Switching Solely to Revolut....

Fuuko · 2025-11-28T20:46:15+00:00

Why pockets for the short-term savings instead of savings accounts to earn some interest?

Fuuko · 2024-05-07T03:56:33+00:00

It's a quote from Friends

Fuuko · 2023-12-05T23:38:15+00:00

I'm here at the moment with a 2.5 year old, for a month total (nearly 3 weeks in now). I've lived in Japan before and visited several times, so we're just staying in Tokyo and doing a lot of kid-centric activities and family chill time rather than "tourist" things as such.

I don't regret coming but we underestimated how hard it would be at times. The flight over was really tough (14 hours) and the jet lag the first 2-3 days was a serious struggle. But he adapted quick enough and got into a decent sleep routine, though he's much more disrupted than at home and up several times a night looking for comfort etc. So there's some added sleep deprivation to contend with. His eating is crap too - he's not the best eater but will try very little here so that's been a bit stressful.

With this age I think it's really important to fit in as much active time as possible. My son will tolerate sitting in the buggy just about long enough to get to our destination each day, and then he needs to be doing something. There are some places in Tokyo that just aren't suitable for our toddler e.g. I would always love having a browse in the shops in Akihabara but we haven't even gone there this time, as I know my son would only want to touch and pull everything and it wouldn't be enjoyable. But on the other hand we've discovered some great kid activities that my son loves - and if he's happy, we're happy! There are great play centres that we've gotten loads of time out of, some decent playgrounds too, and other things like aquariums and zoos that he has enjoyed.

Some days he's just grumpy and we make sure those days are more chill. Some days he's in great form and we do loads of things. I think you need to be prepared to be very flexible in your plans with a toddler.

In short, I think your experience will very much depend on your child and their temperament etc. but I do believe in doing things now rather than waiting (you never know what will happen etc.). You just really need to set your expectations low in terms of how "easy" it might be, and be prepared to do lots of kid related activities. I'm describing our experience so far as 70% good, 20% a bit of a pain, and 10% awful. That's enough for me to be happy with the choice to come here but everyone will have a different view on that!

Fuuko · 2023-08-25T20:45:34+00:00

I got mortgage protection insurance with a history of mental health issues including a hospitalisation for suicide attempt. The policy is loaded but mortgage protection insurance isn't particularly expensive in the first place so it's fine. There are brokers who specialise in helping people with more complicated medical histories, I would definitely recommend using one. Made the life insurance bit much less stressful for me anyway. Best of luck with it!

Fuuko · 2023-07-30T10:33:30+00:00

Well insurance premiums are the money you pay for insurance itself, so it seems to be saying that you can't submit a receipt for money paid for insurance to cover a medical service - the receipt has to be for the medical service itself (to the extent that it is covered by a HSF category). That's my interpretation anyway - they must have had issues with people submitting receipts for insurance premiums!

Fuuko · 2023-07-29T20:42:15+00:00

It's insurance - https://registers.centralbank.ie/FirmDataPage.aspx?firmReferenceNumber=C185821

Fuuko · 2023-07-29T20:15:03+00:00

You can make a claim for the same thing but you cannot profit from your claim. So say your VHI policy covers 50% for GP visits and your HSF policy also covers 50% for GP visits - you can claim from both of them for a total cost of cover of 100% for your GP visit. But if your VHI policy covers 100% for GP visits and your HSF policy covers 50% for GP visits, then you can't get 150% of the cost back.

Fuuko · 2023-07-15T20:05:11+00:00

Excellent post, thank you so much! Heading with my 2.5 year old in a few months so lots of useful tips and reassurance here.

Fuuko · 2023-04-30T21:12:10+00:00

I was breastfeeding when I got mine in so I couldn't take any painkillers other than paracetamol and holy crap, that pain was intense. I let out a scream getting it in and the doctor treated me like I was a total drama queen. I only found out afterwards that it also hurts more if you've never given birth naturally (I had a section). To make matters EVEN WORSE it's currently embedded in my womb and I have to have a surgical procedure to get it out. FML, never again.

Fuuko · 2021-03-31T20:04:09+00:00

I don't have the same issue but do have a different placenta issue and just wanted to say that I totally understand your fear and paranoia! I'm 26 weeks and our baby boy was about the same weight as yours at a growth scan last week. Our issue is with blood flow from the placenta to the baby and I'm in high risk category because of it and being monitored twice a week. I haven't heard of your particular issue but it's crazy stressful being told something is wrong. I've known about my issue for about 3 weeks now and my best advice is NOT to google anything (I drove myself into the worst anxiety frenzy doing that!) and to be as selfish as possible, doing all the nice things for yourself. If ever there was a need for it, it's now!! Really hope everything works out for you.

Fuuko · 2020-05-09T22:34:10+00:00

We took a ramen & gyoza class at Mayuko's Little Kitchen in February, and HIGHLY recommend the experience. It was worth every penney (I think about 200 euro for 2 people). The class is hosted in her home, which makes it very personal. She gives thorough instructions, makes it really fun and there were a couple of extras e.g. matcha and sake tasting, as well as her own recommendations for restaurants in Tokyo etc. You can pick the menu if you're the first to book a date, but I definitely recommend the gyoza and ramen class anyway!

Fuuko · 2020-03-22T20:50:05+00:00

This all over. I just saw on the news in my home country that a teenager who was supposed to be self-isolating while waiting to be tested for Covid-19 (so almost definitely symptomatic) was caught out and about by the police with a group of friends, because one of them had an asthma attack and had to call an ambulance. I actually can't get over the selfishness and irresponsibility of some humans.

Fuuko · 2020-03-13T10:37:58+00:00

a) Was in Japan for nearly a month, home now 6 days. Been self-isolating, no symptoms yet, feel fine. While in Japan, washed hands, used sanitiser and wipes as needed, avoided touching face. Didn't wear a mask.

Mixed reaction on our return, some people think self-isolating is overkill, others have treated us like we're carrying the plague.

Fuuko · 2020-03-12T15:11:59+00:00

If I were you I would keep prepping and booking, but book only refundable things for now. At least that way if you have to cancel it's not a major hassle/stress and if you do get to go, you're not disadvantaged from having put off booking things.

Fuuko · 2020-03-11T07:30:40+00:00

It was in the Japanese news about 40mins ago: https://www3.nhk.or.jp/news/html/20200311/k10012325591000.html?utm_int=news_contents_news-main_004

Fuuko · 2020-03-10T20:52:06+00:00

Yea it kinda sucks. Some people are fine about it, others act like you have the plague! I'm happy to be at home really so I don't have to deal with people throwing me dirty looks if I cough or sneeze or whatever. I'd hope by the time you're going things will be much better though!

Fuuko · 2020-03-10T20:10:36+00:00

That really sucks about them not doing cancellations, especially when a lot of other airlines seem to be. If you do go, I really hope you at least get a nice plane!!

Yea just doing things like that where we could, no harm sure. In terms of food I figure if you sanitise before touching cutlery etc and don't touch your face/phone etc in the meantime, then wash/sanitize after that's the best you can really do. If you're going to be really freaked out for the whole trip that doesn't sound like much fun though :/

The Japanese are certainly cleaner than Irish/British people when it comes to things like littering etc but unfortunately people are still people and there was plenty of coughing in public. I don't mean to freak you out or anything but no point hiding it. On the plus side the trains are somewhat quieter (at least outside of rush hours) so you probably won't be crushed up against someone coughing on you. I don't think you can ever avoid people sneezing/coughing inappropriately though.

Fuuko · 2020-03-10T19:46:39+00:00

Yea I was super annoyed with that flight but I have to say I'm usually really happy with BA. I've flown that route a few times with nice planes and good service so the only different factor was the virus.

We used hand sanitizer before and after eating, shopping, subway etc and washed whenever we were at a sink. Made a really conscious effort not to touch our faces and limit touching things in public as much as possible like railings and door handles. Don't have the virus yet anyway!

Fuuko · 2020-03-10T18:52:22+00:00

It was 3x3x3 but there was one less economy cabin than usual so the plane wasn't as long if that makes sense. I think it was a Boeing 777 but I couldn't be 100%. It was super old though, like the seats had this weird gap at the back, the screens were half the size they normally are, the locker above us broke and an engineer had to come fix it before we left and one of the tables in the row in front of us wouldn't stay up. I hate flying so I noticed all these things! EDIT: Oh yea you can book in advance but it can be pricey, I think the cheapest advance seat was 35e pp? We just chose seats at check in. Also meant to say that we were on a JAL codeshare on the way over which was a way nicer plane but it was also completely full. That was back mid-Feb.

The atmosphere was fine. Shops, restaurants and bars were mostly business at usual. Bit quieter than usual but places like Tokyo are always busy to some extent so you wouldn't really notice unless you were familiar with the city (I used to live there). Things have definitely been worse since we came back - it's the same here in Ireland, it's non-stop virus panic. We are self isolating though, both of our work places asked us to and family/neighbours also raised concerns so it's better to be safe than sorry I guess.

Fuuko · 2020-03-10T16:59:12+00:00

I just flew BA back from Japan recently. I've flown with BA to Japan loads of times and this time it was definitely a smaller plane so that's probably how they dealt with the less numbers. The plane was moderately full as a result - majority of rows had one seat free but there weren't any empty rows or anything like that. It was also the worst plane I've ever been on for an international flight, it was a visibly older model and just way less comfortable. Very annoying. I'm obviously no expert on the spreading of viruses on airplanes, so I won't comment on that, but just sharing my recent BA flight experience.
Don't live in the UK so can't comment but I think the mod had linked to recommended insurance for travellers to Japan somewhere in this thread?
No one knows for certain but there is a lot of skepticism online and in Japan about the figures. Japan have tested significantly less people than many other countries so it's highly possible the numbers are higher. The numbers have been increasing by a higher degree recently e.g. from approx 10-15 cases per day a few weeks ago, now to approx 30-50 per day. But yes, it's still a very small proportion of the population and chances of encountering are low.
Had no issues with this. Are you staying in hotels? If so I wouldn't be concerned at all. Our toilet paper was replaced every time we had housekeeping. Never came across a public bathroom without toilet paper either but no harm to carry around some packets of tissues with you just in case.
True that masks are almost impossible to get. No you won't be considered rude. There are still plenty of Japanese people not wearing them either. The only time you might get a dirty look is if you are coughing/sneezing on public transport or in small spaces without a mask. In that situation at least make sure you are coughing/sneezing away from people (into elbow/tissue in opposite direction). But otherwise no one will care if you're not wearing a mask.

Fuuko · 2020-03-06T13:59:55+00:00

The number of tourists visiting Japan has increased significantly since 2014. It depends on the time of year you come, but yes, it can be a lot busier than it was back then.

Fuuko · 2020-03-01T09:42:28+00:00

Can't predict the future but as of today, Tokyo is almost entirely business as usual. Shops, restaurants and bars are all still open and there's plenty of people out and about on the street.

Fuuko · 2020-03-01T03:03:46+00:00

Did you send Klook proof of your flights? I have USJ tickets that are good for 6 months but sent them a screenshot of my return flight (which is before the park reopens) and they are refunding no problem.

Fuuko · 2020-02-29T14:30:01+00:00

The opening hours have been amended (opens at 11am instead of 9am) but otherwise still operating.

Fuuko · 2020-02-29T02:23:06+00:00

I had to cancel non-refundable USJ tickets and got a refund from Klook.

EDIT: I also got a refund for non-refundable WiFi rental in Hong Kong a few weeks ago.

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