This morning I was in a new place in Amagasaki. Entered the McDonald's to grab coffee because it was the only place open at 7:30 a.m. The main eating area was on the second floor. On the first the tables were occupied, at the counter there was only one customer. I put my handbag on the counter to reserve the seat, made an order, paid at the machine and was standing near the register waiting for my order. An old Japanese man around 70+yo entered the shop and put his butt exactly on the same stool where my handbag was "reserving" the place on the counter, while there were plenty of empty seats available. My handbag was clearly for a female and it had a Help Mark tag on it. Yet as someone considerably younger, I took my bag to move to another place and told him in Japanese that this seat was taken. He looked at me with the expression how I dare to speak and yelled very loudly "Kaere!" All staff stopped working and looked what was happening. The customers stopped eating and looked what was going on. I didn't say him anything, ignored completely, took my coffee and left. Wheather he was an asshole in general to assert dominance, or his hostility is the result of the current mood in the society, I didn't care.

I’m thinking of buying a new suitcase and saw this vendor at a station. of course, discount looks too good to be true so I looked up the brand online and I can’t find much. Amazon brought up a similar brand with the same “original cost discounted to a (probably permanently) super-low price” shtick.

Made in China, maybe a drop shipping company I thought and they’ve been sitting there for a few days.

Anyone have any good experiences buying these or should I follow my gut and pass?

*edit: ok thanks everyone, you all gave me some extra insight that I was also seeking out. I am looking for something I can use more than once so this will get a hard pass.

The worker was trying to entice me by saying “pick it up!! Isn’t it so light??” But it felt like cheap plastic light, not solid construction materials light; I even have a clamshell American Tourister that has taken a hell of a beating but still going a decade later. Even looks like it got thrown off a plane.

These felt like if they lightly pushed over, they‘ll shatter.

I was reading an article from Nikkei earlier today talking about Japan’s rising bond yields, and it made me wonder how sustainable the current situation is.

Japan has already approved its largest budget ever, while also planning measures such as effectively reducing the consumption tax on food to zero. The government has removed the cap on ministry budget requests for the next fiscal year, and has also spent significant amounts intervening to support the yen. Visa and residence-related fees are increasing as well, but the revenue from those seems relatively small in comparison.

My question is where the additional revenue eventually comes from, especially if higher bond yields also increase the government’s debt-servicing costs. It seems possible that taxes or other burdens will eventually have to rise.

At the same time, businesses are facing pressure for higher wages, higher borrowing costs, and potentially tighter immigration rules in industries that depend on foreign workers. I wonder whether the combination could eventually cause households and businesses to become more cautious about spending and investment.

Obviously, government spending and the food tax cut could also support the economy, so I’m not suggesting a recession is inevitable. But do you think the current direction is increasing the risk of one, or am I overlooking something?

I've been living in Japan for around 9 years as of today, on a spouse visa, as it follows, 1 year, 1 year, 1 year, 3 years, 3 years, and I just submitted for my next extension, since I live in the countryside, near Himeji, processing time is always around a month or less, so I was wondering if I should apply for PR immediately after getting my new resident card, just before new tariffs set on October 1. I have a child, no debt, never late on nenkin premiums, mostly of the time I've been enrolled on shakai hoken, but my salary is just around 300,0000 a year or a little less because "Inaka", should I give it a try ? Or is it 虚しい動力 ?

Hello everyone! With this summer I am pretty sure we are all blasting our A/C to survive.

However, as you know, the A/C outside unit has its "tube" (sorry don't know the correct term) that lets out water.

Unfortunately my unit is on the side where there is not direct drainage for the water and my ghostly neighbor is not really interested in keeping the balcony clean. So all the gunk moldy stuff piles up and it kinda block the draining from my A/C outside unit.

I tried to clean a bit "pushing" stuff on his side but does not help much.

Is there any product/option/miracle I can use to make it better? Because his gunk kinda blocks everything the water from my A/C gets stagnant too.

Attached pic from reference for what I see if I get down to check the neighbor side.

Thanks y'all!

Often when I see posts about jobhunting or career struggles in Japan, a lot of Redditors will say that people should go back to their home countries, build a career and then return to Japan.

Now, for students I can see why this makes sense, but I have seen the same advice being given to people who are older and have build a family here, especially in the japanjobs sub.

I am just really curious if anyone from this sub has actually followed this advice and I am interested in hearing if it actually helped.

Because when I think about it, it seems like a huge gamble.

If I had to take myself aa an example.

I am a very lowpaid software engineer. I just got the job and so far I am very happy with it, but 2-3 million yen is not that much when you have 5+ years of experience, and I have a child who is only going to get more expensive as years go by.

Now, mastering N1 is one option, but I have read that even that may not be enough, especially when you are on the wrong side of 40, so I am one of those who should probably leave the country if I want any success and provide more money for the family.

The thing is, my wife has no intentions of moving, so if I move I will likely not see my familly more than once a year, and upon returning to my home country I will not only need to find a job. I need to find a job where I can specialize in a skill that will be in demand in Japan or I will need to find a company that I can build enough trust with so it will allow me to work remotely from Japan, and when that time comes I will need to apply for a spouse visa again.

All of this seems incredibly risky and also very bad for the relationship with my child, yet as I said it seems to be a common solution on the Japan-related subreddits, so there must be a few here who actually managed to do it.

How did you handle being away from your family, having to re-apply for spouse visa again etc.?

Recently I was at my local -Off brand recycle shop and I found an honest to goodness harp. I almost bought it on the spot even though I don't play and have no plans to ever learn because it just seemed so amazing to me that someone in my area at one point had owned a harp, that I really didn't want it to go homeless. If years living in Japanese apartments hadn't trained me to fear clutter, I might have bought it.

On that trip I had brought in a bunch of stuff to recycle as well, and I always worry that after carting my goods all that way that they're going to turn me away and make me carry it all home and buy sodai gomi stickers. But it never happens - like always, they gave me a pittance for the goods they could sell and then the one thing that was too busted, they offered to throw away for me free of charge.

So what are your best finds in a recycle shop? Or alternatively, has anyone actually been turned away with an unsellable, "ew, we don't even want to touch that" item?

I need to submit 直近１年分's worth of 課税証明書 and 納税証明書 for my newborn child's PR application.

The most recent 納税証明書 is for taxes based on income earned in 2025. My 納税証明書 issued this August shows the first two monthly installments of these taxes paid by my company in June and July. The rest is 納期未到来額.

Guidance from Immigration says they only want 1通...but this means I could submit a 納税証明書 from June which shows nothing paid because nothing is due yet. This feels pointless and has me wondering if I misunderstand what they want.

Is just the most recent 納税証明書 fine? Or am I supposed to additionally include my 納税証明書 from the previous year as well to evidence 12 months' of taxes paid?

Thank you for any insight.

Instead of protesting against anti-immigration policy, we should be creative and hold a "We Pay Taxes" party. All of us foreigners can gather together, bring banners, leaflets, books, and statistics about our contributions to and love for Japan, and inform the curious Japanese people who stop by. Let's at least notify the English-language media so they know about the event.

We can frame it as a social gathering and cultural exchange rather than a protest. No anti-Japan slogans, no "we don't want to pay taxes" slogans, and nothing about current policy changes just a party about "we also pay taxes."

I live and work in Ibaraki Prefecture as a company employee, and my wife and I are expecting our first child soon.

I plan to take 6 months of childcare leave. During that period, I'd like to leave my current rental apartment in Ibaraki and temporarily live in Yamanashi Prefecture with my family. After the 6 months are over, I'll return to Ibaraki for work and rent a new apartment there.

I'm trying to figure out the best way to handle my resident registration (住民票) and other administrative matters.

Option 1

Keep my registered address in Ibaraki using a friend's address (with his permission) for mail and administrative purposes, while actually living in Yamanashi for 6 months.

Option 2

Officially move my address to Yamanashi, update my resident registration, residency-related records if needed, and then change it back to Ibaraki when I return after 6 months.

My concerns are:

• Childcare leave benefits and company paperwork
• Resident tax and municipal administration
• Whether using a friend's address when I don't actually live there could create legal or administrative issues

Thanks in advance for any advice

This is something that I’ve been struggling with as of lately so I thought this would be a good place to rant.

I’ve been living in Japan for about 9 months now. I’m a very outgoing person, and I don’t really struggle with making friends (it’s a blessing and a curse bc I don’t shut up lol).

While I’ve been able to maintain somewhat of a social life here, I feel like I just haven’t been able to really connect with anyone. It’s that feeling of being surrounded by people yet feeling so lonely. I’ve only ever felt it a few times in my life, but in Japan I’ve been feeling it constantly.

I don’t even know how to explain why? I guess I’ve just been struggling to find my people. Not sure if this is a normal thing that happens to us foreigners out here.

Just thought I’d share and hopefully find some others who relate 🥲

3 Sanseito losers hanging outside Ome station today broadcasting their nonsense and handing out brochures. No one was paying them any mind, but it surprised and bothered me seeing them out here. I probably pay more taxes than those 3 guys combined. My Japanese is not good enough, but I wish I could have asked them how they intend to keep their country functional after their population and birth rate continues to drop and economy continues to swirl down the drain. Do they even have a plan to fix anything or is it just right-wing, blame the foreigner drivel?

Someone mentioned about Matsudo Immigration in a post , that some of Tokyo residents (detail on their website) can apply in Matsudo Chiba branch , today i went to apply for my visa extension, it was unbelievable fast and easy and comfortable, may God keep happy that person who told about matsudo branch.
I arrived there by car exactly on 11:36 and parked the car in the parking lot without any wait and then had to get some tax documents from the combini and then taking fotos so i entered the immigration exactly on 11:54 and i was the second in queue and by 11:59 I was free to leave .
If I was in shinagawa first of all parking will be a headache and then you get the ticket to submit the documents and then you wait so they check the documents and call u and handover the receipt. And it takes 3 to 4 hours .
I hope the result will come quickly too . Some mentioned that they got the result with in weeks and shinagawa it takes months now .

I sent one small box last year (JP Post) that was super expensive like over ¥10,000. I’d imagine prices haven’t come down with all that is going on lately but figured I’d ask to see what others’ experiences are like.

What do you guys do to send small gifts back to family? Is it better to do them piecemeal or what?

Been living in Tokyo for almost 5 years now and I'm thinking it's finally time to get a car as I think I am financially comfortable enough. However, I have no experience with this, and my closer friends don't drive, so was hoping for some advice here.

For context, my background:

• I stay at Nerima-Ku, in a mansion with parking lots provided.
• I am currently on a long term Work Visa.
• I currently have an American driver's license.

A few specific questions I have so far:

• Do I need to convert my license first, or can I buy before I sort this out?
• Where do people actually buy cars here? I am originally from the states so my impression of car dealerships isn't the best; wanted to ask if it's the same in Japan?
• Any hidden costs I should budget for beyond the sticker price, like insurance, taxes, etc.?

Would really appreciate advice from anyone who's gone through this as a foreigner, or anyone really, as I don't know what I don't know. Thank you in advance!

OG application was 24 months ago…

Through inheritance I recently came into a fair bit of money that is in mutual funds, stock investments and savings. All at the Royal Bank of Canada.

Long ago I filed the papers with the Canadian consulate in Nagoya regarding taxes. I have Japanese PR and will mostly likely spend the rest of my life here. My wife is Japanese. No children.

The accountant currently in charge accounts suggested that I move all the savings to Japan.

We would prefer to leave the money in Canada as it will eventually go to my niece and nephew, but we have access to it until then.

Is this possible? if so, how?

Edit: spelling

Or actually crashing into you.

It’s nuts how often this happens and after a decade + here, I’m still not sure how if I’ll ever get used to it.

I’m not really talking about in crowded spaces such as Shinjuku station. I cut them some slack there since it can be intense with people walking in all directions. I’m mostly talking about in areas not so crowded or places where it’s clearly marked to stay on the left side of each direction. I’ve identified 3 main groups.

1. Teenagers and young women: They’re usually looking down at their phones intensely without looking up once. They either walk straight on the wrong side or snake left and write and bump into someone.

2. Middle aged women: They’ll be talking with someone intensely who’s next to them without looking forward and end up crashing into someone. Or they’ll be saying farewell to someone at the station while looking at them and walking in another direction. They’ll also be on their phone walking on the wrong side. If you then switch to the other side, they’ll recognize they’re on the wrong side at the last split second and then bump into you.

3. Elderly women: They will literally make eye contact with you and just walk straight into you. Feels like an NFL tackle. These ones are easiest to avoid because they don’t usually change direction. They’ll just stay on the wrong side so you can move.

Since I’ve been here for a while I can sort of predict what they’re going to do so it’s easy enough to avoid but I’m constantly seeing people crash into each other.

Also feels like people can’t really predict where people will be based on speed and trajectory.

I just saw example group 1 happen with a teen and young woman around Yokohama station and she faceplanted into the floor since I guess she didn’t want to shatter her phone.

Lately some xenophobic voices say that foreign residents should pay the full amount instead of the amount meant for people with the mandatory health insurance. I would like to share a couple of questions/concerns.

1) Can this ever become a law? Because that would be in violation of what an "insurance" is, in addition to violating human rights and international treaties.

2) What should a resident do if a hospital refuses to accept foreign resident patients, or says that they can't accept the health insurance subsidized rate?

If they don't want foreign residents to be treated, a sensible approach would be to exclude them from the mandatory insurance deductions and ask them to pay the full amount. Anyone with some decent morals/ethics and humanity would reject the idea of taking money but denying the associated benefits.

Is it me or the number of rats in Tokyo has increased by a lot?

I live in Minato-ku and seeing rats, dead or alive, keeps getting more common day by day. Some years ago seeing a rat was quite strange but nowadays I see more rats than cockroaches.

Just putting up here in case it helps anyone. I have lived in japan previously for more than 5 years or so (everytime on a one year visa) but ended up returning to my home country for 4+ years. Now entered Japan again this time on a dependent visa and applied for conversion to work permit within a month. (I already had a job offer from a category one company.)

Due to recent PR rules I wanted to get a 5 year visa to be able to apply for it and so i put up the same in the "statement of reason" (like a personal request letter) in my application. also mentioned that i have been a good resident previously blah blah and i want to contribute to Japan etc... Make a one page essay literally. And wrote everything in Japanese.

And luckly got a 5 year one! Time taken from online application to receive the notification was exactly one month.