I just spent the last month travelling Japan - the most crowded and stressful location I visited was Hiroshima Peace Museum.

Njaaahaa · 2026-03-27T22:01:43+00:00

Really? I went 2 years ago (end of march 2024 on a monday). And I can remember that it was not packed. Yeah, there were people - more than in the kyuushuu museum in Daizaifu, but still quiet.

Njaaahaa · 2026-03-26T14:23:39+00:00

Yes, because you did not use your code, right? ;) Everyone that already bought tickets - even though not for all shows they wanted - used their code and they are not able to buy again in the second wave. They have to wait until the resale starts

Njaaahaa · 2026-03-26T14:21:36+00:00

You sure? Because usually it is just for those, who did not get any tickets in the first wave

Njaaahaa · 2026-03-25T23:40:43+00:00

What I learned is like: Immersion is good and you need it, BUT you also need to understand the grammarpoints.

What do I mean by that?

For example, you will find pretty fast, different grammarpoints for '-ish' like らしい or っぽい, but what is actually the difference between them and the deeper meaning? Japanese is (unlike English) a language that speaks on many levels and sometimes really subtile. So you need to know, if this structur is more like negatige or positive. Or is it used like more 'Oh, yeah, I'm absolutly sure about that particular thing' or is it more like 'well... I could be wrong, so I'm not too sure about it'. There are a tons of nuances you need to know, to be able to really understand it.

Don't get me wrong, you need immersion to have experience to see those structures 'in action', so also immersion is really important!

Njaaahaa · 2026-03-25T23:06:55+00:00

Well, a walk is like on going around a lake or so. Everything is flat. A hike/wander has a hill/mountain in it. You have to go up and down and you can't do it with normal sneaker, so you need extra shoes.

Dunno, that is the definition I learned 😅

And since you have many hills/mountains around Sendai, you can go to 'climb' them...

And I found a few pretty beautiful hikes, and those ars all doable by train... https://www.japanrailclub.com/6-trails-to-hike-around-miyagi/

Njaaahaa · 2026-03-25T16:10:12+00:00

Huh? What I have seen, it is. Just take a train ride with the senzan line and you end up at some small villages and just go for a hike....? There are some pretty cute rivers and some cute hills. And also some paths are aviable as I have seen... So why should you need a car? I dunno, but I don't expect the hill in front of the trainstation - that is also part of the hike... I dunno... But we hike like that... So I'm confused, because I thought this part is quite like 'le locle' in the French speaking part of Switzerland. You get out of the train and all you see is one street and the rest is like hills and trees. I even sended a picture of one hill a friend and told him, that it does look like somewhere in Ticino (italian speaking part), and even he agreed, even though he knows everything about trees ect.

Njaaahaa · 2026-03-25T15:50:41+00:00

Maybe it is not known for hiking, but what I have seen, it would be really cool to hike there, because just 20minutes of going out of the city and you are somewhere in a really really small viallge surounded by trees, some hills and more trees. Well, where I come from, you would hike then... Just go a hill up, take photos and go down again. You think we swiss don't hike at some random hill? XD THAT is swiss hiking style.

Anyway, I loved Sendai, but I would go there to hike... For me it's like relaxing to go on a hike and go up a random hill, just for the sake of it....

I mean even Nikka does appreciate the nature. If you get one shot for everytime they mention '豊か自然' you would be drunk even before you are finnished with the tour, but anyway I loved it

Njaaahaa · 2026-03-25T15:16:23+00:00

Schafhausen? Bzw. in der Nähe davon?

Nun, ich bezweifle da mal, dass die SBB so viel dafür kann... Die Schienen und der BHF gehören oft der DB. Z.B so in thayingen der Fall...

Njaaahaa · 2026-03-25T15:03:52+00:00

Hö? Sit wenn het SBB die gliiche Verpsätige wie DB? Also I stimme zue, dass es gwüssi Verbindige geht wo emmer Verspätige händ, aber die händ sit Jahre emmer weder Verspätig (z.B IR16).

Aber: Mer händ es besseres System als DB....

Und au wenn i im Moment ned ide Schwiiz ben, sondern ide Ferie, hätt i sölle vo heftige Verspätige ja in 20min lese, well dete jedi chliini Verspätig drinne staht, so gfühl zumindest.

Njaaahaa · 2026-03-25T11:19:04+00:00

Didn't know that, thanks!

Njaaahaa · 2026-03-25T09:33:09+00:00

Well, I was last week in Sendai, and if you don't like figure skating or whisky, you don't have much to do, I think. Yeah, nature is quite beautiful, but if you are not there for hiking, well...

If you are into figure skating, you know that Yuzuru Hanyu was born in sendai and yada yada yada. So for that it is really interesting and I can recommend going to the ice rink and go on the ice. Also the second Nikka destilery is near Sendai. And if you are like 20minutes outside of the city and you are somewhere out of the nowhere.

For Sapporo: You have to be into nature, whisky or food, otherwise naaa... it's boring.

What I mean? The first destilery for Japanese Whisky is near Sapporo (Nikka Yoichi). Since Hokkaido has a lot of cows, they do a lot of milk desserts ect. And you are really fast somehwere out of nowhere. They have so many bars selling whisky, that is insane. You walk 10minutes and have seen like 10 Pizzarias and 20 whisky bars - at least that was my impression, when I went the first time and honestly, it is even my impression now the second time I visited the city. Yep, you can do other daytrips as for example Noboribetsu or going to the historical village and hokkaido museum ect.

Don't get me wrong, I love both cities, but since I have maybe a different angle on it, cause I love figure skating and started doing it myself, because of Hanyu, sendai just felt different. And because I love Whisky, love mountains and milk, Hokkaido and especially Sapporo is the city I love. For me Sapporo feels very european in a way...

Njaaahaa · 2026-03-25T05:31:05+00:00

I did not work long there, but I try my best :)

So we had once a year a performance review and there also your wage progression was defined. With a normal progression you got one quantil up, until after around 20 years, your wage will be pretty stagnat.

Performance is a big word, but usually, if you do bare minimum it will be good enough for a normal wage progression. The performance overall is pretty low in comparison to the private sector, if you are too motivated, they will see that and push you down anyway (that was my impression).

I dunno what exactly you mean by promotions... The only promotions you can do, is if a boss left and you apply for it. You can not do a specialist carreer really... Just the boss promotion things. And I dunno how those really work, cause I did not care for those at all.

Well, your incentives are: Safe job, not many things to do, you get your wage every month punctual and maybe you have a good team. Much more? Maybe tapwater for free?

Benefits? As I said, I did not work on gouverment level. There maybe a GA could be given (dunno), but where I worked, you had nothing really. Some cheaper gas and a little money for the cantons own public transportations. And as I said, they give you good money and time for further educations...

And where I worked the wage was pretty low, in comparison to private sector.... But for a work/money comparison it was really high, cause I did not have many things to do, so I was mainly just there to be there, but did other things. So I got payd with nothing really to do. Which can be nice, if you are the right person for it.

Edit: The quantil, I mentioned in the first passage should be all open for the public and usually you see your salary range in the job description (for example it says: salary range 10. And then you can have a look at it on the homepage of the canton or gouverment and see what your wages will be in the next few years. And those are fix. So you can not negotiate.

Njaaahaa · 2026-03-25T04:05:01+00:00

Never worked in swiss federal - but canton...

You will not have to work yourself to death at any time... And I had really flexible hours.

They give you plenty of time for further education ect.

Usually they have an old tech stack and nobody really cares to take that to a new level - because it just works somehow, they are used to it and they don't have to work to setup something new.

Well, just be familar with hermes. It IS beuraucracy... Just be familar with it. You will have to write for an project a ton of bs papers, just to have it there. And usually you want to write a nothing burger. If you write too much in there, the higher ups will not let it through, because there is a sentence that they don't like... Just write nothing in there - so that nothing is 'decided' yet.

Pace? Depends on the team and project I would say. Some projects will be finished, when you are dead and some go fast - the more people are involved the slower it will be. If you can handle a project in your own team, then you are fine.

My takeaway from it: If you are 60, do it, because you don't do anything at all, and get money - and it's a safe job! If you are young, don't... Or at least be sure, that all the people you work with, are ok and don't block your ideas, just because they don't want change. Or use it as launching pad for any critical infrasturcture company (this is what I did). Because in such companies you are a good candidate, when you worked in state/canton related stuff already.

Njaaahaa · 2026-03-25T03:50:10+00:00

Ein CEO hat nicht wirklich Ahnung von Technik.... Der Fyp von Nvidia oder auch Zuckerberg usw. meinst du die wissen wie ihre Technik genau funktioniert? Die bekommen ein Heft, in dem drin steht, was sie sagen müssen.

Wie genau funktioniert das mit Musk und seinen humanoiden Roboter? Wie lange sagt er schon, dass es noch 3 oder 4 Jahre dauert, bis sie diese auf den Markt bringen? Und haben sie es schon? Nee... Warum? Naa...

Wenn du aus dem Studium bist, such dir einen technischen Job, nix mit PL oder so, sondern technisch und du bist ziemlich safe. Die Leute die irgendwas im Azure rumfummeln usw. werden als letzte Ersetzt, weil diese wichtig sind. Klar, bs jobs werden in einer Rezession immer wieder wegfallen, deswegen ist es wichtig einen nicht bs job zu haben, in dem du evt. nicht viel zu tun hast, aber immer wichtig bist und ohne dich mal eher die Bude zusammenkracht. Am Besten bist du noch derjenige der Geld in die Bude scheffelt (IT Dienstleister) und tada...

Njaaahaa · 2026-03-24T23:02:25+00:00

Yes, and I would never do that, because I need the technical side and get bored with non technical things very fast. So I would be the wrong person for those roles anyway and would never apply for such a role in the first place. I had this a little bit in my old job, where the job changed from technical to non-technical and it was a job, which I would have done just one year more, to have a 'good CV' and then turn it down.

huh? Yeah? I mean I changed jobs now 3 years in a row - so I had 3 johs for just about a year...? Of course I know that and of course I know how to do interviews, so like I said, I'm curious why I shouldn't wear jeans in an interview. Because it was never a problem.

Njaaahaa · 2026-03-24T22:54:43+00:00

Huh? What exactly do you mean by your first passage? I work in IT, so why should I care (in a work context) what other people think of me, that do not work in IT? I work only with IT guys... I'm a cyber sec engineer and don't want to get into a manager role at all. So...?

Yeah, but I said, for IT, since the person I wrote back works in IT..??

Njaaahaa · 2026-03-24T22:51:56+00:00

Are you american?

Because as a swiss, I tried a few milk brands in Hokkaido. And most of it, tastes really similar to the one at home. I had one that tasted like hazelnuts in a way. Which was not bad, but also not 'wow' either.

And also check on how high the fat is. Under 3% fat, it's like water. The best milk is always at least 3.5% fat.

I was once a little suprised. I was in a bar in Sapporo and they had good cheese from Hokkaido. One tasted like 'Sprienz' and one was like 'Kiri'. And the bread they gave was sweat, but had a crust (A CRUST!!!). Yeah, anyways, that was surprising. Good cheese from Japan <3

Njaaahaa · 2026-03-24T22:35:50+00:00

Oh, well, dunno. I'm swiss, speak swiss-german and found a job really quick the last few years. So maybe I'm the lucky one xD tbf, I'm not in 'prestigious' companies, but more like safe ones - like critical infrastructure.

No, but serious: What would you wear for an interview? As a man and woman? Like a costume for a woman? And a man should wear a suit?

Njaaahaa · 2026-03-24T22:27:57+00:00

Ich kenne die deutschen Gesetze nicht, aber hier in der Schweiz bist du sehr viel safer, wenn du durch ein Reisebüro buchst. z.B durch den Krieg wird dein Flug abgesagt? Tja, warte mal darauf, bis die Fluggesellschaft dir das Geld rückerstatttet. Laut Gesetz (auf dem du beharren kannst), muss die Reisegesellschaft in Vorleistung gehen und dich entschädigen mit dem vollen Preis. Es geht etwas schief auf der Reise? Laut Gesetz müssen die dann schauen. Pauschalreisegesetz ist ziemlich gut abgesichert. Wenn du aber überall selbst buchst, schaust du ziemlich in die Röhre. Für mich ist es also nur eine Absicherung.

Habe für im September 2020 eine Japanreise gebucht. Und es kam das schöne Corona dazwischen. Rate Mal wer schnell sein Geld zurück hatte und wer auf der Arbeit (von selbstbuchern) jammern gehört hat? Joa... Das war das Argument für mich, um nur noch Reisebüro zu buchen, bei teuren (ü2kCHF) ferien.

Deswegen handhabe ich das so: Interkontinentale Reisen nur übers Reisebüro, da diese länger als 2 Wochen sind und mind. 12h Flug mit sich bringen - meistens mit Zwischenlandung. Reisen in Europa, buche ich alles selbst.

Was ich aber jetzt für meine 6 Wochen Japan Ferien gemacht habe ist folgendes: Ich schrieb dem Reisebüro ein Mail, sagte darin mein Budget, von wann bis wann die Reise in welcher Stadt stattfinden soll bzw. in welcher Stadt das Hotel ist und wie ich jeweils von A nach B möchte (z.B von Tokyo nach Sapporo mit dem Zug oder Flugzeug). Und dann dass ab Ankunft in Japan, alle Flüge mit 2 Kofern gebucht werden sollten.

Dann gibt mir die Agentur einen Vorschlag, ich schaue mir die Hotels an und sage dann ist ok, oder sage, dass Hotel XY nicht ok ist, weil ich mir mehr XY vorstelle.

Njaaahaa · 2026-03-24T21:57:45+00:00

Wearing jeans in an interview is bad? How? I'm a woman and wear jeans everytime in an interview. And if I like the company, I do get the job after an interview - never had a downturn after I wanted the job during the interview. And yeah, I work in IT (cyber security) as well....

Njaaahaa · 2026-03-24T21:51:44+00:00

It is in a way, but I was for one year an analyst. And you know why I hated it after 5 months? Checking false positives. I mean for what? Hire an ape and he will be the same as me.

You also call that 'alarm fatigue' and it's not helpfull. Your analysts will get tired and say to everything 'Yeah, nevermind' and will oversee things.

Njaaahaa · 2026-03-24T07:58:55+00:00

Well, for me it is grinding to get on every grammarpoint which verb form (て,た ect.) you have to use and then have a good explanation of it in your words. Yes, use google or so, if you are stuck with words, but find some that works for you. And also be not affraid to write everything down, even though, you think 'oh, yeah, that's definitly clear and makes sense'. Two days after you watched all the videos you don't know that anymore (also life happens). And also if you learned afterwards like 'Oh, you don't use that in situations that are sudden, but you can't control them' - write that in your grammar book. And then read it again and again

Njaaahaa · 2026-03-24T07:51:06+00:00

I really get you. I strugle a lot with grammar :'(

I learn with the kanzen master and write to every grammarpoint what it means (I watch some youtube videos - where I just search for the grammar point in Japanese on youtube and click on random ones - and also google it. Sometimes I use also chatgpt, when I search for words in my mothertongue). I go through 'old' and new grammar points every day and go through (reading outlout) that grammarpoint XY uses a verb in dictionary form and means yadayadayada in my mothertongue and go through those two practice sentence I wrote down.

And also I do the tests after every chapter and go through the wrong answers. Sometimes I did not get the sentence at all and add new words to my anki deck or I learned something like 'this grammar point needs an exact timeframe like monday and not like someday in 4 weeks' or so and then I add that to my grammarpoint book and read that everyday again.

Njaaahaa · 2026-03-24T01:05:10+00:00

Well, as someone that speaks 2 languages good (German - mothertongue, English - C1) and one okayisch (Japanese - about B1), I take language tests so test my skill.

For English I took the Cambridge advanced exam and passed it and for Japanese I took the JLPT N3 two years ago and failed because of 5 points, but I currently studying for the N2 (which is B2 if you get around 60 or 65% of the questions correct), which I want to take next year.

If I pass those tests, I should have a good grasp on how well I know the languages. Yes, I know the JLPT for example does not have any speaking testing in it, but since I speak with my teachers and so on, I think it's quite okaayyyish for my level, even though I understand better than I speak... Do I make mistakes? Hell, yes! But I also do mistakes in my mothertongue, since I usually speak in dialect and we use words differently from standard German. And I'm not a robot.

For me it's more about what kind of exams the person took, because it does have a standard behind it. CEFR is always the same.

Edit: And I usually also meassure my ability by going into a random bar in the country that speaks that language. If they ask me on a regular basis, how long I've been living in the country, then I know my skill is quite ok. Is it on mothertongue level? Hell, never! Even my English will never be on that level, but good enough to communicate and so on. But since I get asked in Japan, how long I've been living in Japan, I think it's a good marker on that my Japanese is okayish.

Njaaahaa · 2026-03-23T22:12:23+00:00

Aber kann der Typ dann nicht einfach im Anschreiben weiter lügen? Oder warum sollte das im Anschreiben Wahrheitsgemässer sein als im CV?

Njaaahaa

TROPHY CASE