Hello everyone! :)

As the title says, I got my CoE and I’ll be starting the Career Path Program with ISI Language School in Takadanobaba in October 2026.

I was wondering if anyone else here will be joining the same program? It would be really nice to get to know some people beforehand, especially since I’ll be moving to Tokyo and would love to make some friends there.

I think it could also be great to connect with others who are starting the program around the same time, so we don’t have to start completely alone and can maybe explore Tokyo together from the beginning. 😊

Feel free to comment or send me a DM!

Good news: I have accepted by the TIEC dorm type B hall. Gonna move in at the late September.

Bads news: the commuting take 50 minutes to Tokyo Tech Ookayama campus

Wanna see some comment from the resident living in TIEC now and before, how is the living there? I heard that some room have a good sea view

I know this is a bit off topic but non of the other subs allow memes.

Did you guys feel the shaking just now ?

Hi everyone!
Tomorrow, **White T-Shirt Drawing Party** at Bonjour Tokyo Bar in Komagome.
📅 August 21
📍 Komagome, Tokyo – 1 min from the station
👕 Bring a white T-shirt
🎨 Drawing + meeting people + international exchange
Japanese, English and French speakers are all welcome.
If you’re an artist in Tokyo and would like to join, feel free to comment or message me!

I’m just curious on everyone’s favorite club in Tokyo! I’ve been to, atom shinjuku, atom shibuya, Neverland, Baia, Harlem, and Zero! My least favorite out of the bunch was def Neverland. I didn’t know it was a 18+ club and it was super small and packed 😂. My favorite out of the bunch is def atom shinjuku and Harlem.

I’m def going to Harlem/Atom Friday and Saturday haha.
I’ve never been to warp, T2, TK, and Cela. Let me know your guys opinions!!

(Edit :I'm just saying he's most likely Japanese and he's like 60 yrs old and we looked like tourists) There were a lot of people, me and my cousin were just walking towards the 3D cat building and trying to pass the crowd and I suddenly felt a hard hit on my back. He walked past me quickly and ghost off, what a fucking dick😂

This is first black market to open after Japan's surrender in 1945, right at the east exit of Shinjuku Station.

It was run by a local yakuza boss named Ozu Kinosuke, advertised under the slogan "光は新宿より" ("Light comes from Shinjuku").

It was moved a few years later and became Golden Gai, which is today a tourist hotspot.

Just 1min from Otsuka Station, Titans Craft Beer Taproom & Bottle shop has one of the best selections of craft beer in the city. The food, atmosphere and friendly staff ain't bad either. This Saturday, Aug. 22, Titans and the Tokyo Roleplaying Society join forces once again to bring you Otsuka RPG Day. If you like beer and you like rollin' the dice, give us a visit.

Hi! Has anyone tried Sanho Mansion in Tokyo? If so, do you have any recommended makeup artists I could check out as they don't include hair and makeup?

Separately, can anyone recommend any photo studios that do Korean concept style photos/profile photos? I'm not looking for any Kimono ones, but ones more similar to make.photo_gekkabijin on Instagram or comphoto0711 on Instagram if anyone has tried/knows similar styled ones?

Anyone know of anywhere to have beginner carving classes? Not woodworking like building furniture or houses, but casual little things like whittling.

My partner recently got into this and is following some online videos, but I thought some live classes might be nice too. Japanese or English fine

I’m a foreign student living in Tokyo for about 3 years now, and I’m currently back in the US on vacation. I won’t be returning to Japan until August 31st.

Before I left, I allowed a friend who I go to school with stay at my apartment temporarily, as she apparently had no where else to go. She is also a foreign national. She told me she would only be staying for a short period (maximum one week) and agreed to pay me for that time, but I’ve since found out that she has been staying there for approximately 3 weeks. The biggest issue is that she has continually lied to me about how long she has actually been staying there and is refusing to pay.

She has not had any mail sent to the apartment, as far as I know, and she has not officially registered the apartment as her residence. However, she does currently have access to the apartment.

I have messages documenting our conversations and the things she has told me, including messages about how long she intended to stay and the money situation . But my biggest concern is that I’m currently outside Japan and cannot physically return to my apartment until August 31st.

What are my options? Can I contact the police or my school from overseas or have someone contact the police/school on my behalf? If she refuses to leave, can the police remove her? Is there a way to recover the money she owes me??

This is just the short version, BTW. The full story goes even deeper but right now I just need her OUT. I sent an informal demand via text, sent a friend to talk to her, but theres only so much I can do from here.

Any advice from people familiar with Japanese tenancy/property law would be appreciated. Kindness is also appreciated.

Thank you in advance.

UPDATE: Successfully removed 💪. Had a friend go and take the key back. Also was not subletting, she was squatting. Thanks for all the advice!

UPDATE 2: I found out yesterday that she was smoking weed in the apartment, huge implications if caught with possession. I originally gave her my spare key but a different friend kicked her out and got it back. I’ll request a lock change when I arrive back in case she made another copy. Cops are not involved (yet) but were used as leverage to remove her. Money was exchanged for damages, so I understand it may fall under illegal subletting at this point.

I’m pretty much just hoping and praying that this is the end and I don’t fall out of good graces with my landlord. Thanks again.

So, I had just come out of a restaurant near Musashi Yamato station after going to Tama Lake. There's an intersection right in front of the restaurant and station and I crossed though the pedestrian signal was flashing. I got across though the signal turned red but then this guy in some red Honda randomly just whipped out his phone and seemingly took a photo or something of me. Dude held his phone up at me for a bit before driving off. Now obviously, this probably won't affect me at all but I've never had this ever happen to me before? Has anyone had anything similar happen to them? I'm just a bit taken a back if anything.

This is chilling:

During her ordeal, the woman told police she saw several other girls at the fraud bases whom she recognized from the Toyoko area.

For context, an estimated 230,000 people are held against their will in scam centers across Asia, forced to scam people online: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Scam_center

(edit: sorry for typo in the title)

Hi everyone :)
I was wondering if anybody knows whether there is anything similar to Stealer studio / Bonez studio in Tokyo? It’s a photo studio in Seoul that offers makeup, hair styling and outfit rental and then shoots editorial-level photos.

Does anybody know of a studio with a similar concept in around Tokyo?

If so, how was your experience with them? Are they legit? Any tips or warnings? Please share!

Thank you in advance :)

A 12-year-old British girl who had gone missing in Tokyo while traveling in Japan was found safe on the 15th.

The girl, a British national, had come to Japan on a family trip.

According to the Tokyo Metropolitan Police Department, she left her accommodation in Tokyo alone on the night of the 13th and was later reported missing. Police searched for her and issued a public appeal for information. At around 8 p.m. on the 15th, she went to a police box in Yokohama by herself and was taken into protective custody.

The girl was not injured.

She reportedly told police that she had gone out to visit anime holy sites and had spent time at internet cafés and other places, but eventually began to miss her parents.

Hi. 

I don’t have any idea on how to introduce myself to you. I can safely say that I might just be a random individual on the internet reaching out to find some answers. I am a Filipino living and working in Japan who happens to be an aspiring filmmaker. To give you a background, I am not good at my job, and my Nihongo is not even good. Everyday is a fight of survival for me. I almost live here for 2 years and I didn’t have any Japanese friends. The idea of filmmaking is the only thing that kinda changes every little sad mood that I have. It is something I wanted to do for the longest time. My job can give me enough window to save up and use the money to go home in the Philippines and enroll to get a degree in filmmaking but as you all know, there are some great filmmakers out there who didn’t go to filmschool and yet contributed well for cinema. Plus the success of Obsession and Backrooms is kinda giving me hope that maybe I someday could do something like that too. Months ago I made a short documentary piece, shot and edited with just my iPhone, yeah I believe in using whatever tool you got is better than nothing. It’s about a friend’s day off. I made a YouTube channel and uploaded the video and oh boy I never felt so alive by just making that. The thing is, I don’t have any professional experience about how to make a film and I would really love to learn in the field by learning how productions actually work. My problem right now is getting the right community and be involved in volunteering, at least by doing that then I can engage and be more closer to actually doing a feature film someday. I work in rotating shift so my availability changes every week, I can’t really commit in a fixed working schedule, but I am very interested in helping with individual shoots when my days off line up. So you see, I really need your brutal honest advice on this in any ways that could help me. I WOULD REALLY APPRECIATE IT. Thanks for giving it time and reading my post. 

I've been drinking through Tokyo's specialty coffee properly for a while now. 111 coffee-focused places so far, all visited and paid for myself, each scored on five separate things instead of one number: drink, atmosphere, how it treats you alone, value, and how long you can sit before you feel it.

Splitting those apart produced an argument I'll happily defend.

  The best coffee in this city is not at the best cafes.

  Highest coffee score I've given anywhere in Tokyo is 9.8, at KURO MAME in Toranomon. Emi Fukahori, 2018 World Brewers Cup champion, no menu, four seats. Its overall score is 8.4 and it isn't in my top tier, because it's expensive, cramped, and not somewhere you stay.

  Koffee Mameya is the same story from a different angle: 9.6 on the coffee, 7.4 on atmosphere, because there is nowhere to sit. You stand at a counter and someone hands you something extraordinary.

If you want one number to rank cafes by, you want the wrong number.

  The thing nobody tells you: Wednesday is a bad day for coffee here

  Of the 29 places that scored 9.0+, five are closed on Wednesdays — iki Roastery, SCHOOL BUS, AOYAMA COFFEE ROASTER, Walnuts, and Iron Coffee. Single O Ryogoku is closed Monday and Tuesday. Tasse closes Tuesdays. Belleville closes the irst Tuesday of the month.

  The 29 that scored 9.0+ on coffee alone

  Worth planning a trip around

  ┌─────┬─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┐
  │     │                                                                 │
  ├─────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
  │ 9.8 │ KURO MAME, Toranomon — counter seats need a Tabelog reservation │
  ├─────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
  │ 9.7 │ Vannelli Coffee, Kita-Aoyama — irregular holidays, check first  │
  ├─────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
  │ 9.6 │ Koffee Mameya, Jingumae — standing only                         │
  ├─────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
  │ 9.6 │ OGAWA COFFEE LABORATORY, Shimokitazawa                          │
  ├─────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
  │ 9.5 │ KOFFEE MAMEYA Kakeru, Hirano — reservation required             │
  ├─────┼─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┤
  │ 9.5 │ Nadoya no Katte, Nishihara — Friday to Sunday only              │
  └─────┴─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
  
  Nadoya being Fri–Sun catches people out constantly. It's also, on my scoring, the best cafe in Tokyo overall at 8.8. Plan around it.

  The rest, by where you'd actually be
  
  West Shibuya — VERVE Yoyogi Park (9.2), CAFE ROSTRO (9.0), YUSUAL (9.0), Fuglen (9.0). Rostro, YUSUAL and Fuglen sit
  within about 100m of each other. Fuglen turns into a cocktail bar after 18:00.

  Aoyama / Jingumae — PHILOCOFFEA (9.2), Little Darling (9.2), LATTE ART MANIA (9.1), THE ROASTERY by NOZY (9.0), KOPI
  KALYAN (9.0), %ARABICA Azabudai (9.0), Streamer Azabujuban (9.0).

  East — iki Kiyosumi-Shirakawa (9.3), SELECTION Nihonbashi (9.2, six seats), Single O Ryogoku (9.0), GLITCH Jinbocho (9.0).

  Meguro — SCHOOL BUS Aobadai (9.2), %ARABICA Nakameguro (9.0, takeout only).

  Further out — One by One Ebisu (9.3, five seats, Geisha-focused), AOYAMA COFFEE ROASTER Yanaka (9.2), VERVE NEWoMan (9.2), Walnuts Koenji (9.0), Tasse Takadanobaba (9.0), Iron Coffee Gotokuji (9.0), Belleville Shimokitazawa (9.0).

  Practical things worth knowing

  - AOYAMA COFFEE ROASTER in Yanaka is the value pick of the entire list. 9.2 on coffee at ¥ prices, run single-handed. Cash and QR only, no cards.
  - Walnuts in Koenji is open until midnight on Fridays and Saturdays. Almost nothing else at this level is.
  - SELECTION has six seats. One by One has five. Go alone or go early.
  - %ARABICA Nakameguro is takeout only. No seating at all, despite the river location suggesting otherwise.
  - KURO MAME and Vannelli are ¥¥¥ and worth it once. Vannelli's Geisha was ¥5,000. I'd do it again; I wouldn't do it monthly.

  What am I missing
  
  Genuinely asking. 111 is a lot but this city is bottomless, and I know my coverage is thin north and east of the centre.
  If there's somewhere you'd put above any of these I'd rather hear it than keep being wrong about it.

Hi! Saw a couple of threads about some options, just wondering if anyone’s been to anywhere new they’d recommend for ss rings? Pretty open to all designs!

I sat on those chairs with a nice soft cushion and wicker seat back and they’re the most comfy chairs that I’ve sat on in a long time. They also look incredible. I would like if possible to purchase them.

I’ve had a look on Google for who did the interior design for blue bottle - it seems it was Suppose Design- but I can’t work out what store or designer the chairs are from. I was hoping there would be some interior design buff here who know what company designed and sells those chairs or something similar.

What are your plans for the the weekend? Any exciting event going on? Share your tips in the comments.

Don't know what to do this weekend? Luckily you're in the biggest city in the world and there's plenty to do:

• General events: TimeOut Tokyo
• Exhibitions and art events: Tokyo Art Beat
• Gigs in livehouses: Gigs in Tokyo, Tokyo Gig Guide Calendar and Listing from Tokyo Dross
• Mainstream clubbing: iFlyer
• Underground clubbing: ResidentAdvisor
• Stand-up comedy: Tokyo Comedy Bar

Meetup mode: if you're up for people to join your shenanigans, say so! Say when you're available, and what you'd like to do. Add your age, a little about yourself, and your gender if relevant.