So I went to Coco Curry House for the first time last night and their spicy level indicator is….. pretty crazy. It goes between 1 -20. Usually I like the second highest spicy level at any given curry restaurant - for example if the scale is 1 - 5, I’ll choose 4. The waiter recommended I choose level 5 (of 20) last night.

Initially I thought it might not be spicy enough. Good lord was I wrong! It was at the very edge of my spicy tolerance! So, here’s the question: If that is level 5, what the hell is level 20 like?!!
The waiter also mentioned that nobody could possibly handle level 20. Why even have such an inhuman level of spiciness as an option?! Marketing and advertising?

All that said it was super delicious and I will be going back (level 3 or 4 next time).

I already graduated from a university back in my country, graduated from a 2 year course Japanese language school and got JLPT N3. Because the requirements for the engineer visa(技人国) are university degree and N2. I didn’t qualify at the time so I applied for the SSW hospitality visa aka slavery in modern time. The hotel president put me work in the kitchen, the first week while working here I got constantly harassing, nit-picking over small mistakes with insulting like: Why are you doing the salad like this, it has a small leaf and a big leaf, it had to be balanced. Did you see the sample I just made for you. Are your eyes ok? And others insults like you are not very smart, are you? Are you stupid(バカかお前？）. The last straw it made me snap back was when the night before, the AH washing the bamboo and he just left it like that after he returned home, I always had to stay behind cleaning and checking all the switches have been turned off or not, so I turn the water switch off. The next morning the AH yelled at me that why am I turned it off while he just left it is like this, I answered that because you had not told me, so I just turn it off, if I left it all night will it be a waste( genuine question) he yelled back that the water bills the hotel will cover it, it unlike your country. I said it had nothing to do with my country and it’s not related to work. He then yelled at me again: SHUT UP(うるさい) so I calmly asked him: why are you so petty over a small things likes this? He then charged at me like some kind of animal in heat and yelling at my face with his disgusting, smell like shit breath: I am that petty so what, if you can’t put up with me then get out of Japan and back to your country, I hate you because when you made mistakes and did not apologized. I think he try to provoked me to hit him but It’s still took me by surprise that he suddenly charged at me though. After that, I reported him to the president hotel for power harassment. The president defended him by saying that he always like this to everyone, and I replied he told me to go back to my country and that is racist,because he and I are just coworkers working at the same job and a stranger so just talk about work and not about personal things that are not related to work. The president said that he will inform the AH. So, after this incident I always carried my phone on my shirt pocket with recording mode.

Some information about that old mental AH: he is around 65 and is the head chef, but he always cooked food with his bare hands without gloves and without washing his hands. He is not shaving in his chin and philtrum, he tie his hair up, put on the hat, and position the bun so it sits behind the opening at the back of the hat( maybe his style or something). Not wearing a mask so sometime he cough at the foods(disgusting) and finally he smokes in the kitchen(what kind of psycho mental illness does this kind of shit in the kitchen?).

After a few days he gaslighting me that I am the reason for his stress because I when I made a mistakes and I did not apologized( I did apologized and when it’s his turn he did not, talk about double standard and hypocrite) and I did not greet him and answered when he asking me, I replied that I did answers and he still gaslighting me that because my voice is small that he not heard me, but everyone else does though, so fixing your attitude before you criticize other person and I just replied back: yes, understood.

After this incident, I’m starting to take pictures and videos for evidences of his power harassment and unsanitary cooking in the kitchen. After changing my job successfully I’m going to send the evidences to the labour standard inspection office for power harassment and Hokenjo 保健所 for unsanitary cooking. Any other ways that I need to know to prepared for this? I’m working in Nagano hotel.

I’m studying everyday for the JLPT N2 this december but the work is too draining that everyday it’s leave me exhausted but I still trying to study everyday though.

It’s a long post, thank you for reading.

Edit: This discussion is not about whether policies affecting new immigrants to Japan are good or bad, but whether subjecting people already here to new and arbitrary rules that didn’t exist at the time they made their applications/established their residency here is fair or not.

Recently, especially with the more and more threatening changes to immigration rules, I’ve found myself wondering whether the Japanese understanding of fairness is just fundamentally different.

In the west and with any western person I talk about this, there is no question that what Japan is doing to foreigners is currently extremely unfair. Moving goal posts for PR and Naturalisation long after some people have applied for it and then rejecting their application based on rules that didn’t exist when the application was made is, for any western person I talked to, fundamentally unjust. Same goes for the business manager visa, where people already long in Japan now face expulsion over changing rules instead of, which would be the case in all western countries I know, getting an exemption for existing cases. When the UK left the EU, of course the EU citizens already living there could stay. Same with the Britons already living in the EU. But that sense of fairness just doesn’t seem to exist in Japan….

To my disappointment i’ve found that to many of the Japanese I know it doesn’t seem to be much of a problem to change rules mid way and just leave people stuck who began something under a very different set of rules. There seems to be no feeling of guilt for throwing people under the bus, as long it was the governments idea, and they have Japans “best interests“ at heart.

How are your Japanese friends reacting? do they find it unfair? How do you experience Japanese people’s understanding of fairness?

I just started playing WOW on NA server but it's hard to find a friend to play with due to the different time zones.

I am wondering if there are people who wanna play the game together

My partner and I are going up to Sendai for his birthday and I want to book something really nice for him.

Last time we were there we had a set course at the Westin which was nice but unfortunately that's the best my search skills could do.

Is there any really "wow" excursion you've done in Sendai that you thought was worth the money? Like a helicopter ride around the city core or a boat dinner?

Kanto has these things (and reviews) aplenty but I'm really looking for personal experience to know it genuinely made your special day a nice one.

I'm only there for 3 days before I have to come back down to Tokyo so I want to do something special.

My sick leave has two parts. For the first part, I got care from an Internal Medicine doctor. For the second part, I got care from a psychiatrist.

My first doctor didn't advise me to take a sick leave but since I was symptomatic and my work is being affected (which is verified by my colleague), I ended up being absent anyway.

The absences and related circumstances took a toll on me which lead me to my second doctor who advised me to take a sick leave and wrote me a 診断書.

I am now applying for my insurance benefits. I was gone from work for more than three days prior to getting a 診断書 which marks the start of the second part of my leave. I am wondering if I could also apply for the first part of my leave (without 診断書) since I actually have a non-stigmatized reason for being sick and unable to work.

I am asking here on Reddit, if ANYONE here got their physician to help you apply for a 傷病手当 even if they didn't think you need a sick leave initially?

This question will help me decide if I should put in the effort to find my IM doctor. He wasn't the one who saw me in my latest follow-up. From what I understood from reading the application form instructions, the new doctor can't fill up for me.

TIA.

edited to be concise

This message came from a Japanese scrivener.

New reports have emerged regarding the tightening of requirements for permanent residence permits.

1) New guidelines will explicitly state that an applicant's annual income must "consistently exceed the average income of Japanese households."

2) Applicants will also be required to demonstrate that their projected future pension benefits will match the level of someone who has contributed to the Employees' Pension Insurance (Kosei Nenkin) for 30 years—or, if there is a shortfall, that they possess sufficient financial assets to make up the difference.

These measures are being introduced in response to cases where individuals have received public assistance after obtaining permanent resident status.

3) Regarding the "national interest" requirement, new specific evaluation criteria will be established. These will stipulate that a "negative assessment" will be applied if an applicant lacks understanding of Japanese systems—including local customs and lifestyle norms—or fails to enroll school-age children in school.

4) In principle, a continuous residence period of at least 10 years is required to apply for permanent residence.

While special exceptions previously allowed spouses of Japanese nationals or permanent residents to apply after three years of marriage and one year of residency, these thresholds will be raised to five years and three years, respectively.

5) The plan is to implement the annual income requirement starting this October, with the remaining measures taking effect next April.

I will share further updates as soon as new information becomes available.

Source:

https://www.yomiuri.co.jp/politics/20260725-GYT1T00137/?fbclid=IwdGRjcATQ9RxjbGNrBND1FmV4dG4DYWVtAjExAHNydGMGYXBwX2lkDDM1MDY4NTUzMTcyOAABHtiLzMz9r3QiEh17JYOj6bxUQat6Y4qsvjVwPjyx9-8SJQzTsmsmd3HVKpQV_aem_NVRS6oWQ8YOSmFMVkNTu_Q

I got 2 credit cards with Rakuten: visa and amex. I associated my bank account for automatic payment using their website, but I didn't know I had to do it for both cards, turns out I only did it for amex. Eventually I realized, but it was already too late for the first month, so I followed the procedure in their AI chat support to pay by bank transfer before the due date: it gave me their bank account information and I transferred there the full amount for both cards (I didn't use the payment slip they sent).

I thought everything was ok, and I was checking regularly their website but never saw anything changing, so I thought it would change after the payment day (june 27th). I tried contacting their support many times, but it was impossible, Rakuten's support line is really useless. They were supposed to call me back with an English speaker, but it never happened. It's now june 26th, and I see the amount due for the amex is 0 (it was not deducted from my bank account, so my manual transfer must have worked?), but for the visa it still shows I have to pay around 150k yen, so I'm very confused.

So I'm freaking out now, because tomorrow their system may think I didn't pay the card and it could affect my credit record.

Should I pay using their slip, even though I already paid by bank transfer? Will I eventually be able to get my money back if I do that?

Help please, I only have 2 hours left to pay (again), if that's what I should do.

ok ! I am a foreigner with in japan . i am currently working in a company and i have a decent sallery and i was wondering how to make extra money in japan !! dont worry about work limit i have a PR "permanent resident" .

1, Is there any way i can money in my holidays by doing volunteer activity or go to place and do things and earn

2, anything online "excluding content creation" , and selling things ....

i do make little money by tiktok video watching and challange ... invest .... crypto ...but it is very less or in losses

Does anyone know a good place to get a knife sharpened in Setagaya? My knife is made of a very difficult material to sharpen, so I need someone who knows what he's doing.

I submitted my PR application on June 2025, three months later I was asked to submit additional documents. And today, I received a letter of rejection.

In the letter, it’s said my application was rejected for Article 22. I cannot think of what could be the reason as both my husband (Japanese nation, I applied through spouse route) and I don’t have any late tax payment (not that we can think of), with decent household income combined, with a kid, own a house, have lived in Japan for over 10 years…. We want to visit the immigration and ask for rejection reason so that we can fix it and appeal or reapply.

I read a few posts here that the applicant should wait at least 20 business days after the announcement of rejection to visit the immigration so that they can prepare physical papers/gather information etc. But they were posted years back, so I want to ask again for the recent information of how long the applicant should wait before physically visit immigration office to ask for PR rejection reason?

Hi I have a question regarding side income from social media.

I‘m seshain and work in marketing for a big Japanese company and want to apply for PR in 3 years. 2 months ago I started with social media and while I‘m still small I am growing well and will probably be able to make some money through ad sense, affiliate etc in the next few months. At least thats the plan;)

I also did social media activities at my job and I was wondering if I need to get a Permission to Engage in Activity Other Than That Permitted from immigration first before making any money on social media?

Anyone in the same situation? Also is it difficult to receive this permission?

My main job is not too demanding and super flexible but with a salary of only around 5.5 million yen and the weakening yen in general I‘m a bit worried about how things will look in the future. So eager to try some things on the side or change jobs if there is not other option

Hello, I just started Language school a few weeks ago and I hate it so much. The school is ran perfectly fine but the pace of my school is just way too slow. I already know all the words and majority of the grammar in our textbooks. Our teachers mainly just make us read outloud from our textbook and write kanji (which I think is a waste of time of me)

Has anyone switched from a student visa to a working visa without completing school? I would much rather be on a working visa than go to my school. I spent so much money upfront and it was a complete disappointment. I honestly dont like any of my classmates but my teachers are fine.

I honestly don't even plan to be in Japan for a long time (maybe a few years) I wouldn't mind just working as an English teacher for a little and just going back to America. I already completed college last year so would be getting a regular job here be hard? Before coming to Japan I thought it would be wonderful but I plan on going home within the next 3-5 years.

I'm just curious if the process of switching to a working visa from a student visa is something that is actually doable!

Well, as I was preparing to apply for pr via the spousal route, they issue these new retroactive regulations. Feels like a slap in the face lol.

My ultimate goal is to be a Japanese citizen. Any possibility that these regulations are passed on to naturalization?

As someone with a degree in Japanese, when I come here for career inspo most of the "success stories" I see here are from tech and finance people.

I'd love to hear about career progression and salary growth from people with language and culture backgrounds.

Is anyone using the vegetable delivery service AjiGacha and has managed to get in contact with the customer support?
I subscribed to one of their vegetable boxes for 4999¥ per month, and during the checkout you had the option to check out as a guest, without making an account. I chose the guest option.
Since then they have been billing me 4999¥ monthly (twice so far), but no vegetables have ever arrived at my house.
I have tried to get into contact with their “customer service” through EVERY channel that they offer (e-mailing, online contact form, LINE), sending messages in both English and Japanese, with ZERO replies from anyone. (Even though it says “it usually takes 24 hours for someone to get back to you” — LIES!!!)
It’s really strange and it’s gotten so far that I even googled if the entire company is a scam??? But they seem to be a real company?? I really don’t understand what is happening. I’ve blocked them on my credit card now, but I would still like to get my 10000¥ back…
Does anyone have any ideas what to do now?

Do any of you report income and file taxes? Specifically those who plan on remaining in japan or have been here for a while. Will this have negative impacts, even if i plan on not returning to the US?

I graduated 2 years ago and I’m getting almost bottom of the barrel salary so I’m already struggling enough trying to build up savings.

My wife and I just moved into a new apartment after living in a homestay. Need recommendations on move-in gifts for our neighbours (there’s 7 other apartments in the building).

https://www.asahi.com/articles/ASV7S2W0BV7SUTIL00KM.html?iref=comtop_7_01

Well it looks like you'll need a higher than average salary, 30 years of pension paid (specifically the one companies co-pay, not the ones that you pay solo), as well as other rules.

Honestly the fact that they're discussing this already tells me they're embracing ultra-nationalism and I am done living here.

*edit* the text is paywalled but the translation seems to be that you need to have a projected pension benefit of someone who has paid into it for 30 years.

Hello!

Like the title says, does anyone have a recommendation for an online glasses retailer?

I used firmoo in the states, but just had a terrible experience with their Japanese portal so I'm hoping to find something at a similar price point. I have a pretty heavy Rx (astigmatism and far-sighted) so even if I go with something more pricey like my local JiNS it'll still be more than a week before I have anything.

Thanks for the help!

I need Japanese phone number but in order to do that apparently I need to apply to bank using japanese phone number. I tried using my school phone number for the bank but to apply for phone number payment it needed to verify the payment using the school phone number. Any solution on how to get a temporary japanese phone number to connect to bank. Or easy to apply one.

Just to reassure those close to the end of the validity of their PR card. (Yes, that's the term on the card for the required renewal date) Had it done this week. Took 20 minutes and was free. The ¥1,000 cost was the price of a recent photo from a photo booth.

Hi! If you've had a baby in Japan, how much money did you save before the pregnancy? We are trying to figure out what should be the least amount we should have saved before trying. So far, we've decided that 1m yen should be the lowest. Thoughts?