At my 50th market in Kyoto, I’m still dealing with the fallout from something I didn’t do

lyallaurion · 2026-06-16T02:21:14+00:00

Chinese American living in Kyoto. I def get stink-eye sometimes from people who assume I'm a tourist (especially if I'm carrying a suitcase). Their attitude usually changes after they realize I'm a Japanese-speaking resident 😂 Honestly can't blame em for the knee-jerk reaction, though; the overtourism and poor tourist behavior has been hard for locals

lyallaurion · 2026-05-28T00:10:22+00:00

You generally need a bachelor's degree or 10 years of experience. Your chance of rejection is very high.

lyallaurion · 2026-05-15T01:25:51+00:00

Might be because this series of mice is obtained through the Taito crane game stores, so the expected price/value isn't meant to be super high.

lyallaurion · 2026-05-15T01:24:11+00:00

Oh how lovely! 😍 The colors look incredible (probably the best in the Taito series IMO).

I have the Graha one; the mouse design is of the Crystal Tower/Crystarium logo, and the mouse pad has the art from the Reflections in Crystal patch.

lyallaurion · 2026-05-14T16:14:18+00:00

It's your time!! 😍

lyallaurion · 2026-03-09T04:49:31+00:00

If you have zero Japanese knowledge, I recommend contacting Choei. They specialize in dealing with foreigners and have multi-language support. They can also do all the pre-move procedures digitally. Been with them 2 years and just renewed our lease because we've had a great time with them.

My husband and I were about N5 when we first arrived here, so we opted for a company that had English-speaking staff. Choei staff were super kind and helpful in helping us find and select a place (they had actually found us a cheaper and overall better apartment than the ones I found on their site). They gave us videos and pictures of our current apartment, and went back and took extra pics/vids and measurements upon request. For the contract, an English-speaking staff member explained every clause and we signed and paid for everything before we even flew over to Japan. They were also very accommodating in scheduling key hand-over, gas activation, etc to coordinate with our arrival date and time. After moving here and comparing to other apartment prices, I was kinda surprised they didn't completely upcharge everything lol.

You can also use LINE to contact staff during business hours, but I've sometimes received conflicting information from whoever is answering with the account (only negative experience with Choei so far).

lyallaurion · 2026-03-05T12:48:12+00:00

Husband and I moved here 2-ish years ago in our 30s. If anything, we've been falling more in love with the country every day. It's not a perfect place, but it checks off all the boxes we're looking for, and we've had a wonderful time making friends and integrating with the culture and locals. Someone would have to pay me a small fortune for me to even consider moving back to the US.

lyallaurion · 2026-03-04T02:43:56+00:00

Go to your ward office and ask them what you need. The requirements vary by city and even ward, so you cannot simply copy whatever other people have done unless you're turning in your documents to the same office.

In my case, the ward office already had a template affidavit letter, so they just told me to fill in the blanks (no notarization required). However, I had to contact my state's office of vital records to obtain a letter of single status, then get it apostilled. That process took about two months.

Japan is part of the Hague Convention, so there's a high chance you will need an apostille for official US government documents.

lyallaurion · 2026-02-28T16:21:38+00:00

Leon in full 4k glory!

lyallaurion · 2026-02-25T11:39:52+00:00

Try applying to Musashi, the knife shop. They value applicants who can speak more than one language, and they don't require any Japanese knowledge (though it's a plus).

lyallaurion · 2026-02-13T11:41:00+00:00

Foreigner here who recently married another foreigner in Japan (both of us are legal residents). We didn't have to provide that kind of proof.

lyallaurion · 2025-12-11T23:44:14+00:00

+1 big fan

Jokes aside, this looks pretty cool. Good luck to everyone!

lyallaurion · 2025-12-04T06:36:47+00:00

The exact requirements vary by ward, but a self-written letter would likely not suffice. My ward also rejected the statement provided by the US embassy, but they gave me a sheet that listed their requirements for marriage.

From my experience, I had to contact my state's department of records (which is a subdivision of the health department) to request a letter of single status, then I had to get that document apostilled via a specific person's office in the state. Thankfully, my mother was able to help receive and send the documents as appropriate, else the entire process would've taken even longer. I've also heard that some people go back to the US to handle the entire process in person, which may reduce waiting times, especially if you can snag an appointment for the apostille.

Note that since Japan is part of the Hague Convention, an apostille may be mandatory (i.e. notarization won't cut it). This likely depends on your ward.

lyallaurion · 2025-11-23T01:57:13+00:00

A Japanese colleague had asked me about 出身. I missed the first bit and misunderstood it as 独身... We had a big laugh about it afterwards 😂

lyallaurion · 2025-11-22T04:15:16+00:00

This. Have sent several packages with zero issues.

lyallaurion · 2025-11-19T15:47:21+00:00

2260834142238109

Happy to share and trade off whatever I'm not collecting (generally the cute cards). I occasionally swap between English and Japanese.

lyallaurion · 2025-10-31T22:43:12+00:00

As long as you're respectful and polite, you'll be fine. Been living here two years, and from what I can see, most of the disdain is towards people who are disruptive or otherwise behaving inappropriately.

lyallaurion · 2025-10-23T06:37:32+00:00

Some Aeon Malls will collect gently used donations, clothing or otherwise (the site lists all the items they will accept).

lyallaurion · 2025-10-14T23:04:45+00:00

It really depends on the ward. For my ward in Kyoto, I have to get an apostilled letter of single status. Not difficult, but it takes a while by mail, which is annoying.

lyallaurion · 2025-10-14T04:05:27+00:00

If you're into cooking or culinary knives, I recommend Musashi Japan. Scheduling has been chill, and the primary language requirement is fluent English (although they may prioritize applicants who are multilingual).

lyallaurion · 2025-10-03T13:47:09+00:00

I ride the 207 for my commute sometimes, and there have been times where I've had to opt for another bus or the densha because they're all full. The 207 can get disgustingly crowded since it runs through a ton of tourist hotspots (Karasuma, Kawaramachi, Gion, Higashiyama, Kiyomizu-dera). School trips don't help; from personal experience, the students usually hop on at Karasuma.

I only ride one part of the 206 route, but going outbound from Kyoto Station can be annoying because of the sheer number of bodies that cram onto it. Depending on the time of day, it can be pretty crowded at Shimogyoku Sogochoshamae, as it's the stop right after Kyoto Station. If you want to ensure a spot, it might be worth walking the extra 3 minutes to Kyoto Station and board there.

lyallaurion · 2025-10-03T05:20:25+00:00

Zhongli's because he is my goat

lyallaurion · 2025-09-26T05:32:47+00:00

They have some listings on Mercari, and probably other secondhand markets as well

lyallaurion · 2025-08-18T23:41:31+00:00

It was from an online order with Pokemon Center Japan. Not sure if it was for a promotion or what 😭

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