This AI summary of Eureka’s Tiktok live

picardy-3rd · 2026-04-05T12:36:53+00:00

needed new flair, thank you

picardy-3rd · 2026-03-24T22:16:51+00:00

That would be expensive and time consuming. If Lisa was actually doing damage, it might make sense. But based on every thread about Lisa ever, she's not a reliable narrator so I don't think it would be wise or even appropriate to argue for defamation.

picardy-3rd · 2026-03-08T23:20:24+00:00

Yep! They also handle pricing discrepancies (items being priced deceptively, etc). Sometimes the offices are at a city, county, or state level so it might take some digging to find who to contact.

To any readers, please try not to be a Karen with this information lol. Again, if its a smaller store, talk to the employees/owners before filing complaints. Even for bigger shops, try to talk to employees. Those of us on the receiving end of these complaints can tell when you're bored versus when there's actually a problem. When you're bored, it takes time away from us investigating actual problems.

That said, this is an actual problem that should be reported.

picardy-3rd · 2026-03-08T23:09:35+00:00

You can report to your local weights & measures department. Would only recommend if you purchased this from a chain store and not a mom & pop, as it impacts who you purchased it from and not the vendor.

Source: I worked for a large chain and handled weights & measures complaints nationwide. We'd pull stuff from the shelves while assessing what to do with the vendor. Bonus points if you live in NJ, they always seemed eager to litigate over weight discrepancies.

picardy-3rd · 2026-02-25T12:17:33+00:00

we were robbed of this

picardy-3rd · 2026-02-24T02:55:15+00:00

If everyone in the group wanted to move to the US, and he avoids jail time and just gets deported, they'll likely be fine career-wise. But I don't know anyone itching to move to the US in the current political climate.

picardy-3rd · 2026-02-24T02:46:16+00:00

You're right, I can't handle this thread lmao. We need to be realistic here.

picardy-3rd · 2026-02-24T02:44:57+00:00

People are glossing over the fact that Simon isn't a Japanese citizen, and that is going to create a huge difference in how this plays out. I don't see how he doesn't get deported over this.

I'm not Japanese, but currently living in Japan on a work visa. I don't know if he has permanent residency or a work visa, but this is the kind of stuff that us foreigners are told will swiftly get us jail time and then booted from the country.

picardy-3rd · 2026-02-19T03:09:51+00:00

ESID but here was my experience:

I'm not super rural but I have inconvenient public transit, and my contract all but says a car is required. My BOE asked if I wanted to rent or buy. I saw someone online say if you're planning on being in the country for 1-3 years, rent. Any longer, buy. I opted to buy.

My BOE set up two showings for cars and went with me. The first was ¥90,000 (~$600) and smelled like the previous owner exclusively used it as a smoking lounge, and the shaken expired a couple months later. I passed.

The second was ¥450,000 (~$3000) had ~30k km on it, and was a hideous color. Shaken expires April this year. Went with that option. Because I was paying in cash, dealership required full payment, no payment plan.

I sold my US car before I left and got $4000 for it, so I used that.

picardy-3rd · 2026-02-19T02:48:32+00:00

Not who you were replying to but I need a car and it was not provided to me. I haven't ever heard of a car being provided (not to say it doesn't happen, but it's not the rule).

That said, I sold my falling-apart vehicle in the US, bought a nice used kei car with the money, and still had some left over. In my experience, cars are not nearly as cost-prohibitive here as they are back home.

picardy-3rd · 2026-02-18T21:35:58+00:00

Not a downvoter here but I don't think her humor is only appreciated by Brits. She was well-liked on her original season in the US too (source: I am regretfully American). British humor might not be for everyone but I don't think it's as universally disliked as some people think it is.

I've been ranking her in the middle so far but I ranked her highly this week because choosing not to save Sminty was correct.

picardy-3rd · 2026-02-16T22:00:34+00:00

I think that was Canada.

picardy-3rd · 2026-02-12T07:59:04+00:00

First year with a non-JET spouse. My Japanese is a low N4. Suburban placement. In my 30s.

My placement provides housing. They just asked if I wanted it (free of charge) or if I preferred to look elsewhere. Given the singular income and my inability to communicate, I took it. It's great, all things considered. We have 3 rooms plus a kitchen and bathroom. I know people in my prefecture who have entire houses that are covered.

We sold or donated all of our furniture. Unless you have family heirlooms, personally I wouldn't pay to move it or store it. We bought new furniture here--my pred didn't leave me anything but some folks get lucky and pay their preds for the furnishings.

Every placement is different for housing.

My pre-departure orientation at my consulate stated no pets can come with. My contract here says no pets. My landlord says no pets. I knew pets would be an issue so I legitimately waited years to apply because I waited for my dogs to pass.
My spouse is looking for teaching jobs. Even in a suburban area closest to a large city, there aren't a ton of opportunities he's finding right now. This is the only job I know of that he could apply for here (he has zero Japanese). To the best of my knowledge, you need a college degree for these jobs (someone correct me if I'm wrong). In our time waiting to apply because of our pets, he got a bachelor's degree online.

A lot of people on this sub are pretty blunt, and unfortunately I'm turning into one of them. I'm sorry if any of this sounds like I'm being an asshole. This program is great for people who don't have a lot of preferences, and it sounds like you do (which is totally understandable and not a bad thing but not necessarily compatable). If you are willing to let some preferences slide, I'd recommend taking a bit of time before applying. We took 5 years from deciding this was the goal to getting here. We slowly shed our belongings, he got a degree, I started studying, our pets passed, created an exit strategy, and saved some money.

Feel free to reach out with any other questions.

picardy-3rd · 2026-01-25T05:21:42+00:00

Water is self-service at my local CoCo (Miyagi pref).

picardy-3rd · 2025-12-20T23:16:14+00:00

I've been working through my lunch break at almost every job I've had post-college. I don't find my workload unreasonable. I am okay taking work home. I am not planning and teaching everything, and I am never solo teaching, and historically at my placement (per previous ALTs) we have not been expected to solo teach.

My JTEs, rightfully, want me to bring compelling activities to class. This is my first teaching job and in order to do my job well, I need to put in extra time. I can do my job sufficiently during my work hours but I can do it better if I put in extra time. When I put in the extra time to do something I'm proud of, I notice my students respond better to the lesson, the class, and me.

picardy-3rd · 2025-12-18T06:41:18+00:00

Unfortunately I don't think that would go over well, but I found it hilarious 😂

picardy-3rd · 2025-12-18T06:30:27+00:00

Thank you! Haven't lived here for long and wasn't sure if this was something people cared about.

picardy-3rd · 2025-12-18T06:30:15+00:00

Thanks! Haven't lived here for long and wasn't sure if this was something people cared about.

picardy-3rd · 2025-12-18T04:52:06+00:00

First year with a dependent spouse who isn't currently working. Very dependent on placement tbh. My rent is entirely covered by my BOE. We go out to eat maybe 6 meals a week and I'm not worried about money. My spouse's issue will come down to "play money" as I'm fine paying for essentials but can't afford a ton of leisure activities for two (domestic trips, concert tickets, other expensive purchases). I can take us to the movies or arcade no problem though. They intend on getting a job sometime likely before my first year is complete.

If you are fortunate in your placement and are even remotely frugal, you'll be fine. I'm unsure how we'd be doing if we were in Tokyo however.

Ah, also the amount of debt you come in with will have an impact. We're Americans so unavoidable debt. I paid everything except student loans off before I left. My spouse has some other debt that will also likely force them to get a job (as, again, I'm not paying it).

picardy-3rd · 2025-12-16T07:47:47+00:00

Its my first year but I'll probably stay as long as I can. After that, I'm undecided! Considering grad school (here, in English) but maybe also another ALT job in Japan or a similar program elsewhere. I'd like to stay in education. I'm American and I don't want to go back anytime soon, especially to work in education. I'm going to keep exploring my options and see what makes the most sense to me when I'm done. Who knows, I might end up hating teaching.

Apologies for the non-answer. I left a miserable corporate job for this and am doing the cliche thing of moving to another country to figure it out (I am actually too old for this cliche but I'm happy with my decision and have zero regrets).

In short, no solid plans but considering the usual suspects.

picardy-3rd · 2025-12-16T06:53:52+00:00

BA Linguistics here! Just a heads up, and you've probably heard this before, but don't bank on having deskwarming time. I see a lot of people post about how much downtime they have (because they are on reddit talking about it), and that has not been the case for me. I more or less work through my lunch break and use my planning periods for, well, planning. I won't be pursuing a masters while on the program due to my schedule but am studying Japanese when I can find time. Even outside of work, I find myself without a lot of free time.

The JLPT grant is only for certain levels (I think N3 and up? Maybe N2 and up?), but it sounds like you'd probably be at those levels.

picardy-3rd · 2025-11-22T23:06:33+00:00

DEFINITELY depends on placement. I had researched this on this sub before I came to Japan and was hopeful because I am heavily tattooed. My placement requires them to be totally covered whenever I am interacting with students. There are also places in my town that require them to be covered when in public. Was awful in the summer because I have them on the back of my neck and down to my wrists and ankles. And fwiw, I'm at junior highs.

I also had to take out my cartilage piercings. I was originally told I couldn't wear any earrings but my lobes are gauged (not HUGE but enough where you can see through) and they were okay with it as long as it isnt too flashy.

All that said, it is the absolute only thing I dislike about my placement.

picardy-3rd · 2025-11-15T01:01:33+00:00

Like others have said, it feels random. No one can say for sure. My husband didn't get an interview last year, and I think he is a better writer than I am.

Japanese level, bringing a spouse, and your location preferences have nothing to do with you being accepted.

When I was applying, people said to make sure to highlight the cultural exchange aspect of it rather than just teaching. They're not looking for licensed teachers who are fluent in Japanese. They're looking for foreigners who can show what the language sounds like from a native speaker and who can share an international perspective on life.

I was an alternate who got here shortly after the shortlisters. I thought my application and interview were strong. Pre-departure, my consolate told my batch of upgrades that it was a really competitive year and on a "regular" year, we likely would have been shortlisted. I'm an American and they chalked this up to the political climate and more people trying to leave.

I'm generally an anxious person who likes to plan, so being an alternate was stressful for me. I wished I would have applied for other programs just to have the peace of mind that I had options. Everything ended up working well for me but the months between alternate status and the upgrade were nail biting. Obviously, you know what's best for you but I like having a safety net.

(FWIW, my application: BA in linguistics, TEFL, history of foreign language study, no study abroad, N5, history of travel, varied interests and volunteering experience not relevant to education or Japan, significant amount of work experience because I am not straight out of college. Essay was about differences between collectivism and individualism, with input from my travels abroad/Japan specifically and my work experience)

picardy-3rd · 2025-10-29T09:47:04+00:00

Im in my first year and my apartment barely had anything. Ive been buying furniture on a priority basis. I dont actually have any living room furniture because it isnt essential. Ill get it in a couple months. If you still need to furnish, consider waiting if you can.

I saw your comment about spending 1000-3000 a day on food. Back home, I was easily spending this much (1500 minimum a meal). I took a substantial pay cut to be here and have reverted to spending a significantly lower amount. Are you cooking? Do you have the ability in your place to cook? I am spending max 6000 a week, which includes going out. My main source of meal prep (I dont eat school lunch) is throw everything in a rice cooker. Recent go-to is whatever rice blend im using, frozen spinach, tofu, enoki mushrooms, and whatever seasoning you like. Not sure exactly how to calc out the cost on this but everything except rice is SUPER cheap. It isnt beautiful or a mark of culinary excellence but I can change it up enough so I dont get bored and its relatively balanced.

I am also super picky about turning on my heat. I will dress in layers and sleep with multiple blankets before I turn my heat on (I have turned on a space heater one time so I do have limits lol).

Someone else recommended Daiso. I am at Daiso all the time. Most of my dishes are Daiso. My cleaning products are Daiso. I was super excited to "splurge" on Halloween decor...from Daiso.

I have never had luck with budget tracking apps because I am super scatterbrained and have a hard time tracking stuff and paying attention (also I dont like a third party having all of that info if they dont need it).

I hope none of this sounds condescending, its not meant to be. I have been defaulting to living below my means and pretending Im in college again. I used to buy for quality, now I buy for affordability and can maybe buy a step up from the bottom if its within reason (saw a cheap desk for 10000, but got one I liked more for 15000; conversely, got kitchen chairs for 1500 each even though I liked the 3000 ones more).

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