SUB RULES

I kinda wonder if there is such service in Japan like putting your pc / device in data center and let it online 24h.
then just pay the space or subcription for electricity, space, and internet connection.

since currently renting vps with GPU is so expensive, so I want to use my own resource instead and just rent the space to be online 24h 365 days

Hey everyone,

I’m getting a new apartment and currently have three options with my realtor:

Option 1. Nearest Station: Kawaguchi Station 8 Minute Walk, Saitama

Rent: 95k/month

Size: 27 sqm²

Building: 2 years old, RC (reinforced concrete)

Floor: 3rd floor, 7 floor Buidling.

Internet: Free

Option 2. Nearest Station: Urayasu Station 8 Minute Walk, Chiba

Rent: 114k/month

Size: 36 sqm²

Building: 6 years old, RC

Floor: 1st floor, 5 floor Buidling.

Internet: Free

Option 3. Nearest station Shin Yokohama Station 10 Minute Walk.

Rent: 102k/month

Size: 27 sqm²

Building: Brand new (built January 2025), wooden structure

Floor: 1st floor (2-floor building)

Internet: Free

All three options take roughly the same time to commute to work (about 50 minutes door-to-door).

Chiba: Requires 2 trains

Saitama: Requires 2 trains

Yokohama: Can take 1 or 2 trains, depending on the route.

Other stuff to consider:

Moving-in fees: Saitama is the cheapest, while Chiba and Yokohama have similar costs.

Planned stay: 1-2 years

Visitors: Just me living there, with occasional family visits

A little about me, 23M Canadian, Japanese is N5, first time living alone in Japan.

If you have experience living in these areas or any opinions on which option might be best. Please share them. Thank you.

Hi! My family is going to move back to our home country soon. I normally have my dog (under 5kg) looked at by the vet in our area because I can speak Japanese, but since there are a lot of requirement, I'm wondering if maybe I should try looking for a vet that can help me with the whole process of traveling with my dog.

Petlife in Azabu looks promising, but can I ask if anyone can share their experiences? Price range? Thanks!!!

mainly with my permit? i signed some docs and paid an extra 660, but idk if this is warranty or the permit. they didn't put a sticker or anything on my bike but from what ive heard bike shops normally do this automatically. i did buy this new not second hand

As part of moving, I would like to sell my car (a 6yo Subaru). Since we have million other things to do I would like to do it as smooth as possible, therefore I was thinking about used car dealerships, auctions and such. Does anyone have good experience / recommendation? All the recent news about Big Motor doesn’t really inspire trust in such businesses, but I don’t really have time to meet and negotiate with random people from Craigslist or similar places neither.

I hope you guys are doing well financially. 👀 In recent times, the cost of living has increased, but the salary hasn’t quite. 🥲 Could you please suggest some side jobs or part time work that can be done in addition to one’s current job, while residing on an Engineer Visa? Due to restrictions on the work type, I can’t do any traditional アルバイト like working at some shop or restaurant or delivery etc. There maybe some online remote tasks available, I feel. I get ads for training AI (especially Outlier) but people have reviewed that the payment doesn’t arrive on time. Or any weekend project for some startup etc. IDK anything that can fetch at least an additional 30K JPY per month if not more.

I am planning to hopefully leave Japan in a few months and hence started searching about things to do before leaving but all the information online confused and overwhelmed me a little bit. I don't really have Japanese speaking friends here so how do I deal with the tax and pension situation. Also, if I get my utlities and apartment (UR housing) contract cancelled, can I still stay in my apartment with water and electricity until the day I leave? Would it be possible to get the mattress and a few things I might have used during the last days removed after I leave? If the utilities are available until the day I leave, then how do I pay the bill for them later? (My electricity and gas bill gets deducted automatically from my credit card which I think I'll have to get cancelled too before I leave and I pay water bill at the convenience stores) How long do all these preparations take (how long after my last day at work should I book the flight ticket?) Also, I am planning to start reducing the stuff I own right away so how can I get rid of stuff like old clothes (not in good condition so cannot be sold at thrift stores) and stuff like blankets once the winter ends? Sorry if the questions sound silly.

Hello all! I’m looking to buy around half a cow, preferably straight from a farm, to last my family around a year. How can I find farmers that sell in bulk? I’m around the Tokyo area and don’t speak Japanese well.

Hi, my language school program will end in March. I would like to know if it's possible to convert my student visa to a work visa (there's a company willing to sponsor me) and work full time before completing my language program?

Living in kyoto atm and I very much enjoyed the first deck, been looking for vol. 2 everywhere but i can't find it online... if anyone knows of a physical location or store I would be very grateful.

I live in Japan but over winter vacation, I went on a 3day/2night liveaboard scuba diving trip in Thailand and got really seasick (ultimately vomiting) but continued to scuba dive when the nausea subsided. After the second dive I started feeling intense pain in my left eyebrow and along the top of my teeth. I was given decongestants at the time to help clear my nose and it helped but the pain persisted mildly even when I was back on land. I’ve now come back to Japan and I went to see a dentist and an ENT in my small city in Hokkaido, the dentist took X-rays and couldn’t find anything wrong with the teeth but said there was inflammation on top of the teeth (I’m assuming a nerve) that showed up on the X-rays, they said it should go away on its own or I should go to an ENT. So I went to an ENT and they took a CT scan that showed the entire left side is blocked, so I was given medicine. That was 2 weeks ago, my breathing has somewhat gotten better, but there’s this pressure-like sensation still above my teeth that won’t go away. I’m not sure what to do or where to go to fix it. If anyone knows anyone that specializes in scuba or barotraumas in Hokkaido that would be helpful, or if anyone has any other solutions that have helped them if this has ever happened to them it would be helpful as well!

hello all,

since coming to japan i've noticed that both laundry machines and detergent are fairly weak comparatively. my main problem right now are a white pair of pants that got stained by normal dirt, but even that the laundry machines seem unable to wash out. do any of you have a solution/ go to product to get here?

thanks in advance!

Hello all! I'm a student who is leaving the country and coming back in on a 90-day tourist Visa. However, I'm not sure if I have to cancel my national health insurance that I've been pay before I leave, or if I have to continue paying these fees throughout my tourist Visa as well. Also, are there any extra procedures I must do in advance if I'm switching my visa on return to Japan, or can I just come back into the country and automatically be re-classified as a tourist? Thanks!

Hi, I'm a mom of 2 in semi-rural Shizuoka, I was hoping if anyone knew where I could find online support groups for foreign parents of kids living in Japan. Bonus points if it's for parents of neurodivergent kids. Things like navigating the school system, doctors and hospitals, government forms and procedures, etc. I've been a member of a few groups on Facebook but I'm trying to leave the platform and don't want to lose that support system. I know I can ask questions here, but besides reddit I don't know where other parents talk. Is there a social media platform that's popular? Thanks in advance!

Hi I am a foreigner married to a Japanese woman, we are planning to move to France. Initially we did not change her last name to mine but she regrets it and want to change it now before things become more complicated The problem is that she already applied for visa and bought tickets with her current name

Does anyone had any information if we can change just the koseki and keep everything else in the old name so that she can travel with her passport and visa no problem? Or will changing the Koseki make the passport invalid and she can’t travel anymore?

Thank you for your help

My gf recently switched from docomo to ahamo, it was a pain in the ass, but she chose a plan that said she gets 20gb for 2700yen.

For the past couple of months shes been getting billed for a little over 10000yen.

Initially we thought it was just the "activation fee" or something like that, but this is already the third month they charge her all this stuff.

It looks like a bunch of aditional services we dont use and never signed up for.

Does anybody know how to get rid of these things?

◇その他ご利用料金等(計)

2,221円

あんしんセキュリティ利用料

200円

税区分合算

1,000円

ケータイ補償サービス (1,000 円コース)

dヒッツ利用料

dフォト利用料

ユニバーサルサービス料/基本 1 番号あたり2円のご請求となります

電話リレーサービス料/基本 1番 号あたり1円のご請求となります

税区分合算

628 円

税区分合算

390 円

税区分合算

2円

税区分合算

1円

税区分合算

◇決済サービス代金等(計)

d払い等(ご利用代金) 2月請求分

iTunes 2月請求分

5,558円

2,058 円

税区分 非対象等

3,500円

税区分 非対象等

Mods, please delete this if not allowed/overtly political.

EDIT: for everyone asking me why I didn’t do it when we registered my child’s birth abroad, as of 2023, you cannot complete these procedure at the same time. Find more info here. https://jp.usembassy.gov/services/social-security/social-security-number-card-issues/

My child was born and we registered their birth at the consulate within a few months to make sure their American citizenship was all fine and dandy. One thing that’s taken some time, though, was getting things ready to apply for their official Social Security number.

I’m pregnant again and figured it was time to get it done after waiting this long, and was about to send their passport and paperwork to Tokyo when all the news of Trump upending federal workers has come rolling in, and even shutting down all government websites (??). Obviously this is extremely concerning to me and I am stuck at what to do. Having an SS number is important, I’m well aware, but this timing is jarring and I’m wondering if we should wait a little longer before it blows over or just send the stuff in as planned? How much is this affecting consulates abroad?

Thanks in advanced from a confused mama.

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.

Oh boy! Big mess up …so I’m in Japan on a working holiday visa. I’m living all around Japan. Every few weeks I pick up and move. so I’m preparing to leave Hiroshima for Tokyo. I was at the ward office today to change my address. And didn’t have all the right paper work. So I figured I’ll come back tomorrow morning. Completely forgetting tomorrow is the weekend and they’re closed! I need the “I moved” certified and to register my new address with the Shinjuku ward. But now the hiroshima ward is closed all weekend. And I already packed and have to leave my current Airbnb tomorrow and already bought my bullet train ticket….

THIS IS THE DUMBEST THING IVE EVER DONE. WHAT DO I DO!?

Hey guys, so I moved into a new apartment in Kyoto recently with my wife and son but the agency only provided us two apartment keys and a lobby scanner thingy (little black oval thing with "Goal" written on it that lets you past the lobby door into the apartment like an access card idk what its called sorry)

I texted our housing agent asking if we could get one more spare key and scanner for my son but he just told us to go to a locksmith. Duplicating the key isn't a problem but I imagine the scanner is not as simple so my question where can I duplicate the scanner?

Hi, Its my 5th month in Japan as a worker. I want to know is there any possible way to deposit money to my mastercard in Japan. Its not a japanese bank card.

My apartment company suddenly wants to increase my rental to 107,000K from 85,000K ( plus I pay extra 15,000K for bills) The place is really old and sucks. It’s in a central area in Tokyo ( BABA)

I wanna go through and just basically rent another place but want something furnished and not crazy expensive. I tried Leopalace and a few others but they’re so expensive?

Any recommendations on rentals in this Shinjuku-ku area ? Rental companies etc?

Hello all, I am here looking for some advice. I am a hāfu (no, the term isn't offensive to me) who is currently residing with some family here and I am approaching that age where I must decide on my citizenship. Some things about me are that I grew up in an English-speaking country and that I only recently got here so my Japanese is sitting around N4 (studying every day). I did visit frequently so I have no issues culturally with Japan. I am taking some classes at an accredited online university and will graduate soon with a bachelor's degree. The degree program only has relevance for employment where I am from but I was thinking I could pivot into anything else with grad school here (it is STEM). My university has no ties or connections with Japan so employment here afterward in my degree field is impossible, but it is an accredited degree nonetheless. My plan to stay here would be to get better at Japanese and to get my degree. After this, I am unsure what options I have, and if there aren't many I might just lose citizenship and choose to live where I grew up. I realize I kind of have the golden ticket to a life here so what I am asking is what would you do in my shoes? What would you do if you were in your early 20s with Japanese citizenship in Japan and the world was your oyster but you had no connections yet? I think my situation is unique so I tried to keep it as vague yet specific as possible. I am open to virtually any career change so long as it has the potential for stability here. Thank you for reading.

TLDR: What would you do if you could do it all over again with a fresh slate?

So i have been living in japan with technical intern training visa (技能実習生) for 2 years. In last years end of june i got into an accident on the way to my work and had to get surgery which prevented me from working for several months. All the procedure was done by workers accident insurance (rosai hoken). As i could only speak day to day and my work specifically japanese i could not talk to insurance company and it was done by my company and agency company that brought me to japan. I received a health certificate at the end of november that says i have been getting treated by the hospital and sent it to the insurance company. Both my company and the agency havent been talking to the insurance company only when i ask them to. And the compensation money for the days that i didn’t work has yet to be received and both the agency and my company assumed I received the money because the insurance company said it will be done by the end of December but now the insurance company is saying it will take till april for the money to come in. As i have done research it usually takes 1 month and at most 2 so can somebody tell me why is it taking so long or is jt normal for the procedure to be this long

So last week my husband applied for his first ever Rakuten credit card, adding me as his partner a Family Card, using his User ID.

Today both cards arrived, and he added it to his e-Navy app on his phone. But then he can’t add my card info to the app. After searching on the website, seems like the Main Account (my husband’s) cannot add family member card information.

So I logged into my old rakuten account, and went to the e-navy website but I also can’t add the card information. It said that it was registered with different User ID.

I have planned to call the customer service tomorrow, but in the meantime I wanted to ask if anyone has any experience like this?

So on the second floor of the grocery store I go to there is a 100 yen Daiso and I saw usually 300 or 200 yen spices or pepper and salt being sold much more cheaper than the store down stairs and was just wondering is there any quality difference between the local store and the 100 yen store?

Basically what the title says. Moved here a few days ago and got my address registered on the zairyu card. Waiting for the My Number card to arrive in the mail.

Edit: as a few folks have pointed out, I'll get a notification telling me to collect it instead of it directly in the mail.

When we tried to open an account in various banks, we were told that at least 2 forms of notification (typical zairyu card and my number) are necessary.

That being said, any banks that don't require it?

My wife and I are wondering about how my name shows up on our 戸籍. It shows my previous name for example as "スミス、ベン", with a comma. This seems normal for me as a foreigner, but my new name also shows up with a comma, like for example "佐藤、ベン", even though it is written as 漢字. My wife, and mother in law feel like that is a bit weird, and maybe they made a mistake. Could this cause any issues, or is that just normal?

I need to provide a translated marriage certificate to city office for dependent visa process. Please suggest how to do it

I've been doing a ton of research on trying to find a home after floating around for a few months and finally moving my wife over here. Originally I thought I would find a nice quite place in Kanagawa where I could get a decent detached house with a space for a car or two being a die-hard car enthusiast. Work-wise, I'm splitting my time probably ~2 days/week around Machida and occasionally at my home office in Toranomon Hills or otherwise working remote.

While I was considering more far out stations with access to express trains like Sagami-ono along the Odakyu line, we keep finding ourselves liking areas closer and closer to Tokyo. I viewed a few houses around the edges of the Odakyu line but I came to the realization that the potential rent savings might not be worth giving up the amenities we like including shopping, restaurants, proximity to Tokyo, and close to a couple of our friends who live out here.

I almost felt like pulling the trigger on a house in Kawasaki (Tama-ward, Yurigaoka Station) because it was almost perfect, ~100 sqr meters, 2 parking spaces, good view of the mountains, and a new build for a low rent. However I felt like the station was a trek with a lot of elevation. The station itself having almost nothing to offer nor any express trains.

Last weekend we went down the Odakyu line and really liked Setagaya, especially Komae & Seijogakuen-mae stations. The area was just nicer, more idyllic, and had better amenities than a lot of the quieter places farther out on the train.

I started looking at homes near Seijogakuen-mae because it offers a quick commute into Tokyo and a reasonable commute out to Kanagawa with ample express trains. While the area near the station very clearly has a wealthy district, I've seen a decent amount of detached homes for rent close to 100 sqr meters that aren't anywhere near insane price wise.

In any case, does anyone have any experience living near here or thoughts on the area in general? I appreciate any thoughts, I've certainly begun experiencing the pain of renting in Japan and just navigating all the different real estate websites....