SUB RULES

Hey Lifers. I’m looking to buy a portable battery for my heaters at home and for camping. I’m looking at those 2 portable one but they’re offering the same 1024WH for different prices On Amazon.
Anyone with experience with portable batteries can offer any insight?

I know a lot of people import JDM cars like GTRs and Kei Trucks from Japan to the USA - unfortunately because of this it's been hard finding much info online about my specific situation and if it's any different.

I'm looking to import BACK to the USA a car that was originally US-spec that was previously imported to Japan from the USA. The reason for this car specifically is that it has some racing (as in circuits not the wangan) history and sentimental value to my family.

I'm wondering if the fact that it is a US-spec car originally and was once registered in the USA would make it easier to bring back? I know in some states like California they make you do specialized smog tests to register JDM cars that can cost around $10k USD. Would something like that still be necessary?

I know some people who move to Japan temporarily sometimes bring their car over, but am wondering if they send it back once they're finished or just leave it in Japan...

Hello,

My main question:

After I get 転出届(てんしゅつとどけ) from current City office, Do I need to have proof of my new address, ie. Utility bill, or apartment contract, when I get 転居届(てんきょとどけ) form ?

I have searched and people just say I need my residence card and to know my New address, But I find that hard to believe.

Nakano --) Adachi

Thank You!

Hi all. I have to buy a new (used) car and wondering how much life I could expect out of these two vehicles, or which way to go:

(1) 2021 (3 yrs old) Honda N-BOX Custom, 54,000 km, 128 man

(2) 2012 (12 yrs old) Honda Fit, 41,000 km, 54 man

Assuming they are in decent shape - what can I expect to get out of these cars? I prefer to drive my cars for a long time, but the two cars I've owned here in Japan (both Mitsubishi) had radiators (and thus their engines) fail around 130,000 km (no warning either time that something was wrong). Not sure what the increased cost of repairs would be when owning a white plate car like a Fit vs. the cost of Kei repairs.

Cheers for any input!

I'm looking to buy a dishwasher and I want testimonials.

Do you like your dishwasher? What model do you have? How long have you had it? What do you wish was better about it?

May sound like silly question but, whenever I try to search for a Spanish song in Karaoke in Japan, I spend too much time actually searching if it even exists. Not sure what the requirements are for a Spanish song to be placed on the Karaoke tablet. Of course the major ones like Despacito tend to be there, but what other of your favorite Spanish songs have you found in Japanese karaokes? I’m hoping to make a list so that for next time I can just refer to the list instead of spending time checking if it exists on the tablet. Please share your current era or past era Spanish songs. ***emphasis on the songs that you know exist on the karaoke machines.

Thanks

I'm looking for a board or card game to buy to play when my friends come to visit, and there're so many options that I don't even know where to start. Do you guys have recommendations?

My filters are:

• possible to play in 3~8 people
• language not required (for Japanese speakers and non speakers)

If possible:

• costs less than 5k
• easy to carry/ set

Thank you!

Looking to get married this year in Tokyo(I'm American, she's Japanese)

Checked the embassy website for notary but no available slots. I e-mailed them and am currently waiting for a response, but was hoping to find alternatives. I saw someone say to use Notarize.com, but I'm dubious so I thought I'd ask around. Thanks for any help in advanced!

Mid-week discussion thread time! Feel free to talk about what's on your mind, new experiences, recommendations, anything really.

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.

just noticed that my health insurance card expired in October but the automatic payment from my bank is still working. also I'm a student but I've noticed that every month around 10k gets deducted for the insurance even after I passed the student discount thing. (would I get the money back?)

I'm still beginner in japanese, so when I do visit the kuyakusho, how exactly can I convey this?

I’m heading back to the States for a week, and I was wondering what US SIM cards people recommend, or what the best way to stay connected is. Also, anything I should know before heading to the airport? Documents for re-entry, etc. It’s my first time leaving Japan since I moved here.

Hey, having a rough time.

Spouse and I live in different cities, juminhyo are separate. Am I correct in thinking I file the 離婚届の不受理申出 in the city where my juminhyo is?

That's what I assume from reading online but it kind of seems too easy so thought I would check on here.

Thank you!

I searched previous posts about this and all of them are about about changing jobs.

But it's the same job, same responsibility, same salary. Just less hours

part time 20 hours a week

My wife and I have been looking for therapy for her but haven't had much luck. It's been a range of clear scams from color therapy to a Japanese therapist who is licensed and trained in California but came back here and just didn't work out.

At this point probably online therapy would be the best because I think we've exhausted a lot of the options in our area, but we're in the western part of Kansai if you have local recommendations.

The main requirement is native or at least fluent Japanese speaking, but I think it would be helpful if their methods included talking about the past/childhood as a way to help her realize why she has the issues she has now (i.e. finding root causes as opposed to only talking about day to day issues/symptoms and treating those).

Edit: I guess I described CBT as opposed to CAT.

A lot of us here have Japanese family, so I'm hoping someone has some personal recommendations. Feel free to DM me if you don't want to comment publicly below.

Hi everyone! I recently moved into a new apartment and have a huge oversized window in the living room. I would like to use honeycomb shades instead of curtains due to design preference. I looked at several brands and due to the width of the window (about 220cm) and the fact that I don't want to drill any holes in the wall and there are already curtain rails installed, the best solution is to hang/connect the shades on the rail using rail connectors.

In order to attach the connectors to the rail, you need to remove the cap that covers the rail end and then slide the connector onto the rail. The issue I have is that the curtain rail for my window sits flush against inside wall of the window so there's no space or gap to allow me to slide the connector in.

Does anyone have any tips or solution to this? It's a rental unit so I want to avoid drilling any holes in the wall. Many thanks in advance!

For people who tried applying for Ahamo via web application how long did it take for you to get approved?

I am trying to switch from Linemo to Ahamo for a esim and applied last November 29 then my web application got declined the next day because I used Mynumber card. Then resubmitted my application the following day because they wanted my residence card and passport since it is the requirement for a foreigner. But I was only able to upload my residence card. There was no other option to upload my passport.

Up until now I haven’t got any update from them. Thank you in advance to those people who can give some information.

Hello everyone, Sorry for kind of a silly question. I have a yuucho debit card (I know I KNOW) and I'm traveling to Taiwan soon. Am I able to withdraw money from atms in Taiwan with a yuucho card? Thank you

Hey everyone. We're supposed to leave for our trip to Korea tomorrow early in the morning but my girlfriend has a fever of 38 to 39 degrees Celsius. We were both really looking forward to that trip so that is devastating.

Is there any medicine that's really effective with fever or anything else to help ease the symptoms? Open to any advice. Thank you all in advance!

im planning on moving back home to the states in february, but currently a student in a language school in aomori. From then, till I move back home I plan on hitting the slopes.

My school term offically ends in april, however I'll be quiting after our last session in the end of december, thus, forfeiting my student visa.

My question is, should I inform the school before I go to break, as break is around 2 weeks long, so I'd rather wait after the new year, to tell them, and subsequently tell the embassay for the sake of having a longer chance of staying here.

In such case, is it likely for my student visa to turn into a tourist visa?
I plan on going to the embassay prior, but just want to know everyone's thoughts, thanks!

I've been renting a detached home for a very long time (20 ish years). Suddenly last week I heard sounds in the wall and a couple of days later, found mouse droppings in my kitchen/ living room. Used some commercial mouse deterrent spray all around the outside of the house and in any indoor cracks (there are a few along the top of the kitchen cupboards and between the stove hood and cupboard as I suppose the house has shifted over the years). The next day there was a large mouse (or perhaps a small rat) in my kitchen. Got it out, but sort of freaking out now. Stuffed all the cracks but that's only a temporary solution and they might still be in the walls. My landlord is a cheap asshole who is hard to deal with and will try to blame me, but my kitchen is meticulously clean and all food is sealed up properly. The house behind me is slowly becoming a garbage house and I'm sure the rats came from there. I want the house checked, mice/ rats removed, and cracks/ potential entry points sealed. Is this usually a landlord responsibility? Checking online seems to indicate it would be as it is related to structural issues but I know my landlord will fight it. What are my options??

Hi, I’m a sophomore CS student from the US, currently living in Japan for Nanzan University’s CJS program, which I chose over a potential internship because it was 100% covered through an award. The program is part-time (~3.5 hours/weekday), and I’m taking language and marketing/accounting electives.

I’ve passed the N1 exam and want to use my free time for something meaningful: traveling, networking, or building skills that align with my career. I am also planning to stay an extra month because my stipend is big enough.

Any ideas on how to make the most of this experience? Career wise (tech / IT), are there any ways I can use this experience in Japan to further myself, in any way?

So I'm moving to an apartment that doesnt have a water outlet for the washing machine. Saw on YT that alot of people from the US has an electric "portable" washing machine that uses the sink as the outlet.

Do you know where to buy it? Has anyone bought it? Any recs?

I searched on amazon but only the manual one pops up

I have come to the conclusion that the only sane way to deal with the Japanese post office is to pop a Zyn and let it carry you to the end.

以上

Noticed an interesting trend. Quite many drivers here seem to start their cars with the gas pedal on the floor. HUGE revs when the poor cold engine starts with zero oil circulating.

Compounded by my suspicion that quite a few cars here never see a service center until they 'mysteriously' fail on the motorway and end up waiting for tow truck bonnet up (what's with the bonnet up anyway). Correct me if I'm wrong but regular maintenance and service according to the manufacturers set schedule doesn't seem to be a thing here. I spent two hours trying to explain to my own manufacturer service center that I expect them to follow the schedule in the car owners manual. To no avail. Hence I maintain my car myself for the last two years. Far cheaper and everything actually gets checked, maintained and replaced properly now.

Hi there! I'm graduating from university this December and planning to stay in Japan to job hunt afterwards. My problem is I'd really like to go home for the holidays for a week or two, but I'm worrying that I won't be able to re-enter the country coming back. My diploma date is Dec. 18th and my school let me know that I have 30 days after that before my student visa expires. My residence card expires in April 2025.

I asked my school's visa office if it would be feasible to leave and come back, and they said it could be possible as long as I re-entered and submitted my application for the job hunting visa before January 18th, but it might have negative implications with Immigration since they'll see that I left the country for the holidays. Has anyone else been in a similar situation and have advice ...? I realize that it would 100% be a safer bet to just stay here and submit my application but I didn't go home for the holidays last year and I'd really like to celebrate with my family again.

Thanks!

Editing to add: I remembered I have to get a letter of recommendation from my school before I apply for the designated activities visa, so I'm realizing this is entirely dependent on when my school gets that to me. If they send it before I go back home then great! Otherwise I'll probably end up going back home and applying for designated activities visa when I come back into the country.

I've been living in Japan from last year. I'm a Nepalese citizen. I usually buy product from China and send as gift to my family in Nepal (Nepal and China are a neighboring country). I've been paying through wise. Does doing so effect my visa in future. I've a 5 years visa and 4 years is left before I have to apply for renewal. I'm just worried as China doesn't have good relationship with Japan and Us.
Should I be worried if I'm paying my taxes?

We're about to buy a second hand car from a dealer, and I'm looking for car insurance tips/recommendations:

• I want something reasonably comprehensive, not just mandatory
• Don't want to end up arguing for months with the insurance company in the event of an accident
• I'd prefer to do this online as long as they are still reputable
• Would prefer something english friendly, but I know that might be stretching it
• I have existing credit cards with SMBC and DC and they seem to offer car insurance as well. Is this a good deal?
• Car - Subaru Impreza or Crosstrek (~3 years old)
• Male, 49

P.S., I've been driving Times Car Share and Nippon rental cars for 18 months and several thousand KM. Is there a way to extract my clean driving record from them to reduce my insurance?

I'm switching from LINEMO to Ahamo, but my phone won't connect to their network, it shows: Emergency calls only - docomo.

I think the line was activated, because I received an email saying so, and when I dial my number from a desk phone, I get a message from Docomo. That said, i can't log in to my Ahamo account, because it requires 2 factor authentication via SMS message.

I already checked the APN settings, even deleted them all and manually added Ahamo's APN setting. Also tried rebooting / toggling airplane mode back and forth / switching the sim card to the second slot / played around with the preferred network (LTE vs all, etc).

One thing to note is that this is a OnePlus 5T phone, which didn't originally support VoLTE. I had to flash an MBN to make it work with LINEMO. I'm not sure if a different MBN is needed for Ahamo, but I'm very reluctant to go through that process again.

Any ideas?

Like it says on the tin. Thinking about the future and wondering if this course is worth it. Has anyone applied to this graduate program at Rikkyo (or knows anything about it)? Worth it or not worth it? Any information or experience is appreciated.