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Japan ERA |OT| We all お箸上手 and 日本語ペラペラ in here!
- Thread starter Mailenstein
- Start date
Not really a travelling question; Will there be problem from temporarily change steam purchasing country? I came from a country with weaker currency from Japan and would like to gift a steam game to a Japanese friend during my short trip in Japan. I was unable to gift from my home country. What should I put for billing address?
Hi everyone. Does anyone have here ever tried to access their account in l-tike (LAWSON ticket) outside of Japan? I'm trying to buy some tickets but my log in is refused.
Looks like I'm coming back to Japan, this time to live/work there,
Hey guys,
After saving for a bit, I am planing to move out of my ex-school dorm and rent an apartment to move by the end of October.
I started my new job at the start of August and my work visa should come on the second half of September.
I've been using suumo to look for apartment around Nippori-Ueno within 15 minutes to the nearest Yamanote Line train.
And then I found a really nice apartment within my budget in Uguitsudani that requires to pay a month upfront among other things, I guess that the realtor wants another 100% of a month for the service and stuff. But I can't separate it yet because I don't have the money atm (I will by mid October) and I am really afraid that the owner doesn't want a foreigner there.
What would be the best course of action?
Any anecdotes?
After saving for a bit, I am planing to move out of my ex-school dorm and rent an apartment to move by the end of October.
I started my new job at the start of August and my work visa should come on the second half of September.
I've been using suumo to look for apartment around Nippori-Ueno within 15 minutes to the nearest Yamanote Line train.
And then I found a really nice apartment within my budget in Uguitsudani that requires to pay a month upfront among other things, I guess that the realtor wants another 100% of a month for the service and stuff. But I can't separate it yet because I don't have the money atm (I will by mid October) and I am really afraid that the owner doesn't want a foreigner there.
What would be the best course of action?
Any anecdotes?
I can't really help you except for wishing you good luck. Being a foreigner does make it harder to find an apartment... In my case I moved together with my Japanese girlfriend, pretended she was my fiance and signed the contracts in her name...
Considering it's "low season" for people moving into apartments, maybe you can find an apartment which takes less up front fees?
Also I recommend visiting a few housing agencies, they can usually see more available apartments than you can see online.
It's always a possibility, just have to be charming to realtor and have him/her try their best to convince the landlord. My current place first had a no foreigner policy, and I said please ask again, and they did, and now I live there.
Whoa. I never come to this thread, but hi, Sophie!!! I miss events like our Tokyo party!
Shinjuku small shops (west side, slightly north, close to the train lines, right next to the Uniqlo) were the ones with the best exchange rates iirc
hey all,
i lurked this thread a couple months ago after learning about a working holiday visa, and after finally submitting my paperwork i've been told to come back next week to pick up my visa (yay, did my application actually get accepted that quick?), so i figured now would be the best time to join in on this thread!
i've got a question for anyone familiar with the process: is there an age restriction on renewing your working holiday visa after 6 months? i tried looking for information on the internet but was unable to find anything relevant. for reference, i'm from Canada
my situation is that i turn 31 at the end of this month, so i had to get my application in before my birthday to fit into the 18-30 age range. originally, i was planning on staying in Japan for a full year, but the consulate employee was unsure if i'd be able to renew my visa once i'm there because of my age. all i was told was "it'll be up to immigration while you're there"
i lurked this thread a couple months ago after learning about a working holiday visa, and after finally submitting my paperwork i've been told to come back next week to pick up my visa (yay, did my application actually get accepted that quick?), so i figured now would be the best time to join in on this thread!
i've got a question for anyone familiar with the process: is there an age restriction on renewing your working holiday visa after 6 months? i tried looking for information on the internet but was unable to find anything relevant. for reference, i'm from Canada
my situation is that i turn 31 at the end of this month, so i had to get my application in before my birthday to fit into the 18-30 age range. originally, i was planning on staying in Japan for a full year, but the consulate employee was unsure if i'd be able to renew my visa once i'm there because of my age. all i was told was "it'll be up to immigration while you're there"
This is mainly a question for US ex-pats in Japan...I'm trying to come up with omiyage to take to my family when I visit next them next month. Are there things from the States that you can't find in Japan and really miss? I'm planning to get some locally made items like cookies, chocolates, soaps...but not sure what else. I thought maybe Jack Daniels honey whiskey since we live in TN, but I think you can buy that there?
Of course~ but it's all in what you miss, not what others miss. ;)
Or, what you miss but can get here (at import prices) - I often get certain cookies or cereal back home but they're 1/3 of the price so that's when I make use of my second piece of checked luggage. :D
Hi everyone,
I just moved to Japan for work a couple of months ago, from the UK. Just now I realize my Playstation account is in pounds so to buy stuff I need to keep using my UK account, shall I change to a Japan account? bear in mind that my Japanese is far from good so I won't be able to read most of the kanjis, and I need the games to be at least subtitled in English.
Anyone has experience with the Japanese PS account in this regard?
I have also a switch but in that one I have at the same time like 3 accounts from 3 different regions so is already a mess.
I just moved to Japan for work a couple of months ago, from the UK. Just now I realize my Playstation account is in pounds so to buy stuff I need to keep using my UK account, shall I change to a Japan account? bear in mind that my Japanese is far from good so I won't be able to read most of the kanjis, and I need the games to be at least subtitled in English.
Anyone has experience with the Japanese PS account in this regard?
I have also a switch but in that one I have at the same time like 3 accounts from 3 different regions so is already a mess.
If you want games in English then I'd leave it. You can still pay in pounds via credit or buy PSN cards if you need to.
Make a seperate JP account if you wanna give it a look, but I wouldn't expect English support for much.
I kinda didn't realize it was supposed to be a big deal lol
I mean I knew it was a big one but this happens all the time. I moved my bike onto my lil balcony and have done nothing else to prepare
It's the biggest one to hit Kanto in a long time, definitely the biggest in my 14 years.
Hopefully it's all hype.
Dayumm that was a rush trying to book tickets to the Nausicaa kabuki play. Only managed to log in a few minutes after go time and only first class tickets left. Twenty five minutes later all gone. I know there are scalpers doing this but luckily got mine before resorting that. Apparently a lot of them were sold to people with memberships and companies using them for gifts.
Looks like Japan Post has been posting updates regarding delays etc. related to typhoon 19 on their website.
Here's the latest one.
I just saw this, and chuckled. If he weren't permaed for excusing child molestation, he could've made Gatekeeping |OT| i'm an expert
I figured I'd ask here, and on Reddit too, about getting an internship in Japan. I'm a senior studying Computer Science in America (The college is ABET credited) and I unfortunately do not have any JLPT certification yet. My wife lives in Fukushima, and I possess a dependent visa with the ability to work 28 hours. Any information would definitely help me out.
P.S. I'm also planning on taking N3 in July here too.
P.S. I'm also planning on taking N3 in July here too.
You should never have to wander into the hornet's nest that is reddit's japan subs.
Not sure about the internship requirements, but a JLPT score above level 2 will make you more likely to grab an internship. Keep in mind you'll be competing with other potential interns with similar computer knowledge, and Japanese language ability. It's a bit of a rule of thumb that you need at least JLPT 2 if you want to do anything professional in Japan aside from English education.
The Japan subreddits are terrible. They defer you to the basic wiki all the damn time, and ban you for asking a 'common' question. Everyone's situation and wants/needs are different.
I have Bic hikari, it was cheap to set up and is super cheap per month
I'm guessing you're referring to r/movingtojapan, and I disagree 100%. If idiots are going to show up without doing any basic research on how to move to Japan—despite all the info in the FAQ/wiki—they deserve to get their thread locked or removed. People also show up with the exact same questions over and over again ("How do I get a work visa?"), and clearly don't bother searching the subreddit beforehand. Everyone's situation really isn't that different.
When people actually show some initiative and do research on moving to Japan, then ask very specific questions to which they couldn't find an answer for, r/movingtojapan posters are helpful.
The problem is even after reading the faq or searching other threads for similar issues(which btw, reddit's search function is notoriously bad) most of the time you still don't get any helpful answers, and everyone just seems contentious by default.
They just seem very miserable and cliquish on the Japanese subs, which makes sense because many of the members there are refugees from the absolutely miserable Gaijinpot forums. I used to be a regular of r/japanlife until I realized how much of mood killer it was on there.
The only one I know is IGN Japan's しゃべりすぎGAMER ポッドキャスト which has a mix of native and non-native speakers.
I'm not huge on the host but it's a pretty fun show and much more "authentic" than a lot of other podcasts I've tried. I feel like most Japanese podcasts mimic the over-the-top style of TV, and I hate it
Thank you very much, I picked that one up.
Podcasting doesn't seem to be that big of a deal in Japan.
I'm using UQ mobile because the big three didn't want to give me a contract. My employment contract only runs for a year (renewable).
I spent some time investigating yesterday and a bunch of the ISPs have cash back promotions this month. But man...those installation costs :'(
Yet to decide.
I generally tend to go through the FAQs and search engines to find information. But, I tend to have very specific questions that won't be covered by any of the stuff I looked at. I got banned in r/japanlife and r/movingtojapan. Which is ridiculous.
Much like Redeye97, I just started avoiding those communities.
Funnily enough....I'm trying to get my Japanese up to snuff so I can start a podcast aimed at the industry here. Though it might take a while 😅
After 5 years here Im seriously considering moving back to the UK. Just had enough of the work culture and rigidity of the rules/culture (quit one job because of power harassment that drove me to depression and the next job I had went bankrupt 4 months after I started and fucked over everyone working there). Even with no job and no income Im still expected to pay almost ¥50,000 a month in taxes, insurance and pension.
Im also worried about my daughter's education if we stay here plus the Japanese economy which will probably be in huge trouble within the next 10-20 years. Thats not to mention the natural disasters that could destroy everything we have in an instant with little to no back up from the government.
is there anyone else who has lived here long term that has had similar doubts but decided to stay?
Im also worried about my daughter's education if we stay here plus the Japanese economy which will probably be in huge trouble within the next 10-20 years. Thats not to mention the natural disasters that could destroy everything we have in an instant with little to no back up from the government.
is there anyone else who has lived here long term that has had similar doubts but decided to stay?
3 things:
1. Some companies have the installation costs, but if you sign up at the right time installation is free.
2. Installation costs are spread out over monthly payments iirc, so it's not like you're paying 10-20k out of your pocket at once.
3. Cashbacks are great (I think I got 40k back with my first Internet here), but remember that you usually get the money a few months later.
I live here because despite the high tax and other expenses, The cost of living is still significantly lower than where I'm from. The fact I can afford rent in a decent sized town and health insurance makes it more viable than my home.
Natural disasters are a fact of Life, and I've lived through Katrina. From what I've seen of disaster relief in both my home and Japan, neither are perfect, but life seems to move on faster after a disaster here than in the states. New Orleans and Puerto Rico are still suffering from the effects of their respective disasters, and neither are on the scale of something like the Tohoku tri-disaster, which makes why it would take over a decade to clean up.
The economy here just hasn't affected me adversely. If I layed down roots and started a family with longterm plans here it might be a concern, but economic stability isn't a guarantee for a good chuck of the world right now (hello UK), and a lot can change within a decade or two.
No argument over the bullshit work culture from me, though I can't say it's been much better in my country either. I guess I've been blessed with the employer I have right now. Leaving here because of the social structure and work culture is perfectly acceptable. Living and working here definitely isn't for everyone. Just hope you find better success and happiness in your home country if you do decide to go back. Hope its something your spouse is on board with too.
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Man, Amazon's switch to their own delivery service is the worst. What does next day or two day delivery matter, if they have some shitty unreliable delivery service that can barely be tracked, is often wrong when it can, doesn't let you change delivery details even just as it's been shipped, and can't feasibly be delivered to an apartment until weekends anyways.
I could buy things from Amazon when they shipped through Yamato Kuroneko like everyone else. Now that they try to use their own delivery trucks I avoid them whenever possible.
I could buy things from Amazon when they shipped through Yamato Kuroneko like everyone else. Now that they try to use their own delivery trucks I avoid them whenever possible.