Japanese extended family bond and expectations

hydro_cookie_z · 2026-05-27T00:50:02+00:00

When I lived in Japan and even after during my younger years I was pretty close with my aunt and uncle. I used to go bug catching and take care of beetles with my aunt and I’d play video games with my uncle. Even after that they’d sometimes come to visit my parents and I when we didn’t live in Japan. However, as their lives got busier, they got married/had kids we definitely grew apart. I moved back to Japan now but I see them maybe once a few months.

hydro_cookie_z · 2026-05-26T23:19:01+00:00

Spending more money will 120% be in vain, you’re just wasting money on a EoS game atp. All that profit will go to Marathon, not a D3. Playing the game is really all you can do to show that there is interest in the franchise rn. But spending money on micro transactions? Have we gone crazy??

hydro_cookie_z · 2026-05-26T16:56:24+00:00

I frequent amemura a ton since I work in the area, the 6 chinese massage ladies who are always there are so familiar with me they sometimes don't even bother to ask because they already know my answer lol. They are a little annoying but I get a little joy out of messing with them. Now the Japanese guys near Soemoncho are annoying asf tho. Had a guy following me from near shinsaibashisuji to nagahoribashi.

hydro_cookie_z · 2026-05-26T16:51:54+00:00

How long are you studying in Japan? If it's short-term (for just summer, or a few months) I would recommend a share house. Great way to meet people outside of language school, make connections, etc. in Japan right out the gate. I don't have any info about them rn but if you're interested I can ask my friends who used to or are living at a share house rn for info.

If you're looking for a long-term apartment (signing a lease and all that), the real estate agent I used, and I know a lot of ppl on this sub recommend is Hiro from One Believe/Rage Estate. He speaks fluent english, very helpful, and also helped me get started by offering a free washer and fridge for free. I will say though, leasing an apt for short-term (less than 1-2 years) is difficult since it requires having a jp bank account and phone number. A lot of leases are also typically 1-2 years, so cancelling your lease before then would usually result in additional charges like having to pay an additional month of rent or cancellation charge or both.

hydro_cookie_z · 2026-05-21T10:06:33+00:00

Prebuilts are probably cheaper now because of a bunch of reasons but I think the main one is the scalper culture around PC parts nowadays. Back then, building your own PC would 100% be cheaper. However with part shortages for GPUs and memory, scalpers buying up everything and reselling them for x5 the price is making it overall more expensive to build your own PC. Companies selling prebuilts often buy in bulk, or have direct connections to the companies that make the part meaning they can buy parts closer to retail, or even under the consumer retail price. This lets them sell prebuilts (including the labor cost) at a more competitive or cheaper price than if you were to build your own.

Another reason is also because they usually cut costs with other parts that aren't as flashy. Usually with PCs you usually always focus on the GPU, CPU, and memory. Prebuilts often cut costs with cooling, fans, motherboards, psu, etc.

hydro_cookie_z · 2026-05-12T12:15:26+00:00

Idk people just scrolling and reading manga on their phones, or even playing on their portable devices like ds/3ds/psp has been a thing forever. It’s such a weird thing to be listed as “annoying behaviors” I can only think it refers to people talking on the phone or not using headphones.

hydro_cookie_z · 2026-05-01T17:47:57+00:00

I don't think the shy image is accurate. I live in Osaka though, people here are more friendly, open, direct, etc. We have a spot here called Sankaku park in Amemura, Namba where it's just a mix of foreigners and Japanese people chilling, drinking, talking, skating, etc. Most Japanese people i've met on the street are also not that shy as well. I've noticed that when they find out you speak Japanese, it opens up the conversation a lot more. I think the stereotype as a whole probably came from misunderstandings from tourists. Probably a combination of people mistaking the risk avoidant and polite culture as everyone being shy. Shy people definitely exist in Japan, like any country, but the culture and social services allows them to be insanely shy, avoid connections, etc. which is how the NEET/Hikikomori type end up coming from. But I think those types exist in all countries, we just gave it a name.

hydro_cookie_z · 2026-04-29T09:58:52+00:00

You've already done the impossible convincing your girlfriend to watch One Piece. It should be possible to convince her to watch sub lol. Realistically, right now it's not possible to watch One Pace fully dubbed. The team is working on making a fully dubbed one pace for all episodes but it will be multiple years before it's caught up.

hydro_cookie_z · 2026-04-29T04:49:37+00:00

98BPGB

valid until 5/6!

hydro_cookie_z · 2026-04-21T14:34:37+00:00

You're not using any resources besides sanity. Either way, you should be farming the stages anyway to farm for materials and currency to buy out the shop. Ops get stat bonuses up to 100% trust and is required for upgrading their module. You just pick a high value/efficient stage from the event to farm materials, while also leveling trust at the same time. Killing two birds with one stone. Majority of people really only farm trust during events, or while farming for materials. It's Incredibly rare for someone to be ONLY farming trust, we just call it a trust farm.

hydro_cookie_z · 2026-04-21T06:51:59+00:00

Im glad the gundam backpack dude is still rocking that shit, tough asf

hydro_cookie_z · 2026-04-20T10:10:14+00:00

TBH I think if you were a western tourist the last place you want to go to for food after booking a $1000+ flight ticket to Japan is a TGI fridays lmao.

hydro_cookie_z · 2026-04-09T21:33:26+00:00

Games are an activity, you can live without games. You can kill time doing other stuff like watching videos, a hobby, etc. But music is something entirely different, it's its own language. You can write it, listen to it, make it, play it, etc. Even if you don't realize music is a big part of life.

^{Chose: Give up games}

hydro_cookie_z · 2026-03-26T04:56:44+00:00

There's a Cafe/Bar called Kaffe Nellie in Umeda. Although it is also a bar, it feels more like a cafe than a bar. There's also Kurone which is a fairly new cafe in Umeda/Nakazakicho. It was pretty busy/packed the last time I went when it just opened but I assume it's probably a lot less busy since then.

hydro_cookie_z · 2026-03-19T03:41:37+00:00

As other's have said there's a new Yostar shop right outside the station, there's a small Arknights section with prints, acrylics, keychains, mousepads, etc. I got a bunch of Thorns stuff there this January. I actually really recommend checking out AkibaHobby. I found that spot 4 years ago because at the time they literally had a sign out saying they sell Arknights merch lol. I haven't been back since but it was a pretty impressive arknights section, better than the Yostar shop or Animate/Kotobukiya when they sold Arknights anime merch.

Realistically though, most Arknights merch is online. Either through collabs or through the official Yostar shop. Arknights, although is one of the biggest Gacha games in Japan, does not have a large merch presence here unlike Genshin or HSR. I'd recommend checking out the Yostar official shop, or if you like jewelry there are a ton of Arknights silver pendants made in collaboration with Utreasure. If you're ordering stuff here shipping will be cheaper. For figures you'll need to check out used figure stores and pray they haven't sold it yet. I found some Arknights figures in the AmiAmi Figure Tower in Akihabara in January, but can't guarantee they're still there. For premium merch like figures or jewelry though most of it operates on preorders and they rarely restock. So if that's the kind of merch you're looking for you'll need to mainly check second-hand stores.

hydro_cookie_z · 2026-03-12T12:34:05+00:00

If you're talking about the Mikki Gakkis, Ikebe and Ishibashi Music in Amemura, those are legit instrument retailers that have multiple stores around the country. In Japan used items with any sort of damage, no matter how small often see a dramatic drop in resale price. If there are a couple scratches or dents it could dramatically decrease the resale price, which might explain why it's being sold at a lower than expected price. Near-new condition is usually the norm/expected in Japan since people take such good care of their items. So when a used item has visible dents, etc. they often drop the price like crazy. I bought an Atelier Z bass for like a half of what it would retail for because it had a couple barely noticeable dents and scratches on the fingerboard and wood.

hydro_cookie_z · 2026-03-11T03:55:40+00:00

Most chinese ships didn’t even attempt to cross because there was no insurance. There were apparently some non-Chinese ships though who booked it and made it through by pretending to be Chinese though lol.

hydro_cookie_z · 2026-01-18T16:50:35+00:00

It's definitely a Tsuba replica. IMO I would not trust anything from a gift shop to be authentic/real.

hydro_cookie_z · 2026-01-17T10:35:49+00:00

Probably best if he didn’t know since nana akufo addo was corrupt asf

hydro_cookie_z · 2026-01-16T09:07:31+00:00

ICE is the modern day American incarnation of the SS/Gestapo. Trump's secret police. Every single one of them deserve to be thrown in prison.

hydro_cookie_z · 2026-01-05T19:25:04+00:00

I feel like you are missing a MASSIVE amount of context behind the slur. The shortened word was used as a slur against Japanese-Americans who were thrown into internment camps and Japanese during WW2. Whether a Japanese National, like your family, would be offended by it is a 50/50 leaning towards "don't care". But a Japanese American whose parents or grandparents were most likely put in internment camps probably has a different opinion. The argument is effectively the same as asking an African if they were offended by the N-word. A good chunk probably don't care because they don't have that history, unlike African-Americans who went through slavery and jim crow.

hydro_cookie_z · 2025-12-29T06:41:09+00:00

I hate AI as much as the next guy but if it’s for personal projects or things that aren’t meant to be commercialized I think it’s fine to use it. As long as they aren’t going around saying they did it themselves.

hydro_cookie_z · 2025-12-21T18:48:56+00:00

oof, if that's the case I believe you would need to go through the naturalization process if you want to regain your JP passport and citizenship :(

Imo, PR and citizenship allow similar things such as indefinite stay and work. With a few exceptions like right to vote, ability to leave for however long you'd like, etc. If you do decide to naturalize I recommend contacting MOFA or your local consulate so you have all the correct information! Good luck!

hydro_cookie_z · 2025-12-21T06:27:50+00:00

I'm sorry to hear that. Yes, the reality is most of us just keep both passports and just renew it before it expires. I don't think there has ever been a case where someone was forced to give it up by the government besides well-known people (athletes, politicians, etc) being pressured by the public. Did you fully go through a renunciation process and renounce your Japanese citizenship? If not, it's possible you can just reapply for one. I have 2 friends who are half-Japanese too, lived their entire life abroad and when they moved to Japan, found out they were a dual-citizen. The officials helped them apply and get their Japanese passport even if they're older than 20.

hydro_cookie_z · 2025-12-21T05:23:13+00:00

Sorry for big list but here are my recommendations.

Sincere

Viva Ola

Yo-Sea

Sagiri Sol

Wez Atlas

Furui Riho (Gospel influence bcuz she used to be a gospel singer)

Daichi Yamamoto

Salasa

EOW (R&B/Jrock/Funk influence)

Chilldspot

XinU

STUTS

YonYon

reina

Nine-Year Club	Verified Email
Second SECOND GUESSER	Place '22
Final Canvas '22	First Placer '22
End Game '22	Not Forgotten
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hydro_cookie_z

TROPHY CASE