SUB RULES

I plan to have a semester exchange to Japan next year and am really interested in having any kind of work experience while being in Japan as well. I’m open to anything (paid or unpaid, volunteering, internships, fellowships…). I just want to ask here if you know there are any opportunities like that given that I don’t know any Japanese. Thank you!!

I vomited accidentally on my 20,000 yen bills. After being dried but I did not wash it, I tried depositing it on an ATM but it won't accept it at all.

Can I wash it with soap and water? I'm afraid it will do further damage to the notes. It has significant stains, looks like oil stains which must be the reason the machines can't read it.

I heard I can exchange it in Bank of Japan but the nearest branch is almost 200 kilometres from my place. Will other banks replace it? Like Yuucho bank since I'm a customer. Any help please. These are quite big amount of money. I don't think I can use it on stores too, most stores usually have those machines too that reads the paper bills. I don't want to pass the burden as well by paying it to vendors that don't use those money scanning machines.

Edit: I said I'm afraid of washing it but I dried it, also cleaned it by wiping with tissue. It's been days since the vomit. So I should just throw this into the bin then? I accidentally vomited, I was drunk and the unfortunately I have my bag hanging in my neck, shoots the puke right into it when I bend over.

Both explanations sounded like electrolysis hair removal but they somehow seems to be different

i just lost the keyring i bought at 2023 punkspring (rock music festival) while overseas. it was a super special show to me and i’m devastated to have lost it- wondering if anyone had bought an extra they might be willing to give up? i can’t attach photos but it’s a big blue fabric keyring with punkspring written on it in purple. although i guess if you have an extra you know what it looks like lol. please let me know it would mean a lot to me!!!

This small hanger on the ceiling in my apartment in Japan. I’ve never seen this before. What is it for?

https://imgur.com/a/QrM7Zod

Does anybody have experience on how to book an appointment with Shinagawa Clinic for botox? I have tried to book an appointment through their website but i keep getting denied because i am an foreigner. But i have heard people here have been able to book an appointment there. How??

I just want to know what the hell these are. Two years ago they infested my home and I used one of those insecticide bombs and they were gone immediately. I saw them again today and yesterday in my house and I fear they're back. I know how to solve the problem now, but I just want to know what these fuckers are called cause they're extremely annoying and invasive.

Attributes:

They look like fruit flies, but they fly very slowly.

When you go to kill them, they walk instead of fly and then take off weakly.

They kind of sit slanted on the wall.

They love to fly into water...and die.

Currently living in Osaka as a student and holding N2 (currently waiting for N1 results but I should be OK with japanese).

Rn in process of finding a rental in Kobe, Sannomiya, the uni recommends 神戸アイランド不動産 (Kōbe Airando fudōsan) for moving; anybody can let me know their reputation? Im worried they will discriminate againts me as a foreigner.

If possible, I would like to also know other Agents (ie. Sumo or PitaT) that would help me alot and other information is greatly appreciated.

お願いします、在日又は在留の外国人達！！！

Hey all, Please do not come at me for this question, I'm genuinely confused about this and want to know if anyone else had noticed. I have a background in food safety and working in kitchens. I've noticed that onigiri fridges in the kombinis are barely cold most times. I always look at the little temp gage at the top and yeah, it's way too warm to be food safe. In food safety, we are taught that cold foods be kept cold so under 4 C and Hot foods hot , over 64C . Anything in-between that is bad news. I've seen these fridge thermometers up as high as 18C. Having suffered through a week in hospital with severe food poisoning from a store bought tuna salad sandwich that seemed fine when I ate it, I am extra careful now.I don't eat the onigiris from those anymore which is sad because I love them. Meanwhile, the sandwiches in the next fridge over, are usually in the right temp zone. Why is this? Can anyone with food safe knowledge comment on why this seems to be so pervasive in Japan? Am I missing something here?

Hi
I am a Swede who lives in Nagano, Ueda with my wife and I work as a truck driver.

I like my work tbh (deliver materials for various big companies, I personally deliver materials to building sites (houses and smaller apartments). My biggest problem is the hours. Usually start around 6am (much earlier if outside Nagano Pref like Niigata) and our work day doesnt end until the next day's load is loaded and tightened (On all trucks, not just your own) Which usually ends around 5-6pm. Can take longer.

I prefer having a balanced lifestyle so I can go to gym, hobbies and be with my wife. Which I was super clear about during the interview and 社長 said this is a company where you can def have a balanced life, but so far not worked below 10 hours a day since I joined. Also working 6 days a week. (can take days off)

Salary is also way lower than they promised. Putting it into hourly pay its just around 1000 yen/hour Which is bad, even for Ueda standard.

I honestly want to to look for new job right away and quit but im sure they'll be pissed because they paid for my licenses and everything. And that'll it look too bad on my resumé.

Better companies should exist I hope, or is this normal? Should I just look for job and quit and not care what they think?

I'm still learning nihongo but need the money I currently live in Suginami-ku

And for a resume do I need it printed out it is a pdf file good?

*TLDR;*
Fulltime app developer in Tokyo. Caught my company doing immoral/potentially illegal practices, called them out and now I am being fired a few months later for "attitude issues".
What are my options as 正社員? I hear that you can speak with a law office/lawyer and potentially get some sort of severance, but I don't know if I qualify.

My company is barely a company as we have no proper HR and can barely pay employees on time.
Since we're a start up, I don't think they realize any of the laws and regulations here in Japan and I want to try and figure out my next path here.
Where do I go? Who do I talk to? I've done some research and short of "talk with a lawyer", I'm just not sure the best channels to do so. I speak Japanese, but know very little of the employee rights system here in Japan.

Thank you in advance!

### More context:

I work as a developer for a start-up as a fulltime employee here in Tokyo. This Friday I working remote and called on discord by our HR (who is also acting as Designer, Finance and a couple other positions) and told they are going to be terminating my contract.
Their reasons:
- 社内での影響が大きく、輪を乱す行動
- 言動に一貫性がない点
- ネガティブな発言が多く、周囲の士気を下げる影響

For a bit more context, our PM randomly told our, foreign only, dev team (of 3 guys including myself), that our app was using fake job listings to boost our image in an effort to increase potential business ventures. Without going into too much detail on what company I work for, we are a BtoB and BtoC company and our marketing and sales teams are absolutely dreadful at their jobs. So when this came out, our dev team, including myself, were obviously very put off by this and it caused a big issue.
Our dev team, save for me, is fully remote and overseas. They also cannot speak Japanese and I have been doing a lot of translation on top of lots of what normal HR would be doing, as they come to me with their issues and i try and see what I can do for them funneling it to HR and praying they've got some answers.
I was the most vocal about this news and talked directly to our sales team, who made the fake job listings, and was very much not pulling punches. We're still small and trying to grow, so this potentially getting out could be a huge blow to our business if it were to be found out and really, anyone could tell with a little bit of research that those listings were fake. From this our lead developer decided that he would be looking for a new job.
That weekend the company told the other developers not to talk to me about this and that they wanted to explain themselves and that I would only cause more "communications issues".
Recently as well I've been pretty vocal about how much money were are wasting in our marketing (I used to do marketing) and asked about why we don't do any actual posting on our SNS platforms; that we're leaving a lot on the table. That was not received very well and seems like the final nail in the coffin for me.
After hearing this news, I talked to my dev team and they are all ready to leave the company and are fully behind me. I didn't mean to go scorched earth here, but that seems to be what's happening.

This whole thing has been a huge mess and I was able to talk them into giving me another month to sort my things out here, so I have through January to figure out my next steps.

My question is, what rights do I have as a 正社員 as I know getting fired as one is quite difficult.

Right before this incident I had asked for raise since I was being severely underpaid for my time here and compared to industry standards here in Japan. They reluctantly gave me a raise but I needed to sign a new contract. On that contract there was a 解雇 (layoff) section wherein it states these potential reasons:

次の事項に該当するときは解雇いたします。

１. 正当な理由がなく２週間以上欠勤した場合。

２. 勤務態度または能力が不良で、就業に適しないと認めたとき。

３. 業務上の報告・連絡・相談を怠り、勝手に行動して業務に支障をきたしたとき。

４. 社内の風紀を乱し、他の社員に不快感等を与えたとき。

５. 許可なく他に雇い入れられ、若しくは自己の業務を行ったとき。

６．業務上の情報を他に漏らしたとき。

７. 精神または身体の障害により、業務に耐えられないとき。

８. 協調性に欠け、他の社員のモチベ－ションを下げる恐れのあるとき。

９．その他、前各号に準ずるやむを得ない事由があるとき。

Have I screwed myself over signing this new contract? How could they even prove these things as I am on really amazing terms with my team and most people in the company actually.

Thanks for reading and hope to hear some good news finally.

Bought a cheap electric guitar in Hard Off in Akihabara yesterday. LP shape, but not a notable brand. In pretty good shape, but (I thought) it was only missing strings. I realized when I got it home it needs a new saddle as well so I can restring it. Any suggestions for where I might get guitar parts specifically. I was in several guitar shops yesterday, but not sure if any stock parts like this.

Cheers.

Hello everyone!

I got my Schengen visa and I'm planning to travel across Austria, Hungary, Czech Republic, Slovakia and Poland around Xmas and New Year.

I have never been to Europe, but I've been reading that quite a lot of parts of Europe are still cash heavy.

I'll be carrying some cash, but would like to use cards as much as I can. My main question comes about what cards should I use. I'm thinking of "Wise Card" because of low exchange rates and fee.

But, not sure how widely it's accepted and the general rate and fee of my own local bank's card?

Hello everyone!

I'll be travelling to Europe soon and wanted to carry some cash because some of small vendors just accept cash around various countries.

I came across this "Ninja Money Exchange" service that might be the best out there. Are there any other alternatives that I can explore to get some EUR, HUF, CZK and PLN?

EUR should be common, I'll have to ask in advance for the other currencies. I can't seem to find anything trustworthy and hidden fee free services in Japan. Back home (India), it's pretty common to have quite a lot of trusted vendors.

I don't want to exchange at the airport because they provide a bad exchange rate.

Hi all. I'm a PR holder and considering living in another country (Vietnam, Thailand, etc) while maintaining my online side-job in Japan, which pays 270,000 Yen a month (after tax).

I understand that it might be wise to keep a registered residence (maybe my friend's residence in Saitama), especially since I don't really want to tell my employer I will be outside of the country for so long.

Anything I should consider with this plan?

I stand out like a sore thumb. And I’ve lived here for a while. But every now and then I wonder how other foreigners cope with being different. You know, when you wear your difference on the outside. I had an incident the other day where I sat down in a waiting area and a woman immediately got up when I sat down to go sit in a nearby seat with other Japanese people. People move away from me a lot. People talk about me when I walk passed. I get stared at all the time and gaijin seated to the point where I’m starting to think something’s wrong with me? I don’t know. Maybe I’m overthinking it and just need to get thicker skin. But it’s no question that living in Japan with people while being different is not for the weak. How can I stay positive?

Edit: wow I didn’t expect to get this many responses, but thanks to everyone who commented helpful advice!!

Like in the title, I got my first paycheck recently and was expecting it to be taxed at around 20%, like I read is supposed to be for WH makers. And while I got taxed, it's definitely not 20%. There's quite a few of other people on WHV working there, as well as international students, and my employer knows about that. I asked about the taxation, but they told me not to worry about it. I asked some other friends who worked part-time in Japan last year while on a yearly student visa and they said they didn't pay the 20% tax either.

I've read some posts on reddit though and see that the 20.42% tax should be paid by non-residents. And I'm really confused now, does the tax office just really not care or is everyone I asked avoiding taxes? What should I do? Should I go ask at the tax office or just wait until it contacts me?

Hey guys my mother in law is Japanese we live with her for a little til we find an apartment which can be a little more time.. she is giving me 5pm curfew if I'm not home by 5pm she will be really angry like slamming doors on me and ignores me for 2 days. I am respectful towards her and I always include her in everything and take advice from her. We have a one year old baby and I always take him with me, I can't even go to the store down the street after 5p. Or the vending machine right beside the house. Is this normal? I am really fed up with this but I don't want to start a fight with her because it will not work she's only going to get mad at me and the situation itself will not change. I understand that I'm living in her home but giving a full grown woman a 5pm curfew is crazy.. I would understand 8pm or 9pm but 5? I want to know if this is normal behavior in Japan and other perspectives on what you guys would do in this situation. EDIT: My husband has tried talking to her many many times but it only got worse and nothing changed. My husband's brother also tried to talk to her as well.

Am renewing a U.S. passport and got a 5cmx5cm photo taken at Camera no Kitamura. Turned out they did not have a white background but used their system to change the background color from blue to white. For their part, they say this approach has been used successfully with visa/passport applications in the past. The shape of my face is unchanged but if you look at the hair edge closely, there are some subtle hints.

Has anyone had their U.S. passport renewal application rejected after having had the background auto-removed by e.g. Camera no Kitamura or the premium modes in the DNP/Kirei camera booths? Is it worth trying to retake with a proper background? Or if they reject it during the appt at the Tokyo embassy, do they let me use their booth to take another one?

I recently moved in Chiba, and remodeling my bathroom. I want to install the button-type faucets that’s attached with a shower you’ll often see in Japan Bathhouses but I don’t know where to buy them. Does anyone know what it’s called?

https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcTdHBusqRM6DQeJiPl_CLxksABllW-XyVhusg&usqp=CAU

I myself am still in school and never worked in my life. I've tried to do arubaito but got rejected by the places I applied to. I'm in this state of thought that the working culture of this country is really bad, and I would do anything to work outside of Japan. I guess you could say that I'm not comfortable with the culture of this country and I guess that's fair. But I really wonder how's the experience of your average foreigner working in this country.

I've gone through a lot of eye issues these past few years leading now to blindness in one eye. I'd like to see a retina specialist who has done stem cell therapy successfully to try this out for my vision. Anywhere in Japan is fine thank you

I’m thinking of getting a CC from Rakuten or Yuucho. But maybe you guys have a better experience on other cards

Thanks in advance

As the title says, I want travel ideas for Golden Week, but for OUTSIDE of Japan! I’ve already been to South Korea, The Philippines, and Taiwan, so I want to avoid those places. I’m also wanting to avoid Thailand, since I’m planning on going there for New Years 2025.

I want it to be within 5 hours of Japan, I’m kind of debating between Hong Kong, Shanghai, and Macau. But I’m open to other suggestions! I just would like to avoid SUPER hot places. Thanks!

Hi everyone! I’m looking for a reliable heat protectant for my hair that’s available in Japan. Preferably something I can use before styling with a flat iron or curling iron. Thanks in advance!

I'm planning a trip to EU next year (Germany), and in the visa application documents I see that travel insurance is required. https://japan.diplo.de/resource/blob/903476/ca5cf0ea23a6279a3d2527d8deb03b61/travel-insurance-data.pdf
I'm planning to get bus tickets to airport + airfare ticket paid by EPOS gold card.
On their website I found this: https://www.eposcard.co.jp/insurance/pdf/travelguide_epos_visa_gold_202310.pdf?webview=false
In page 26 it says injury medical expenses 3mil JPY, and sickness medical expenses 3mil JPY.

I am wondering if this insurance (or other credit card travel insruances) are acknowledged, and if anyone have successfully got a visa using them.
And in general if anyone have used them, what are things that I should be aware of when using such insurances

I've been living in Japan for 14 years and thankfully never really watched TV. Even in my home country I rarely watched TV. I recently got married un April, and my wifes family likes to watch TV during meals. So I have to watch it too.

Anyway, I've noticed the programs seem to have some flavor of the month actors that just visit stores and eat food in a highly exaggerated fashion. The prices of the products are displayed on the screen as well. It feels straight out of the truman show.

Just some of my observations from someone that never watched TV before in Japan.

Hello community,

Anyone lives in Katushika ku, near Mizumoto park? If so, how is your general impression and how is life for kids there?

I’m considering to move from Minami Kasai, near Kasai Rinkai Park to area around Mizumoto park. Main motivation is to buy a house, as houses are 30-40% cheaper in Mizumoto area, while Kasai feels overpriced.

However, biggest concern is, how is life for kids in that area? Will be much interested in comments related to quality of public education. Any other general comments are much appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

I'm planning on making a proper Christmas dinner for the family, but, cosmopolitan fellow that I am, I thought we could celebrate in the perennial Japanese fashion with a big ol' bucket of fried chicken for lunch.

Any experience on this front? Which chain offers the best quality?