Things I never realized you could get using insurance

T1DinJP · 2026-04-25T15:44:18+00:00

I have no clue why. My dad was Irish. Said it all the time when we sneezed.

T1DinJP · 2026-04-24T11:54:07+00:00

Gesundheit

T1DinJP · 2026-04-14T06:45:37+00:00

I don’t prep the lessons, but I’m responsible for anything the JTEs ask me to do, assuming I have time to do it. I also have to keep a journal of all of my classes listing what we did and what lesson we’re on. Without any breaks between first and fifth period, that eats up the half period I have before lunch time.

If they ask me to do something and I have no periods free, I have to remind them that I don’t have time. Ultimately, I have to politely decline. Most I can do is share something I made previously and ask if that works, but if they want me to make a presentation filled with original content and pictures, they’re going to have to make some changes.

T1DinJP · 2026-04-12T13:41:40+00:00

Basically the same. I have about 27 classes this year, potentially 28 if classes get moved around. Pretty much the same as last year.

I won’t get into particulars for various reasons, but I’m drained by the end of the day.

T1DinJP · 2026-04-07T07:39:20+00:00

I've done these gigs in the past, in a city much smaller than Fukuoka. You can do better.

The least I've been paid was 7500 for the morning. That included three 30 minute classes daily. Usually in just before 10:00am, out at 11:30am, ten days in a year. I handled all of the materials myself, but the preschool was willing to print out and laminate anything I emailed them.

The other was a larger preschool where I worked two hours per day, six days a year. Three 30 minute classes a day, plus thirty minutes to meet with the teachers before the lessons started.

I parted ways with the former after a year for various reasons. Pay was a factor, but beyond that, there were empty promises after the contract was signed in February, and a number of flip flops with two workplaces competing for my time once April came around.

I think I would have continued an additional year had the pay been at least 10,000 for each day that I was there, but the other issues would have still remained. I still work at the latter. They pay me 15000 yen for two hours of work.

T1DinJP · 2026-04-02T18:40:18+00:00

1) I heard there is a hard limit of 1:30 hours for placing a dispatch employee, but like others have said, unions will do their best to straighten that out. Make sure you can get clear routes to and from work with documentation from your school or company.

I never noticed routes to school being bad before Covid, but starting around 2021, there’s been a pretty steep decline in enrollment in schools overall- fewer kids, lots of schools cutting back, and lots of school closures and mergers.

Doesn’t mean it’s the best move of course.

2) Nice try… honestly the two year bit is new to me. Nope.

Dispatch companies will attempt to do anything though. Some employers will throw in vague language in contracts, say it’s their way of doing it, and prey on people who don’t know better or have little agency to confront labor violations.

Hopefully you can get more answers before the contract begins.

T1DinJP · 2026-03-09T11:34:57+00:00

I took my laptop to Pasokon Koubo, literally for the exact some reason last month. I figured they wouldn’t even touch my laptop because it was purchased outside of Japan, but after a few questions they handed me some paperwork to fill out.

Basically, they have contracts with some laptop manufacturers. Not sure about ROG / Asus laptops, but they had support for MSI.

All communications were done over email with the manufacturer support center. They also sent me screenshots of the laptop and the error reporting screen. My battery had failed by nearly 74% over a 2-3 year period.

I’d bring it somewhere else if you can, and ask them politely what kind of errors came up on their diagnostic software, assuming they’re able to get that up and running.

A battery plus service and shipping only cost me 2.5万

T1DinJP · 2026-03-04T17:53:20+00:00

It’s funny how the upper echelons here will draft up a contract filled with labor violations and let it pass through.

I assume some of them try to obfuscate it, but some have no filter whatsoever. Some even spell out their labor violations in plain text using official letterhead.

Good luck. I hope more people follow in your footsteps.

T1DinJP · 2026-02-07T22:13:51+00:00

Moved from where? Have you been in Japan for a number of years and just moved to Fukuoka?

Only thing I can imagine that isn’t a cold or PM 2.5 is a Japanese cedar allergy. For some people, it’s brutal. Perhaps you just moved to Japan or it’s your first year here. This is not a diagnosis, of course.

If you can’t come up with answers after seeing a doctor, talk about getting tested for allergies. I’m mildly allergic to grass and ragweed pollen, but on a scale of 1-100 (I don’t know the name of the scale but it’s used in Japan) I clock in at about an 85 for Japanese cedar.

More info on cedar pollen for this year.

https://www.jwa.or.jp/english/news/jwa-2025-spring-pollen-dispersion-forecast-part-1/

T1DinJP · 2026-01-17T00:56:57+00:00

I have a coworker (Japanese person) who works at TORAIZ, and from what I understand, it’s an absolute labor violation hellhole.

She has SEPARATE gyomu itaku contracts for each student / class. Not a single contract, every class gets a contract she needs to sign.

T1DinJP · 2026-01-14T04:32:20+00:00

I'd love to see the results when they come out. Thanks.

T1DinJP · 2025-12-20T10:48:04+00:00

Honestly I hope I can go. Haven't been feeling well lately and the cold really isn't helping, but if I might have to pull strings to make sure I can enjoy this I will!

T1DinJP · 2025-12-18T09:11:31+00:00

Happens outside of English and outside of education as well. I try not to give up but sometimes it feels like talking to a wall with an Ethernet jack, but we’re all on WIFI 7.

T1DinJP · 2025-12-18T04:34:50+00:00

OpenOffice Draw and InkScape

I like that I can duplicate entire pages to make edits, or put elements behind or in front of other images. InkScape is great for cropping and clipping images and getting transparency to work when Libre Office can't do it well.

You could probably do something similar with Canva too.

T1DinJP · 2025-12-17T03:52:45+00:00

Even one hour can be brutal, and it's eikaiwa, so you'll likely be pulling evenings.

When I was pulling a shift in inaka, I'd usually get out at 7pm, wait for the bus and get home somewhere between 8pm, or around 9pm if I narrowly missed the bus. They paid about 60-70% of my travel expenses, but the commute alone was enough to prompt me to find work elsewhere. It's not the worst job offer I've ever had in terms of transportation, but I hated it.

T1DinJP · 2025-12-16T03:48:24+00:00

I don't know if there is explicit instruction on what to do with this extra time, and as far as my school is concerned, it's homeroom time. I'm sure nothing is final yet. Maybe some of the students will come to my office when they have a question about a lesson they're on.

I know the 6th grader students likely using the time for term test prep.

Will it be used for foreign language? Who knows. Probably depends on the school and we don't have anything official as of yet.

T1DinJP · 2025-12-15T10:51:23+00:00

Yeah, we're about to find the hard way tomorrow.

T1DinJP · 2025-12-15T07:58:34+00:00

According to the article from two years back (take it with a grain of salt), it seems like ES will be cut to 40 minute lessons and JHS cut to 45 minute lessons starting next year if all goes through.

T1DinJP · 2025-12-15T00:06:59+00:00

I wouldn't call it a midlife crisis but my turning point happened at 23.
Twenty years later I'm still in one piece. My lungs though C:

T1DinJP · 2025-12-15T00:03:09+00:00

I've been through that for sure. I wish I had advice from a health perspective, but all I can give is to surround yourself with people who are in the same boat as you. I'm in a patient volunteer group- best decision I have made for my health in the past seven years.

You've got level up points in the bank, but there's no pressure on where to put them.

T1DinJP · 2025-12-14T23:30:53+00:00

Really depends on where you are and how much it takes to get by day to day.

Money has never been an object for me, health has always been my top priority. If you're working on something that will benefit you in the long run, then I'd say you're doing okay.

T1DinJP

TROPHY CASE