u/idsjdbebe

I’m kinda curious. With international marriages becoming more common in Japan, what’s the most common mixed background you’ve noticed? And what’s the rarest?

I went to school in Tokyo, and from my experience, Japanese-Filipino seemed to be the most common.

Among the people I knew who were mixed, most of them were Japanese-Filipino. I feel like if you asked a lot of Japanese people, they’d probably say the same, but I’m not sure if that’s true for the whole country.

Okinawa is probably different, where I’d guess Japanese-American is more common because of the U.S. military presence.

The rarest mix I’ve personally come across was Japanese-Romanian.

I’m curious what everyone else’s experience has been. What’s the most common mixed background you’ve seen where you live in Japan? And what’s the rarest?

So I’ve lived in Japan for a long time, so I’m pretty used to the food. I was talking to a friend from Europe who came to Japan, and while we were chatting, the topic of food came up. She said Japanese food is kinda bland because they don’t really use much seasoning. I was like, “Really?”

But then I actually thought about it. A lot of Japanese food keeps the seasoning pretty simple mostly soy sauce, salt, miso, dashi, Ajinomoto.

I’m originally from Florida, and I remember when we’d do BBQ or cook at home, we’d use way more spices and seasoning. I don’t really know what it’s like in Europe though.

I guess it kind of goes both ways too. When Japanese people try foreign food, it’s kind of 50/50. Some seem to like it, while others say 「味が強い」 (“the flavor is too strong”).

I’ve also heard a few family members who visited Japan say the same thing, so now I’m wondering if she’s actually right. At this point, I think my taste buds are just used to both, so I honestly can’t really tell anymore lmao.

Do most foreigners find Japanese food bland, or is it just something you get used to after living here? Thanks!

I currently have a part-time job in the morning until the afternoon, and I’m thinking about getting a second job in the late afternoon/evening.

My main job already deducts my taxes and 社会保険, so I’m a bit confused about how it works if I have a second job.

I remember being told that I have to report my second income, but some of my Japanese friends who worked two jobs told me they either forgot to report it or just never did because 「めんどくさいからやってない」 (“I don’t do it because it’s a hassle.”).

I grew up half my life here, so I’m still figuring out how the rules work differently for foreigners and Japanese people. I’ve heard that foreigners are sometimes held to a higher standard or face stricter consequences for mistakes, so I just want to make sure I’m doing everything correctly.

Do you have to do it every month or just once a year?
Cos on how they say it’s too hassle

My visa has no restrictions on how many hours I can work, so that’s not an issue.

Has anyone here been in a similar situation or knows how it works? Thanks in advance

I’ve been thinking about switching carriers and wanted to hear some opinions.

Right now I’m using au, and I’m paying around ¥7,000+ a month for unlimited data. I noticed that Rakuten Mobile’s unlimited plan is only around ¥3,000, which seems like a huge difference.

For those of you using Rakuten, is it worth switching? How’s the coverage and speed, especially if you use a lot of data?

I’d love to hear your experiences before I make the switch.

So I have a problem with my grandpa who has dementia, and I’m looking for advice from people who have gone through something similar.

He likes to wander off, so usually someone in the family has to follow him. The problem is that he gets angry when he notices someone following him around. If nobody follows him, there’s a chance he’ll end up causing problems without meaning to.

For example, the last time he wandered off, he got into an argument with a stranger because he accidentally spat on them. By the middle of the argument, he had already forgotten what happened and kept denying that he did it.
Luckily, we found him, apologized to the stranger, and explained that he has dementia.

Then when we tried to take him home, he started asking who we were and refused to come with us. He even started yelling for help from people nearby. In the end, we had to carry him to the car, but from the outside it probably looked like we were kidnapping an old man.

I know this probably won’t be the last time something like this happens. Is there any way to reduce situations like this in public? We can’t realistically lock him in the house, but we’re worried he’ll get lost or get into a more serious incident one day.

Any advice or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thank you.

This might be a dumb question, but is it actually true that Japan is one of the hardest countries to get citizenship/nationality in?

I’ve seen a few videos and comments online saying that it’s extremely difficult, but I never really looked into it. From what I know, you need to have lived in Japan for a long time, have a stable income, pay your taxes, and not have any legal problems.

Isn’t that pretty normal for a lot of countries, especially in the West? What makes Japan different or more difficult compared to other countries?

Sorry if I’m not very informed on this. I’ve lived in Japan for years and never really thought about it until recently, so now I’m curious how it compares to other countries.

it’s my first time taking care of someone with dementia, and I need some advice.

I currently live with my grandpa and help look after him because his dementia has gotten worse. One issue is that he rarely wants to take a bath. Every time I bring it up, he tells me he’ll do it tomorrow, but when tomorrow comes, he says “tomorrow” again. Eventually he gets frustrated if I keep asking, and it turns into an argument.

I’ve also tried offering to help clean him with wet towels instead, but that usually makes him angry. He says I’m treating him like a child and refuses that too.

Another problem is that he’s stopped using the toilet consistently. Sometimes, especially when he’s in his room, he’ll open the sliding glass door and pee into the yard instead of going to the bathroom. He still knows how to use the toilet and does use it at times, which is why I’m confused. It seems random when he decides to do this instead of using the toilet.

I’ve tried explaining that he shouldn’t do it, especially during the daytime because neighbors or children might see him, but he usually tells me to be quiet or gets upset. I also realize that reminding him may not help much because he often forgets the conversation afterward.

Has anyone dealt with similar situations? Is there a way to help change his routine or encourage better habits without causing arguments? Any advice would be appreciated thanks🙏

I’ve lived here since high school and used to wear cologne a lot, but some friends told me strong western perfumes/colognes make them feel dizzy. They said people here usually prefer lighter, sweeter, or refreshing scents instead of really strong ones. After hearing it from a few different people, I kinda stopped using it most of the time.

Now I kinda get what they mean, especially on packed trains. Sometimes tourists walk by wearing really strong perfume/cologne and I can see why some people get bothered by it lol. I’m used to strong scents myself so I don’t really mind it personally, but it made me curious if other people changed their habits after moving here too.

How do you guys afford to travel back home these days?

I’m from Florida, and every few years I try to go back to the U.S. for about 2 weeks to see family. But lately it feels almost impossible to justify financially with the weak yen.

Round-trip tickets are like 250,000-300,000 yen, and that alone already takes a huge chunk out of my savings. And once I’m actually in the U.S., the cost of living there now is so high that I end up spending way more than expected.

I get that flights within Asia can be cheaper, but for people from Europe or North America how are you managing it? Are you just saving aggressively, using points, finding deals, or just accepting the cost?