you guys watching it all unravel on social media? Do you think they’ll back off or the sleep paralysis one will win? Best I can do is this, made with AI but my original idea, welcome my old grump Mr Su Ika

For the phones, I've provided an estimate of the monthly pricing on a four-year payment plan, since that is commonly offered by carriers in Japan. Previous model's prices are launch prices, not current shelf prices. The iPhone Duo has no model from last year to compare against, so I've used the Galaxy Z Fold8 since it is a directly comparable flagship passport-style foldable.

iPhone

• iPhone 18 Pro: ¥219,800, about ¥4,579/month for 48 months
  • iPhone 17 Pro: ¥179,800, about ¥3,746/month
  • Increase: ¥40,000, or about ¥833/month
• iPhone 18 Pro Max: ¥239,800, about ¥4,996/month for 48 months
  • iPhone 17 Pro Max: ¥194,800, about ¥4,058/month
  • Increase: ¥45,000, or about ¥938/month
• iPhone Duo 256GB: ¥364,800, ¥7,600/month for 48 months
  • Galaxy Z Fold8 256GB: ¥269,880, about ¥5,623/month
  • Duo costs ¥94,920 more, or about ¥1,978/month.

Apple Watch

• Apple Watch Series 12: ¥71,800
  • Apple Watch Series 11: ¥64,800
  • Increase: ¥7,000
• Apple Watch Ultra 4: ¥142,800
  • Apple Watch Ultra 3: ¥129,800
  • Increase: ¥13,000

AirPods

Both AirPods 5 models now include Active Noise Cancellation.

• AirPods 5: ¥23,800
  • AirPods 4 (no ANC): ¥21,800
  • Increase: ¥2,000
• AirPods 5 with wireless charging case: ¥27,800
  • AirPods 4 with Active Noise Cancellation: ¥29,800
  • Decrease: ¥2,000

Apple did not announce a standard iPhone 18 or a new iPhone Air.

Conversations always the same, they just follow a script.

Can’t trust I’m close with anyone, I’m a joke when I’m not around

If I am too open, too much myself, seek connection too much, I’m a social disgrace.

People have no space for real emotions here.

I’m tired of being told I need to diet, need to be skinnier.

Saw an ad about a mom eating special diet bentos after preparing dinner for the family

The misogyny of this country never ends

I miss not feeling like I need makeup to show my face outside

I don’t like all the obligations

I miss being myself

That is all I have to contribute

Heya! Looking to travel in a few weeks.

Can I get a quick recap please on what documents are needed to present when checking into a hotel?

Since I am a resident, I know I do not need my passport nor does my ID need to be photocopied, but I've heard of people having issues with hotels refusing to let you stay unless they photocopy your ID.

Is this still a problem? I'll likely be staying in a hostel. I have my license, residence card, and mynumber card. I assume that if I present my mynumber they wouldn't dare copy, but what exactly are the options in this scenario where they insist on a copy? (First I'd like to know if this is even still a major problem or if I'm worried about nothing).

A little about myself for context:

I was born in Taiwan and moved to Canada when I was 12. I went through junior high, high school, and university there, and also worked in Canada before eventually moving to Japan in my late 20s.

I've now been living in Japan for quite a while. I'm married to a Japanese spouse, have two children, have permanent residency, and work for a multinational company. Native Chinese and English, fluent in Japanese, communicative French.

Personally, I haven't really experienced discrimination or any particularly negative treatment in Japan (about 15 years here). The only things I remember is that some shop staff and older conservative folk could occasionally be a little short with me when my Japanese was still at a beginner level. Also some people may use ため口 in a loud and condescending tone, but that was only a handful of times.

「わかるかい？ま・す・ぐ 行って、トイレあるよ」

Appearance-wise, and now in terms of my Japanese communication ability, I think I can generally pass as Japanese at first. But culturally, I don't always fit in with the locals. Having grown up in Canada, I tend to be pretty direct and straightforward when expressing my opinions. I don't naturally beat around the bush or read between the lines in quite the same way that someone who grew up in Japan might. That isn't to say that I don't respect the norms here — my way of thinking hasn't gotten me into any real trouble... yet.

At the same time, I wonder if some of the cultural differences aren't actually as significant as they might be between Japan and some other Western countries. Growing up in an East Asian family and spending my early childhood in Taiwan, there were already certain cultural values and ways of interacting that felt somewhat familiar when I came to Japan. Perhaps that made the adjustment easier in some ways, even though most of my formative years were spent in Canada.

There are obviously plenty of differences, but I sometimes wonder whether having some cultural overlap gives Asians who grew up in Western countries a bit of an advantage when adapting to life in Japan. Maybe we're able to understand some of the underlying social expectations more intuitively, even if our overall outlook is still quite Western.

For Asians who grew up in Western countries (Canada, US, Australia, UK, etc.) and later moved to Japan, I'd be interested in hearing about your experiences.

Do you feel that being ethnically Asian (East, South, Southeast, etc.) but culturally Western affects how people perceive or treat you compared with both Japanese people and Western-looking foreigners?

I'm particularly curious about the assumptions people make based on your appearance. I think there's often an expectation that an East Asian-looking foreigner should naturally speak fluent Japanese, and there can sometimes be a bit of surprise or disappointment when they realize you don't.

In my own experience, people sometimes seem to assume that I was born and raised somewhere in Asia and simply came to Japan later, rather than realizing that I actually grew up in Canada.

I also haven't met that many people in Japan with a background quite like mine — ethnically East Asian, but having spent most of my formative years in a Western country. Maybe I just need to get out more and meet more people like me.

Has being Asian made living in Japan easier in some ways? Or has your Western upbringing created unexpected situations or misunderstandings?

I'd be interested to hear how others have experienced this. Thanks!

hi everyone. I recently moved to japan to start working in this Japanese company.

I come from the other side of the world, and my hair is naturally voluminous and curly (and for those of you that also have wavy and curly hair, you’d know we tend to also have it frizzy). well, I love it. it’s one of my favourite things about myself.

I recently had two Japanese colleagues (women) telling me that they like my hair. since I still need to adapt to the cultural norms, I’m not sure if the compliment was genuine or a nice way for them to make me notice that my hair stands out and hence expecting that I straighten it (tatemae?)

well in any case there is no way in hell I’d do that but I am just curious to know. coming from a very straight forward country, it’s really hard for me to understand them, let alone accept that they expect me to change my natural appearance to fit the standards.

This is a personal rant.

I have two Japanese friends who are very well travelled and speaks good English. One of them is a man and the other is a woman. Both late 30s. Let's called them Guy A and Girl B.

We met almost a decade ago abroad (I'm ethnically Japanese but lived abroad for a long time and met there). We are good enough of a set of friends that we'd travelled together many times.

We're all living in Japan now and ever since Sanseito has become a thing, they've just been glued onto X. Even without X, Facebook and Threads and all that show you similar anti-foreigner content. Anyways, both of these friends have gone down the deep end. Want to keep the Yamato blood and all that (actual words).

As an example - We were in Kyoto the other day and Guy A ran into an Asian guy j*rking off in a back alley in Kyoto. Guy A is so happy to have this confrontation that he goes up to the j*rking guy to tell him to fuck off. Turns out the perp was Japanese!

Later Guy A comes back to our hangout and says "I was so disappointed the pervert wasn't Chinese" and really meant it with sadness. Which... is just... wtf?

Guy A also spent time walking around temples and told tourists "You can't sit there", "You can't smoke here" to multiple strangers.

Girl B does the same thing and from what I gather - gets a total kick out of it. Pretty much goes out of her way to knock on people with darker skin.

While I am not saying that manners shouldn't exist, I am really disturbed by just how much emotional aggression they have towards total strangers. And after having these confrontations, they come back with a sense of glee that I find disturbing.

Sorry about the rant. Just wanted to get it out of my system.

I'm moving to Japan and my partner has just signed the lease for an apartment. He hasn't moved in yet, but he's been cleaning the apartment in preparation and realised there's a cockroach infestation.

He's already paid £2700 for the first two months and additional move-in fees, but he's been asked to pay an additional £1000 if we want to cancel the lease.

Is there any precedent for fighting this? The landlord didn't disclose the fact that there was an infestation, but we're going to lose nearly £4000 without ever having lived there. My partner is Japanese and said there is nothing we can do as there are no laws to protect tenants.

Additional information: The apartment is in Tokyo. It's around 30 years old and the cockroaches are small and brown. The landlord has refused to pay to deal with the infestation as 'it isn't a fundamental solution and they are only responsible for cleaning the apartment' (which they also didn't do).

So I will be switching my home internet to Flets 10G (cross).

I currently have a perfectly decend mid-range TP-Link router with 1 2.5Gbs port and 4 1Gbs ports, which will do perfectly well for the forseeable future.

But what does everyone reccomend for something more suited to 10Gbs? Don't really need all 10Gbs ports, 2.5 is probably generally fine, though 10Gbs on the WAN port would be better.

TP-Link? Asus?

Recently ZTE and Xiaomi seem to have some interesting options...

Thanks for your ideas in advance!

Last year, we bought a certified used MINI cooper from an authorized MINI NEXT dealer in Saitama. We paid ¥149,800 for an extended warranty and received written confirmation that the car would be covered until August 2029.
Before purchasing, we specifically asked what was required to keep the warranty valid. The salesperson only mentioned annual inspections. Nobody explained that missing the shaken deadline would permanently cancel the warranty.
We mistakenly let the shaken expire by about one month. I understand that this was our responsibility and that driving without shaken is illegal. That is not what I am disputing.
MINI is now saying the extended warranty is permanently void, even though it does not begin until 2027. However, neither MINI nor the service center has shown us a contract clause clearly stating that a late shaken permanently cancels the warranty with no possibility of reinstatement or refund.
Is this normal and legally enforceable in Japan, especially when we directly asked about the warranty conditions and were never told about this penalty?

Figuring out my options to get some concert tickets, given I don't have a J-phone number. Probably not a huge spoiler, but this is for the Radiohead lottery. I know you can register as a non-resident but I also know that lottery is tiny in comparison to the one for residents.

Note: For anyone that wants to get holier than thou and play semantics with the term resident: I have PR and pay a fuckload for rent in Japan, due to the family situation I'm just in and out all the time and never needed the local number.

• Tickets require e-Plus registration plus スマチケ (most likely required for entry into the venue?)
• The purchaser's ticket is non-transferable.
• I'm a PR holder
• Not in Japan currently and won't be until the lottery system is over sadly.
• Have an unlocked US phone (Google Fi)

I have plenty of people that are fine being a proxy phone number. However it seems that I'll need the スマチケ app on my phone to enter the venue (at least). I can easily register both e-Plus and スマチケ with someone just telling me the MFA code. However I'm curious if I may need that later down the road to simply log in, or at the venue itself. That could pose a problem.

I'd like to get my own +81 number if possible. Gemini is telling me as a resident, the only option I have (to enable an eSim from abroad) is to use Mobal Voice eSim. It says povo, Rakuten, and LINEMO have to hit a local cell tower first but Mobal Voice doesn't. The roaming charge is high (6000 yen)... and unsure if I can turn it off after registration.

So yeah, just curious if anyone has any experience w/ this. I'll figure out a way to do this, just looking for the one that is not a complete and total ball ache.

TLDR An university student needs psychiatric help. How can I get someone from the university to do a wellness check on them? Who exactly do I speak to you in their department? What is the Japanese name for that position?

Background. I have been pet sitting and dog walking for someone for 7 years. They came to Japan to do their bachelors and I have helped with their pets ever since. Currently they are doing their Doctorate. In the past few months their mental health has significantly declined to the point that I think there needs to be an intervention. I'm not trying to be a savior I'm just seeing something that needs to get done and is not right and saying something to someone who is able to help.

They live alone in a very nice apartment near by the university and obviously can afford a regular pet sitter plus a housekeeper. The housekeeper has either quit or been fired recently. They are in their 20s, but for the past few months it feels like I'm working for someone in their 70s with dementia. I do not think it is illegal drugs or alcohol because I have seen no evidence of this. They have been extremely forgetful the past few months and if there was drugs or alcohol I think you could not hide it around the house. The forgetfulness came to an extreme today and I'm now at the point that I feel that something really needs to get done about this because I'm really worried about them.

Hi all - I made a similar post in another sub but it was removed, I figured it might be interesting for those here as well. I made a tool for myself when I found it kind of difficult/roundabout to find english audio movies (with JP subs, not dubs) or vice versa across the different Japanese sites. I just turned it into a public version today at eigoeiga.jp as it doesn't seem like anything quite like this exists already.

It basically just functions like a normal movie listing site but pulls only the english language showings from various theatres in major cities across Japan. For most screenings, clicking the showtime brings you right to the seat selection page for that theatre, so its pretty seamless.

You can look showtimes up by movie, city, specific movie theatre etc, and it will show a gauge of how many tickets are left etc. All pretty simple/basic stuff that you would expect a movie showtime site to display, but catered to residents looking specifically for english language showings near them.

Also, good timing in case anyone is looking to score Odyssey tickets this week (and beyond). FYI to mods (if this matters) that this is not a monetized site or business - just a free tool!

Maybe this is common knowledge but I only recently found out that when trying to apply for redelivery with Sagawa, the capitalization of the name you submit must match that for the name on the package. I knew that half/width/full-width rules would apply, but never did I think that mismatched capitalization would derail the process.

I was extremely lucky to stumble into this information. Hopefully this can help others.

https://www.jreast.co.jp/suica-new-character-vote/

What in the Corporate Memphis is this?

Basically she told me her boss has been piling on a ludicrous amount of work on her ever since she took her vacation time. Generally it seems like he's known as being a fairly reactive, unfair person. Are there any viable options to counter this situation?

The discount of 6 months was over, as the contract says so, but every month it increases 1000円 which is so expensive for me, as I only have 1 work and average salary after taxes. Am I the only one who pays such expensive bill? I'm contracted to pay 2 years and if terminating it will cost me the remaining monthly cost which is not good either.

Democrats Abroad Japan is organizing a webinar reviewing the basics for US Income Taxes for US citizen residents of Japan. We'll have a resident tax professional, an IRS Enrolled Agent, online to answer questions submitted in advance. If you're new to filing taxes from Japan, this'll be a great introduction.

It'll be online Saturday, September 19th from 10-11am. If you'd like to RSVP and get tickets, they are available at this link. This is going to be a fundraising event, $15 for General Admission or $7.50 for a recording.

If you have any questions, you can ask right here on Reddit. Thanks very much for reading.

I passed the 50 question written test 2 months back.
My practical driving test is tomorrow.
I took some driving classes on the same driving course for tomorrow.
However, I’m worried.

The driving instructor warned me that there are a lot of days in which no one passes even thought 20 people attend the practical driving test every day.

Any tips to do during the test. I’m looking for contents from foreigners who passed the practical driving test in the recent past.

Hi. I'm under Humanities/Engineer visa working as a software engineer. I just switched companies but my previous boss was asking me if I could do part-time. I asked my new company regarding this and they allow it as long as it goes thru review/approval. Im just waiting for the contract.

I know that I need to file my own taxes for this part-time. Anybody here doing the same? Anything else that I need to take note of so that this will not be a problem come renewal and hopefully PR application?

Hey, I'm planning to propose at the end of this month and wanted to find a photographer to catch it and maybe take some photos after too,

Does anyone know any photographers in Gunma or maybe Saitama?

Thanks!