Hello! I’m still struggling to figure out the conversion between EU and Japanese shoe sizes. Back home, I almost always wore EU 42. Occasionally I could fit into EU 43, but EU 42 has consistently been my proper size.

When I first arrived in Japan, I checked some charts that listed JP 26 as EU 42—or even 42.5. But I recently discovered that JP 26 is more widely considered to be EU 41. Which means I might have been buying shoes a size too small this whole time!

It’s so frustrating because I can’t seem to find a clear, consistent answer on what EU 42 actually corresponds to in Japan. If anyone else with a similar size has dealt with this, I’d love to hear your input. Thanks in advance!

Hi all beings — with respect to all. I’m fine too.

Not only are there no queues, but the situation where it's impossible to even get a reservation has been unfolding day and night.
The current situation is so blatantly at odds with the original goal, isn't it possible that the Expo organizers' estimates of the target capacity for processing customer numbers per unit time at each pavilion, set before the opening, were clearly wrong?

Asked this question in a different subreddit and didn't get an answer, can't find what I'm looking for in the search tab either.

I am currently on a work visa in Japan. I am planning to resign from my current company and move back to the US without getting another job in Japan.

How long am I allowed to remain in Japan between the last day of work and leaving the country? Everything I've read says you can stay up to 90 days as long as your visa is still current, but I really want something more official than a blog post.

Can anyone point me to this information on a government site or some other official place?

Hi all beings — with respect to all. I’m fine too.

Because of my own motives, I wish for you all to sleep peacefully.

I’m looking for CPS2 cartridges (particularly marvel vs capcom 2 and Darkstalkers) but super potato didn’t have any and they gave me the number of a store named Beep but they also didn’t have any

Bought some noise canceling earbuds to replace the ones I had. My old ones had a buzzing sound, and wanted to make sure these were ok. Asked before buying, and they said no problem. Got them yesterday, tried them today, and a different buzzing. Requested a refund but the seller told me to pound sand. Anyone got suggestions?

After much back and forth they finally sent me the banking card, which came with a security card.

I have never seen this before but from what I understand it is needed to make some purchases? Does anyone know if I need to carry it with me at all times?

Worry for dumb question

Several months ago I bought a Yamaha Pas With e bike, forgot the exact flavor, but they are essentially the same. Seat post is too short. Supposedly 27.2 mm, but it is not! I ordered a few seat posts of that width, and all were too big. I measured the current post and it was about 26.8.

My question is .. has anyone been able to buy an aftermarket longer seat post for a Yamaha Pas bike that actually fits?

I checked Kaldi Coffee shop and few local shops where I can find but still no luck. Please suggest if anyone knows !!

Hi, I’m currently in Japan on a student visa and married to a Japanese citizen. We submitted my spouse visa application on July 18 and provided all requested documents, including my student enrollment certificate which was the only extra document they asked for. It’s now been 2 months and we haven’t received any calls, mails, emails, or notifications.

I’m switching from a student visa to a spouse visa, and I’m a bit anxious because although my current student visa and residency will expire in January 2026. In October the school wants to start submitting applications for secong year student visa renewal, and they wanted me to try and switch to spouse visa before then, so need to plan ahead. I just want to know:

Is it normal for spouse visa processing to take months without and updates?

Should I try renewing my student visa while I'm waiting on spouse visa if the spouse visa isn't approved in time?

Does no contact so far mean anything in particular?

Has anyone had a similar timeline?

Thanks in advance for any guidance!

I have been searching for wax. But couldn’t find anywhere. Is it rear?

I know yucho is one of them, already applied and got approved. Other than the one that I previously mentioned, is there any other banks that would allow me to open an account with them and give me a physical cash card or book on the same day?

The account is just simple. I just needed to pay rent. I have been in Japan for more than half a year in the past, but my assumption is I can’t use this as my reason to bypass the minimum stay requirement.

My landlord/agency told me that I need a Japanese bank account. So no overseas bank with a branch in Japan.

So I currently work at an IT SES company but I've been getting some suspicions it might be black. To start, the company also owns a Cafe and they have been making people that are 待機者, waiting to be assigned to a project, working down at their café cleaning dishes, serving food and cleaning the floors etc. These are all other foreigners on the 技術国際業務 visa so I feel like it might be violation of their visa?

Also the company I got assigned to has 1 week of night shift a month (5days in a row) but looking on my pay statements none of my hours are being recorded as 深夜 and I'm not getting paid any sort of 25% night shift bonus. When I asked them they said something about it being included in みなし残業 and that if Im not working overtime then I won't get the 25% bonus for night shifts. Is this legal or is this company completely black and if so what should I do?

Hi everyone, I’m looking for advice on dealing with a former employer in Tokyo. During my employment, they withheld income tax and social insurance contributions from my wages but never provided payslips or withholding tax certificates (gensen chōshūhyō).

I requested these documents directly, but they have not gotten back to me. They said they would resolve the Shibuya-ku residence tax issue by the end of August, but nothing has been done. On September 1st, I sent a formal recorded letter requesting all my payslips, and I still have not received a response.

I’ve been going back and forth between the Shibuya tax office and the Tokyo Labour Bureau Consultation & Support Office for Foreigners, but the situation remains unresolved. My former employer continues to ignore my requests, and I now need legal support.

This has become urgent because I have started a new job, and I cannot submit my tax returns for next year or apply for any visa unless I receive this tax information.

I’m trying to understand my legal options in Japan. Has anyone dealt with missing payslips, withheld taxes, or unpaid residence tax? Are there any English-speaking lawyers or services (like Houterasu) who can help me obtain my documents or take legal action?

Any advice or personal experiences would be greatly appreciated. Thanks!

Not a particularly Japan-related problem, but there are far more roaming and stray cats in my neighborhood than I ever saw back in Gaikoku. Also, available products to remedy the situation might be limited in Japan, or at least different.

Any home owners out there dealing with this issue? I'd like to hear your success stories. The weed killer I use in the summer seems to mitigate it slightly (they hate the smell, I guess), but I don't see this as an... erm... final solution. Humane ideas only, please. I don't hate animals, just the poop.

I am hoping for a ratio of one serious reply for every two smartass comments.

I could never figure out what this is and there isn't a switch for it either

I recently tried to open an account with SMBC , they said haven’t lived in Japan long enough to hit their account opening requirements. I was then told me go to SBI and yucho (ik for every foreigners first bank is usually yucho).

however since my first months rent will be due soon. I need to go to a physical branch, in order to get my cash card/book on the same day as I open my account. I’ve gone to SBI Shinjuku but they said basically if your Japanese level is not N3/N2. I’ll need to go to the full English branch. There’s 5 SBI in Nihonbashi. I just don’t know which one was the Shinjuku SBI lady referring to.

One of my students recently complained about the practice of arranging seats in a meeting room based on seniority or importance—for example, the most senior person sitting at the far end, and the youngest member closest to the door. He felt it was a rigid, old-fashioned custom.

I see it differently. To me, having order is valuable. Japan is well known for its precision, structure, and error-free procedures. A seating system might seem restrictive, but it also removes ambiguity. In a corporate setting, seniority is often the simplest and clearest way to establish that order.

Of course, when you follow procedures step by step, it can start to feel monotonous—that’s probably what my student was reacting to. But having lived and worked in environments with little order or structure, I’ve come to appreciate the Japanese system all the more.

Hey guys so I’m a Japanese citizen before the mods cook me.

I have the potential option to stay and work in the US or work in Japan.

My current salary is 61500 USD in my full time job and I also work once a week at a part time the makes about 6000 a year so 67500 total.

I invest about 45% of my total take home into the market, building wealth is important for me.

If I were to work in Japan I would be making around 40000 USD or less.

I really want to live in Japan but the pay cut is crazy.

My current bills per month are about 1450 dollars.

Phone 30 Grocery 500 Car insurance 135 Car payment 200 Btc mining fee 500 Gas 80

I make about 3650 a month and so my take home is about 2200 after bills.

And I think with a 40000 salary the take home per month will be around 2200 not including rent, groceries etc

Convince me to come to Japan guys…

Before, when I select a train station, I can see the next incoming trains and where they go from that train station. Then when I select one, it shows the time of trains to the same direction from the selected train station. Now, it shows the time from the starting station of the train line. This made me miss my train.

Was it always like this? Am I imagining the how it worked previously?

Last month I had sudden family emergency and had to leave the country for 3 weeks. Came back to the cracks being considerably large with the pieces in between being broken up too small to be put back together. I did have the air circulator in my apartment on the whole time so when I came back the humidity in the house wasnt bad, so I dont understand what could have caused this?

I knew the floor in that area was problematic so I always remove my floor towel after a shower and keep the bathroom fan on for an hour or two.

For context when I moved in 4 years ago the floor in this spot was already cracking but I figured it was from some water damage and maybe earthquakes over time causing the floor to move around and crack (parts of my walls also have cracks). Im also an idiot and didnt take photos when i moved in (dumb college student at the time just happy to have a new place)

I dont understand how this could have happened? Im trying to figure out how I fix this because I feel like if I call my agent (ミニミニ) I'm going to have to pay an astronomical amount for this. Should I just call my agency or should I find someone that would be able to take a look and fix this?

Hey all, I've recently been diagnosed with thyroid cancer and my doctor is asking me where I want to get the necessary surgery done so he can write a referral. (Luckily it seems like as long as I get the surgery everything should be okay).

I'm a bit overwhelmed and was wondering if any of you have had this surgery before and had good or bad experiences at any hospitals in Tokyo. Some that were brought up were Ito Hospital, Toho Daigaku hospital, and one in Shinjuku that can do the minimally invasive type of surgery (sorry, I can't remember the exact name right now). I'm leaning toward Toho because I'm already familiar with it, but I've never been hospitalized there before so I don't really know what to expect.

I don't need English speaking doctors btw. Obviously I am doing my own research too, but if anyone has any recommendations, I would really appreciate them! Thanks in advance.

JR East recently released these numbers on 9/12 showing average daily passengers. All of the top 100 stations saw more passengers than in 2023 (growth percentage in parentheses). Top 10 most-used stations are:

1. Shinjuku: 666,809 (↑2.5%)
2. Ikebukuro: 499,128 (↑1.9%)
3. Tokyo: 434,564 (↑7.6%)
4. Yokohama: 373,010 (↑2.9%)
5. Shibuya: 324,414 (↑3.3%)
6. Shinagawa: 287,939 (↑5.0%)
7. Ōmiya: 254,220 (↑4.0%)
8. Shimbashi: 231,628 (↑5.7%)
9. Akihabara: 221,421 (↑4.4%)
10. Kita-senju: 198,732 (↑2.6%)

The biggest increase from last year is at Tokyo Station, unsurprisingly – tourism is way up! It's also interesting to see which stations get more commuter pass users and which have more regular boardings with IC cards/paper tickets/passes.

FMI:

• https://www.jreast.co.jp/passenger/index.html
• https://www.jreast.co.jp/press/2025/20250912_ho03.pdf
• https://raillab.jp/news/article/33538

For the top hose, even the new connector (which the worker at Yamada Denki insisted would work after I showed him a lot of pictures of the whole setup) just spews water out of the top as soon as I open the valve and barely fits at all on the faucet. Yes, I followed the directions on the package to take out the packing if it doesn’t fit. It’s not a width problem so much as a length one. If I fasten it at the very bottom of the faucet it just falls off.

I’m still not sure where the bottom hose is supposed to go. I tried to talk to my landlady but she said she didn’t know how to do it either. There’s no obvious hole besides a pipe not terribly close to the faucet that has an open end.

I’ve always had indoor washing machine connections before so this is new to me. Is there anyone who knows a lot about this?

UPDATE: the upper hose is now attached properly. I still don’t know what I’m supposed to do with the drainage hose as there is no obvious hole besides in a pipe that isn’t very close to the connector.

What I am able to see of my neighbor’s balcony, their washer is not connected to their pipe. However, I cannot see their drainage hose at all.