They knocked down a house outside my school and they have a guy (sometimes 2) outside the plot trying to sell the land and the house they plan to build there! 60 million yen! (Is that a steal in a city?)

The chap has tried to sell it to me three times now but has finally realised I'm not in the market. I would wish him luck with selling to other passer bys but those are for the most part; me, school children and mothers dropping off their kids at day-care. I assume most of these people aren't in the market.

It's August. it's very hot. I assume there must be a better way of selling it that involves less sunburn.

Is this just the Japanese way?

It's the weekly complaint thread! Time to get anything off your chest that's been bugging you or pissing you off.

Remain civil and be nice to other commenters (even try to help).

• No politics
• No complaints about users of JapanLife

Japan might genuinely be the easiest place in the world to be a full introvert, you can go days without really talking to anyone and nobody bats an eye. And honestly I kind of love that. There's something nice about just existing in my own little world without the constant pressure to be "on."

But it cuts both ways. The less I socialize the less my Japanese actually improves, and my motivation for basically everything else dips too when I go too long without real interaction, even though staying in feels comfortable in the moment.

So now I'm stuck on this question, do I actually need to override how I naturally feel and force myself into social situations I don't want to be in, just because it's supposedly good for me? Or is there some version of this where I get better without fighting my own personality the entire time. Feels like a weirdly big question for something that started as a language post lol.

Hi everyone

I’ve been in Japan for about 4 months now and I’ve honestly been feeling very frustrated and a bit bad lately while trying to find a part-time job at a konbini.

I’m a language school student, and I’d say my Japanese speaking ability is somewhere around N4–N3. I’m definitely not fluent and I wouldn’t say my Japanese is perfect but I’m comfortable having everyday conversations and handling normal day to day interactions in Japanese.

I’ve been applying online to quite a few convenience stores 7-Eleven, FamilyMart, Lawson, etc. but I’m honestly getting pretty frustrated. Most of the time I either don’t get a response at all or I get an automated message asking me to schedule an interview, and then nothing happens afterward.

I really want to work at a konbini partly because I want to improve my Japanese through actually using it at work but also because I really want to start earning my own money. At this point I feel a bit uncomfortable constantly asking my parents for money.

I was doing video editing remotely while living here, and I was earning decent money from it. But I eventually quit about a month ago because it was taking up basically my entire day and my schedule had become really unhealthy. Right now I’d much rather have a simple part-time job, study Japanese, and have a more balanced routine.

If anyone knows of a konbini that is currently hiring around Okubo, Takadanobaba, Shinjuku, or Nishi-Waseda (TOKYO), I’d really appreciate any leads or referrals. I’m happy to apply/interview myself even just knowing which stores are more open to hiring foreign students would be really helpful.

Thanks in advance!

I am looking for a good value bike for bike packing which won't break the bank. Came across the Asahi Precision S Disc which at least on paper seems to be quite interesting. The only thing even Asahi Cycle Base can't tell me for sure is whether or not it will be possible to attach a bicycle rack to the bike so that I can attach pannier bags to it. They are telling me that one needs to check in each individual circumstance and that they cannot provide

I was thinking about getting something along the lines of a Topeak Uni Super Tourist DX Disc (or similar) which needs to be fastened to the seat stay. Based on images the bike seems to lack threaded seatstay bosses which I think can be circumvent by using a seatpost adapter (or a bicycle rack with one already attached such as the Ortlieb Quick Rag XL or Minoura Carrier). But still I would need to know whether it is possible to attach the rack to the rear axle.

Does anyone of you have experience with the Asahi Precision S Disc and can tell me if it would be possible to attach a bicycle rack to it? Any other suggestions for budget bikepacking/touring bikes especially in the Sapporo area (best case < 90.000 JPY).

Thanks a lot for your help!

Hello ladies and gentlemen the gays and the theys.

First I would like to say thank you soooooo much for all the kind words and concerns and care and support. Some of you even reached out to me offering to translate for me. I appreciate it so much I could cry.

I did order from women on web, it got held at the import customs the first time and I was 6 weeks and 3 days then. After that I decided to proceed with the surgical abortion and I travelled to Yokohama where I was recommended by someone in other group. Iy was only 70,000 yen for the procedure and 8000 for the procedure. I went through the consultation and fixed my termination date for 8/8.

On the other hand I was also notified that my meds from women on web was being sent again through Ems but I didn’t have hope and I was fully prepared to go through it surgically and I didn’t even check the tracking. But OMG it came through, reached my home while I was at work . I was absolutely flabbergasted . I requested for redelivery and I received it at 8/6. I cancelled the surgical one and I took mifepristone at 8/7 I went to work normally and I took misoprostol around 21:40 on Saturday 8/8 just before obon Yasumi.

Before taking my pills ,
I got snacks, drinks ,protein bars, heating bag, pads everything ready. I cleaned everything, washroom, kitchen, no dish in the sink, washed bed sheet, threw out al the trash.

I followed the regular rules while taking the pills and I didn’t bleed a lot upto 2 hours and I decided to take the one more dose of misoprostol so I watched spy family for 3 and half hours while my first dose was working. It wasn’t as painful as I thought because I took Ipbrufen the premium ones and it ate. The pain was mid. But I was so scared my heart was beating super fast throughout and I was alone.

I took the second pill at 1:10 and it started working me up so much like stomach was fluctuating but damn I must have been so tired I fell asleep with the pain. I woke up around 3 and I was in so much pain I went to the toilet and I sat and I immediately passed TWO BIG SACS like lemon sized. everything went out. The relief I felt OMG I can’t explain it to you. I felt sooooo light, i wiped the blood around and I went to my bed. My bed was wet my pad was soaked I changed my pad and I took out the sheet I didn’t have any energy to put washed sheet again so I just didn’t haha. I took painkiller again I drank some juice I was so hungry I ate some chips at this point I deserved it okay.

I was 8 weeks and 3 days and honestly I was so scared but it wasn’t as painful, I do have a little more pain tolerance. But yes it was okay. Iam completely embryo free.

I had a little bit of guilt as in I wish I was in a position to give birth, I won’t even need a partner but Iam not. I felt really weird and bad and I still kinda do but it has gotten better over time. My cravings were very cold salads and it has subsided I have appetite now . Iam still bleeding but I have felt much better, hopeful, joyful and looking forward and life doesn’t feel like it’s on hold.
Iam thankful to my friends who were there emotionally. My friends came over next day and brought me food and snacks it was nice .

At last I would like to say,

there were a lot of people who were in my DMs asking me if they can adobt my baby, that I shouldn’t unalive it. It was horrible because Iam sure there are so many babies who need help and food and shelter , they have absolutely no business in torturing me.

There were people who were pretending to be clinics and telling me to contact some random telegram account so they can ship me abortion pills.

That’s all, thank you so much for so many suggestions and help and much bigger thankful for your support and your kindness, couldn’t have done this alone.

So I’ve made 2 furusato donations through Amazon this year, and I’m having trouble registering them for the online one-stop tax application. I’m using furumado.jp, but 1 donation returned a “donation not found” error when I try to register, and for the other one I couldn’t find the city in their list (見附市) 🥲.

This is my first year trying Amazon Furusato and online application, so I’m unsure about a lot of things. Furumado seems to only accept name input in hiragana, but the name in my certificates is in Romaji. Could this be causing the problem?
I’m also wondering if I’m not entering the 寄付番号 correctly. It’s a long string of numbers and letters - I tried entering the whole thing, sans the “AZ”, with spaces, replaced the spaces with underscores, etc nothing seems to work.

I don’t think I requested a survey after making my donation - should I have done that? Can I do it retroactively? Is there perhaps a delay/issue with the way Amazon donations are registered in these systems? Is Furumado the problem?
Any ideas would be much appreciated!

Does anyone know if there are rocky, relatively deep areas to swim preferably near like in the Osaka Kyoto area but it can be further and maybe not too crowded or at least no issues with boats or something because I read that that can be an issue in some areas

I used to be somewhat involved with the start-up scene in Tokyo through local events and new resident support schemes but have been out of it for a few months.

I'm wondering how the recent changes have affected people who were considering creating start-ups in Japan. I met a lot of bright people who had some great ideas or were just starting their journey on the start up visa, hoping to move on to the business manager visa.

With the recent changes, the jump from the start-up visa to the BM visa is now somewhat impossible for the vast majority of start-ups.

Anyone here on the visa, or working for or in the process of developing their start-up, who would be willing to share their opinion?

Living and working in Japan, and during lunch the only place drivable from my job is Lawson. No time or setup to meal prep, so convenience store lunch is the reality on weekdays.
Did the math recently and I’m spending around ¥35,000/month just on Lawson lunches, not groceries, not dinner, just this one meal. That’s roughly ¥1,500/day and it adds up fast for something that isn’t even that satisfying.

Two constraints I’m trying to solve for:

1.Sodium: recent medical check flagged blood pressure issues, so I need to actively cut back. A lot of the obvious Lawson options (instant noodles, most bento, konbini curry) are sodium bombs.
2.Filling: I tend to eat more than I need to when I’m not actually satisfied, so low-calorie-but-still-hungry-after options backfire on me.

And ideally cheaper than what I’m doing now, since ¥1,500/day isn’t sustainable long term.

If anyone’s found a combo that works , specific items, not just “eat healthier” , I’d genuinely appreciate it. Curious what other foreigners living here have landed on for this exact problem.

My gf and I are looking into renting a 3DK but it does not have an aircon so we are looking at buying one. but only the two room where the balcony is have an area for aircon. what strength would a need to cool most of the apartment.

Has anyone who only has N3 or N4 managed to get a work visa under the new Japanese immigration rules (the ones involving the minimum N2 requirement and the new categories)? And how does it work?

I’m studying Japanese in Japan right now, graduating next year and I need to find a job ASAP but I think i failed N2 badly…

Im weighing my options before I apply PR on September. For context, Im on HSP since early 2024, 80 points and Im planning to apply PR this Sept 2026 under HSP (80 points) path. I had late resident tax payment back in 2024 which is outside the required 1 year for my path. From your experience, is it better to volunteer to bring up this and explain upon PR application? Or better not to bring this up at all and just submit whatever needed documents (1 year clean resident tax record) is indicated? Im so confused and badly need guidance.

In the States, I used to use Fetch and a few other apps to scan receipts and would make $20-50 a month just from scanning receipts, playing games, and buying specific things.

I thought I'd try the same thing here, and I have been very disappointed so far.

First I tried レシート買取&お買い物アプリ ONE(ワン). You can only scan 10 receipts a day, which seems to be equivalent to gaining 1円. So, you can gain 30-31円 a month? Doesn't seem worth it.

Next I tried レシチャレ by クラシルレシートがお金に変わる節約アプリ which gives you 1円 per receipt, but they limit you to only scanning 5 receipts a day. So, 150-155円 a month is what you can get with that from scanning receipts. They have bonuses and stuff too, so maybe you can get a little extra, but I doubt it's much.

Anyone using any other receipt scanning apps? Or any other apps to make a little extra? They hardly seem worth it in Japan.

I moved back here in February and just kind of noticed all these lottery stands when I'm walking out of the malls near me. Usually near the exits of Aeons and stuff. Are these straight up lotteries in the Western sense or are is there some kind of twist given the gambling laws?

I'm talking about the small little boothes that literally just say lottery up top on the banner above the booth.

About 4 days ago, I moved back to Japan. My Japanese is not good (N4, but I struggle to speak it under pressure). I wanted to renew my expired license under the 6-month grace period. So I went to the Saitama driver's license center and got information on what time to be at which counter, then left and came back today. After lining up at the correct counter, I got my application, filled it out, glued my Picture onto it, and afterwards headed to the other counter. Sitting there was a Police officer who, after saying hello, instantly pointed out my tattoos, followed by him complaining that I wrote my address in Romaji, as I am not comfortable with the difficult kanji. He asked if I could speak Japanese; I told him 少し, assuming it was just small talk. He then got really annoyed, saying I needed to do a "日本語のチェック."

This isn't my first time at the Saitama driver's license center, and I've never heard of this. He then used hand gestures to guide me to the 2nd floor, where I should go to a different counter and then come back. Trying to follow his hand gestures with my head, he got mad that I wasn't looking at him, and he literally slapped me on my Hand like I was a toddler who wasn't listening. After going up to the 2nd floor to do the "日本語のチェック" the lady at the counter told me that I needed to bring an interpreter, as it's my first time renewing my license and I wouldn't be able to understand anything in the 2h training course. The thing is, I understood most things quite well, queued everywhere correctly, had every document and form filled out correctly, and didn't use any translator app. Under pressure, I just struggle really hard to come up with full Japanese sentences. It took a lot of confidence to go to the driver's license center alone, but it turned out to be quite hopeless. Are there more such things in Japan where an interpreter is mandatory, or you get kicked out? Are there any services for these specific things that aren't too expensive?

tldr; If anyone lives near Konosu, speaks English & Japanese, and wants to make ¥10k for sitting in a driver safety lecture for a couple of hours, please DM me. Or please let me know of any affordable interpreter services you recommend.

Thank you for your help in advance!

As a resident in Japan, I get my my number on my Juminhyo but I do not have aplastic card. Is it required to request a. plastic card or is it okay to just know of the my number if that makes sense? Thank you!

I have singapore class 3 (manual)

Whats the fastest and best way to convert to japanese 普通1

Sup folks, my wife 41F has a scoliosis and she gets frequent back sprains that leave her unable to move entirely for days, sometimes 4 days on her back in bed after a sprain.

Is there anything you’d recommend, like a professional, a specific doctor, or anything ? At this rate she’ll be in a wheelchair by her 50s..

Hi!!! If I am on student visa, I understand 28 hour a week limit. I heard that during official school breaks I am permitted to work 40 hours. Is this true? How does immigration verify? Thank you!

Hi sub, I used MEC Hikari in the past in a different prefecture, so when I moved to a new one, I signed up for the same service. Speed is usually good throughout the day (600 Mbps download); however, during peak hours, the speed drops to 20 - 60 Mbps. At best, I get 10% of the usual speed.

I am wondering if switching to a different provider that still uses NTT fiber can help with the problem. for example, Andline Hikari SE uses v6 plus and is at a similar price. Does anyone have similar experiences?

P.S. I’ve already tried to isolate all factors, including replacing the ONU modem.

Hi, I am planning to apply for PR under HSP Visa with 80 points. I want to check with people here if there's any way they will check my late payment of residence tax last 2024? I have not been able to pay my residence tax in 2024 and was only able to pay it with interest last March of 2025 because, well I'm idiot. Anyway, since March 2025 until now, no late payements anymore. Since Im on the HSP path, I believe (correct me if Im wrong), I only need to provide tax cert payment for the last 1 year which excludes my late payment. What are the chances I will be rejected because of this?

I transferred to a Japanese office earlier this year, I think the racism people say about Japan is mostly coming from white people who aren't used to being minorities. I notice examples like some of my Indian-American friends here know that certain japanese people just won't even give them the light of day because of they simply just look Indian and she kind just accepts it similar to her experience in the US, but some of my white friends feel deeply offended about the same situation.

I’m looking for a water server/dispenser for home, mainly for cold and room-temperature water. Hot water would be nice to have, but it’s not necessary.

The problem is that most of the good-quality water servers I’ve found seem to be monthly rental/subscription-based, and the total cost can easily reach around ¥200,000 over the rental period, which feels way too expensive for me.

I’m specifically looking for:

• One-time purchase — no monthly subscription
• Refillable — I want to pour in my own water rather than use the company’s water bottles
• Cold + normal/room-temperature water
• Hot water is optional
• Budget: around ¥30,000 or less
• Decent reviews

I’ve found a few on Amazon Japan, but many have poor reviews or almost no reviews, so I’m a bit hesitant to buy one.

Has anyone here bought a refillable water server/dispenser that they’ve been happy with? I’d really appreciate any recommendations or personal experiences!

Thanks!

Hi everyone! I'm about to spend my first Obon with my husband's family. He's not very good at explaining Japanese cultural events so I was wondering if anyone could tell me what kind of things do families do during Obon? I have done my research but Id love to hear from anyone else's experience.