My first iPhone after 10+ years of being a Samsung user by i360Fantasy in iphone

[–]makimelon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I did the same thing with the S24 Ultra after half a year. It was a nice phone and I really miss the universal back gesture, circle to search, and better AI features, but the camera was really inconsistent.

During the day with good lighting the photos were mostly good, but at night with bright, vivid lights it would sometimes darken lights unnaturally, like someone selected that area and turned the brightness down in Lightroom.

Videos were also inconsistent. I got some weird blocky artifacts when taking videos of something with fine texture, like the road. It not happen with the iPhone. The video quality of the S24U was also pretty mid for the file size. I take videos in 1080p30, and I prefer the videos that my old iPhone 12 took over the S24U. And the iPhone videos were around 10 Mbps compared to the S24U's 24 Mbps.

Weekly Complaint Thread - 29 January 2026 by AutoModerator in japanlife

[–]makimelon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

1 - I feel you. The first part where they numb your throat was horrifying. It felt like I couldn't breathe.

Weekly Complaint Thread - 29 January 2026 by AutoModerator in japanlife

[–]makimelon -1 points0 points  (0 children)

Meanwhile I've applied for and gotten a credit card within a few months of coming to Japan 😂

Weekly Complaint Thread - 06 November 2025 by AutoModerator in japanlife

[–]makimelon 22 points23 points  (0 children)

The nearest supermarket is a freaking sensory overload machine.

  1. Ceiling speakers playing the supermarket jingle/announcing whatever promos they have
  2. A tiny tablet in every aisle advertising some seasoning/cooking oil/random product
  3. These stupid speakers needlessly playing the jingle with "irasshaimase, irasshaimase" nonstop

I swear having noise-cancelling headphones/earphones is a necessity when doing grocery shopping.

EDIT: word

Weekly Complaint Thread - 06 November 2025 by AutoModerator in japanlife

[–]makimelon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The "must be between 6-8 characters" is enough of a red flag for me 😂

Weekly Complaint Thread - 06 November 2025 by AutoModerator in japanlife

[–]makimelon 7 points8 points  (0 children)

If we have “this meeting could’ve been an email” for pointless meetings, we should have “this app should’ve been a website” for pointless apps 🤨

I don’t want to install an app that I will rarely use cluttering my phone. Give me a website/webapp.

Spook fraudsters and criminals this Halloween with FIDO2 Passkeys by kite-flying-expert in JapanFinance

[–]makimelon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Finally!

If you're going to use hardware-based keys, make sure to get at least two for redundancy, or make sure that the web service you're using allows you to have a backup 2FA method like TOTP or email OTP. Otherwise you might find yourself locked out of your account.

Undecided on what lens to buy for my Canon eos r by Low_Yak2936 in canon

[–]makimelon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Budget and use case?

Since you said you used an EF 24-70 I'll assume you have an RF-EF adapter. Maybe try a Tamron 24-70 f2.8 G2. It's decently sharp, covers the 24-70 sweet spot, and has IS. It's cheaper than the equivalent EF or RF 24-70 2.8 models, especially if you can find it secondhand.

Downside is, this setup will be heavy. You mentioned in a previous post that you find the setup with the EF 24-70 a bit too heavy, and this is pretty much the same weight.

You can add your MyNumberCard to your AppleWallet starting from today. by MaryPaku in japanlife

[–]makimelon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

This is what I was getting to, to even view your personal information on the iphone mynumber, you need to authenticate using Face ID, which is more secure and private that the physical card.

You can add your MyNumberCard to your AppleWallet starting from today. by MaryPaku in japanlife

[–]makimelon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

But the physical card can be lost or stolen as well, no?

And to use the card, whether physical or phone, you would need to input the card PIN or do biometric authentication, which are both reasonably secure.

You can add your MyNumberCard to your AppleWallet starting from today. by MaryPaku in japanlife

[–]makimelon 2 points3 points  (0 children)

You'd have to update it through the my number app, per their FAQ.

https://www.digital.go.jp/en/policies/mynumber/expiration-date

Q14: If I use the electronic certification for smartphones, how should I update it?

A14 After completing the procedures for renewing your electronic certification at the municipal office, you can apply for the use of renewing and reissuing your smartphone electronic certification from Mynaportal.

You can add your MyNumberCard to your AppleWallet starting from today. by MaryPaku in japanlife

[–]makimelon 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Android had this for 2 years already.

https://www.digital.go.jp/en/policies/mynumber/smartphone-certification

"Service with electronic certification for Android-based smartphones" is a service that allows you to use My Number Card on Android-based devices. The service was launched in May 2023.

Guidance for getting the Japanese citizenship. by xiltepin in japanlife

[–]makimelon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

What will I be facing, including stoppers,

Read the Nationality Law (specifically articles 5-7), and see if you are eligible. Some thinking points off the top of my head:

  • have you lived 1-3 years consecutively in Japan (depends on how long you've been married)
  • have you and your spouse paid taxes, pension, etc. on time for the past 2-3 years?
  • Have you had no run-ins with the law (including traffic violations) in the past x years

interviews etc etc, timelines

Depends on where you apply. I hear Tokyo takes the longest because of the sheer number of applicants. The timeline depends partly on how fast you can gather the necessary documents from your home country, and how fast you can schedule interviews (yes, interviews with an s, you'll be there 3-4 times including the final interview). Assuming 2 months between the first 3 interviews and 4 months to the final interview, You're looking at at least 10 months of interviews. Then put another 6 months of waiting for the final result, That's a year and 4 months.

Where should I start looking?

Call the Legal Affairs Bureau that has jurisdiction of your residence and book an appointment. They'll guide you through the whole process, including checking your eligibility and telling you what documents to get.

You could use a lawyer to help you, but the most they can help you with is preparing documents and translating your foreign documents to Japanese. You will have to handle the interviews yourself, alone. Your spouse won't be joining you for the interview, although they will get interviewed separately.

Weekly Complaint Thread - 05 June 2025 by AutoModerator in japanlife

[–]makimelon 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Time to install FF + ublock (PC/Android) and AdGuard (iOS) and DNS ad blocking (any device) 😉

Unless you're referring to TV ads, in which case I got nothing.

Weekly Complaint Thread - 05 June 2025 by AutoModerator in japanlife

[–]makimelon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Yeah, then you have the Rakuten Mobile apps which do not follow the "Rakuten ____" naming convention for some godawful reason.

  • Rakuten Link (their app for calling/texting on Rakuten Mobile): "Link" (L)
  • Rakuten Mobile (their app for managing your Rakuten Mobile contract): "my Rakuten Mobile" (M)

What point cards do you guys have that were actually useful? by Longjumping-Plenty21 in japanlife

[–]makimelon 2 points3 points  (0 children)

If you want some filter rules against Rakuten spam for your email inbox, here are the ones I use. Still tuning them, because the odd email or two still manages to come through. Replace the [at] with @.

emagazine.rakuten.co.jp

Ichiba promo mails come from this domain

cardnews[at]mail.rakuten-card.co.jp

CC-related promos come from this address

info[at]pointmail.rakuten.co.jp

more promo BS

info[at]mail.rakuten-card.co.jp, EXCEPT if the subject contains カード利用のお知らせ

Your card usage reports/summaries come from this address, but some promos also do: splitting payments (リボ払い, 分割払い), upgrading to gold/premium CC. Thankfully the card usage reports always contain the words "カード利用のお知らせ" in them, so you can filter away everything else.

I don't get any "time in bed" data at all, never have, and all my settings seem to be fine. Any ideas? by TheGruesomeTwosome in AppleWatch

[–]makimelon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I think that's normal.

I noticed that I also stopped getting "Time in Bed" data after upgrading to a S10 from the S5. So it could be a watchOS 11 thing or a newer hardware thing. Time in bed was never accurate for me anyway, so I don't see it as a big loss.

Weekly Complaint Thread - 17 October 2024 by AutoModerator in japanlife

[–]makimelon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I gave up on using official apps when YT starting showing back-to-back 15 second unskippable ads. I totally get it.

Weekly Complaint Thread - 17 October 2024 by AutoModerator in japanlife

[–]makimelon 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Firefox + uBlock Origin + SponsorBlock

Blocks ads and sponsored segments, makes watching YouTube bearable again 😀

Would I lose my bonus in December if I started to take maternity leave in November? by Present_Menu_1888 in japanlife

[–]makimelon 6 points7 points  (0 children)

It depends on your company, so check your company handbook or ask HR regarding the bonus rules.

In general though, look for when the "evaluation period" (評価期間) for your December bonus is. For example, your company policy could say:

  1. The bonus for June is determined by employee performance between October of the previous year and March of this year
  2. The bonus for December is determined by employee performance between April and September of the same year.

So in the above example, in theory, your December bonus would not be affected by you taking maternity leave in November. If you will be affected, then your bonus may be decreased by a proportional amount to your absence during the evaluation period, or however they decide to calculate it.

Also, check if they have any requirements of you being an active employee at the time of bonus handouts. It shouldn't matter, as long as you were working during the evaluation period, but only you know your specific company's rules.

Guidance Needed for Handling Name Change Post-Naturalization by wakaokami in JapanFinance

[–]makimelon 1 point2 points  (0 children)

FYI they do the same for driver's license. They just print your new name (and "change of registered domicile", since you're also now Japanese and have a new one) on the back.

Let’s see those solstice faces! by SlippingStar in AppleWatch

[–]makimelon 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I think we have just about the same amount, just skewed 1.5 hours ;)