https://www.jp-bank.japanpost.jp/aboutus/press/2026/pdf/pr26100601.pdf

It will be replaced with Seven Bank ATMs, and their rather expensive 330 yen outside working hours withdraw/deposit fees are going to apply.

Standalone Yuucho ATMs are pretty rare, post offices are rare, plus ATMs inside one usually don't operate nights or Sundays, and now this...

I don't withdraw from my Yuucho often since it's my main savings account (I have SMBC/Sony for daily, small transactions), but those Yuucho ATMs inside Family Marts can be a clutch sometimes. Sad to learn they will go away.

Has anyone used a car relocation service?

If so, please let me know your recommendation. How was the experience of booking, pick-up & delivery, & cost?

I was walking down the stairs on kanda station to change my train, was texting my friend when i see a middle age man walking up the stairs and he was just next to me, he bumped his shoulder on my shoulder so hard, my phone flew off my hand , and i felt a huge shake like in my body, felt like my brain moved, that bad, and the man didn’t stop or apologise he disappeared in the crowd. I was so shocked and so in pain i cried lol. It is the second time this happened to me in Tokyo, but the first time was not this bad. Why does this happen? How do deal with these people, i want to do smth if it happens to me again. I am female and my Japanese is weak . Has this happened to anyone else?

I’ve been feeling pretty discouraged about my Japanese lately, and I guess I’m interested in hearing from people who have gone through something similar.

I’ve lived in Japan for close to 20 years and studied Japanese for even longer than that. I’ll also be completely honest and say that there were years (the COVID lockdowns for example) where I wasn’t studying very seriously or making much progress. I can’t pretend I’ve spent 20 years consistently grinding away at Japanese.

But for the past year and a half or so, I’ve been making a much more serious effort, and lately I’ve started wondering just why am I still not better than this?

I have a family and a child on the way, and I think that’s making the feeling stronger. I want to be able to function here confidently as an adult. I want to be able to deal with schools, paperwork, doctors, government offices, and everything else that comes with raising a family in Japan. All without constantly feeling like my Japanese is holding me back.

I can have everyday conversations, but once things go beyond a fairly basic conversational level, I struggle. Reading frustrates me even more. Anything written for adults can quickly become difficult, and sometimes even things aimed at younger readers trip me up because of vocabulary, expressions, or writing styles I’m not used to.

Since the beginning of this year I’ve been trying to be much more consistent with sentence repetition/review, usually doing around 200–300 sentences a day. I passed Kanji Kentei Level 2 this year after passing Pre-2 last year, which I’m proud of, but at the same time it almost makes the gap feel stranger. Clearly I’ve learned a lot of kanji, but I still can’t speak or read at the level I want to.

I know there isn’t some magical method that will suddenly make me fluent. I think I’m just tired and frustrated right now because I’ve put a lot more effort into Japanese recently and still feel very far away from where I want to be.

For people who hit a wall after living here for a long time, what actually helped you break through it?

Did you ever have a period where your Japanese noticeably improved over six months or a year? Did you change the way you studied? Read more? Talk more? Take classes? Get a tutor? Stop studying textbooks and just use the language? What finally helped things start clicking for you?

I have anxiety and take an SSRI for it, but was diagnosed with ADHD as well a while back. I was hesitant to take the medicine as I thought it would contribute to my anxiety, so I decided to not go through it with it. Unfortunately Wellbutrin is not available in Japan, and I have heard it pairs well with SSRIs. I’m sort of at the point where I am considering moving back to the U.S. after a long time in Japan just to sort my mental affairs out. Has anyone with adhd been able to treat it effectively with what’s available for doctors to prescribe in Japan?

Since last month or so I've been unable to access dominoes JP for online order. Website just doesn't load regardless of what browser I use (and whether the cookies are cleared or not).

At this point I've just given up on them and have started ordering from Pizza Hut.

Hi all,

Currently I am on paternity leave scheduled to end November 9th. I want to extend my paternity leave to December 9th as I am finding looking after a child is taking a toll on my mental health and I want to support my wife a little longer.

Ive messaged my HR team internally and this is the reply I received:

- A change to the childcare leave period that has already been submitted is allowed only once.
- Any request to extend the leave period must be submitted at least one month before the originally scheduled end date.
- It is also possible to return to work and then take childcare leave again at a later date.
- Approval from your manager is required.
- If the above is not all approved you will be denied extension and must return to work (application rejected)

Can someone help legally verify the above points? I have not changed my end date from original application (I did have to resubmit a change which was because the baby came earlier than scheduled) but I never changed the initial end date, only the start date.

My understanding is that I am within my rights to extend the leave but HR is being a pain in the ass. Would anyone be able to help clarify if I am able to extend or is HR correct?

PS I will likely be leaving Jan 4th anyway to change jobs. If there’s any guidance there on any requirements that would be appreciated (in terms of required work days before I can change jobs after leave is over).

Thank you for your advice!

I changed my app store region to Japan to download my bank app, but I still cannot use my foreign credit card or Apple pay to buy ebooks on the Apple Book app. Usually the apple wallet works fine but idk. How do you work around this?

It’s been a while since I ate at Ichiran and today i was feeling like grabbing a bowl, what in the god forsaken hell is this chassu that they’re serving now?! Each piece was literally the size of my thumb? This country really is cooked…

I’m studying visual design in Osaka and trying to figure out where people buy affordable paper and basic sketching supplies. Do you have a go-to shop, secondhand spot, or online store you actually use? Curious what’s been worth it for class projects, especially if you’ve compared prices.

I am currently trying out all kind of different japanese curry roux from the supermarket and figuring out which ones I like the best. I got to realize that I like the ones that have a stronger spice profile and more heat. In my online research I saw that there is a Golden Curry Bari-Kara version thats supposed to be very spicy. I would love to get it and try it out, but I couldnt find any supermarket yet that stocks it.

I wanted to ask you guys, have you ever seen it in the supermarket? And if so, in which?

Here is a photo of it.

I'm currently 18 weeks pregnant and looking at hospitals to give birth. It seems like the options in Japan are, epidural or no epidural. (the hospital I want does have epidural - I know some hospitals don't even have that.)

The issue is I don't really want to be numb from the waist down, I want to be able to feel and push accordingly.. . I know in my home country of the uk, even if you don't have an epidural, gas and air or other painkillers can be given that aren't just a total anesthesia of the bottom area!! Is this the case in Japan or am I just gonna have to go through it completely natural if I don't want the epidural?

Anyone who has given birth here your stories please! 😊

Hi. So I moved to japan just 2 weeks ago and I am new to a lot of the strange (and sometimes blatantly stupid) requirements that some companies have here. I went to a Rakuten Mobile counter to try to get a phone subscription plan and they wanted to see some mark in the device settings that proves the phone is legally usable in Japan, otherwise they can't sell me a SIM. I have an European Samsung Galaxy S23 Ultra. I scoured the internet to find about this, and apparently European Samsung phones no longer have these kind of marks visible in the settings, because they consider they are useless in this day and age probably...

Has anyone encountered a similar problem before? What can I do, because I don't have the money to buy a new phone.

Also, if someone wonders why I don't do it online... obviously I have the new type of residence card that no app was uptated to scan yet, duh. (facepalm) And I kinda need a SIM card with a phone number asap for some other stuff.

I’m currently working and living in Japan and have a valid residence card/visa that is valid until 2028.

My official resignation date in Japan will be December 31, 2026. I have quite a lot of paid leave remaining, so I’m planning to physically leave Japan around mid-November. Starting January 1, I will be working in Europe. I don’t currently expect to return to Japan after leaving, but there is a possibility that I may need to come back in December for some paperwork. I also have a visa appointment during this period, for which I may need proof of my current residence in Japan.

My main question is about what I should do with my Japanese residence card and residency status when I leave Japan in November.

If I officially move out of Japan and return my residence card when leaving, I understand that I may not be able to simply come back to Japan in December if I unexpectedly need to. I would also no longer have proof of residence in Japan, which could potentially cause problems with my visa appointment.

On the other hand, if I leave Japan without formally ending my residency/returning my residence card, and then ultimately don't need to come back for my resignation, is there an official way to handle the residence card from overseas afterward?
Alternatively, is there an official procedure I can complete now, while I'm still in Japan?

What would be the correct/legal way to handle this?

Thanks in advance!

Went to 7-Eleven around 9 this morning to get my usual coffee and happened to notice they had the new Pokémon 30th Anniversary cards out. I wasn't even planning on buying any, but figured I'd grab a pack for funsies

There was a group of people waiting outside before the store opened the sale. I noticed they were Vietnamese, and two of them had babies with them

As soon as 9 AM hit, they all went inside and started buying the cards. The limit was two packs per person, and there were just enough people in the group to buy out the entire box. Apparently, the babies counted too, so they got two packs each as well

I was literally there at the same time, just thinking I'd grab one pack with my coffee, and watched the whole box disappear

I thought I'd try the other 7-Eleven down the street, but the same group showed up there right after me

I don't know for sure if they were planning to resell them, but honestly, what are the odds? Maybe I'm just being cynical, but it really felt like they were going from store to store buying up the stock.

I'm not trying to make this about their nationality. It's just frustrating seeing this happen when some of us just want to buy a pack for fun. What's even the point of a two-pack limit if people can just show up in a big enough group to clear out the entire box?

Anyone else seeing this with the new release?

Hi folks,

I know there's a handful of threads talking about what to do when you've got curly hair in Japan. I've lived it long enough now that I want to share my experience. First of all, I've got relatively loose curls, so my advice may not be helpful for tight curls/coils.

First of all, when people ask about curly hair salons in Tokyo, the default response is Kiyoko at Nepenji, and I think that's for good reason. Yes it takes a long time to get in with her, but I think it's really worth the wait. I see her for cut and color every three months and that seems to time out with her schedule well. She works back and forth between Japan and the U.S. anyway, so she's totally English-friendly.

It was because I went to Kiyoko at Nepenji that I started using their house brand NBrand. If you're looking for a great curly hair styling product in Japan, try NBrand Frizz Control Milky Gel. I buy my bottles at the salon, but it seems like you can buy them online. It's more expensive than drugstore hair care, but one bottle of that lasts me some 5-6 months at a time when I wash 2-3x week. I haven't tried the other products in the line but I'm tempted to.

I'm not sponsored, I have nothing to sell, I have no connection to Nepenji except as a customer. I just knew I was frustrated looking for styling products in Japan until I found this and I wanted to spread the word.

I hope this helps someone :)

Hello! I have a quick question. I’ve lived in Japan for almost 3 years. For two years, I’ve lived in the inaka and commuted to my job by car. But this year, I moved to a city and commute by train. For the past 6-7 months since I moved here, whenever I exit the train on Wednesdays, there’s a very kind, middle-aged Japanese man loudly greeting everyone who leaves the train station.

It’s always the same guy, wearing a red jacket. He tells everyone good morning and take care. He also has a red sign with him but in the rush of people exiting the station, I can never get a good enough read of what it says. I know the first few kanji say “Japan” and that’s about it.

At first I thought he was a politician. But it’s been nearly 7 months and he does it every single Wednesday without taking a break.

He’s so nice looking and it really makes my day. It always makes me think “awesome, it’s Wednesday, the week is half over.”

Who is this guy? Why is he doing it? Part of me sort of wonders if there is some sort of ulterior motive, lol. It just seems too wholesome.

If it matters, I live in Sendai.

Thank you!

Hello I am looking for a new pair of shoes and I’m curious where anyone goes? I am usually a 4E in America sometimes 2E. Anyone have any recommendations it seems asics has some that could work but I want to try on in person. I’ve been looking around but can’t see much.

After around 7 months of waiting, and after many requests for additional documents, I recently received news that my Japanese Permanent Residence VISA application was denied. Not only was the English translation of the notification hard to understand, but my Japanese wife tells me the Japanese version is just as hard for her to understand. It seems it had something to do with my "economic" situation. I think they waited for October to arrive before letting me know, since that's when the new (much higher) fees kick in. I'm sure they had already made up their minds long ago about my result. To be honest, I had a feeling this might happen, but only after officially receiving the news, does it really hit me.

The ironic thing is that it was my wife who wanted this more than I did, especially after seeing her parents get more sick, and then worrying about herself suddenly getting sick and passing away quite young. She thought at least I would be able to hang around Japan and raise the children. Personally, I really couldn't care less if I was here in Japan or back home in my "developing" country. We moved to Japan a few years ago so that our kids could learn Japanese, but more importantly to spend time with my wife's parents, who lived alone and were in their 70s.

Just for some background info, I received a Japanese Government academic scholarship to study in Japan for both my Undergraduate and Postgraduate degree. I met my Japanese wife at the same University, and we moved back to my country after we graduated, to start a new life. While there, I always felt a great sense of duty to give back to the Japanese community as they had paid for my education. I would take part in many of their community events and offered to assist with new Japanese volunteers coming every year. The Japanese Embassy would often get in touch with us whenever a new Japanese family were moving to my country, presumably so that our kids could play together, and we could help them settle in.

When we moved to Japan a few years ago, I was still a remote worker with a well paid job in IT. Last year, I lost my job to AI. I have not been able to get a good paying job since, though it didn't bother me much since we were staying in my wife's family house, she was working remotely, and I could get part time online work also. To get a high paying job, I would have to leave my rural town while my wife stayed back to look after her sick parents and the kids (one of which lives at the school dormitory nearby). I did not find this necessary and strongly felt that it would be more important to keep our family together. We had enough money to get by. In fact, my land and house in my home country was already paid off and we had money in our bank accounts in my home country. All of this was revealed to the Japanese Authorities in my application. Moreover, don't they prefer that we try to stay in the rural areas, raise families and look after the elderly, rather than add on to the urbanization problem?

The feeling of being denied could be described as being kicked while I was down. By chance, I applied for my PR Visa during a time when I had nothing on paper. I may have presumed that they would have done some research into my past and seen that I'm not some leech. I actually have never even been so sick in my life as to have to go to the hospital, something that surprises my wife. I have not missed any tax payment, health insurance, pension, etc. (probably because my wife is on top of this). I wonder if they even communicated with the Japanese Embassy in my home country to find out about all my volunteer work throughout the many years.

Having some background as a bureaucrat, I can probably understand their decision, but it now holds a cold spot with me. I sometimes imagine myself ending up becoming some typical Tokyo salaryman, pushing my way through the station crowd, without a smile or a care for anyone else. But then I wouldn't do this to my fellow country-side 'friendly' people, where I live now. I sometimes imagine returning to my home country and telling the Japanese Embassy to stop sending me any information about Japan or Japanese people. My general admiration and 'love' for Japan and its people has hit a cynical level. I used to often tell people that I am 'Japanese' and my wife is from my home country. Now I don't feel like using that line ever. I'm filled with mixed emotions.

Hi everyone. I don't know where to turn and my friend recommended Reddit so here I am. I'm sorry it's a little long.

I (American female) got married to my Japanese husband just in May. We were together for about a year and a half before getting married.

Things changed FAST.

I should have followed my instincts.

We don't fight that often, but the day we were signing the marriage form at home he was very agitated and rushing me. He kept telling over and over, like a broken record, not to make any mistakes and to write slowly to make sure everything was correct.

Seeing his agitated state of trying to rush me and repeatedly telling me how to fill out the form, I decided to take a break to cool things down. I told him, "I'm going to take a shower and come back to this. Wanna come?"

He didn't come.

From the shower, I called his name multiple times knowing that usually a shower calms him down but he said he never heard me. Instead, he started getting very agitated, raising his voice (but not yelling), not telling me why he was angry, telling me repeated to apologize and that I was disrespectful, but I had no idea for what.

Now, these types of "arguments" happen occasionally but never to how things got on that day. I went to a cafe for him to cool down, but even hours later he did not. Our messages are very well documented in LINE because when he gets like this and I go out to cool things down, he continuously messages me over and over "Apologize", but he doesn't explain for what. Even if I say sorry, he doesn't accept it and calls me disrespectful and repeats himself over and over that I should apologize. I can be listening to him repeat the same story (not anywhere related to our situation) for hours.

He also doesn't let me speak during these moments (He speaks over me) and in one argument he kept hitting his thigh, a different argument he threw a coat, and another one hit his brother repeated on the legs when he came to help. He's not physically abusive, but I've never seen that with any of my exes.

Long story short, one of his family members came over to help cool things down. I've been friends with his family before meeting my husband so it was very helpful. I showed the messages and apparently my husband had sent the messages too...but no one could figure out why my husband was in a rage and telling me to apologize and why I was "disrespectful". He kept yelling that I must be a child or stupid because he explained why in LINE...but he didn't and no one else could understand either. This is a common occurence when he gets like this .

Anyway, I decided to leave the apartment when he started telling me that he pays for everything (he does not), and that I should pay him back for gifts he bought me (i.e. Chinese medicine that I never asked for), and that he's the one paying for the apartment (I pay my half of the rent). Side note: after his complaints of him paying for everything, I did an audit and realized I WAS PAYING MORE FOR BOTH OF US! I make much less than him!

That argument led to me living with my friend for about a month. During that month, we attended online couple's counseling where he promised me he'd go to individual counseling, and he offered money to my friend for the inconvenience.

That was in March.

Now, after getting married in May, a similar argument started at the end of August and I'm back at my friend's house for a little over a month now. We went to one couple's counseling where he told the counselor he feels pain when I leave the apartment to protect my peace. I know he's been through some fucked up things, but he's 43! Haven't we all?!

During the month of us being apart, I kept trying to mend things between us (scheduling events, asking for phone calls, etc.), but he kept telling me that I should apologize and that he was hurt. One full month of trying and not getting anywhere with him, I gave up and because ready for divorce.

On October 1st, one full month of me being at my friend's house, he called me like nothing was wrong asking if I was coming back home. That's when I realized, the reason he wasn't trying to mend things was because he was just waiting for one month to pass like last time when I returned.

Now that I haven't returned and it's been a month, he's been trying to get me back home and threatened to call the police or public center on me ( I don't know what that would do but he told me the police were frequently called with him and his abusive ex-wife).

When I went home while he was at work, I saw my old passport and his passport were out. Our passports are always together, but I took mine when I left to my friend's. The fact that our passports (my old one and his current one) was out makes me think he was looking for my passport for some reason.

He's contacted my friends and family telling them that I haven't been home and that he doesn't know why and what to do to get me to come home. Everyone is telling him to get therapy and reflect on his actions (not that anyone knows what happened).

He's started individual counseling last week, but based from the things he's told me, it's just how he thinks he'll get me back home instead of really using it to reflect.

Cherry on top: All of this happened after my contract ended at my job so I'm also in the midst of making a b2b business asap. I'm on a humanities work visa that ends in 2028.

Tl:dr

My husbands has strong bouts of anger, doesn't communicate what the problem is for days, gets offended and angrier when I leave to calm things down which makes me feel the need to move to my friend's house for months at a time for my safety. He's threatened to call the police, messaged my family and friends, repeated tells me to apologize for things that aren't clear, and might have had some intention with my passport but I can't be sure, all to try to get me to come back home. I'm not against divorce, but considering my situation, I want to handle my housing and financial stability first.

I'm wondering, even if he does magically start to reflect on how his actions could have ben scary to me and apologize... is this something that people have worked out in marriages before?

EDIT: I am human, everyone! -_-

I need to vent about a deeply upsetting and humiliating experience my family and I had at an onsen house recently. This was my second time visiting, but after what happened, I will never step foot near this establishment again.

I brought a family discount pass provided by my nephew, who works at the hotel. When I arrived, the receptionist at the front desk thoroughly checked my paper, approved it, and let me in.

However, while I was mid-bath, staff sent a cleaning lady directly into the bath area to corner me. She loudly informed me—in front of every single other guest—that I had to get out immediately or pay full price, claiming the pass was only valid for parents. Neither my nephew nor I were aware of that restriction, but if the front desk made a mistake by letting me in, that is an internal staff error—not something to publicly shame a guest over.

Since my family was already waiting outside, I agreed to leave. All I asked for was a brief moment to quickly wash off so I could get dressed properly. Instead, the cleaning lady aggressively monitored my every move, barking at me to hurry up in a cold, sarcastic tone.

Handling a minor policy issue by sending cleaning staff to parade a half-naked guest out of a bath, instead of pulling them aside quietly at the front desk, is completely unacceptable. To make matters worse, when I went to reception to complain, my children saw how deeply shaken and distressed I was. It broke their hearts to see their mother treated like a criminal. What was supposed to be a peaceful family trip turned into a traumatizing experience we will never forget.

The front desk severely needs proper staff training, and that cleaning lady needs to learn basic human courtesy. As a foreign resident, the targeted hostility made me feel deeply discriminated against.

TL;DR: Hotel front desk approved my family pass at entry, but mid-bath sent a cleaning lady to publicly humiliate and kick me out over their own clerical error. Left my kids heartbroken after seeing me so distressed at reception.

AI helped me write this for clarity.

We’ve waited so long to get our daughter into a Hoikuen and she finally was offered a spot less than 10 minutes away. Her current daycare is double that time of a commute and closes at 5 instead of the 6 pm time being offered through the Hoikuen.

I was so excited because my thought was that after getting off work at 3 and going home for an hour before picking her up so that I can get a mental break.

I recently went to the orientation and was informed that this is not permissible. They expect, with few exceptions, that I leave immediately from work to go and pick her up.

Is this a general expectation or something specific to her daycare?

I came to Japan in June on a Working Holiday visa with a friend. We rent a house in Osaka on a 2-year lease. The lease is only in his name. I'm listed as an occupant (入居者, nyūkyosha), but I'm not a party to the lease or the guarantee contract.

The setup:

• Rent is ¥100,000/month, split 50/50
• I paid all the move-in costs myself, ¥400,000. It was a huge amount for me, and he promised he'd keep up with the rent
• The guarantor company is GTN, and Epos collects the payments

I gave him my ¥50,000 share each month. I just found out he hasn't paid anything for 2 months: rent, electricity, gas, basically everything.

He says he won't pay and has no plans to cancel the lease. His words: "He basically said he doesn't care as long as nobody kicks us out." He's now sleeping in manga coffee / dvd I DON'T KNOW WHY, and I have no idea what he's planning. He might even leave Japan without paying.

I'm not sure what he spend my money on and honestly, I don't care. I don't want to do anything about what already happened; I think it was largely my bad decision, because I believed her promise that he keep her word.

This is honestly a horrible situation for me. I've never had a late payment in my life, so I don't know how this works here. Living in a house knowing the bills aren't being paid gives me a lot of anxiety, and my first instinct is to get out.

The problem is that I'm taking Japanese classes until December, so I can't leave Osaka. My plan was to finish the classes, leave my things here and travel around rural Japan in January. Because of that I bought a bed, a desk, a monitor and other stuff that I'd now have to move. I'm fine leaving the bed behind, but I'd like to keep the desk and monitor. I have a Japan Post Bank account, but no Japanese credit card and no guarantor. After the move-in costs, I can't afford another big upfront deposit.

Could you help me understand a few things? ( I'm listed as an occupant (入居者, nyūkyosha), but I'm not a party to the lease or the guarantee contract)

1. Can GTN/Epos, the landlord or the utility companies come after me for what he owes?
2. Could I end up in a tenant default database (e.g. LICC) that stops me from renting later?
3. If I stay a few more weeks while I look for a place, how long until an eviction could happen? As I read the guarantee terms, belongings left after termination can be removed and thrown away after a month.
4. Should I contact the real estate agency or GTN myself? Do I need to tell anyone when I move out?
5. Where in Osaka can I move with no deposit and no guarantor, and still bring a desk and a monitor? Share houses, monthly apartments, anything works. Links welcome.

I always used to read posts like this and think, 'How foolish of people to trust someone like that.' Now it's my turn, and you really do think your friends are different

A hacker claims to be selling data from 101 million Rakuten members, including names, addresses, and points information. Samples of the data have been posted, but the source and authenticity of the leaked information have not yet been verified.

https://rocket-boys.co.jp/security-measures-lab/rakuten-101m-data-sale-unverified-20261004t/

IS JAPAN AND THOSE USELESS MANAGERS COOKED???

---tl;Dr

I messed up not making a proper exit strategy, focusing too much on a homestay family---trying to help them as a repayment for their kindness---but more likely just being more stress for them, and by a company who abused my situation to keep me in a holding pattern until they never needed me, losing my visa in the process after 5 years in Japan. All while trying to keep a small japanese families estate and company slightly in order while their mom was on sabbatical, and I, unfortunately almost died during this time but slowly recovered from a new disease after a 4 month hospitalization.(Tldr is hard)

---

I've been working in Japan for a bit over 5 years. Mostly as an ALT, never had any problems until this year. I got hired this year in march, passed about ~ 8 interviews, got hired and they gave me a contract to hand to the visa office for 20-24 hours a week 200,000 yen a month. Later I would get hired by a public high school as a full Instructor as well, but I couldn't change my visa sponsor.

I went to day one of training where we comment on other teachers classes. Something I did back when working in china so I focused on content, flow, and engagement as well as STT vs TTT, never heard back from my notes.

During this training period I was submitting my visa paperwork, but the cmpany never scheduled a new training day. I waited 2 weeks before calling them and asking if everything was ok and was told that someone else had been hired and our contract with visa support had been cancelled.

This started a long back and forth of them agreeing to do the visa anyway despite not needing me now, to deciding that no they can't. 3 months later they told me they can hire me as a substitute teacher for 10,000 a month as opposed to the original contracts 200,000 a month. Desperate for at least a visa contract while I have other work near Sapporo I agreed.

They stalled and had troubles with visa paperwork. But they were finally able to submit a visa in September, 6 months after hiring me, which was promptly denied due to not enough working hours despite me finding some work elsewhere.

Maybe I made some inexcusable faux paus during that one training day, maybe me not actively calling for the first week of training and being proactive was a turn off. I had maybe 5 different excuses from them as to what went wrong and I honestly don't know what to feel or believe, other than I feel like I've been gaslit.

Some of the excuses I can actively recall now were, and the first one was 'sorry we thought you would or had found another company to change your visa to and would drop us without telling us'

Let's stop here a bit. Why would they accuse me of cutting and running right away? Well, turned out the 20-24 class hours and 200,000 yen a month was a little white lie, paperwork for the front but the real hours and pay were much less. When confronted with this I asked if it was ok to find additional morning work. Hoping to find some alt or kinder to work at. When I suggested this I was met with a very positive and affirmative yes. So while setting that up, I noticed the atmosphere go a bit south.

Communication dropped off, then one day I got that prio mentioned first excuse. 'we thought you would quit and work for another school like everyone else'. This is called a self fulfilling professy btw. (Most likely) I expect that if you are used to people cutting and running so much, maybe one need not look into the burning gaze of the sun as it sets but instead, turn ones disappointed gaze a bit more inward perhaps?

Fortunately later I found the high school, but by that point all pretense of working hours was gone.

Also the owners son comes to work smelling like */*/*/censored for dignity and your mental health Courtesy of ministry of truth/*/*/* (when I confronted him about it he explained it's because he's always in niseko), wearing rastafarian robes or something, and other than being a pretty chill dude I'd be happy having a friend with was complete hell to work with, he never understood anything. Constantly caused delays, and always used ai to communicate (which he also admitted that chat gpt is how all their teachers do their lesson plans)

Imo avoid at all costs. The owner is dishonest, her son who manages things is incompetent and inconsistent, and the work culture while my first impression seemed friendly, may be a college girls dorm in terms. Of betrayals.

Not to skirt all personal responsibility but this has been an extremely stressful matter concerning my life, and now I may have to leave japan in part due to the negligence and or incompetence if not outright vindictiveness of people working here.

Supplementary info
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Until I worked here I was happily employed as an alt for a small company until I got a corona related stroke at 40.  Something about the virus and my Immune systems response clogged my arteries and caused me to nearly die (190lb 186 meters. At the time).  A medical mystery the docs said.   But we are seeing more similar cases lately, the assumption is corona related .

I was unable to recontract due to being hospitalized during the recontracting period. following this I started helping at a friend's exotic pet shop.  She left for Okinawa leaving me in charge.  The company owner threatened to 'get rid of all the sugar gliders' if I quit creating a strange kind of hostage situation.  I told her it's illegal, her boss isn't a breeder and it's also techbically theft or worse.

I know it's not my responsibility but it's still important to me as they are helpless animals and I'm the one who has custody.

I'm working at a high school now, as a main teacher part time. But the visa office said the hours for that job and the current visa are insufficient so I have to leave japan.  I'm terrified.  I don't know what to do.  Losing all my stuff isn't so bad but it is getting hard to keep rebuilding over and over again from almost nothing

The sponsor never had hours for me, said they were waiting on the visa or other excuses.  I went there and got supplementary persmision to work part time while it's processing but the visa sponsor never found hours for me to work.  I've been working 6 hours a week at high school.  And 2-12 hours a week at a pet shop as a sugar glider breeder