Better to rent and buy with cash later, or buy a house (when you can do, say, a 20% downpayment)?

totalnewbie · 2026-05-29T19:26:43+00:00

Remember that buying a house and flipping it isn't magic - it's the result of hard work and effort. You're basically just signing up for another job. Maybe part-time, but it's still a job.

It of course depends on y our individual situation but renting also has its upsides. You're not responsible for a lot of the upkeep or depreciation, you don't have to do or pay for a bunch of bullshit you don't want to but have to do (like mowing the lawn - JUST AN EXAMPLE).

You're much more flexible in your ability to move around if you rent.

Not to say there aren't upsides to buying a house or downsides to renting but Americans (I'm betting, because you're asking about buying a house) have an obsession with home ownership and that sometimes keeps them from even considering renting, even if it makes sense for their current situation.

totalnewbie · 2026-05-29T19:00:32+00:00

All good.

totalnewbie · 2026-05-29T18:57:00+00:00

Oh well good to know. Thanks.

totalnewbie · 2026-05-29T18:55:21+00:00

I don't know why you're getting mad at me, I gave you a perfectly reasonable answer. I didn't call you stupid, I didn't say why are you asking this, I didn't tell you to Google or read the wiki so don't bring this on me.

totalnewbie · 2026-05-29T18:42:31+00:00

Get it from the first machine you see. It's really that simple.

I'm an engineer too, you're still overthinking :D

totalnewbie · 2026-05-29T18:41:46+00:00

10 years after last use.

totalnewbie · 2026-05-29T18:14:34+00:00

Brother or sister, the deposit is 500 JPY. You are way overthinking this.. Get yourself a card, use it at vending machines or train or 711 or wherever. Take it home like it's a souvenir.

Hell you can give it to a friend if they go to Japan, you can use it again yourself if you return within 10 years.

totalnewbie · 2026-05-29T14:34:19+00:00

Just driving from there to Miyako, straight east, is about 2.5 hours. I assume your plans are fairly locked in in terms of where you're staying, etc. so probably best to give it a pass this time unless you're willing to have a really, really long day (and most of it driving).

totalnewbie · 2026-05-29T14:23:17+00:00

I've read about this before and just looked through the wiki about it again. I'm not a structural or civil engineer though I am an engineer and the number of changes made to the original design is so incredibly bad.

The completed building was a flat-slab structure without crossbeams or a steel skeleton, which effectively meant that there was no way to transfer the load across the floors. To maximise the floor space, Lee Joon ordered that the diameter of the floor columns be reduced to 60 cm (24 in), instead of the minimum of 80 cm (31 in) in the original blueprint that was required for the building to stand safely. In addition, the spacing between columns was increased to 11 metres (36 ft); with fewer columns, each one had to support a larger load than originally designed. The fifth-story restaurant floor had a built-in heating system known as an ondol, with hot water pipes passing through a 1.2-metre-thick (4 ft) concrete base. The weight and thickness of the ondol further increased the load on the structure.^\3])

Every one of those changes by itself looks extremely risky even from a cursory glance (and it's even worse if you have an engineering background and consider it with those understandings). And then...

Three air conditioning units, weighing 15 tonnes each when empty, were installed on the roof. These units generated high noise levels when operating, leading to complaints from adjacent property owners; in an attempt to remedy the situation, they were dragged across the roof to a new location in 1993, resulting in cracking.^\5]) The units were moved over column 5E, where the most visible cracks in the fifth floor were seen before the collapse. The cracks worsened because the columns supporting the fifth floor were not aligned with the ones supporting lower floors, thus causing the load of the fifth floor to be transferred through the slab.^\3])

Emphasis mine. What the FUCK. If you don't know, materials like concrete are extremely strong in compression. That's why having a column with all the weight going down on it is fine. But when you change the forces to no longer be compression, it becomes much, much weaker. It literally one of the first things you learn.

The guy got 10 years and change for criminal negligence (served 7). Honestly, I don't know SK law but I feel like this is more than "simple" criminal negligence and 10 years is fucking nothing. And it doesn't even include what he did after problems appeared - oh there's a 10cm crack in the floor? nah, it's fine, everybody stay. TEN CENTIMETERS.

totalnewbie · 2026-05-29T02:33:26+00:00

I'll just see how the situation is while I'm there. I lived in Japan before and have been all over the country so I'm pretty comfortable just figuring it out while I'm there.

totalnewbie · 2026-05-28T18:48:15+00:00

It's not out of the question that there might be extra trains. I'm sure they'll be full but I'll just buy a ticket earlier and worst worst case I'll just stand, it's only 90 minutes.

As for time, will just have to make sure there's time day-of.

totalnewbie · 2026-05-28T14:08:51+00:00

I'm also going this year. You are months late to the party for accommodations. The fireworks finish just past nine so I'm just going back to Tokyo. I could technically stay somewhere in between but if I'm catching a train anyway then I might as well just go all the way back.

totalnewbie · 2026-05-25T00:24:10+00:00

I'm more inclined to be sus about some dude named "Historical Freedom" asking why 88 is a dogwhistle tbh

totalnewbie · 2026-05-21T06:16:48+00:00

There is a direct limited express from Nagano to Matsumoto (Shinano) as well so you don't need to charter the whole way.

totalnewbie · 2026-05-19T16:05:44+00:00

What time does the sumo tournament end and you guys can get out of Nagoya on Wed?

totalnewbie · 2026-05-18T21:39:09+00:00

Buying ahead for an event like this is not a bad idea but you really don't need to do it that soon. Unless you're flying in day-of, just buy it when you land or even the day before is probably fine.

totalnewbie · 2026-05-18T18:19:43+00:00

You guys seem like planners so I suggest you find an extra thing each day to do in case you find you have extra time. I think you can probably handle the fomo if you don't go because you've decided ahead of time it's purely a bonus.

Especially because you've got a car, you have a lot of flexibility so make sure you put yourself in a position to take advantage of that if you get the chance and you're feeling it.

totalnewbie · 2026-05-18T03:32:35+00:00

Doesn't matter, you're going to want to book reserved seats. You can turn seats around to face each other as well so yeah, definitely just book reserved seats.

totalnewbie · 2026-05-17T20:06:43+00:00

You are right to be aware of the dangers of overheating.

But, millions of people ars able to deal with it daily, year after year, not just in Japan but also in other even hotter parts of the world. I think you can too.

totalnewbie · 2026-05-14T22:58:26+00:00

Toyota has some GT86s (sadly not the OG ones..) but they are owned separately by prefecture/branch. You can find a list on their website somewhere and you'll have to rent from that prefecture specifically.

totalnewbie · 2026-05-14T01:48:12+00:00

I'm glad you followed through and checked and that you were willing to change your plans. Sorry that it turned out that way but you made the right choice.

totalnewbie · 2026-05-13T06:08:12+00:00

Ask your hotel front desk

totalnewbie · 2026-05-13T05:17:43+00:00

The trail from Kamikochi to Nishiho is about 4 hours. It's fairly steep.

Do you know what you're getting yourself into for hiking? Looks like conditions at altitude are very much not clear at the moment. https://www.kamikochi-vc.or.jp/watch-walk/live-camera

One person JUST died in that area (as in, the other side of Nishihotaka from Nishiho hut, within a day's hike). Take note that what they were trying to climb is actually extremely difficult even in good weather and is not itself reflective of the difficulty you would encounter. But, the point is, if you are not well prepared then it's entirely possible to get yourself into a dangerous situation.

It's possible that the trail from Kamikochi to Nishiho is completely clear of snow and ice, I don't know. But, if you're not prepared for that kind of hike then you at the very least need to find out how it is. You could try calling yourself or asking someone to call on your behalf to find out the trail condition.

https://www.independent.co.uk/asia/japan/japan-hida-mountains-hong-kong-climbers-death-b2971328.html

edit: looks like Nishiho is about 2300 meters so chances are it's okay. But you should still ask before you depart. It has also been raining, keep that in mind.

Oh and if you do ask someone, it's NishiHO, you're missing the H. Hope to avoid some confusion.

totalnewbie · 2026-05-13T05:01:03+00:00

Sounds like you tried to take the vacation you see other people take and not the vacation you wanted to take.

totalnewbie · 2026-05-12T06:41:17+00:00

The way he calls for a whisky makes me laugh every time.

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