I (28F) was invited by a japanese friend (30F) to a matching party/machikon (街コンパーティ) and we're going together with two of her friends this week. We've been friends for over a year and she seemed very eager to bring me to this event when we first became friends but I didn't go back then.

It seems interesting and a legit fancy place in Tokyo but the website has no reviews or pictures so I was wondering if anyone has ever been to an event like this and would like to share your experience or opinions!

Re-creating the post because apparently using japanese in a japanese resident post is prohibited? I tried my best this time to create an english name for it since english is not my native language and machikon is just like konbini and pachinko, everyday use terms I guess...

Heads up for drivers!
From September 1, 2026, the speed limit on many small residential roads will change from the default 60 km/h to 30 km/h.

This mainly applies to narrow local roads with:
- no center line
- no lane markings
- no posted speed limit sign

So if you turn into a small neighborhood street and there’s no sign, it’s safest to assume the limit is 30 km/h.
Main roads, roads with lane markings, and roads with posted speed limit signs are not changing because of this rule.
The goal is to try and make residential streets safer for pedestrians, cyclists, and kids.

I see too many reports of TV of kids getting hit by trucks and old people… it’s all so very sad.

Rehoming goldfish in osaka

We got some goldfish from a festival last year during July. Had them roughly a year now. They are healthy and have grown big. 1 fancy goldfish and 3 comet goldfish.

Our Visa renewal was denied, and we are leaving Osaka in August.

If anyone knows where to re-home fish in osaka, that would help us out a lot.

Otherwise if someone wants them they are currently living in a very large pot with a filter, a heater, a nice healthy Pothos also growing on top.

I (28F) was invited by a japanese friend (30F) to a 街コンパーティand we're going together with two of her friends this week. We've been friends for over a year and she seemed very eager to bring me to this event when we first became friends but I didn't go back then.

It seems interesting and a legit fancy place in Tokyo but the website has no reviews or pictures so I was wondering if anyone has ever been to an event like this and would like to share your experience or opinions!

I’m 20 years old, and I used to be a very cheerful person who loved talking to people. But since I started working in Japan, I’ve developed what feels like social anxiety.
I came to Japan to study, and I work part-time to cover my living expenses. My boss is really kind and supportive, but unfortunately, some of the customers are not. Lately, their behavior seems to have gotten worse.
Sometimes, when I’m speaking Japanese, people pretend they don’t understand anything I’m saying. I’m not fluent, but my Japanese is above an intermediate level, and I know I’m communicating clearly most of the time.
There have been times when customers ignored me completely and walked over to another Japanese staff member to ask them to take over the checkout. Some customers have even thrown money at me or acted irritated for no apparent reason, which makes it even harder for me to communicate.
Whenever this happens, my boss comforts me, but there’s not much he can do because the customers are regulars, and in customer service, customers usually come first.
Now, every time it’s almost time to go to work, I feel a heavy sense of dread. My heart races whenever I have to interact with Japanese customers, and I even start stuttering sometimes. Before coming to Japan, I wasn’t like this at all.
On top of that, seeing so many posts online saying things like “foreigners are ruining Japan” or “go back to your country” has been making me feel even more depressed.
Has anyone else experienced something similar? If so, how do you cope with it?

The immigration asking for additional documents. My husband who has a late payment in nenkin 2025. Because of transitioning from shakai to kokumin. Should i withraw my application? Altho i myself have a perfect records coz i'm a seishain in the same company since 2020. Is there recent same situation like me ? 🤔

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I've been married for over two years to a Japanese single mother. She has a 10-year-old daughter, and we get along well; I take care of her while her mother works. But lately, she's been coming home very late, and every time I ask her why, she says she stayed out drinking with her friends. She's also addicted to shisha. And the strangest thing is that her Instagram followers have increased, and I see her constantly typing on her phone. And don't even get me started on sex; we hardly have it anymore. We're both 30. Do you think she's cheating on me? Thanks in advance; I'll be reading your comments.

Probably a stupid question, don’t SHOOT ME. But, has anyone travelled from and later back to Japan with creatine?? It’s a totally legal food supplement, but issue is, it being a white powder.

I recently got a kilo pack and will travel to Europe to visit my family with it next week, but cannot take the original packaging as it’s too big and I don’t need that much. I was thinking of packing it into a zip lock bag, but again - foreigner with white powder in zip lock bag…

Am I overthinking it? Will they not care?

I guess I am not the only one taking creatine so any experiences traveling with it appreciated

Japanese umbrellas are too big and shitty, I hate the, but I have to use them. I wish people could use “fun” umbrellas and not be judged : I remember going out a few years ago and using a water,Elon umbrella because I had nothing else at the moment, and when I got out so many Japanese girls were doing the “wow it’s so cute ahahah” with their friends in that slightly sarcastic and mean way, but making sure everyone heard. I never used the watermelon umbrella again, and even when I couldn’t find my other “normal” umbrellas, I preferred to go without.

Japanese umbrellas are so big too like you don’t need so much space, especially when walking in Shibuy when it’s raining, they’re so big people can barely move. Thankfully I’ve been seeing smaller portable umbrellas, I hope they keep increasing.

Donor get me wrong, if I used my watermelon umbrella in Europe I might get some stres, but not a much as here. It’s just an umbrella, be it that’s it’s broken or it looks like a watermelon.

I’m sure lots of you must be, like myself, interested in Japanese traditional art and culture, and Rakugo is one of those that I saw from time to time in movie, TV series, manga or anime. Several months ago I met a girl who also was interested in Rakugo, so we hanged out at the Rakugo Theater in Shibuya, which basically made me never want to listen to Rakugo ever again.

The facility was old, hygiene is not ideal, as you would expect with Shibuya, which was expected. Most customers are old Japanese men and women, which is quite different with what you would expect of a young region like Shibuya.

Then as we sat down and the performance started, a very old guy got on the stage and started talking, or mumbling, random life events of his.

After a while the actual performance started. Instead of a more regular Rakugo story like Jyugenmu, Shinigami or anything like that, he taught a story of a young girl doing papakatsu (pseudo-legal prostitution) which was not so funny did not go well for him. Not so much laughters. The atmosphere in the Theater was really awkward.

Then he started talking about foreigners. Oh my god, I guess he noticed me and my girl. He decided to make fun of foreigners, saying we’re “outsiders who came to see Rakugo only because we saw some anime”. Well yeah, I guess he was right about that.

This triggers some traumatic memories of deprived Japanese people trying to fit in their own community/making up for their own failure by pointing their fingers on foreigners (or anyone that seems more vulnerable). From 1900 to today, maybe that’s the one thing that hasn’t changed, huh?

Sorry if I’m over generalizing a bit, but I probably won’t visit a Rakugo Theater again, and my faith of Japanese “customer first” “omotenashi” got some serious questions.

I’ve been working at Japanese IT companies for a while, and it’s made me curious about how work culture compares with the US and Europe.

For those who’ve worked in both, what differences stood out the most? I’m especially interested in management style, as it’s one area I’ve found challenging, but I’d also love to hear about communication, decision-making, work-life balance, meetings, and hierarchy.

I’m happy to hear experiences from any industry, not just IT. What did you find better or worse, and what surprised you the most?

Although I find myself spending more time watching services like Netflix lately, I still think traditional TV is better for just relaxing and watching mindlessly. With that in mind, I’d like to ask: is there any Japanese TV program you watch every week? Even if you don't watch anything currently, I’d love to hear your recommendations.

I need honest, practical advice from people who've been through immigration stuff. My core question is simple: what do I actually need to do to stay in Japan and keep my life here, instead of being forced to leave? I'm ready to work any qualifying job — I just don't have much time.

Background
- Russian, 28, in Japan since 2022
- Japanese language school → sports/fitness vocational college (専門学校), graduated Mar 2026 with 専門士
- Also a bachelor's in Oriental/Japanese studies from home
- JLPT N2, native Russian, business English
- NSCA-CPT

Situation
- A fitness company hired me as a personal trainer(正社員) and filed to change my status 留学→技人国 on Feb 25 (salary ~¥220k)
- Student visa expired May 23→ I'm in the grace period (特例期間), waiting on the result (~July 23)
- I recently found out that a friend in a very similar situation got denied, so I'm worried mine will go the same way
- I have almost no money for a private lawyer

What I'm ready to do
- Switch to a job that clearly qualifies for 技人国 and sponsors a visa — already applying to international sales/export roles where my Russian is an asset, plus recruitment and game localization
- Apply for the job-hunting visa (特定活動 / 継続就職活動) — already requested my college recommendation letter
- Possibly move to an office role at my current company (scheduling, program design, foreign-client handling) instead of floor training

My real questions

1. Is 継続就職活動 realistic after a denial, or only right after graduation?
2. If I land a qualifying job offer, can the change to 技人国 happen without me leaving Japan?
3. Given the tight timeline, what should I be doing right now so I don't lose my status?

I want to stay and work — just need to know the smartest moves before the clock runs out. Thanks.

I'm using Amazon JP.
I've been using that service for 2 months. I went really well.

I entered it today however I coudln't order any product.

When I ordered, it shows

"ご迷惑をおかけしています！

お客様のリクエストの処理中にエラーが発生しました。できるだけ早くこの問題を解決いたします。

注文手続きの途中でこのエラーが表示された場合は、注文は確定されていませんので、ご注意ください。

ご不便をおかけして申し訳ございません。"

How can I fix this?

Renewed my car insurance today and because my old company didn’t give me a good discount I decided to shop around. Went with Sompo direct now and decided to get a few more options, so I got theft insurance for car and contents, which is, drumroll, 900 yen per year. Since insurance companies are quite good at calculating risks, on a 160 man car this gives you somewhat of an impression how likely it is that your car will be stolen in Japan. Meanwhile, my friend back in Ireland had his Motorbike stolen twice this year already

I've finally decided to install a home security camera system (I live in a detached house in a small city in Kanagawa), but I still haven't decided how to set it up. Specifically, I'm wondering whether I should keep the cameras completely hidden from view, without turning on lights or sounding alarms, so that an intruder won't notice them and try to destroy them, or instead make them clearly visible and also put up signs warning that security cameras are in operation to discourage any attempt in the first place.

These are two different schools of thought, and both seem theoretically valid. Has anyone here had real-life experience that could help me decide?

Hey Guys,

I have given Driving Conversation (outside of the 29 countries ) written test ( which was cleared) and failed practical driving test for three attempts.

While trying to book for forth attempt , the system at center did not let me choose because the next available will cross 6 months window (think from document verification day).

Now the center asked me book appointment again for document verification online.

Can anyone share :

Will it be same again , Document verification -> Written test -> Driving test Booking

OR

Document verification -> Driving test Booking

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?

Taking the wife and son (2.5yrs) on a roadtrip to Nagoya, with a brunch stop in Shizuoka.

Two-ish questions if you don't mind as I'm still searching but any suggestions would be appreciated.

1. Is there any quick, but worthwhile stops on the way? Nothing too far off the route, like a kids play area, landmark or something for photos.. I would love an ocean drive, but its more for my kid and keeping him happy.

2a. I collect old cardass cards like pokemon, sailormoon, slam dunk, evangelion etc. Is there any notable bookoffs or card stops along the way?

2b. I've seen a few card shops on google in Nagoya, but all seems pretty run of the mill. Any good stores you recommend for vintage cards? Im not so interested in modern stuff.

If you have the time, I appreciate any replies, otherwise I'll continue looking.

Cheers.

So me and my wife had a child in japan an she wants them to have a middle name. Would we just fill out her cities birt certificate with <last name,first name> then fo to our appointment In Tokyo to then add a middle name for our child's passport?

I've heard this is the least stressful process vs adding it on the birth certificate so I was just curious if anyone had any experience with this? Currently we both live in shinjuku. Im retired military and she's a Japanese citizen with a green card.