There are parts of Chiba where you need to use the ETC to travel but for the most part it is fine. They had a great tourist year in 2025-26 because of the bears in mainland but it all died after the storms.
You can still visit Chiba with very little issue. Just had an amazing dinner for ¥9,000 that would have cost ¥30,000 any where else.
Visit Chiba.
I spoke with two Japanese accountants and I’ve received two very different answers to the same question. I’ve been a Japanese resident for about 12 months (first year was 6 months and halfway through my “second” year). Just got my yearly extension last month.
I’m a 1099 employee in the US and I do not and never will work in Japan. I physically work in the US and reside in Japan.
The first accountant wants to file me as a business owner in Japan. I would have a separate credit card and file receipts for write offs. Not sure what that means since I don’t work here). He wants to charge me ¥200,000.
The second wants to file only delta taxes but he wants to charge me ¥200,000-¥400,000.
This sounds completely insane to me. I paid a CPA in the US $500 and she did a great job. I can no longer use her because she doesn’t handle this situation.
Does this sound right?
Edit: I physically work in the US. I own zero property in either country. I have a spouse visa in Japan (married no children). I tend to work 6 months a year in the US but that can change year to year. I have very little to write off as an expense. This will be my first year filing in Japan.
Submitted my residency extension request on May 8th in Yokohama and they said 1-2 months turn around. It’s going to be tight since I have a contract in the US as of July 13. Anyone have any experience on how long this will actually take?