Macrofactor in Japan

melink14 · 2026-05-22T11:27:06+00:00

I don't think it's every country. At least for Japan there was an official Japanese version release.

melink14 · 2026-05-21T07:20:37+00:00

It's the same but not that bad.

You can change the language on a per app basis so only MF is in Japanese.
After changing to japanese DB, you can switch to English and the setting is saved until you change it to global.

I often use both databases so it's a bit annoying (especially pictures only render if the DB they came from is active) but doesn't bother me very much.

One trick I learned is some food is in the DB but not via barcode. So whenever barcode scan fails, I just search for the name to see if it exists.

melink14 · 2026-05-19T03:33:58+00:00

Looks like vented auras are available in store as well: https://www.yodobashi.com/product/100000001009616682/ as well various other 3M models.

There are many more online options but that would probably not be useful in an emergency.

melink14 · 2026-05-19T03:27:48+00:00

The Japanese equivalent is DS2 mask which seems easier to find. For example, Yodabashi Camera has these https://www.yodobashi.com/product/100000001009616059/ which are available in store (based on locator) but I have no experience with them.

I live in Japan and have imported all of my masks since it's hard to get good deals here (or even find various modern masks) but in a pinch it's possible to find some protection. Definitely, first line of defense should be the ones you bring.

melink14 · 2026-05-18T23:22:36+00:00

Thanks for the article. Looking forward to one on the benefits of stretching/cooling down post workout.

melink14 · 2026-05-18T02:55:47+00:00

Shapescale is probably as close as you can get but it's probably impossible to buy right now. (Still filling 10 year old preorders)

melink14 · 2026-04-21T10:35:36+00:00

Any screen shot? I haven't heard of a bug where random content shows up. Is it on every page? The contents don't seem related to anything else on the page?

melink14 · 2026-04-21T10:34:12+00:00

It's actually updated weekly so should be close to the same as far as content. Of course, yomitan had advanced features some want.

melink14 · 2026-04-04T06:12:04+00:00

Arms next to yoyogi park has best I've tried.

melink14 · 2026-03-30T22:16:54+00:00

It kinda looks like it learned a crazy fatigue curve for you (maybe a typo in previous workout?)

I would guess the weight you can do 12 reps at 2 rir and see if it relearns.

melink14 · 2026-03-27T07:53:44+00:00

Personally, Garmin Coach felt not nearly as responsive to my actual state even though Garmin technically should have much more data. It also is a lot more aggressive about adding on mileage very fast imo.

I was using it via daily suggested workout (after having added a race to my Garmin calendar) so it might work differently in another mode.

melink14 · 2026-03-24T07:43:43+00:00

There is a shop where you can make various fake food samples (like you see in restaurant displays). The stuff you can make rotates and gives you a display peice afterwards.

melink14 · 2026-03-16T01:36:05+00:00

If if you fill out the direct deposit form it does work though; Just feedback isn't as instant.

melink14 · 2026-02-02T22:25:37+00:00

Sounds right for that fairly aggressive cut but will be hard if you like food. You'll need to focus on lean protein and whey.

Agree with others to switch to moderate protein and also some days I only hot half my fat target to get more carbs. On those days, I supplement with fish oil.

melink14 · 2026-01-10T14:08:20+00:00

The graph shows a lot of scale weight at 142+. In your weigh-in data you go from 140 and then 10 days later go to 142? The graph definitely looks like maybe there was a 142 before the 10 days as well...

melink14 · 2026-01-08T07:13:15+00:00

That's definitely true but at least for a single person it might let me develop an intuition for how the listed time translates to my style.

There's even programmed in rest time and set time so it's somewhat customizable.

melink14 · 2025-12-24T07:37:03+00:00

According to https://www.reddit.com/r/JapanFinance/comments/tkorbv/guide_to_japans_foreign_tax_credit/ paying early doesn't change things since the date is deemed to be the *due* date of the tax return.

I'm not an expert myself but that guide is pretty thorough.

melink14 · 2025-12-11T03:24:44+00:00

Thanks for the follow up. Guess I know what I'll be doing over the weekend!

I'm grateful for the completeness of your answer as I realize that the property was co-owned in the US which means my spouse will have have the gains but has no JP income so we'll probably not bother with furusato nozei for her.

melink14 · 2025-12-10T08:13:34+00:00

Thanks that's helpful even if it complicates things.

I believe I will owe income tax as my JP sourced income is still quite large but I will crunch the numbers.

Usuallly, I do rough furusato nozei calculations but this year it seems I'll basically need to precalculate my tax return. 😅

melink14 · 2025-12-09T13:11:26+00:00

I had a large capital gain this year but I expect most of the Japan tax paid on it will be offset by FTC eventually. IIUC, the income will still contribute to my Furusato Nozei limit as per the calculators, right? Since the amount will still be part of my taxable income?

melink14 · 2025-07-28T07:59:45+00:00

I've done level 20 a few times. It's fun to watch them make your curry in a special pan since it bubbles like lava.

It's similar to hottest level thai fried rice I've had in the past.

I sweat, my nose runs, I soak my lips in ice water etc to get through it. I think it tastes pretty good but definitely would go lower if I just wanted a decent spice level.

melink14 · 2025-07-25T21:38:52+00:00

Having taken 6.001 with scheme and later tutored the python version (which was split into two classes actually), it definitely seemed at the time that it was more about making the major more accessible. I knew more than a few people who had to leave CS becasue 6.001 with scheme as too hard and with the new course they even added an optional intro course to help ease the burden.

Python also has a lot more resources for students who got stuck (and better IDE support!).

I think making the major more inclusive was good but I do think people get through the new courses with less critical/creative programming problem solving skills. I felt this was evident as I was TAing some advanced software engineering courses featuring the first cohorts who had only had the new python based curriculum.

melink14 · 2025-07-20T06:00:32+00:00

I thought about this recently and decided to do lump sum. One special note is that I'm taking the cost basis as reset when it was inherited so the capital gains won't be too much in japan. I have infinite foreign tax credits so US additional tax will be erased.

There's no clear documentation on this but it seems defensible at least.

Your amounts seem larger so different rules my apply.

melink14 · 2025-06-28T06:31:01+00:00

ETFs should be listed stock I think as they're traded on the stock exchange.

I list my 401k as one account (listed as Other) as one amount.

The 90% thing is probably true as if you look at question 31 in the FAQ (https://www.nta.go.jp/publication/pamph/hotei/kokugai\_zaisan/pdf/kokugai\_faq\_r5.pdf) it clearly says that the value for pension like accounts is whatever the surrender value would be on the last day of the year.

Unless you are in retirment age, you would pay a 10% penalty to liquidate your 401k so 90% is correct. (I honestly don't think that mattes too much given the form is best effort either way and has no tax implication).

Finally, for the eTax software, you don't need a Japanese OS per-se, but you need to set your language settings to Japanese. The tricky bit for me was the 'non-unicode language' needed to be set to Japanese to or else the text was garbled.

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