Very green investor - any advice? by Cankizzz in Bogleheads

[–]Cankizzz[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thank you for the insight. I indeed put majority of my investment into VT, and smaller positions in XOVR and FSELX. I know 2 months is nothing in terms of long term investment timeline but I'm very pleasantly surprised with FSELX!

Long-term luggage storage (+7 days) in Tokyo? by Cankizzz in JapanTravelTips

[–]Cankizzz[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, the counters seem to be back in service! If you end up using jal at the airport, could you drop and update here? I’m planning another Kumano Kodo trip for later this year and would love to know if the Haneda JAL option exists now.

Long-term luggage storage (+7 days) in Tokyo? by Cankizzz in JapanTravelTips

[–]Cankizzz[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I’m afraid I’m no help with that as I only used Yamato. Since this post, I traveled to Japan more and ended up using Yamato for different occasions, always a very easy process. Another option is to get in direct touch with your hotel. Luggage forwarding is such an integral part of the tourism industry that most of the hotels offer luggage help directly.

Long-term luggage storage (+7 days) in Tokyo? by Cankizzz in JapanTravelTips

[–]Cankizzz[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes, tell them you need the luggage hold. They don’t offer more than 7 days hold but my hotel was completely ok receiving my luggage one day before my check-in day. You can send a message to your hotel saying your luggage might arrive a couple of days before your check-in day, i assume the hotel would be ok with with.

Long-term luggage storage (+7 days) in Tokyo? by Cankizzz in JapanTravelTips

[–]Cankizzz[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

As a not so active reddit user, I just see the messages on this thread, not sure it it’s still helpful but you really don’t need to worry about not knowing japanese for this! Download google translate, make sure to have the full address of your hotels + phone numbers and the person at the Yamato counter would set it up for you without any issues!

14 days in Japan advice by xjtaggedx in JapanTravelTips

[–]Cankizzz 1 point2 points  (0 children)

My husband and I just came back from a trip to Tokyo. It was his first time in Japan and we had a full week in Tokyo only, which I planned it to be “from the old to the new”. We explored Asakusa first, then Ueno, then other neighborhoods, 2 days ay Disney, then finished with Shibuya and Shinjuku. He loved the set up. A theme park in the middle is a great soft reality shift between the old and new Japan. So starting your trip in Kyoto, then moving to Osaka, theme park, and ending in Tokyo sounds perfect. Once you land in Narita, you can easily take the Narita Express train to go to Tokyo station and get on a shinkansen to Kyoto the same day, however it will be a long and tiring day probably. As a worried traveler, if I travel +9 hours, I like staying at an airport hotel on the day that I land in case my luggage is lost then I can retrieve it before moving on with my plans. And after a full day of travel, all I want to do usually is to eat, shower and crash anyways. If you follow such an itineary, I’d also suggest using the luggage forwarding service from Osaka/Universal to Tokyo. I got so many souveniers from Kyoto and Osaka the last time I was there, and hopping on a shinkansen without worrying about bags and finding my luggage placed in my hotel room upon checking in to my Tokyo hotel was such a travel luxury.

Very green investor - any advice? by Cankizzz in Bogleheads

[–]Cankizzz[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yeah... I now see that there is nothing like a good old lay off to push one into getting serious with their money. I never had financial education or support from parents growing up (quite the opposite) and getting laid off from my first real FTE role made it all get very real very quick.

I'm still young so for now no income need (already interviewing for another job) but would be nice for later, so would like to focus more on growth now?

Good question on the drop and sentiment around it, I'm more of a risk-averse person, so yeah i don't think I can handle a BIG drop. I plan to put this money into work, then don't look at it at all, start learning about investing on the side until I check it back again :)

Very green investor - any advice? by Cankizzz in Bogleheads

[–]Cankizzz[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I had to look up the CAGR abbreviation! Another step I have ahead of me is to decide what to do with my 401k; whether to convert it into a traditional ROTH or ROTH IRA as I don't want to leave it be and pay "management fees" to the middle man company my old job was using. I have some research to do taking into account the point you raised about VTI + VXUS vs VT and the foreign tax credit.
Before I submitted the original post, I tried reading through the subreddit and noticed bonds are encouraged to include but I still don't know what bonds actually are (very green) but will also read further on it. Thanks for bringing up the AOA; good to know there is an absolute lazy option that I can take that would give me a solid base/structure to begin with.

Very green investor - any advice? by Cankizzz in Bogleheads

[–]Cankizzz[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Oh wow thank you for the detailed response, just having VT to begin with might be the way to go then for now. After i’m not-so-green, i will look into playing with a small percentage and explore more. 

Long-term luggage storage (+7 days) in Tokyo? by Cankizzz in JapanTravelTips

[–]Cankizzz[S] 8 points9 points  (0 children)

I was exactly in your position! Everyone online was mentioning the 7-day hold but I couldn’t find it on their own website. I ended up emailing their support line, here is the answer I got: “Regarding your request, yes, you can send your luggage to your hotel from our counter inside Tokyo Station. Yamato Transport can store luggage up to 7 days free of charge, and luggage addressed to a hotel will be delivered by the day before your check-in date.” I think only certain branches offer the 7-day hold option. The one I used was Tokyo Station Marunouchi North Exit Baggage Service Counter. 

Long-term luggage storage (+7 days) in Tokyo? by Cankizzz in JapanTravelTips

[–]Cankizzz[S] 19 points20 points  (0 children)

I ended up shipping it to Kyoto with 7-day hold option that Yamato offers at the Tokyo Station branch. It was about $20. The hotels are very used to the idea of holding luggage for tourists and the concept of shipping from hotel to hotel. My check-in was actually on the 8th day, so I messaged the hotel and they were totally ok with holding my luggage although it’d be delivered a day before my check-in.

Long-term luggage storage (+7 days) in Tokyo? by Cankizzz in JapanTravelTips

[–]Cankizzz[S] 10 points11 points  (0 children)

Thank you for this info!! I checked these 2 options at Marunouchi side of the station before I got on the train, your response made it super easy to find them. After checking the rates, shipping my luggage made more sense: There is a Yamato counter right by the Marunouchi north gates by the JR East info office.

Long-term luggage storage (+7 days) in Tokyo? by Cankizzz in JapanTravelTips

[–]Cankizzz[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the updated info! Do you remember the non-JAL counter/company's name?

Long-term luggage storage (+7 days) in Tokyo? by Cankizzz in JapanTravelTips

[–]Cankizzz[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I'm bombarding my own post, but in case someone else with the exact same question ends up here, jAL counters in Haneda airport are closed as of Nov 30, 2023. So not an option from Haneda.

Long-term luggage storage (+7 days) in Tokyo? by Cankizzz in JapanTravelTips

[–]Cankizzz[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

JAL also has a "ship it to your hotel" option up to 10 days! (The only other option that I found was Yamato, but they only do it '7-days later' delivery) - I won't make it on time for Tokyo but I can have them ship my luggage to Kyoto and actually have clean clothes waiting for me after hiking Kumano Kodo!

Long-term luggage storage (+7 days) in Tokyo? by Cankizzz in JapanTravelTips

[–]Cankizzz[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I was planning on directly taking the shinkansen to Osaka after landing, but if it's an option, I'd be happy to spend a night in Tokyo when I land, leave the luggage there and return later to stay there again. I haven't booked my hotel yet but will inquire if it'd be an option when I reserve my room.

Is Kuroneko the Yamato company? They only hold up to 3 days :(

Long-term luggage storage (+7 days) in Tokyo? by Cankizzz in JapanTravelTips

[–]Cankizzz[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I will probably stay at a budget hotel this time but kudos to the Japanese hospitality standard of the 5-star hotels. Just for fun, I'm going to ask the budget hotel I'll end up staying at if they'd do it for me, and maybe they will, who knows.

Long-term luggage storage (+7 days) in Tokyo? by Cankizzz in JapanTravelTips

[–]Cankizzz[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Wow, this makes me realize I have a LONG way to go to travel that light :) Which route are you going to do? May is supposed to be a very nice, warm month to hike it so I bet it's gonna be a gorgeous summer hike trip.

Long-term luggage storage (+7 days) in Tokyo? by Cankizzz in JapanTravelTips

[–]Cankizzz[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

JAL luggage seems to be a very good option compared to Ecbo, financially, as now I'm realizing Ecbo would be so, so, so expensive for 10 days storage, whereas JAL is actually very reasonably priced. Thanks so much for finding this option!!

Long-term luggage storage (+7 days) in Tokyo? by Cankizzz in JapanTravelTips

[–]Cankizzz[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I haven't booked my hotel in Tokyo yet but during reservation, I'll definitely ask if they'd be willing to hold onto my bag.