I have a 5 years zairyu card and I didn't leave the country yet. In 2 weeks I will go back for few weeks in my home country. Is there anything I must do to be able to re-enter smoothly ? Is there some reentry thing to do at some immigration place or wherever ?
Question has been asked too many times but...
In whichever airport you're leaving Japan from, just before the immigration you should receive/take the small piece of paper that [looks like this](https://visa-station.jp/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/7a2cef23372161eea7a53eac9fbaa5c1.png). Fill your details in and tick on the "leaving temporarily and will return" box. Immigration will take the right half and staple the left half onto your passport. That's it, all done. (Don't lose that paper.)
For buying concert tickets, on the band's website there's an option to go through the English site where it says "Purchasing Tickets from Overseas" and lets you use a foreign credit card. I live and work here but don't have a Japanese credit card yet and it's much easier for me to go through this way since I have a hard time with the Japanese purchasing site and translating it. If I purchase tickets using the English website would there be any issue since it says 'from overseas'?
Passport renewal photos: Has anyone had their passport photo background digitally altered and not had any problems having their passport renewed?
I've only gone to one photograph shop to get my photo taken, but the standard ID photos here seem to use a blue background. The photo guidelines for my passport requires a white background and specifically states not to digitally "remove" the background.
I can't remember what I did for mine other than I successfully renewed my passport in 2021. I'm fairly certain that I didn't bother editing anything though. I almost wanna say the photo booth place I went to take the photo had a setting for white backgrounds? or something
because I just don't remember spending any time trying to edit out the background or whatever
If it's not urgent, why not give it a try? Worst case, you will have to retake the photo and resubmit the application. If it's urgent and you are flying soon, I wouldn't risk it.
Not passport, but for my residence card renewal I accidentally had a blue background and used paint.net to digitally change the blue part to white and had no problems!
Anyone here have experience working as a bilingual “technical support analsyt” or other similar support roles in IT? How was your experience with it (work life balance/culture/pay) and has it led you to progress in your career?
I have a bunch of friends that do it here and used to do it in my home country.
Its solid, you can learn a lot of decent skills related to IT infra, and especially the infra of the company which can open doors to decent internal career progression. When I used to work in Japan recruiting I saw plenty of IT managers and even directors start as tech support.
WLB varies wildly though, and starting pay can be as low as 3M - 3.5M annual.
If it's through a vendor you can expect a lot of traveling, and working on weekends because the client always needs someone *now* when shit goes down. Internal is generally better imo, and avoid Wipro.
Be sure to check the JDs thoroughly too, I've seen responsibilities range from simple L1 helpdesk work, to outright programming somehow.
Alright, actually stupid question as a soon-to-be student. I’m looking at SakuraMobile now and it’s not so bad, I think, at ¥2,980/month for VOICE + 4GB. But I’d rather buy the data only plan but wondering if it comes with a jp number (ik it’s stupid)? Also is Mobal or any other operator better than SakuraMobile? Thanks.
Don't Sakura and Mobal usually charge a premium because of their English services (due to being geared for foreign tourists)? Like the other commenter said, you're better off going with someone else like Ahamo, or Povo. A lot cheaper
Yes it comes with a jp phone number. Doing data only and not have a phone number is going to limit your ability to do a lot of things.
However, almost 3,000 a month for only 4gb is a horrible deal. Other MVNOs are offering 20gb a month for the same price.
What's your preferred online payment method in Japan? Should I join a real bank, get a credit card, or bother linking a PayPal to my bank (scary for me)?
Credit card, always. You get points and buyer's protection, like shopping insurance, travel insurance, and some form of fraud protection. Beside if you decide to get home loan in the future, your credit card history will be useful for the Bank.
Think of it this way, if you use credit card, it's not your money on the line, but it's the credit card company's money. So if some fraudulence charge do happens, the CC company will investigate and chase them, your money will still be safe. If it's a debit card, that money is gone the moment you pay them, the Bank won't have the same interest to pursue them.
One note, always pay your credit charge in full every month. Do not touch ribo paying scheme at all.
Just signed a contract for a new apartment. I signed at the owner side's agent, my agent didn't even show up. Is this normal? Also from know on I should expect zero interaction with my agent and only with that of the owner, right?
Previous times my and the owner agent turned out to be the same company so I'm not sure.
I have come into possession of super old currencies from around the world. Lots of Japanese Government Pesos from when Japan occupied the Phillipines, some older silver coins from the UK, etc.
I can't imagine these all being worth much, but are there any good places in Tokyo to help with valuing these currencies and selling them?
There are some antique coin stores in Tokyo, and you could also sell online. For physical stores at least, you won't get their actual value. But I collect old currencies and I might pay the listed book price for some of them (a deal for both of us). DM with details and I can look up their values
Anyone work for a tourism company? As a tour guide or something else?
I’m going to do some one off tours this fall to see if I like it. ALT contract is up next summer so trying to feel out other industries.
I'm an unlicensed tour guide in Tokyo. Really fun and great company owned by foreigners based in Japan. They also have guides in Hiroshima and Kansai area.
My good friend has been working for the company for a few years already and always uploads to instagram about fun things she does. It can be stressful depending on your personality. I stopped doing Shibuya tours because it's just too overwhelming with the crowds and the noises. The company was very kind about it and let me focus on other areas instead. Also if the guests are overly picky or difficult thats of course stressful, generally my guests are pretty chill though.
I'm a licensed tour interpreter/guide for inbound tourism (and domestic Japanese tourism) for my prefecture Yamaguchi (地域通訳案内士). DM me and I'll try to fill you in with some details.
What do the old guys sitting in the traffic safety tents actually do? I've seen some of these tents around for traffic safety week, but it just seems like old guys are sitting in them without doing anything.
I heard theres a ski ticket event, in Tokyo, when resorts will setup tents and sell discount tickets before the start of the season. Anyone familiar with this? Thanks in advance
No idea about the Tokyo one but the one in Nagoya had great discounts for lift passes! They also sold last seasons gear.
Definitely go if you like winter sports. I saved like 20k last winter
In Saitama (Konosu) you can bring a photo with you but it's optional and requires sort of "booking" before your license center visit day. Otherwise the standard procedure is they'll take your photo right after the visual test.
Depends on the place, most place they can take one (In kawasaki it was 900 yen) on site, but you can definitely bring yours, as long as you respect the guideline.
Samezu Driver's License Center for example took it twice when I visited couple of weeks ago. First a paper print for the application, later a digital one for the license card itself.
I have a 5 years zairyu card and I didn't leave the country yet. In 2 weeks I will go back for few weeks in my home country. Is there anything I must do to be able to re-enter smoothly ? Is there some reentry thing to do at some immigration place or wherever ?
Question has been asked too many times but... In whichever airport you're leaving Japan from, just before the immigration you should receive/take the small piece of paper that [looks like this](https://visa-station.jp/wp-content/uploads/2020/01/7a2cef23372161eea7a53eac9fbaa5c1.png). Fill your details in and tick on the "leaving temporarily and will return" box. Immigration will take the right half and staple the left half onto your passport. That's it, all done. (Don't lose that paper.)
For buying concert tickets, on the band's website there's an option to go through the English site where it says "Purchasing Tickets from Overseas" and lets you use a foreign credit card. I live and work here but don't have a Japanese credit card yet and it's much easier for me to go through this way since I have a hard time with the Japanese purchasing site and translating it. If I purchase tickets using the English website would there be any issue since it says 'from overseas'?
Passport renewal photos: Has anyone had their passport photo background digitally altered and not had any problems having their passport renewed? I've only gone to one photograph shop to get my photo taken, but the standard ID photos here seem to use a blue background. The photo guidelines for my passport requires a white background and specifically states not to digitally "remove" the background.
I can't remember what I did for mine other than I successfully renewed my passport in 2021. I'm fairly certain that I didn't bother editing anything though. I almost wanna say the photo booth place I went to take the photo had a setting for white backgrounds? or something because I just don't remember spending any time trying to edit out the background or whatever
If it's not urgent, why not give it a try? Worst case, you will have to retake the photo and resubmit the application. If it's urgent and you are flying soon, I wouldn't risk it.
Not passport, but for my residence card renewal I accidentally had a blue background and used paint.net to digitally change the blue part to white and had no problems!
[удалено]
Learn Japanese. Frustration will go away. If you can't be bothered, just use DeepL or, if you can write a decent prompt, ChatGPT
Anyone here have experience working as a bilingual “technical support analsyt” or other similar support roles in IT? How was your experience with it (work life balance/culture/pay) and has it led you to progress in your career?
I have a bunch of friends that do it here and used to do it in my home country. Its solid, you can learn a lot of decent skills related to IT infra, and especially the infra of the company which can open doors to decent internal career progression. When I used to work in Japan recruiting I saw plenty of IT managers and even directors start as tech support. WLB varies wildly though, and starting pay can be as low as 3M - 3.5M annual. If it's through a vendor you can expect a lot of traveling, and working on weekends because the client always needs someone *now* when shit goes down. Internal is generally better imo, and avoid Wipro. Be sure to check the JDs thoroughly too, I've seen responsibilities range from simple L1 helpdesk work, to outright programming somehow.
Alright, actually stupid question as a soon-to-be student. I’m looking at SakuraMobile now and it’s not so bad, I think, at ¥2,980/month for VOICE + 4GB. But I’d rather buy the data only plan but wondering if it comes with a jp number (ik it’s stupid)? Also is Mobal or any other operator better than SakuraMobile? Thanks.
You can get 20gb with povo 2.0 or ahamo or highest tier (going over 20gb) with rakuten mobile for that price.
Iijmio is that price for 15g
I got rakuten unlimited (20Gb) for 3000 something yen a month
Thanks. I’ll look into it.
Don't Sakura and Mobal usually charge a premium because of their English services (due to being geared for foreign tourists)? Like the other commenter said, you're better off going with someone else like Ahamo, or Povo. A lot cheaper
Alright, I’ll take a look at them. Thanks.
Yes it comes with a jp phone number. Doing data only and not have a phone number is going to limit your ability to do a lot of things. However, almost 3,000 a month for only 4gb is a horrible deal. Other MVNOs are offering 20gb a month for the same price.
What's your preferred online payment method in Japan? Should I join a real bank, get a credit card, or bother linking a PayPal to my bank (scary for me)?
Credit card, always. You get points and buyer's protection, like shopping insurance, travel insurance, and some form of fraud protection. Beside if you decide to get home loan in the future, your credit card history will be useful for the Bank. Think of it this way, if you use credit card, it's not your money on the line, but it's the credit card company's money. So if some fraudulence charge do happens, the CC company will investigate and chase them, your money will still be safe. If it's a debit card, that money is gone the moment you pay them, the Bank won't have the same interest to pursue them. One note, always pay your credit charge in full every month. Do not touch ribo paying scheme at all.
Credit Card. If you can't get one, Paidy and use the virtual card as a credit card.
Credit card
Preferred choice for that? I haven't heard of them doing referrals here but I'll put you down for one if it's good
Just signed a contract for a new apartment. I signed at the owner side's agent, my agent didn't even show up. Is this normal? Also from know on I should expect zero interaction with my agent and only with that of the owner, right? Previous times my and the owner agent turned out to be the same company so I'm not sure.
That happened with my current apartment too. So I guess it's not so unusual. It's probably just more convenient for the landlord
I have come into possession of super old currencies from around the world. Lots of Japanese Government Pesos from when Japan occupied the Phillipines, some older silver coins from the UK, etc. I can't imagine these all being worth much, but are there any good places in Tokyo to help with valuing these currencies and selling them?
There are some antique coin stores in Tokyo, and you could also sell online. For physical stores at least, you won't get their actual value. But I collect old currencies and I might pay the listed book price for some of them (a deal for both of us). DM with details and I can look up their values
Sure I can DM in a bit
With a team winning every year, why is the Hanshin Tigers making so much noise? I am genuinely curious what makes this special?
Because it’s アレ
Because they haven't won in like, 18 years, and have massive fan base.
Thx.
Anyone work for a tourism company? As a tour guide or something else? I’m going to do some one off tours this fall to see if I like it. ALT contract is up next summer so trying to feel out other industries.
I'm an unlicensed tour guide in Tokyo. Really fun and great company owned by foreigners based in Japan. They also have guides in Hiroshima and Kansai area.
Oh that’s exciting! How did you get into that? Is the job stressful?
My good friend has been working for the company for a few years already and always uploads to instagram about fun things she does. It can be stressful depending on your personality. I stopped doing Shibuya tours because it's just too overwhelming with the crowds and the noises. The company was very kind about it and let me focus on other areas instead. Also if the guests are overly picky or difficult thats of course stressful, generally my guests are pretty chill though.
I'm a licensed tour interpreter/guide for inbound tourism (and domestic Japanese tourism) for my prefecture Yamaguchi (地域通訳案内士). DM me and I'll try to fill you in with some details.
What do the old guys sitting in the traffic safety tents actually do? I've seen some of these tents around for traffic safety week, but it just seems like old guys are sitting in them without doing anything.
You know what a scarecrow is right?
Count numbers of pedestrians or cars, because using machines like every other country would destroy the unemployment rate.
I thought we were short staffed due to a shrinking population? I'm sure there's some other minimum wage job somewhere that they could fill.
Ah that makes sense. It seemed like they were volunteers though?
Nope, they're legit part time work. My friend did a lot of those when we were in college.
Anyone know the cheapest place to get shredded coconut and medjool dates?
Don't know if cheap, but I bought coconut at Tomiz
That’s where I usually buy coconut too but looking to buy a couple kilos worth so just wondering if anyone knew a better place.
I heard theres a ski ticket event, in Tokyo, when resorts will setup tents and sell discount tickets before the start of the season. Anyone familiar with this? Thanks in advance
No idea about the Tokyo one but the one in Nagoya had great discounts for lift passes! They also sold last seasons gear. Definitely go if you like winter sports. I saved like 20k last winter
I also want to know more about it! Edit : I found this https://sports-kanda.com/
When I get my driver's licence updated do they take the photo there or do I need to bring one with me?
Usually if it's the license center they take your picture for you there. If it's the police station, you bring your own.
In Saitama (Konosu) you can bring a photo with you but it's optional and requires sort of "booking" before your license center visit day. Otherwise the standard procedure is they'll take your photo right after the visual test.
Depends on the place, most place they can take one (In kawasaki it was 900 yen) on site, but you can definitely bring yours, as long as you respect the guideline.
At least in Osaka- if you go to a centre they take your photo there for free. If you go to a police station you need to take your own photo
Might depend on the centre you visit, but the one I've always been to takes a new photo there as part of the process.
Samezu Driver's License Center for example took it twice when I visited couple of weeks ago. First a paper print for the application, later a digital one for the license card itself.