopped mask requirements from April, and they’ve brought home no fewer than 6 colds since then, with two really brutal ones that have hit us back to back (human metapneumovirus that gave me double pink eye and mild pneumonia and some other really bad cold that caused a croupy cough and 40 degree fevers that made COVID seem like a walk in the park). I’ve caught every single one! It doesn’t help that both of them sleep with me sandwiched in as they cough directly into my face all night. I haven’t stopped blowing my nose or coughing for over a month. I swear Japanese viruses hit different.
Mulling over methods to get a DL here. Driving schools are a waste of my weekends when I need every possible hour of free time to maintain my sanity and pay off sleep debt after work. Accelerated programs that are 14 12-hour days of instruction is way too much for my brain to handle in a foreign language, not to mention intrusion on my sleep schedule. Split that into 6-hour segments and I would be fine, but that option doesn’t seem to exist nearby. I might be ineligible for JAF conversion (US-JP) since my original license is expired and my current one was an online renewal while in Japan, thus no proof of driving 3 months after that renewal.
So I guess self-study, take the karimen, driving test, then menkyo test and fail until I either give up or pass?
I’m thinking about building a PC, how the f do you know which case is compatible with all other parts?
would like to buy a stuffed toy. maybe a penguin or a cat but am open to other animals. any suggestions where to buy one?
Why do people indicate in their cars at the very last second here? They often indicate just as they are turning. Surely it makes sense to indicate a little early as a heads up.
my rental agreement has a clause that says I have to pay 2 months rent if I cancel before 1 year. there’s no way to get around that is there?
Got my residence tax yesterday. Came as four bills with different due dates. Apparently that’s normal for my city but I was curious if others have this system.
I can’t find my pension booklet. What’s the best way to get a new one?
Decided to test out biodegradable shoes but most of the ones I found don’t ship to Japan. Anyone here have any experience with any of them they might have found? I’m currently considering orba shoes from NZ but was curious if there was a local alternative I hadn’t heard of…
So, I need to get my criminal record history to apply for immigration to another country. According to this: https://www.police.pref.okinawa.jp/docs/2015030100406/ I would need a document proving the necessity. But the immigration application process is entirely online and there is no document I can use to prove the necessity. What could I possibly do here?
Just had my first bonus eveeeer
Needless to say that it is way better than what I was used to back in France (33% of monthly salary once a year).
Half will be saved, a quarter will pay taxes, and I’ll have fun with the last quarter yey. Planning on buying skis. And also on sending a big package to France for family and friends. I think it is costly.
Also did my first ever presentation to kokunai customers, in Japanese, despite being in this company for less than a year.
I thanked my boss to give me the opportunity, he replied with “you made it obvious that you well prepared for the presentation. Otsukaresamadeshita”. I think it is a nice recognition.
Edit: few co-workers also congratulated me just before we finish a meeting that happened to be just before I end my work day. What a great way to end the day. I feel grateful to be in such a healthy environment.
Hey so while driving Rakuten seems to disconnect from time to time which makes the whole GPS navigation go out of whack.
Thinking of moving either to Pavo or Ahomo – any recommendations which to pick and why?
Thanks!
🌺✨ my laptop stopped charging with an unsaved assignment on it✨🌺
the only repair guy who is willing to try fixing a Huawei that isn’t a Tokyo trip away is coming over to try fix it this evening so I guess I have an excuse to go to the gym straight after class today instead of studying lmao
McDonalds is raising prices in Tokyo, Osaka and Nagoya. I was so impressed that McDonald’s prices stayed the same nationwide, especially when they’re all over the place in the US.
There’s no point to eating at McDonald’s if it costs too much, so I wonder how business will be affected
[removed]
For some reason I’m having a hard time finding two things here in Japan:
– shoe repair, and I’m wondering if it’s my lack of language skills or if it’s not common to seek that service. I like doc martens but unfortunately the zippers haven’t been as reliable as I’d hope, and I need a full zipper replaced.
– I wanted to volunteer at a cat rescue (or any animal rescue, I love all animals) but the internet is nothing but tumbleweeds when I search topics around that locally. I asked some coworkers, and they said they only knew of one cat cafe in my city that offers rescue cats available for adoption.
MacBook’s touchbar died. I’m not sure if I should order one online and replace it myself or take it somewhere.
A shop close by said it’d cost 2.5万円, but they don’t have it so it’ll take time.
Any places I should ask around Osaka/Kobe?
Got my bonus for the summer. It’s kind of depressing because even though it’s gone up significantly every year, because of the yen losing value compared to the USD, I’m effectively making less now than two years ago…..
Saw a bunch of Diablo 4 salt on r/all and it put me in the mood to play 3 again so I pulled out my Switch copy and started up a new seasonal character. The gimmick this season is really fun and has launched my character straight up to T13 on it’s second day. I could probably push to GR70 tonight *if* I didn’t have a work thing to do.
Did we ever get an update from the guy who was going to complain to city hall about the gang of ojiisan golfers who invaded the kids party?
Every year, every summer, I curse my sharp sense of smell. While on winter, I can smell the tasty ramen, satsumaimo, and the likes from a mile away. On sumemr, I can smell the stench of countless people from around me.
Heck, we went to a bbq place but before arriving, my nostrils got bonbarded first with all the BO around.
I know, not the right thread yet to complain. But really just wanna get it out of my system.
There’s a guy in my neighborhood that shows up on a street corner and dances. Maybe it’s performance art, I’m not sure. Whatever it is, I really enjoy it. It fits the vibe of the area. It makes my day better when he’s there and I’m a little bummed when he’s not. What’s a good way to show appreciation? There’s no tip jar or anything. But I’m all for encouraging the positive energy he brings to the neighborhood.
I cannot comment anymore in Mercari, is there a bug?
I’m going to Greece in august to stay with my friends in Athens. I want to bring them a gift and bring some stuff too for my friend’s elderly mother and sister. Maybe a stupid question but I’m looking for ideas for gifts from Japan that would likely be well appreciated in Greece, things that are hard to find there etc.