General Discussion Thread – 29 August 2023

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

7 comments
  1. I’m trying to promote the English book collection I got for my local library so I’ll be reading English books at some events. Somehow that got turned into “hey can you translate Momotaro and read it in English?”

    I mean, it’s the right spirit, but it’s not the English books and also there are many professional translations 😂. Anyway, I’ll be spending my week translating Momotaro it looks like.

  2. I’ve got some airline miles to burn through and I’m going to fly for 3-4 days using the TokuTabi promotion on ANA.

    I haven’t traveled much outside the major cities in JP (Osaka, Nagoya, Sapporo, Okinawa, etc.)

    Can anyone recommend any of the below?

    * Hachijojima
    * Akita
    * Toyama
    * Odate Noshiro
    * Yonago
    * Hagi Iwami
    * Matsuyama
    * Kochi
    * Kitakyushu
    * Miyazaki
    * Kagoshima

    I’m pretty amenable in terms of stuff. I like the outdoors, cities are cool, good food, nightlife, whatever. Just looking for a cool place to spend a few days.

  3. Sitting at a nice bakery, enjoying a iced royal milk tea. There is a looped recording that repeats every 20 seconds… did the math and someone working there the full day would hear the same thing 2340 times. Multiply that by how many days a week they work there…

    What is the intended psychological effect?

  4. Had a wonderful off week last week. Spent few days in in-laws inaka. I drove their manual ケートラ, first time I drove in Japan since 2014, and had not driven in general since last year. I’m kinda chill driver but I love driving, enjoying nature scenery etc. So it was real fun. Partner went away for a day with parent, so I went for a small hike but I was not ready for the beasts (enormous big cat, beige color, that I saw few seconds it ran away), the spiders, the noises everywhere (French mountains are way more silents) Plus it felt like no one went around for months, all additioned made me go back after 30 min hike but it was still great.

    https://preview.redd.it/avlinsotl0lb1.jpeg?width=3000&format=pjpg&auto=webp&s=6eedc790d1d6fd2be6c868cc184c63fd9917978e

    Then chill back home. Then a bit of a hike around Kamakura.

    Although I enjoy my work, and although my work conditions are way better than the average, it is still a bit of a trauma to go back to work. I’m really weak to stress.

  5. Anyone read the Bloomberg article today on the Yen, Goldman predicting a new 30 year low soon with very little likelihood of a return anytime soon under the BOJ’s current policies? Very depressing for someone earning in Yen but wanting to invest and ultimately relocate back home…

  6. I (briefly) met the Emperor and his wife. They came to zoo and I sheared a sheep while they watched, I’d already been told by everybody not to approach them or try to talk to them, but at the end they had some questions about farming so I got called over to answer them. I never had any ambition to meet any royalty, but still kind of buzzing, things like that don’t really happen for people like me. (I’m well aware “I met a famous person” is an uncool thing to brag about, but it’s one of the weirdest things to ever happen to me)

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