Residents in Japan

Now daily! Feel free to ask any silly stupid questions or not-so-silly stupid questions that you haven't had a chance to ask here. Be kind to those that do and try to answer without downvoting. Please keep criticism and snide remarks out of the thread.

It's Monday! Did you do anything over the weekend? Go somewhere? Meet someone? Try something new?

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Post about your activities from the weekend here! Pictures are also welcome.

Hope everyone is safe and okay.

Thankfully, wife and I were awake taking care of our baby but that alert sent us almost into life or death mode.

I am in my final year of my degree in Japan and just returned from my country to arrange for the funeral. Late brother and dad passed in an accident. I underestimated the cost didn't think of how much it would have cost my family. I'll be out of money by the end of the month based on a rough calculation, and the university just sent a bill of about 580,000 yen for the year's tuition. I have only 10% of that for emergency. All this while I was funded by the collective effort of my family and now this happens.

I'm just here now sitting in my room. I've been sitting for four hours. I guess I'm just overwhelmed. I don't have the energy to even clean up and unpack. I feel like giving up, packing up everything, and leaving. But even that is going to cost money.

I guess I'm just seeking advice:

1. Is there any job out there that will not make me violate my visa, that anybody can link me? I have only the thesis component left to complete the degree so I am mostly available during the day.

2. Where can I sell my book collection? I have lots of fiction novels. Mostly in great condition, except those that I received second hand.

3. Any information about scholarship for foreign students in Japan?

Thanks for reading.

I have no career whatsoever at 34 yrs old.

I graduated a bachelor’s degree in business, majored in Human Resource management. Had a year of experience in my field in my country as a fresh grad, then got married, moved here, had baby at 29, and here I am now. A mom of a 5 yr old girl. Living in a country with language barrier makes it so hard to have a career. manufacturing/factory work are available but my health is an issue for very physical work so I’m skeptical to take that route.

Since my girl started kindergarten I feel like I have no life outside of being a mom and a wife. Like I have no identity outside of being a homemaker. The time when my daughter is in school gives me so much silence and time at home, unlike where I was with her 24/7, it was easy not to think about myself. I suddenly feel the urge of needing to find my own identity outside of my precious family. Like a career or job, also to help financially.

any advice? Anyone with same experience? Would love some ideas or approach on the situation.

We're a brown rice family, and only buy and cook brown rice. I will be taking no questions, but I will accept hearty pats on the back.

Thing is, I never see (cooked) brown rice anywhere else in Japan. None of our friends ever eat brown rice at home. This would not surprise me at all (I do all sorts of wacky things) except that brown rice is very easy to buy at any grocery store, including in deep inaka. What gives?

To sum up:

• Brown rice very available
  

• No one (else) eats brown rice

• ??

Has anyone quit work without the next job lined up and relied on a Hello work payout or something while job hunting? (I'm on a standard engineer/humanities, etc. working visa)

I feel really stressed and drained in my current job so I'm worried it's not healthy to sustain it, but also because I'm so exhausted everyday it's hard to make time for the job hunt. Has anyone had experience with this? Being free would definitely help me with my job hunt but I dunno if that looks bad on your resume or isn't financially viable.

My phone is a Samsung Galaxy S21. Recently it has stopped being able to take or make calls. My service provider (its technically for tourists apparently so I can't name here. Begins with an M) said that this happened when Softbank disabled their 3G services. Service provider told me to contact Samsung. SAMSUNG sent me around a few different helpdesks before telling me to contact softbank. Softbanks help desk is calls only, which I can't make. Is anyone else having this issue? Did you resolve it or did you switch services? Thanks

I made a post about a month ago about hanging posters on the really annoying Japanese style wallpaper. https://www.reddit.com/r/japanlife/s/pzt3scasGv

I bought the specific tape made for that wallpaper, but it doesn’t stick to the posters well enough so they fall off. I tried using the poster specific tape, but that didn’t stick to the wall good enough so it fell off. Then I tried sticking the wall tape to the poster tape but they didn’t stick well enough together, so they fell off. People have recommended pins, but there’s apparently a cement wall behind the wallpaper because when I tried to push it in it goes about a millimeter deep and when I try to hammer it in a bit further, this happened: https://pasteboard.co/j7gRqAanhFfP.jpg.

I am at a complete loss. And I’m open to more suggestions.

My wife and I are currently exploring options for a rental art studio space for her. One thing that we found strange was that so many locations are completely gutted. Exposed ceilings, removed walls, no floor but concrete, even removed toilets. Just curious if anyone else has had experience with this as a renter having to recarpet, reinstall a toilet, or put walls up?

I'm moving from Kyoto to Kawasaki (Nakahara ward) to work in Tokyo for the summer. I'm working full time, but I'm trying to find ways to fill my evenings and weekends. Most of the places I've found to volunteer through the government websites and stuff have been clubs that want longer term commitments and only meet like once a month.

Does anyone have suggestions of clubs or where to look at least? I'm especially interested in environment / gardening type volunteering, but I'd do anything really. Japanese language or English is fine.

I recently started using Yahoo Auctions and bought a lens protector for a camera lens that had a large scratch that was not described and not shown. I complained to the seller and after refusing to accept a return I wrote a negative review describing the dishonesty.

The seller then wrote a negative review back at my accusing me of being a dangerous gaijin and a scammer. Now my account has a -1 rating which makes me unable to bid for other items and use my account.

Is this just how it is or is there anything I can do to be able to use my account again?

This is also a controversial topic among Japanese. The rules of the parking areas in the highways and the michi-no-eki do not allow car camping, but allow "resting" for safe driving. But if you are very obviously sleeping overnight in your car for 8h, will the staff actually bother you about it?

I worry mostly because instead of black curtains, I bought silver cushioned sheets to cover the windows. It's reflective and very obvious from outside, so any staff would notice it easily.

Any tips about places to park and sleep quietly when traveling without making a nuisance to anyone? A toilet nearby is a must. I know a few fish markets and large michi-no-eki with onsens do allow it, but these are not so easy to come by. Any website with maps and tips on car-camping?

the Rakuten Super Sale is coming soon (4th of June 8PM onwards). this is the first time i'm going to try using Rakuten Super Sale, but i was wondering if there were any tips to get the most out of it for Furusato Nozei.

1. i've submitted my 'entry' to the Super Sale

2. i understand you get more points back on days of the month in multiples of 5 (so i'll do all my shopping on 5th June)

3. i think if i shop from 10 separate shops, i will get increasing percentages of points each time so i should start with the cheapest and work my way up ...?

if there are any other tips, it would be much appreciated.

Long story kinda short I have a (currently managed) panic disorder that in the past has had me hospitalised, on anti-psychotic medication, and staying overnight in wards to manage. It isn’t that way anymore and hasn’t been for years and years.

There is not much that triggers reactions or attacks anymore besides health anxiety and hospitals, and needing to take health exams that I myself haven’t decided I want to schedule. This is a problem for the company mandated health checks.

Until now I’ve managed to get through them mostly incident free using benzodiazepines I keep handy for emergencies. However this year since I am over a certain age, the test will last 4 hours and include more than it usually does. And I am unable to keep my disorder in check and cannot calm down. This years was also late and is happening today.

May I have some advice about this from people here? Can I refuse it or can I say what I do or don’t want to do? Or can I just go to my regular doctor who I trust and get the necessary results from him instead?

I know the obvious thing is to ask my company but I’m in a bit of a state already about it and if anyone here has experience I’d like to know. Thank you.

Hello, I am living up in Tohoku and looking to build a Passive House (or equivalent highly energy efficient home). Does anyone have experience building a Passive House in Japan? If so, I'd love to hear about your experience, and any regrets or things you wish you had done differently.

I work 5 days a week and I’ll be going to my home country for 2 weeks(14 days), already asked HR which gladly helped me through on how to process using our Paid Leave(有休) on our system(which indicates they are fine with me using my 10 days of Paid Leave).

Department Leader(担当者) tells me that I’d have to work 6 Days a week for the weeks before/after my 2 weeks off to make up for the 10 days that I’m gone.

Is this legal?

Is this power harassment?

If you've used their kit in the past, what's your experience been like? Was it worth it/accurate?

The test has all the vitamins I really want to get tested for but not sure how legit or accurate this kit is. My CPAP doctor doesn't seem to be motivated to check my vitamin levels (basically still tired on cpap) and I don't think my gastroenterologist runs vitamin tests, so this looks like a very enticing offer to me. Thanks.

There's a fairly long trail nearby that I'm really hoping to hike next weekend. It doesn't appear to get much use but the trailhead is marked and unless I jog the whole thing, it's realistically a two day hike.

Thing is, there doesn't appear to be any mountain huts or other official places to spend the night. Presumably other people who have taken it before would have camped out somewhere along the trail, but I can't find any marked campsites.

Is it legal to just set up camp somewhere along a wilderness trail, if it's far from any civilization? Or if not legal, just an unspoken understanding? I'm quite happy to pay for accommodations or camping fees, there just doesn't seem to be an option.

For clarification, I'd be using a bivvy sack (sleeping bag shaped/sized "tent" with a bit of head space and mesh for breathing. No fire, no music, no trace. Of course if I'm likely to get arrested I'll have to think of something else. Any input appreciated.

Hi everyone. It's been almost a year since I've come here, and my laptop of 4 years is starting to show it's age. The fans are rattling, and it heats up easily, and it just can't run the newer games as well as it used to back when I first bought it.

So, I'm planning to buy a new PC, but this time around not a laptop but a desktop PC as my residency is pretty long this time around.

I am currently thinking of buying a pre-built PC of Galleria series PC from Dospara. However I'm not sure if the system language or layouts are easily changeable. I'm too used to the universal English layout and the languages, and I absolutely despise Japanese PCs (likes of those that I used at work) that has some pointless complicated softwares pre-installed and has no option to remove it unless I fresh install the Windows.

Can I just buy the PC and simply change the system language to English and use it as it is, or am I better of buying something from overseas?

Where did you guys buy your PC (if you're a gamer) or what shops do you recommend to buy a pre-built system (for reference I live in Shizuoka). Building a PC is not an option for me, as I hate the process and rather just pay extra and just be done with it.

Not a tech-savvy so I'm not sure what to do.

Hello,

I bought a 2nd hand ebike (bridgestone tb1e) last year for commuting to work and it has recently started to make some weird noise when riding and there is a knock at every pedal rotation (my guess is that a cog is damaged). I think the fact that i never shift gear and was always set at the highest gear didnt help. I happened to buy a new mama chari for my wife a few weeks ago and the pedaling is so much smoother so it makes me think that there is something wrong with my bike.

I took my bike to a cycle spot nearby but they only did some tuning and chain greasing which helped a tiny bit but not much.It could be also a misunderstanding with my limited japanese but i think the guy understood the knock.

Anyone know a place where i can have a deep mechanical check? If not i can always resell and buy a new one but it seems like a waste.

I live in north of Tokyo, close to Oji.

Thanks!

As a foreigner could I rent a parking space independently if I do not have a parking space in front of my residence, but want a car to drive?

We have been living in this duplex for about a year without having complained even once about our neighbors. Our neighbors have three children. The parents (mostly mother) are often screaming at them, and we have always been understanding of the noise and doing our best to ignore the sounds of screaming from everyone. Including huge fights the parents (though, rarely) have. We especially considered that moms are doing a lot of legwork.

However, recently they have been dragging around their dinner table(?) some kind of heavy furniture at late hours and their children have been awake until late hours (yesterday at 23:45) playing and slamming themselves against the wall we share. We didn’t want to involve the landlord or police, so we decided to make a visit today after a month of the furniture and sounds of late night playing.

We asked the mother very politely (my partner is Japanese and did the talking) if they could keep it down, particularly with the table/noise near the wall at least after 10pm. We even told her to put a note in our post if we are also loud and we’d adjust (we are out the house from 7:30am until 7-8pm though). She looked very clearly angry and told us they are children and she can’t stop them (didn’t mention the furniture dragging noise). When we returned to our home as she was yelling on the phone complaining about us and was dragging her table around. This morning she was making loud sounds on purpose. I’m not an expert on how to deal with the aftermath of confrontation, but I’m afraid of the retaliation and now regret this. I know moving out is the only real solution. In about a year, we should be able to move, but for now it’s financially difficult as one of us is a grad student.

A friend suggested it would be in our best interest to document the sounds for now then go to the landlord in case they get angrier? I know kids are kids. I thought it was a reasonable ask, but now I feel like an asshole.

Ok guys, here's a throwaway as it's something that's just happened and I need to get more opinions on about how worried I should be.

So I'm a exchange student here, and have been here for roughly 9 months now. I'm walking home after a night out at toriki with my girlfriend and good friend and see that my dormmates are meeting under the local bridge for some drinks. I think "sure I'll go for one", and head there with a single canned lemon sour. After less than 10 minutes of being there, the police show up, and inconveniently, I'm the only one who speaks enough Japanese to converse with them.

From what I could understand, they mentioned that they had a noise complaint and wanted to see our residence (zairyu) cards, and only two of us had them so we handed them over, and they asked to take photos, of course I wasn't going to argue, so let them go ahead and do so. I tried explaining that I hope to live in Japan and if this would cause an issue in my very limited Japanese (私の願いは日本に住んでいます。今は問題ですか) and they responded by doing the big X with their hands, saying 問題ない and smiling.

I also explained that I'd only been there 10 minutes and wasn't loud at all, yet was the only one who spoke Japanese.

I'm ready to defend myself by asking to show CCTV of me showing up literally 10 minutes before they arrive if necessary but still, I'm really worried. I was wondering if anyone had experienced anything similar, and if I should even be worrying in the first place. From what I could understand, they just said it was general procedure.

Please let me know if any of you have experienced anything similar, and if I should be worried at all.

Thank you

Anyone know the composer of the Royal Host background music?

Hi all
First, thanks to all the contribution made on this community.
I already obtained PR a couple of years ago but for personal reasons I would like to engage into the next natural steps and become a Japanese citizen.

On paper, I believe I should be fine however where I am anxious is how much documents do you actually require from your family ?
I on purpose put some distance toward my parents years ago and I dont really want to ask for a favor or anything from them.

For those who previously applied or are in the process of applying, could you share what documents you required from your parents (mine are in europe). do you need original or copy ? is there no other way to obtain them from embassy or else ?

thank you in advance

Now daily! Feel free to ask any silly stupid questions or not-so-silly stupid questions that you haven't had a chance to ask here. Be kind to those that do and try to answer without downvoting. Please keep criticism and snide remarks out of the thread.