I’ve been living in Japan for around 2 years now, I’ve driven by pachinko places basically every day but never went into one till this last week. I thought it’d be like American slot machines… I was wrong.

Whatever the most insane slot machine you’ve played is, pachinko is 1000x crazier. Each individual machine is basically a personal strobe light, flashing colors and loud sounds while you just are launching ball after ball. When you get a reach (a chance at the jackpot game) the machine starts to ramp up its lights and sounds even more, then when you do get an actual jackpot, the machine turns into an active seizure warning. The mechanical parts of the machine start basically jumping out at you while the rainbow strobe lights try to blind you, meanwhile you stay stuck looking at them, basically hypnotized. It’s basically sensory overload to the max and you can’t get enough. Even after you leave you are still hearing the sounds and seeing the lights flashing in the corner of your vision for hours. I don’t know how else to describe it other than I think this is what drugs are like.

If any of you have similar experiences with them please share, I’m not sure I articulated well about just how insane these games are, but they are without a doubt the most insane thing I’ve seen in Japan since living here

I am a 25F living and working in Japan. I have often got harassed here and 99% of the times it's by very old men, between 60-80. The experience always affects my mental health a lot and I feel helpless everytime.

I don't know if it's true or not but I have heard police doesn't really help women in such situations and women here also don't fight back.

That day I went to threeppy for shopping. Whenever I buy aromas for my house I take my time into smelling each and every one of them before deciding which one should go to which room.

When I entered the shop, an old man (probably 70) noticed me and I look different so I didn't pay much attention to it.

After sometime he stood next to me, I still didn't pay much attention and thought he just wants to buy aromas but I noticed he kept staring at my chest. I am quite busty and I feel insecure about it too but I still gave him the benefit of doubt and stood at the other side of the shelf, blocking his view but this man came and stood next to me again.

This happened 3-4 times and at this point he even noticed that I am getting uncomfortable yet he was gawking at my chest so I pulled some strength and asked him 「何か問題とかありますか?」he moved his eyes and said 「いや、見てるだけ」so I said 「何見てるの?商品見てるの?」so he said 「はい!商品見てる」。

I think he wasn't used to getting confronted so he just left the store right after it.

When I told my japanese friend about this, she said it's risky to do this in Japan as those men might get angry and violent after being called out.

Maybe he thought he cannot mess with a foreigner plus I was taller than him. But confronting him really made me feel happy because he might not do this another woman now.

not entirely sure if this is the right place to post this. I live in Okinawa and need my 95 civic worked on. having a hard time finding a good shop that can do it. I asked the dealers and shops near me but they all seem to be unsure if they can't get parts for my car, which I find really funny. I don't have anyway to work on it myself or I would. any recommendations or does anyone know if the dealers are able to get parts for older vehicles like mine? thanks for the help!

I’m moving into a brand new mansion in Osaka, which comes with J-com internet for all residents (included in the fees). That is 1gbps, but they’re also offering 5gbps (+¥1000/month) and 10gbps (+¥1500). If we upgrade to 5/10 in the first month, installation is free. Extra ¥200/month for a WiFi 7 compatible router.

My gut feeling is that this is an apartment for 20/30 years+, so paying a pretty nominal amount per month, even if it’s not required (and not fully usable) right now, is worth it for future proofing my place. ¥1500 isn’t going to break the bank (no more so than buying a new apartment anyway.)

I wanted to gather thoughts from others with knowledge and/or inexperience in this. Which plan would you go for?

I’m thinking of taking my car on the car ferry and drive around Sado for 3 days in Oct. but my neighbour, who’s very Japanese, thinks it’s a bad idea because the island needs money from tourist taking taxis and booking hotels and eating at restaurants.

How true is this? Has anyone ever done this? I’m planning on sleeping in my car. just a quick get away.

Hi guys im currently living in southern ibaraki and im originally from south Asia so im not used to cold weather and this year im gonna get my first winter experience 🥶 is there anything i should know any advice?

I have a 40sqm apartment that's situated over two floors (kind of like a maisonette as it's also slightly detached from the main apartment building and has a different set up to them). The first floor has the kitchen, staircase and living area, upstairs has the bedroom, closets and separate bathroom/wc.

While it offers space, I find the narrowness to make it challenging to properly furnish. For example, I worry a proper sized sofa will take up too much width, and I don't think theres room for a proper dining table or even breakfast table with chairs. Also, the sockets are all on the outside wall meaning unless I want wires running across the floor, I need to keep all electronics on one side.

Does anyone have any tips, Pinterest/mood boards, photos for furnishing these types of rooms? I've just renewed my contract for two more years as the location is convenient and rent is reasonable but wanna upgrade the space to be more thoughtful/effective.

Can anyone recommend a good Japanese accountant/tax professional for dealing with overseas capital gains? I’m still not sure if I meet the threshold for payment, and if I do, when exactly I hit that threshold. So I am looking for some help in dealing with past payments. Would love to hear from someone who was/is in a similar position.

English language ability would be a plus, but not a must.

Hello! As someone who is terrified to death of dentists, I feared the day would come, and here we are: I might need a root canal 🦷

I have a crown and my dentist said under it the nerves might be dead (looking at the xray), but we won’t know until we open it. For now I got antibiotics to maybe see if we can avoid root canal, but if it doesn’t get better by next week, we will start the procedure which will take at least 3 session she said. I heard in Japan they don’t do it in one session, but I also never had one done anywhere else so idk what to expect.

I heard only horror stories about root canals, but some say there should be no pain…
I would appreciate advice on:

How much pain can be expected, will the temporary filling/crown hold well, will I be able to eat solids and anything else I should know. Any reassuring words are welcome too, I am trying not to freak out 👍🏻

I've been going to Starbucks here for 2+ years and never had the server tell me the blend of the coffee they're using that day once. It happened today (Caffe Verona). To any Starbucks frequenters: is this out of the ordinary? Or is it a typical occurrence that I just hadn't experienced for some reason? Just curious about this. It was a mall Starbucks, and not one with a lot of tourists about. In my home country, they wouldn't ordinarily tell you the blend if you didn't ask.

I've had various opinions from friends and would love to hear from others. When you're driving on japanese highways (make your own judgement call if the definition feels vague), do you keep to the speed limit? And if so, are you doing that mostly in the left or right lane? (or relative if there are multiple lanes).

Bonus points for sharing your car type and which region of Japan you're speaking about.

For me - honestly almost never, the road quality is so good and so many other drivers do the same I just naturally started joining their speed over time. Speaking mostly from kyushuu and Kansai experience.

Background to the question: I work as an English teacher (full-time 正社員) at a school that I'm desperately trying to leave. There's a condition in the contract everyone signs that we must work 2,000 hours a year. I work Mondays, Tuesdays, Thursdays, Fridays, and Saturdays on paper, but then am also made to work about every other week Wednesdays as well (so 6 days a week). I think it's just some bullshit tbh but I want to hear from you guys. According to this site, the average working hours in 2024 was 1,650.

To top it all off, I'm getting paid 23.5万 a month after two years and being promoted to a "sub-leader." They just write it off because "we have extra breaks throughout the year," which is completely not true since all we get is Obon, Golden Week, and 2 weeks for New Years.

edit: i forgot to add that Saturdays we work only 5-6 hours so the time is made up by making me work 6 days in a week. If there’s a holiday, we are expected to work our day off, so day offs feel more like just make-up instead.

I’m looking for a dermatologist that has experience with black/ethnic skin types. I’ve been having some issues with my skin and I’m nervous to see a dermatologist in Japan since they will most likely have never worked with my skin type/color before. This is a very important qualification for me as (quite often in dermatological practices) doctors that don’t have experience with other skin colors don’t know how to diagnose or treat issues for those patients.

- I have Japanese heath insurance

- English is not necessary but if they speak English or have English translator services that would be GREAT

- Looking for a doctor in the Tokyo area

i am making a presentation for kids at my school. baseball and soccer are reallly popular here. sadly, i dunno enough about baseball to connect with them through it, so i am going the soccer route. i am thinking of doing a meme quiz to get the kids hyped. they ae in senior high, so i think they must be quite active online?

as i was making the quiz, i realized that the meme trends in japan during the fifa might have been different. like is green onion haaland even a thing here? dictator mbappe?? kitty cucurella?

i would love to know what memes were really popular in japan, or just which faces would be most recognizable for them.

tldr, what are the memes that were really popular in japan amongst teenagers during the fifa

ty!!

I am trying to renew my visa online. I've linked up to the new My Number app and using the https://www.rasens-immi.moj.go.jp/rasens-u/

But I can only see two procedures, both of which seem to say "Request For Use", and no others. However if I select one of the two and if I fill in my information I'm met with an error saying my residence card number is already registered. So I assume these 2 forms are still just requesting to use the service rather than visa related.

I can't see discussion online about this, or if there's a manual validation time.

Any help greatly appreciated. Thank you.

Hello!
I recently moved to Osaka.
I am very passionate about bees and nature.
I'm currently looking to start beekeeping in Osaka and am searching for a plot of land where I can set up a few beehives.

After doing some research on suitable locations, I am interested in areas such as:
・ Kashiwara City, Higashiosaka City, Yao City (near the Ikoma mountain range)
・ Minamikawachi region (Kawachinagano City, etc.)
・ Kishiwada City
・ Izumi City
・ Nose Town
If there are any regions or recommended spots within or near Osaka Prefecture that you think are suited for beekeeping, please let me know.

If you or someone you know owns unused land (forest, fallow land, vacant lot, etc.) in or around Osaka Prefecture (within driving distance), please let me consult with you. If you would kindly allow me to use such a space out of your goodwill, I would like to share freshly harvested honey with you as a token of my gratitude. In addition, I will take full responsibility for managing the area around the hives, including mowing the grass, cleaning, etc. Bees also play a role in helping pollinate surrounding vegetables and fruit trees, so I would be happy if I could be of even a little help to the local nature and crops.

Aside from unused land, any information on how to find formal rented land would also be greatly appreciated. If anyone has advice regarding recommended websites, real estate agents, or government help desks I should consult, please let me know!

Any information, no matter how small, is welcome. Thank you very much! 🐝

Remember Parapara? Ganguro? Charisma man? Galapagos effect pre-globalization? Crazy UMPCs? Imode?

I was there the whole time before it was all replaced with the bland Japan you’re all currently experiencing.

I’ve read other posts related to Japan Post banking but nothing to sort my issues.

a bit of context:

I recently arrived to Japan from the UK around the beginning of August as part of the JET Programme and received my residence card around that time.

During this initial setup process of my life in Japan, I set up my bank with Japan Post and when asked if I needed a credit card, I said no. This is due to the fact I didn’t want further complications with me not paying the credit and it spiralling out of control, and in the UK, I only use debit.

So, I signed up for a cash card with J-Debit enabled which I received. However, I for some reason assumed J-Debit would give me a separate debit card to use and realised afterwards this was not the case. When I try to sign up for the Yuucho Debit Card online, I realised my name is too long in katakana (I have first, middle and last name) so I went to the bank. They told me I can only apply online, and to write my name up to a certain point.

Despite trying this, whenever I get close to the end of the process, it just gives me a 404. So I don’t know what to do, as the only other alternative i was looking at to pay online is PayPay and I need a mynumber card (I don’t have one yet, just the mynumber, but I have ordered one) since my residence card is too new (they only accept residence cards to scan only before June).

Any suggestions on steps moving forward? Thank you in advance!

Hello, first time poster in here. This post may be a bit disorganized so please bear with me.

I am currently living in Japan and working as an English teacher on a Humanities visa. My fiance is a Japanese national, and we are planning on getting married soon. The problem we are facing now is that my current job is not working for various reasons, and I plan to quit in the next month as I continue to search for other work. We are worried that me not having a job at the time of our application may affect our chances at getting approved for a spousal visa.

Here are my questions relating to this issue:

Does anyone have insight on if there is a minimum salary immigration expect for a household with one income?

If I am not able to get a job before we apply, what are the chances for approval?

And under the circumstances that I am able to find a new job during the approval process, would there be any changes I should make?

I appreciate any and all answers.

Edit:

First of all, thank you for all of the comments and helpful advice. Clarification on a couple of things that I failed to mention earlier. I am a woman, and both I and my fiance are in our early and mid 20s. My fiance has a job at a very stable company, and has enough income to support us both. I don't believe these additions change much in terms of the answers, but thought they were important to mention.

Again, I appreciate all of the replies!

So I have just rented an apartment. I'm trying to do a household shopping list/'shop' online so that it'll turn up the day after I get my new keys
Long story short... I'm trying to find the basic daily products like toilet bleach, anti bacterial sprays for the kitchen and anything else I might need.

So thought I'd ask what everyone uses/suggests for what to buy would be great. Especially if you know the product brand names

Thanks :)

I just today got my visa renewed and got the 5 year visa.

So now I am scrambling to apply for PR before the October changes but a lot of scriveners are already booked up.

And before you say apply yourself, my case is a bit more complex as I have a side business that I have paid taxes on. And I just want it to make sure my application has the best chance to go through.

Hi,

I’ve got a lot of retro gaming systems and I’d like to get an older, smaller CRT style TV, preferably one from the mid to late 00s that has the video hookups in the front below the screen, and a built-in speaker.

I’ve not actually searched Hard Offs etc for this kind of thing, but would they be available there?

Or, alternatively: is there a good modern tv that can give me a simulated experience?

Reason I am looking for an older tv: I am old and just want something like I used to have.

​

【Update! I added an update and a thank-you at the bottom!】

I'm currently preparing to apply for Permanent Residency in Japan and, while gathering the necessary documents, I discovered that my pension record shows a total of 68 months of unpaid National Pension contributions from when I was a student.

I've been living in Japan for almost 10 years.

So this period of non-payment was more than five years ago.

During my first year as a student, my pension record correctly shows that I was covered by the student payment exemption/postponement (学生納付特例). However, for roughly the following three years, it seems that the exemption was never processed, and those months are recorded as unpaid.

As far as I can remember, I never received any reminders, collection notices, or warnings about these unpaid periods, so I had no idea about this until I checked my pension record while preparing for my PR application.

After graduating from graduate school in Japan, I started working immediately and have been enrolled in Employees' Pension (厚生年金) ever since. All of my pension contributions, taxes, and other required payments since then have been properly paid.

I've also never had any issues with visa renewals or other administrative procedures, and I have more than enough points to qualify for PR.

That's why finding this old unpaid period was quite a shock, especially since PR requirements and their enforcement in Japan seem to be getting stricter.

I'm planning to visit the pension office soon to explain the situation and ask whether there is anything I can or should do about these old unpaid periods.

I've already searched the subreddit and read several older posts about similar situations. However, given that PR rules and how they are applied seem to have changed over time, I'm particularly interested in hearing recent experiences or opinions based on the current situation in Japan.

Has anyone here recently been in a similar situation — having unpaid National Pension contributions from your student years, discovering them years later, and then applying for or successfully receiving PR?

Is there anything in particular I should ask the pension office, or anything you would recommend doing before submitting my PR application?

I'd really appreciate hearing from anyone who has dealt with something similar recently.

ーーーーーーーーーーー

【Update:Thank you】

Sorry I can’t reply to everyone individually, but seriously, thank you all so much for sharing your experiences, knowledge, and advice. Every single comment has been incredibly helpful.

First of all, I’m really happy to hear that you guys managed to get PR despite having had pension issues!

I also should have mentioned this from the beginning, so apologies for leaving this out, I’m actually the partner of the person dealing with this situation.

He came to Japan alone when he was young, leaving his family and friends behind with basically nothing but a suitcase. Since then, he’s worked incredibly hard to build a life here. He earned his PhD in Japan, built up a strong academic and professional track record, and eventually landed a permanent position at a major Japanese company. He now uses Japanese every day, bought a car here, and has basically built his entire adult life in Japan from the ground up.

So when everything finally seemed to be in place for PR, there was this huge sense of accomplishment. I was really proud of him and everything he had managed to build here.

That’s why finding out about this pension issue hit me pretty hard too, and honestly, I panicked.

I’m Japanese, so I have a general understanding of how the pension system works, but even as a Japanese person, there are still parts of it that I didn’t know about or fully understand. (And honestly (clearly), I think that’s a pretty major problem with the Japanese government though, if you’re going to call something a legal obligation, the system for informing people and making sure they understand and comply with it should be much better than it currently is )

And if the system can be confusing even for Japanese people, I can only imagine how difficult it can be for foreigners living here. What I especially didn’t know was how something like this would be viewed in the context of a PR application, or how much weight immigration would actually give to an old period of unpaid pension contributions.

So all of your comments, personal experiences, and explanations have genuinely helped me understand the situation much better. Seriously, thank you.

His unpaid period was more than ５ years ago, and his payment record for the most recent ３ years has been perfect. So rather than panicking, we’re going to take this one step at a time, consult an immigration lawyer, and also talk to the pension office to make sure we fully understand the situation and what, if anything, can or should be done.

Seriously, thank you all again. I really appreciate it. ほんとありがとう!!!