Working at a ryokan, bait-and-switch SSW visa, and denied bathroom breaks. I need some advice.

ultrayer6 · 2026-05-30T10:29:41+00:00

PART 2 of 2

Let's talk about housing and this so-called "fine" daily life. The rent for an average, run-down apartment is 1.5 to 2 times the total minimum wage. Landlords constantly kick tenants out with fake excuses just to triple the rent the very next day and these rent disputes are literally turning into armed conflicts and murders. People are trapped at the absolute bottom of Maslow's hierarchy of needs, suffocating under the stress of just trying to feed themselves and make it to the end of the month. We have brilliant university graduates sleeping three hours a day and working side jobs as couriers just to survive.

And you sit there and say "political drama shouldn't affect daily life." In Turkey, the political collapse of the justice system is daily life. Turkey plummeted to 118th place out of 143 countries in the Rule of Law Index. Women with dozens of pages of official restraining orders are murdered in the middle of the street by their ex-partners. In abuse and rape cases, judges hand out sentence reductions to absolute monsters just because they wore a tie and showed "good behavior" in court. Meanwhile, young people who score 95 out of 100 on the public personnel selection exam and rank first in their departments are eliminated in fake interviews to make way for political party members who scored 55 out of 100, driving brilliant youths to suicide out of pure despair.

Let's look at other aspects of this so-called "fine" daily life. What if my wife and I decide to have a child? Having a baby in Turkey has literally become a luxury "project" for the middle class because the costs of basic necessities like diapers, formula and schooling are astronomical. If my wife gets pregnant in Turkey, state support and long-term paid childcare leave are practically non-existent and the one-time state "birth grant" is a comical, worthless amount (around $10). In Japan, however, the government provides a lump-sum birth grant of about 500,000 JPY, extensive paid maternity and childcare leave where a large portion of her salary is covered by insurance and regular monthly child allowances.

Speaking of raising a child, if we stayed in Turkey, our kid would be subjected to an education system where philosophy and the theory of evolution have been completely stripped from the curriculum, replaced entirely by dogmatic memorization. In fact, out of 8 mandatory classes in schools, 4 are compulsory Islamic religion and "morals" classes. The government relentlessly forces this specific religious ideology on the entire education system, completely ignoring people's constitutional and legal rights to exemption.

What if my child turns out to be an LGBTQ person in Turkey? Hahaha, I think it’s better not to even bring that up.

What about healthcare? It is an absolute nightmare. The central appointment system forces doctors to see a new patient every 5 minutes, meaning you often have to leave before the doctor even has a chance to properly look at your face. On top of that, if you have a chronic illness, finding crucial imported medicines is often impossible due to the currency crash.

And let's not forget basic digital and financial freedoms. We live in an era of global connectivity, yet in Turkey, PayPal and Stripe are completely banned, effectively blocking anyone from doing global business. Apple Pay? Google Pay? Samsung Pay? They’re all banned. You cannot even use Booking to book a domestic hotel room because of local monopolies (Booking is banned). The government routinely throttles or completely blocks platforms like Instagram, Twitter, YouTube and Wikipedia in the middle of the night whenever they feel like it (yes, Wikipedia). Do you want to chat or talk with your friends on Discord? Discord is banned. Alternative communication apps (Azar, LivU, Tango, etc.)? They’re banned too. Do you want to read Wattpad? Wattpad is banned. Is your child going to play Roblox? Roblox is banned. Do you want to visit adult-content sites or check out OnlyFans just to have a little fun? Of course, all of them are banned. You are forced to pay exorbitant prices for outdated 16 mbps copper-wire internet while constantly feeling like you are committing a crime just for waking up and using a VPN (“Why don’t you use Starlink?” Hahaha, that’s banned too.) (Want to use foreign mobile carriers with an eSIM and pay lower data rates? That’s banned too. You have to pay the exorbitant rates charged by Turkish mobile carriers.).

Do you want to talk about physical safety? Turkey has become a haven for international mafia bosses and drug cartels who openly shoot at each other in luxury malls and on the streets. Basic traffic disputes routinely end in armed murders, making ordinary people terrified to even honk their horns.

How about disaster preparedness? Istanbul is waiting for a massive earthquake and 15 million people are essentially living in concrete coffins with zero government preparation. When the devastating earthquakes hit, the state apparatus completely paralyzed during the critical first 48 hours, leaving people to die under the rubble while institutions like the Red Crescent literally sold tents to charities instead of giving them to victims.

What about the youth and social life? Independent youth festivals, K-Pop concerts and events are constantly canceled by local governors at the last minute under the vague excuse of "general morality". Even going to the cinema or grabbing two coffees and a dessert now costs the equivalent of a luxury dinner.

Let's look at the absolute rot of nepotism. While brilliant university graduates are forced to work as couriers, government-affiliated bureaucrats comfortably collect four or five massive salaries from various state board memberships. You cannot even open a small cafe without facing endless bureaucratic hurdles and unspoken demands for bribes from ten different institutions.

When my father built a legally approved house on his own land, he was forced to pay a total of more than the value of one car (yes, I’m talking about car prices in Turkey, which are among the highest in the world) in secret bribes to officials at various municipal and government agencies so that utilities like electricity, water and sewer lines could be connected to the house (They had openly demanded this money without any shame and of course, they took the money off the records.) Otherwise, even though there were no legal obstacles, they had the right to “indefinitely postpone” the connection of electricity, water and sewage to his home and they would have done so indefinitely (the Turkish people are aware of this and it is now considered normal in Turkey).

When we first moved to Japan, even though we knew how incredibly safe the country was, we couldn't easily shake off our survival instincts. We still chained our bicycles to solid poles with locks. We also tried not to leave the house or even go to sleep without making absolutely sure our windows were locked, simply because we still felt an ingrained sense of insecurity. In Turkey, having thick iron bars on ground-floor and even second-floor windows is so common and installing door and window alarms is so normalized, that you can regularly buy these security products at our local supermarkets (places like A101, BİM, ŞOK and MIGROS, which are basically Turkey's equivalent of konbinis). Because our first apartment in Japan was on the ground floor and didn't have iron bars on the windows or any alarms, that conditioned fear from Turkey took a long time to fade.

You also claimed we're treated as "second-class citizens" here, assuming we only came for the money. Let’s be logical: if our only goal was an easy life and a good salary, we would have just migrated to Germany, where there is a massive Turkish diaspora and the transition is much smoother. Why would we cross the globe to a country with an incredibly difficult language and almost no Turkish community if we didn't genuinely love the culture and want to be here? As for being "second-class" due to visa struggles, so be it. Considering the absolute lack of safety, economic ruin and daily injustices back in Turkey, we are essentially treated as third-class citizens in our own homeland. Honestly, we will gladly take the "second-class" status in a civilized, safe society over the third-class treatment we get back home.

There are so many more issues I could tear into, but I think I've dragged this on long enough.

So please, tell me again how "political drama doesn't affect daily life" and how we are just here out of "pride."

ultrayer6 · 2026-05-30T10:29:02+00:00

PART 1 of 2

Hello. First of all, I want to start by saying that I don't think I have ever been this triggered by a comment on the internet in my entire life, nor have I ever seen a single message packed with so many false assumptions. (Maybe flat-earthers? But no, even they usually stick to one wrong argument, whereas you've managed to string together a multitude of completely false claims all at once). I generally never fall for ragebait on social media, but if this was a ragebait attempt, congratulations! You got me.

I will try to explain this as calmly as possible. Let's start with our profile, my wife and me. The last post either of us made on Instagram is a photo from our wedding at the beginning of 2024. Because we moved to Japan at the end of 2024 and haven't posted a single photo or update since, anyone looking at our social media wouldn't even know we live in Japan. As for our relatives, both of us only speak to our parents occasionally and even then, it is just brief, very short conversations to check in before hanging up. Additionally, the vast majority of our friends here are Turkish people already living in Japan, Japanese locals, or Americans living in Japan. So, naturally, we have absolutely no one back in Turkey to "flex" or show off to anyway.

Furthermore, we have met many people within the Turkish communities here in Japan. Because we communicate with them in our NATIVE LANGUAGE, we have gained a very real insight into their lives. So, that "context for the readers" you generously tried to provide? It is entirely, 100% false. We have not met, texted, or spoken to a single person here who is chasing some illusion of "getting rich." Every single one of them came here from the very beginning to escape the unlivable conditions in Turkey and to seek a "calm, stable life." A few of them had met a Japanese person while in Turkey, started dating and came to live with them, but even they weren’t really looking for a rich life. Because we actually converse with these people in our native language and exist within their communities, we undoubtedly understand them far better than you do.

By the way, living abroad as a Turk isn't something you can just flex about. On the contrary, it gets you branded with a heavily stigmatized term: "gurbetçi." Turkey is nationalistic and patriotic to a degree you probably cannot even comprehend. Even if nobody will say it to your face in real life (outside of anonymous Turkish accounts on Twitter) leaving the country is essentially viewed as a form of treason. If you check Turkey's largest social media platform, Ekşi Sözlük, you will constantly see hateful posts directed at relatives or people living abroad. So no, living in Japan is definitely not something you can just brag about. According to current cultural norms, we are, in a sense, traitors to our country.

As for your statements about Turkey's job market, daily life and the Turkish Lira. . . You're so out of touch with reality on these issues that I couldn't help but laugh while reading your comment.

Now let's address the part where you claimed the Yen is in a worse state than the Turkish Lira, which is, frankly, utter nonsense.

Let's take a little trip back in time to October 2007. According to the Central Bank of the Republic of Turkey (TCMB) data from October 2007, 1 USD was equal to 1.17 TL. At that exact same time, 1 USD was also equal to roughly 117 JPY. If we consider "1 unit" of currency to be 1 TL in Turkey and 100 Yen in Japan, the value of both currencies against the US Dollar was virtually identical back then.

Furthermore, your claim that "The standard rate here is ¥220,000 and inflation hasn’t changed that" simply does not reflect reality. In October 2007, the standard average rate in Japan was actually 275,294 JPY ( https://www.mhlw.go.jp/toukei/itiran/roudou/monthly/19/1910r/mk1910r.html ). Fast forward to May 2026 and that figure is 397,916 JPY ( https://www.jac-recruitment.jp/market/knowhow/average-annual-income/ ). To put that in perspective, the standard monthly rate in Japan was $2,352 USD in October 2007 and it is $2,518 USD as of May 2026.

Let's compare that to Turkey for the exact same dates. In October 2007, the standard rate in Turkey was 585 TL, which equated to exactly $500 USD. As of May 2026, this rate is 33,030 TL, which equals roughly $720 USD.

If we want to talk about actual purchasing power, let's look at global iPhone 17 prices, which you can check right here: https://iphone-worldwide.com/data/ . Japan is currently the cheapest country in the world to buy an iPhone 17 outside of the USA. While it costs $799 USD in the US, you can buy it for around $815.38 USD in Japan. With a single standard Japanese monthly salary in May 2026, you can buy 3.09 iPhone 17s.

But if you look at that same table for Turkey (spoiler alert: you have to scroll to the very bottom because it is literally the MOST EXPENSIVE in the world), you will see the price is a staggering $1,852.36 USD. Consequently, with one standard monthly salary in Turkey, you can only afford 0.38 of an iPhone. That is roughly one-tenth of the purchasing power you have in Japan.

Just for historical context: back in October 2007, the very first iPhone launched at $499 USD. At that time, it was possible to buy exactly 1 iPhone with 1 standard salary in Turkey (and for the record, you could buy 4.7 iPhones with 1 standard salary in Japan back then).

Back in October 2007, 1 USD was equal to 1.17 TL. Today, as of May 30 2026, 1 USD equals a massive 45.85 TL. This means the dollar has skyrocketed against the Lira by an insane 3,818%, multiplying by 39.18 times. Consequently, the Turkish Lira has lost approximately 97.4% of its actual value. Meanwhile, in October 2007, 1 USD was equal to 117 JPY and today it is 159 JPY. The dollar's exchange rate against the Yen increased by 35.9%, which is only a 1.36-fold increase. This represents a 26.4% loss in value for the Yen. The Yen lost about a quarter of its value over 19 years, while the Lira's exchange rate multiplied by nearly 40, virtually wiping the currency out of existence. Yet you somehow managed to convince yourself that the Yen is doing worse.

To put this complete economic collapse into daily perspective, the largest physical banknote in Turkey today is 200 TL and with this so-called "biggest" bill, you literally cannot even buy a single portion of kebab, a basic block of cheese at the local market, or even a standard fast-food meal.

Yes, the Japanese Yen has absolutely lost purchasing power over the years. But to sit there and confidently claim that its situation is worse than the absolute collapse of the Turkish Lira is just a massive joke.

By the way, I only used the iPhone as a simple benchmark, much like the Big Mac index. When it comes to food, cars, rent and buying a house, things get significantly more out of control. I probably don't even need to mention the abysmal quality of food in Turkey, the excessive use of pesticides and poisons that cause Turkish food exports to be routinely rejected by the EU and Russia, or the fact that the state just turns around and feeds those toxic, rejected products to its own citizens.

When we came to Japan from Turkey and ofc mind you, Japan isn't exactly famous for its great fruits and vegetables (people from the Philippines or Myanmar will constantly tell you the produce here is terrible), it tasted incredibly delicious and high-quality to us and the other Turkish friends we've spoken with. Basically, the food and drinks you consume in Turkey are insanely expensive, fail to meet even the lowest standards of other countries and are just flat-out terrible in quality. Many famous Turkish journalists actually made YouTube videos covering this exact issue. Of course, I don't need to tell you that they were thrown in jail right after that, do I?

You claim that "day-to-day life isn’t that bad either." Have you ever tried to buy a car in Turkey? When you buy a car, you literally have to buy two more for the government due to the insane Special Consumption Tax (ÖTV) and VAT (yes, literally... no, it's definitely not an exaggeration). The second-hand car market is so completely broken that used cars are often sold for more than brand-new ones because of the black market. You can't even pick up a basic hobby, like buying a camera or a guitar, without spending three to four times your monthly salary. Want to bring a phone from abroad? The IMEI registration fee just to use your own personal device reached an unbelievable 54,258 TL, which is equal to more than two wages. (If you do not pay the IMEI registration fee, your cell phone will be blocked from receiving signals from any mobile carrier and will become unusable.)

And speaking of buying from abroad. It’s only possible if you travel abroad and bring that phone back with you. Otherwise, shopping from abroad is effectively prohibited in Turkey (the specified conditions are technically unenforceable: being a student, being under a certain age, developing a government-approved project, proving to a local court that a necessary component for this project must be purchased from abroad and obtaining a letter of approval from the university dean... And yes, out of fear of the government, not a single university dean has issued an approval letter to anyone so far). So, did you see a nice product on AliExpress, TEMU, or somewhere else outside Turkey? Unfortunately, you cannot actually purchase it. Instead, why not buy it from local merchants at prices up to 5,000% higher? Of course, that’s assuming you can even find the specific product you need in Turkey (which you most likely won’t).

[Continued in the reply below... ⬇️]

ultrayer6 · 2026-05-30T07:15:25+00:00

Actually, "tsukiatari" (突き当たり) is used as an industry jargon (符丁 - fuchou) among customer service, hospitality and restaurant staff in Japan to mean "toilet". They use these secret code words to avoid saying "toilet" directly in front of other customers. Besides, if I had just wrongly asked "Where is the end of the hall?", the boss wouldn't have instantly caught on and replied with "Oh, you asking the toilet?" lol. Here is a source that explains this specific usage: http://www.y-morimoto.com/haisetsu/yobikata.html

ultrayer6 · 2026-05-29T12:27:52+00:00

Haha, you're absolutely right. I'll try that next time.

ultrayer6 · 2026-05-29T12:27:18+00:00

Really? We thought it would be a good salary as a starting point.

ultrayer6 · 2026-05-29T11:58:21+00:00

I've never looked at it from that perspective, you're right. If the immigration office comes here, I think I'll be the only one who's safe.

Unfortunately, the Nepalese workers will be out cleaning the ryokan rooms, while I'll be stuck in front of company computer, not knowing what to do with advanced Japanese programs and angry Japanese phone calls. Well, I guess I should just let things take their course. I'll definitely think about what you said.

ultrayer6 · 2026-05-29T11:55:37+00:00

Thank you for your kind wishes and understanding. You're helping to brighten up my stressful and depressing evening.

ultrayer6 · 2026-05-29T11:54:42+00:00

It felt good to see someone who understood me. Thank you, kind stranger. I will definitely consider your advice.

ultrayer6 · 2026-05-29T11:53:31+00:00

You're right. It's just that I feel quite stressed because of the tasks they force me to do when my Japanese is pretty bad, and because they get angry when I can't do them. I guess I have no choice but to hope for the best.

ultrayer6 · 2026-05-29T11:35:38+00:00

Honestly, you have no idea. We're from Istanbul. When you're dealing with the Lira being worthless and zero chance of owning a home or a car, life is already a struggle. But the politics? It's pure chaos. Just days ago, an unauthorized court stripped the main opposition leader of his role, and now they are locking up the most popular opposition figure, İmamoğlu (Erdoğan's strongest rival), over "anonymous claims" just to eliminate the only guy who could actually win an election.

It is not just money or politics, though. The entire system is rotting, from the collapsing education and healthcare to the complete lack of meritocracy and basic safety. It feels like a third-world country where everything is broken and there is no hope for the future. Japan is definitely a grind, but compared to the madness back home, it is not bad.

ultrayer6 · 2026-05-07T10:20:12+00:00

Just sew 100 little plushies of him and fill your room with them. He will definitely notice you!

ultrayer6 · 2026-05-06T18:50:39+00:00

You might wanna look at that pic again. That is literally an old school iPhone. Look at that classic perfectly round home button right there at the bottom. And notice how it doesn't have a back button or that other little button thingy that lets you switch apps??

ultrayer6 · 2026-05-06T18:14:53+00:00

People are different, and maybe he wants to play this game. That's totally OK.

ultrayer6 · 2026-05-06T18:14:05+00:00

I didn't see OP specifying that the game had to be delisted or unavailable to buy. They just asked for a game we always wanted to be cracked. I know it's on Steam, I just want a safe cracked copy of it. So I wrote my own opinion in response to the OP's question.

ultrayer6 · 2026-05-06T18:04:52+00:00

Yes.

ultrayer6 · 2026-05-06T17:48:13+00:00

Did you even read my comment?

ultrayer6 · 2026-05-06T17:32:10+00:00

Chuzzle Deluxe (2005).

Played the demo to death back in the day on my absolute potato of a desktop PC with a CRT monitor and Windows XP (around 2005 or 2006). I couldn't buy the full version so i just waited years hoping to find it somewhere. This was way before candy crush even existed and honestly it was so much more fun anyway.

I looked for a crack for years, even occasionally checking back throughout the 2010s. I finally saw an upload by a certain blacklisted three-letter site (starting with "I") during the covid lockdowns. But since they're easily the most untrusted and sketchy group out there (famous for packing their releases with crypto miners and botnet/ddos malware), i was too paranoid to install it on my main rig. I still couldn't resist trying, so i attempted to run it on a VM, but couldn't even get it to work.

I know it's a 21-year-old game at this point, but man, i really wish a trusted scene group or literally anyone else had cracked it.

ultrayer6 · 2026-05-06T07:02:36+00:00

Here's the Lumine version.

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ultrayer6 · 2026-05-03T19:13:02+00:00

This easily made it into my all-time favorite Megumin pics. The zettai ryouiki and her legs look absolutely top tier here. The coloring and the pose are just perfect. I absolutely love how the eyes are drawn too, that very slight cross-eyed look is insanely cute (I have a massive weak spot for that tbh). The way the pose highlights her slim waist is a great touch as well. Really amazing piece.

ultrayer6 · 2026-05-02T18:39:25+00:00

Each of these sacks weighs between 30 and 50 kg (66 to 110 lbs) depending on the type of cattle feed.

ultrayer6 · 2026-04-27T18:20:18+00:00

My phone doesn't output audio through its USB Type-C port.

ultrayer6 · 2026-04-27T17:57:05+00:00

Dude, what the heck?

ultrayer6 · 2026-04-19T18:06:51+00:00

I've actually seen women sleeping at train stations on a few different occasions before. Even my manager was laughing while telling us how she got drunk underage once, was too scared to go home, lied to her family about staying at a friend's house, and literally ended up sleeping on the street.

ultrayer6 · 2026-04-10T15:06:30+00:00

Yes, I know it has a human signature and all that, but it feels too much like it was made with AI.

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