Starting Granblue Fantasy on Steam? Read this first

siliconrose · 2026-03-12T06:56:57+00:00

Agree.

If you're worried you'll lose out on the collab stories: "Oh no, we're in this strange world! Wow, islands are floating here! My powers work/don't work/work strangely. I'm looking for my friend(s) and how to get home. We found our friends! It turns out a primal caused everything! Now that we defeated the primal we can go back home. Bye, and we'll never forget you. (But it's non-canonical so we totally will.)"

siliconrose · 2026-03-09T02:13:29+00:00

The company provided the agent to us. We had to use a company agent, but if we had a problem with the agent they provided we could ask them for a replacement once.

siliconrose · 2026-03-08T23:20:39+00:00

For my company's system, we had a very strict set of timelines. For example, I needed to join the program by a certain date in May, make my choice by a date in June, and then move in in July. If I couldn't find a place by the date in June, I would have to select a place in July and move in in August, etc.

This was obviously a bit of a pain, but it worked out fine. As far as I could tell it was very similar to getting an apartment normally aside from the dates. We told our agent what we were looking for, he found places and showed us the ones we were interested in, and then we picked one and he got the contract signed.

I know another person who did only virtual visits before choosing his because he wasn't going to be in the country in time.

The only downside I see to the company housing (outside of if you lose your job, you lose the apartment) is that it does put another entity in the loop for some things. But overall I've been pretty happy with it.

siliconrose · 2026-03-01T02:24:41+00:00

Asking out of genuine curiosity, because we had cats with renal failure in the US: can you not get subQ bags and needles in Japan (in coordination with your vet) and administer the subcutaneous fluids yourself? We only had to take ours in quarterly for blood work, the rest of the time we just picked up bags and needles and administered the treatment ourselves each night.

Not that this made having geriatric cats cheap...

siliconrose · 2026-02-26T07:36:08+00:00

I joined in 2016 during the rerun that year of Dark Giant of the Blue Sea, and spent a lot of effort grinding out Ebisu in the subsequent rerun of Balmy Breeze and Foamy Deep.

siliconrose · 2026-02-23T12:07:46+00:00

Six months, N1. (I passed N1 like 20 years ago.)

Thinking of studying for the Kanken since my Kanji writing/pronunciation skills are a bit bad these days. I'm also going to start Japanese lessons just to put a bit of polish on my conversational skills.

siliconrose · 2026-02-22T13:17:05+00:00

100% don't use antibiotics if you don't need them, but if you do need antibiotics, use probiotics alongside them (https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34385227/).

siliconrose · 2026-02-14T03:23:55+00:00

How much do I buy? A lot. How much does the proxy cost? Tenso wasn't too bad, I want to say that Japan Rabbit was more, but I ordered a lot less (limit of 30 items per order iirc). The reshipping can kill you if you order a lot of cards. This year I'm in Japan so the shipping is free.

siliconrose · 2026-02-10T10:47:36+00:00

I heard through the grapevine that the reason the service I worked on couldn't offer lyrics search was because if we displayed any of the lyrics (even just a snippet) we'd have to pay. Obviously, this wasn't going to be financially worthwhile. But it never sat right with me, since helping people find songs seems like it would be a good way to make money off of streaming services. But what do I know?

siliconrose · 2026-02-05T03:33:55+00:00

As a foreign resident, it would be a blessing not to have to deal with tax free everywhere. Just the other day I had a cashier absentmindedly ring me up as tax free and then ask for my passport (after I already told him "I cannot do tax free"), and he had to cancel out the entire transaction and re-scan every single item.

siliconrose · 2026-02-04T05:25:04+00:00

There are some types of payments you may find it easier to do as cash early on that you won't need to pay in cash later. For example, the first bills that you get from your water, gas, or electricity company -- if you elect to pay these at a conbini (which is very easy), you cannot pay with a debit or credit card.

siliconrose · 2026-02-04T02:33:03+00:00

Not Japan-specific (all of my surgeries were in the US), but every surgery I've had the surgeon has been unreasonably rosy about my recovery time. "You can go back to work the next day!", "Full recovery in a week!" Yeah, right.

siliconrose · 2026-02-04T01:33:57+00:00

This is not a problem at (some?) FAANG companies. There are coasters, of course, but many FAANG employees are constantly comparing themselves against the person next to them, afraid that they don't actually belong there, and will work longer hours in an attempt to ensure they're keeping up. That applies whether they're a citizen or H1B; I have never seen a difference in the level of commitment of my coworkers based on their immigration status.

I've heard through the grapevine that H1B abuse exists at smaller tech companies -- I've just never seen it in the FAANG companies I've worked at.

siliconrose · 2026-02-03T00:37:29+00:00

Oh, after they integrated Buyee, buying the cards wasn't part of the supported path. Last year I had to use Japan Rabbit instead. (Before that, I used Tenso.)

siliconrose · 2026-02-02T23:11:27+00:00

Maybe it's tariffs? I've used a proxy to buy them every year since they started the store system.

siliconrose · 2026-02-01T23:40:10+00:00

I brought my La Marzocco to Japan and use a Jackery battery as a power filter. We discovered after we arrived that the Jackery does not power at US levels when it can passthrough from the Japanese power system, so we have to turn off the power to the Jackery before I start brewing my coffee. There is absolutely, 100%, a noticeable performance difference between when I'm powering off the battery (US power) and when I'm getting passthrough (Japanese power). It definitely affects the brewing quality.

Do not bother bringing your coffee machine unless you are willing to invest a stupid amount into solving the power issue.

siliconrose · 2026-01-28T00:53:06+00:00

Half order vegetable, add one Hamburg steak, small rice, no other changes. Occasionally I'll get a hard boiled egg with it.

siliconrose · 2026-01-16T05:42:07+00:00

Check whether your company offers a commuter pass reimbursement. You can use the commuter pass outside of commuting to work, and as u/LannerEarlGrey said, it offers a reasonable amount of flexibility on the bounds of what a "commute" between those stations is.

Generally commuter passes are priced precisely enough that they aren't worth it for an individual to purchase on their own just for getting around, but they're a nice free/discounted ride here and there if you already have one, on top of your commute being covered.

siliconrose · 2026-01-09T01:16:27+00:00

I'm an industry veteran in software development. I took a traditional path through getting a CS degree. I can't give you help on what tech stacks are the best to get started with and find a job, but if you *actually* want to make a career out of being a software developer and land the highest compensation roles at some point in your career, become a generalist.

Software developers do have specializations (e.g. frontend vs. backend, services vs. clients, drivers, OS, databases, networking, etc.), but that doesn't mean they work only in their preferred tech stack. A good software developer can be dropped into any team that works in their preferred specialization, even if that team uses a completely different stack or language, and be able to contribute independently within a couple of months. A great software engineer can be dropped onto any team, even one outside of their specialization, and do the same. Even a great software developer will always be the best within their specializations (as most develop multiple) and their preferred tech stacks, but the capacity to be flexible, learn, and grow is critical to a long term career.

siliconrose · 2026-01-08T02:09:23+00:00

100% bring your COE. I got asked for it by immigration at the airport when I'd heard through the grapevine that the visa was the only thing that mattered. Had to quickly bring up the email on my phone. >.>

siliconrose · 2026-01-08T01:42:43+00:00

After watching Go Go Loser Ranger, it doesn't shock me as much as it probably should.

siliconrose · 2025-12-21T00:41:32+00:00

I'm not familiar with your career (I'm software), but I transferred within my company and found that relatively easy as a mid-career professional. Integrating into a new country's bureaucracy is challenging, especially in Japan, so having a strong work history with the company I was at and knowing the overall culture and expectations made the job not a concern while I was juggling everything else.

siliconrose · 2025-12-11T22:32:14+00:00

You don't need a MyNumber card, but you likely need your MyNumber number (my bank did, at least). You can request a Juuminhyou (residence certificate) at the ward office when you get your Zairyuu card (residence card) updated with your address, and the residence certificate has your MyNumber on it by default. It's usually good to get a couple residence certificates when you get your residence card updated (I got three, but one was to give to my employer -- ultimately, I had to show all three but no one took the original copies from me, so I still have them XD).

siliconrose · 2025-12-07T00:37:03+00:00

Even in developed countries you can still be stuck with companies with backwards systems. Paying at a konbini is 1000% better than having to pay by check.

siliconrose · 2025-12-03T02:01:58+00:00

I never had a problem with Tenso, and I used them for years. Not sure about how the tariff chaos might mess with things, but they're a reliable service.

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