General Discussion Thread – 18 July 2023

Mid-week discussion thread time! Feel free to talk about what’s on your mind, new experiences, recommendations, anything really.

30 comments
  1. Had an interesting three day weekend.

    Welcome party for the new lab members on Friday. Drank and ate a lot.

    Went to an exhibition that they were holding in a random AL Plaza in the asscrack of Shiga and found they only had like four prints of the artists I went there for. But the trip was interesting. I take any excuse I can get to ride local railways and I saw a lot of beautiful countryside. I also solved a problem I was working on on the way there. Then I ran across a random idol festival and won the top prizes when I bought Ichiban Kuji tickets on a lark. Way too happy about that last one.

    side note: damn Oumi Railway is overpriced or what? I can’t imagine taking that to commute! Round trip from the JR Station to one of the Oumi hubs is 900yen?!?!

    Then I went to the Gion Festival yama procession yesterday and it was SWELTERING. I can’t imagine being one of the participants in this heat. It was nice going once but I don’t think I’ll ever do that again. There was a non-insignificant number of Japanese people literally PUSHING people out of the way so they can follow whatever yama they were following? idk.

    The friend I went with took me to a Sichuan restaurant in the middle of a random Fushimi residential neighborhood and immediately upon walking in I could only hear Chinese being spoken. That shit was BOMB.

    oh yeah, also finally found decent (Western style) pickles in Seijo Ishii. They’re not *great*, but decent, which is far more than I can say for every other local brand I’ve found here.

  2. I got elbow checked between the shoulder blades. I understand it’s crowded, but there’s no reason to go WWE style so early in the morning!

  3. Aeon Mall had a nice mens parasol section with some cool designs.

    After payday it might be time, I shall become a 日傘男子.

  4. Remember the mask shortages during the early days of Covid? I do.

    Anyway, I needed some workman’s gloves a while back. Now where do I keep those? In helmet, together with other stuff I used cleaning up after 3/11 and various other disasters here. Found the gloves I needed, and…about 20 masks. Was putting it away when I suddenly realized “I had those all the time! When my stupid employer at the time mandated them and I was reusing and lining up to buy them!”

    I had a good laugh at it.

  5. The private railways around Kansai are all insanely expensive. Dunno why, but it’s just weird.

  6. What’s the purpose of the flat, raised part at the front of the toilet? As someone who doesn’t enjoy the cold kiss of porcelain on the tip first thing in the morning I don’t get it.
    Is this a common design in other countries too? Where I come from it just slopes downward.

  7. Kimitachi ha dou ikiruka/ the boy and the heron is… Weird. With some true wtf did just happen moments…

  8. I think I’m having middle age crisis lol. Pass my 40 and my Amazon car is dumb, I had a very expensive telescope, a furby? , swimming kit, preper kits…. And so many useless small stuff. Feels like my inner self is trying to find something every night before sleep buying random items on Amazon.

  9. Randomly came across a giant home center/hardware store about a 10 minute walk from my new mansion, which either didn’t come up on my previous map searches of the area, or I just overlooked it. I rode by it on a bike ride, then went back later in the day to check it out.

    Still only bought some basics, like laundry poles, new trash can, and a hose for the yard, but they have a big selection and I’m happy to have it closer than I expected.

    They also sell giant industrial sized bags of soap/detergent refills, in sizes I’ve never even seen before. I guess the shelves back in Shinjuku-ku don’t have space for 2.3kg of hand soap.

  10. Is there some part of the Japanese school curriculum where they learn that California is super hot? For many years, it seems like every time I tell someone I’m going to California for the summer they look at me with sad eyes and ask how I can bear the heat? I’m not going to Death Valley! For the record most populated areas in California are far more comfortable in the summer than Tokyo. The look of disbelief when I say I need a jacket at night in August …

  11. Anyone every day “fuck it” and just gone and did their own thing? I’ve got a family to feed but I keep feeling like “I could do better”.

    Obviously the big issue is gaining customers and being my current employer’s competition. I have nothing against my employer. Small business and all that but man I keep day dreaming about the changes I’d make and how I’d set things up.

    It’s way to risky to just up and quit. Especially since I don’t have the money to keep myself a float

  12. 2-year-old daughter had a fever of 39.5 on Saturday, then bounced back by Sunday morning and was zooming around the apartment the rest of the three-day weekend. At this point, weekends and holidays are more exhausting for me and my wife than workdays, and it’s not close.

  13. Strange question perhaps but here I go. As far as I know it’s customary here to take diapers home and dispose of them there (kindergarten gives used diapers back, I have seen disabled toilets with a changing table saying please don’t leave used diapers in the bin here). Fair enough. I wonder what the etiquette is regarding disposal of sanitary pads and other feminine hygiene products? In public toilets there’s always a bin for that but since Japanese apparently put a lot of emphasis to take trash containing one’s body fluids home I always bring a diaper bag with me when I visit someone’s home if I’m on my period and take any of my used feminine hygiene products with me to throw them away at home. Our Japanese babysitter unfortunately uses our toilet bin for that, does not mention it and it’s not noticeable until it smells 🤮 (we only use that bin to throw away empty toilet rolls or a floor wipe). Is this common etiquette here? Would this be ok to do this at Japanese family house?

  14. The heat is so severe that it cleared the food stain from my white shirt. I washed it two time once with machine and once with hand but it didnt go away. Lost hope and just kept it outside in the sun. After 6 hours or so the shirt was spotless.

  15. I need to get my tax certificates from year 2021. But apparently I cannot get my certificate for year 2021 because I didn’t become a resident by January 1st. Is there a way around this?

  16. I think my aircon is on the verge of breaking. Bad timing, real bad timing…

  17. Have you ever thought that the customers at Costco are a bit rounder than at regular supermarkets?

  18. Went on a solo road trip this weekend. It was very chaotic, but overall a good time. Ending up sleeping in my car at an expressway rest stop because I was just too tired to continue and it wasn’t nearly as bad as I’d expected. Now that I know it’s an option, I’ll probably be doing a lot more road trips.

    Also, if you want to sleep in your car, get a desk fan! Watched some car camping videos and they suggested getting a usb charged desk fan from Nitori and it was an absolute lifesaver.

  19. Husband and I started trying for a baby a couple months back. We have plans to move to Inaka in the next couple of years. So I decided to put my big girl panties on and get my drivers license. When I went to sign the form, there was a part in the contract that said I am not allowed to apply if i am currently pregnant, and when I do become pregnant, I must tell them immediately so they can cancel my application (no refunds). I did some research and it seems like all 3 major driving schools in Tokyo have the same rule, but some schools in Inaka have a “pregnant discount”. So here I am hoping to get pregnant soon, but also hoping I won’t have bad morning sickness so i can quickly get my license before it’s obvious.

  20. My cardio is improving but boxing in the summer heat is hell on earth! I feel like dying when sparring.
    Finished gow ragnarok. The Climax was underwhelming.

    Also what headset would you recommend for PS5?

  21. 2 months of wait for doing the driving license exchange é_è

    I’m glad that JAF translation is enough for driving legally during 1 year.

  22. Okay guys, help me out pls. Whenever my boyfriend has some food and I say “いい匂い”, he automatically thinks that I want to eat some of it – sometimes getting a bit defensive because either he already offered and I said no or because he just doesn’t wanna share it haha

    Happens with 美味しそう too. I can understand that people do sometimes mean they want a bite when they say this, but his reaction is kinda extreme, as if I had straight up said “oi, give me some” haha.

    I’ve explained before that me saying those words does not mean I want to eat some haha. But is there a stronger connotation here that saying those words generally means you want a piece? How can I get across that it just smells good??? Should I just not say anything?? Hahaha

    So, is this a him thing or a Japanese language thing?

  23. I barely ever play anymore, but I want the Pokemon Go Plus+, it looks so cool.

    Why I am tempted by things I don’t need…it doesn’t help that it hasn’t sold out anywhere, so I’ve seen it on shelves every time I walk into a store.

  24. I went from smoking to vaping and now onto nicotine pouches. I’ve been using them and snus for about two years now, mainly the Velo that you can get now. Imagine my happiness then when the local family mart(s) have started to stock them…except they’ve changed them to be fucking shit. Surely if you want to move your product from niche into the mainstream, you wouldnt choose that point to have it turn to shit?

    Also, dieting is weird. I had an easy month of it to start with and then hit a wall. Now I’m struggling not to eat all the snacks in the kitchen. I going to take a break and just try and eat like a normal person.

  25. So I’m really, REALLY sensitive to UV and have to start using umbrellas/the long gloves etc etc from March already. (UV allergy). But I still manage to get burnt (usually the area where my shirt sleeves end and the gloves start)

    Yesterday I bought one of those UV jackets from Uniqlo. I’m sure you’ve seen them. Just to try it out. ¥2000 doesn’t hurt me. The ones with the hood and thumb holes. Didn’t think it was gonna do much or thought it might get too hot.

    It passed the test!! I didn’t feel too hot wearing it today in the middle of the day AND my arms are not burnt at all.

    I highly recommend it to anyone who has similar issues with the sun 🙂

  26. So Yamato just giving up?

    Had one order from amazon form them they didnt leave a slip or call. Its back at an office so trying to sort that out.

    Another one, Missed a morning delivery, no problem reschedule for the evening. Home all night. Dont hear a thing, come and find a slip in the box. WTF?! No call, no door knock, no doorbell?!

    Really hating this company now….

  27. I wanted to get into the stamp collecting hobby. Hence was looking for a notebook which might be suitable for collecting them. I checked out Daiso and few other 100 yen shops, the no-line paged notebooks were too small or too big.

    Any suggest where I could buy one for the lowest price possible?

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