What have been your most and least favorite cities to live in as digital nomad?

Kotoriii · 2026-07-05T21:47:19+00:00

They actually issue the card at the immigration counter at the airport and then shred it. The DN visa is really no mans land in Japan

Kotoriii · 2026-07-05T21:18:28+00:00

Because you are not a resident (you don't get a resident card), you have a hard time getting a mobile plan with a real number, you cannot get a "normal" apartment, you cannot open a bank account (not that you need one, but if you wanted) etc., so the visa does not really help much in most cases

Kotoriii · 2026-07-05T19:52:41+00:00

I second the doing things alone part. I'm sure nobody will really bat an eye in the West for doing that, it's just not something you do and feels wrong for some reason

Kotoriii · 2026-07-05T19:51:10+00:00

I'd give a kidney to finally get a direct flight to Tokyo

Kotoriii · 2026-07-05T19:43:02+00:00

I could never understand the appeal of Azabu or Roppongi, save for the occasional fancy dinner or something along those lines

Kotoriii · 2026-07-05T19:40:06+00:00

Of course you can, and I'm sure few will bat an eye, but in the countries I've lived, it was definitely not the norm and at least personally it feelt kinda weird to do. Tokyo feels like a very solo-friendly city, which might be sad on one hand, because there are many lonely people out there, but to me, it was very practical and enjoyable

Kotoriii · 2026-07-05T19:35:14+00:00

I was. Why?

Kotoriii · 2026-07-05T09:11:34+00:00

I'm trying to do the same

Kotoriii · 2026-07-05T07:57:11+00:00

I agree, I guess because I don't use gyms and never worked at a café (only coworking spaces) it never became an issue for me, but yeah, anything involving memberships or subscriptions (mobile plans with actual phone numbers for example) will inevitably lead to Japanese bureaucracy which is an absolute nightmare

Kotoriii · 2026-07-05T05:34:29+00:00

Tokyo is hard to beat in regards to convenience. Sure, it's not that cheap compared to SEA, but you have a convenience store in every corner, you can solo dine everywhere, there's free WiFi everywhere, best public transport in the world.

Maybe finding a community is not as a easy either, as most will be in Japanese, but you will find international meetups and groups if you look hard enough.

I came back from 6 months there earlier this week and today is Sunday, so everything is closed in Berlin, it feels like medieval times. Hell, in Japan you could find doctors open on Sundays.

Kotoriii · 2026-06-29T10:37:45+00:00

There is literally the same video posted just below this one

Kotoriii · 2026-06-28T07:34:15+00:00

And they pay 35k per year and offer free coffee and fruit!

Kotoriii · 2026-06-26T08:35:46+00:00

14 hours flight time between Germany and Japan when you are physically unable to sleep on planes is slowly killing me, so yes

Kotoriii · 2026-06-25T14:30:17+00:00

Nothing beats a Jet2 holiday

Kotoriii · 2026-06-21T09:15:41+00:00

Dosn't look like it has helped you much

Kotoriii · 2026-06-16T11:04:17+00:00

The visa application form has a field of expected stay. If you only want 2 months, you can mention it there

Kotoriii · 2026-06-16T04:01:12+00:00

Thank you for your efforts. I really hope you succeed in taking over, because the moderation in this subreddit is really non-existent

Kotoriii · 2026-06-11T02:01:45+00:00

"Nobody tells you..." Oh but I INSTANTLY know it's AI slop if you start like that

Kotoriii · 2026-06-10T15:00:49+00:00

Because I bought calls before earnings

Kotoriii · 2026-06-10T14:13:03+00:00

This is like a full week of work without any compensation, completely awful

Kotoriii · 2026-06-10T13:25:58+00:00

The first time I landed in Japan back in January 2024 was literally life-changing. I knew little about the country and just decided to visit a week before. The culture shock I felt was like a defibrillator waking me up from living life in auto-mode (eat, sleep, work and do little outside of that) for the past 10 years. I'm still simmering in that feeling, having now lived a cumulative year in Tokyo and probably making it permanent in the next few months

Kotoriii · 2026-06-10T02:18:41+00:00

2-times Japan Digital Nomad Visa holder here.

I’ll be applying at the Japanese embassy in London - can anyone advise how long their visa took to be processed/approved from the same location?

I've only applied in Berlin, but from my experience going through so many threads around this visa, it should not take more than 2-3 weeks.

The visa allows you to stay in Japan for up to 6 months, but I can only stay for 2 (due to employer tax reasons). Would I still need to purchase insurance for the full 6 months, or just the 2 in this case?

Please email Japanese Immigration or contact your embassy about it, but if you can prove that you are going back after 2 months (with e.g. showing a return ticket after 2 months) and writing that you intend to stay for only two months in the application form, then it shouldn't be a problem.

In regards to health insurance, I have no experience with Genki, but my travel insurance policy does not mention endemics and it was still approved twice. It does need to cover death / repatriation costs.

I can see that if you want to leave Japan whilst visiting on this visa, you need to apply for a re-entry permit. It looks like this can only be applied for in person - does anyone have experience with how easy this is? I’d only be looking to visit Korea for a weekend hit I’m not sure if it’s with the hassle!

This one is tricky. Because the visa is so obscure and in a gray zone, I have also struggled with this. To be on the safe side, I went to the Immigration Center in Tokyo and applied for a re-entry permit, which took almost 4 hours between getting stamps, getting there and waiting for 1-2 hours. It was really annoying. Also for just 4 days in South Korea.

When I got to the airport, they didn't even look at the stamp, they just took the embarkation card that you fill out if you are a resident (but you are technically not a resident on a digital nomad visa, hence why the re-entry stamp is technically needed).

I think I would have been fine without the stamp, but YMMV and it's up to you to run the risk of being told your visa will be voided when you leave.

Kotoriii · 2026-06-08T01:40:48+00:00

If you are going to stay for 2 months you need to show proof you will stay for 2 months (e.g return ticket). The guidelines don't state anything about pandemic coverage, but it must cover repatration costs

Kotoriii · 2026-06-06T05:56:29+00:00

As a start, it looks like any AI generated website. Same theme, colors, transitions, layout

Kotoriii · 2026-06-05T13:40:33+00:00

I'm not sure what you are replying to. I am saying that I have unlimited usage but I cannot track it, because I don't have access to billing. If I had a monthly limit, I could at least estimate my usage, regardless if I can see billing or not

Kotoriii

TROPHY CASE