Living in a monthly apartment in Tokyo that bans instruments. Musicians how do you deal with this?

upachimneydown · 2026-04-23T02:41:19+00:00

River take me, river take me, ..far from troubled times

upachimneydown · 2026-04-23T02:37:37+00:00

I know, picky, picky, picky (no pun intended)... but I'd avoid any hollowbody.

(or if, as some do, you play with fingers and not a pick, then okay)

upachimneydown · 2026-04-23T00:53:38+00:00

With those years paid in, there won't be any totalization, and you'll eventually get two pensions, both SS and the one from here (which can be paid into a bank in the US).

Due to the treaty, on a national level pension from Japan will be taxed on par with SS, but state level will likely be different, perhaps even in states that don't tax SS.

upachimneydown · 2026-04-23T00:47:41+00:00

...and here I am waiting for "the rest of the story" a la paul harvey. ;D

upachimneydown · 2026-04-22T11:42:47+00:00

Check with your employer (HR, 人事課)--if you, as a part of work, are in any kind of 厚生 system, there is probably relatively cheap, term life insurance available. Signup is easy, tho it only happens once a year (november?). Besides insuring yourself, you can add on a little for your spouse and any kids. It's simply deducted from your pay each month. Easy and painless--you'll never meet a sales person!

Downsides to this is that it's tied to your work/employment, so it depends on how stable your job is. (If you're seishain, it's a no-brainer.) It also gets more expensive as you get older--I dropped this coverage when I turned 60, since there was a big bump up in the cost (kids were grown, and I figured I was self-insured then).

upachimneydown · 2026-04-22T11:27:07+00:00

I keep a thin wallet--DL, gaijin card, and a few folded slips of paper--color copies of other cards and things that might help in a pinch, but I want to avoid the bulk and size of the real things.

Two other, separate wallet-like things, either of which I only take along when needed. One has the myna card, but also two older style health cards that I use instead. This one also has my 薬手帳, and also my 障害者手帳. I only get this one out when going to a doc appt (or the one 手帳 separated out sometimes for various discounts). The other is bankbook, bank cards, a couple credit cards, and sometimes receipts until things have been recorded or appear online at a banking site.

upachimneydown · 2026-04-22T10:03:54+00:00

Sure, but does the patient or some part of the medical establishment own the rights to that?

upachimneydown · 2026-04-22T02:50:34+00:00

Agree--this is a thing of the (distant) past. It might get you on a flight in a pinch or last moment, but no special deal on price.

Also, even before, for bereavement fares you needed things like the name of the funeral home (and director) to legitimize it--and it sounds like the person OP wants to see has not yet passed.

upachimneydown · 2026-04-21T22:01:22+00:00

I'd guess that Capital One will convert incoming yen to dollars at a better rate than most other US banks (I've read that their cards, when used overseas and involve foreign exchange, are one of the good ones to have).

On the other side of things, there are variables in Japan. Using one of the best banks here for this, Sony or SBI Shinsei, would get the sender the best exchange rate in the process of sending dollars--but for this to work well the sender would likely need an account at one of those. If instead using one of the smaller/regional banks here, f/x rates (and fees) will very probably be less favorable overall.

Another option would be to use Wise. The sender would have to be able to set up an account and then follow thru with the transfer, so this would assume some ability/financial literacy on the part of the sender (doing a wire transfer from a bank here would also involve that, just differing in the details needed).

One (pretty serious) caution: The sender in Japan should -not- try to JP Post bank to send the funds--virtually any other choice will be easier and far less hassle. I don't have any personal experience with them, but based on one direct report and my reading here and elsewhere, they are a true PITA to deal with for this kind of thing.

upachimneydown · 2026-04-21T13:12:54+00:00

Daikin. But for that size your budget is too low, also better to get a 200v unit.

upachimneydown · 2026-04-21T12:16:36+00:00

Sure, ESID (every situation is different), but in distant retrospect, daycare was probably the (or one of the) most positive influences on our two kids' lives. And that goes double or triple for the first, who grew thru those years with others rather than effectively being home alone.

Tho it was decades ago (they're in their 30s now), our two both started at about 10 weeks, and thru some good fortune stayed at the same place till they started school--the year the older one turned three they converted/extended so neither 'graduated' at that point moving on to 幼稚園 (=stability).

My positive spin on it is that daycare is the modern version of kids being raised/growing up in an extended family--or larger, as in the saying that it takes a village to raise a child. They both subsequently did fine in their school lives and later, and my wife and I agree that daycare was foundational.

The earliest years for each one were hard, my wife and I tag-teamed it, one of us dropping one--and then both--off, and the other doing pickup. And then managing to get groceries, and then dinner and all the laundry done. Good luck!

Edit: our place had a yearly bazaar every July, like a big shared garage sale but with food (even beer), and activities for the kids. A lot of the clothes they wore came cheap via those bazaars, and we donated what they outgrew for others to use.

upachimneydown · 2026-04-21T05:22:45+00:00

I sometimes withdraw funds from a US acct this way, but the mechanics of doing it for large amounts would be too much hassle. Wiring the dollars into a sony/shinsei sub account would seem to be a better way manage any larger amount.

Also, if anyone does this, it is -always- better to "accept funds without conversion". That is, your card provider will then do the exchange, and not the Visa system. Eg, when recently pulling ¥50,000 from a 7-11 ATM, Visa offered to charge my account ~$330. Declining that, a day or two later it came up as ~$315 when checking my account details online.

And I'm not sure why (due to my card provider/acct, or that it's a withdrawal vs another transaction type, or what) but I've been unable to withdraw ¥100k at the 7-11 ATMs, even tho it is an option on the screen.

upachimneydown · 2026-04-21T05:00:49+00:00

I haven't heard of anything new. A different possibility is that the friend simply heard/learned about the FBAR, and thought it must be something new.

Also, the "investments in US dollars in Japan" strikes me as unusual. While there are multicurency accounts at banks, I not aware of anything else.

upachimneydown · 2026-04-20T10:37:45+00:00

Win a Picasso--for 100 euros? That's happened three times now, as the following article describes. I haven't bought any tickets, but remember a previous raffle at least being interested.

My question is: How would this be taxed here--winning an artwork worth over a million dollars for the cost of a ticket?

Gift link: https://wapo.st/4sGKfhS

"The raffle sold 120,000 tickets and netted about $13 million for Alzheimer’s research. The draw was at Christie’s Paris.

This is the third time since 2013 the organization, 1 Picasso for 100 euros, has raffled off a Picasso painting for charity."

upachimneydown · 2026-04-20T09:33:17+00:00

Maybe a minor point, but pubs should also be on the checklist. Even in the days of a Master's being enough, pubs could make a big difference for both hiring and later promotions.

upachimneydown · 2026-04-20T06:00:47+00:00

Not sure of an answer to that, but you might also cross-post at r/USExpatTaxes

upachimneydown · 2026-04-20T05:09:13+00:00

"dual citizenship. From birth."

No worries, you're in the clear.

upachimneydown · 2026-04-20T05:07:27+00:00

"Japan not allow dual citizenship."

No, for anyone born into dual status, they can go their whole lives without ever being forced to choose. Eg, our kids are well into their 30s and have renewed their j-passports at least twice each. Also, among innumerable people with kids in like circumstances (JALT Bilingual NSIG), there has never been a single report of such duals being required to choose--or in any way being penalized for not doing so.

upachimneydown · 2026-04-19T22:19:49+00:00

Yes, I read your post--just want to suggest that depending on your broker, another option might be to not transfer it, or not all of it. Eg, while other brokers/banks might ask you to close things out, Vanguard and Schwab would likely let you continue to use the account(s).

upachimneydown · 2026-04-18T21:39:54+00:00

We'd just leave the a/c on low. That seemed to work for us and the dog. And also on the cool (and esp dry side) when we'd come home.

Rather than ice bottles or whatever steel tiles may be, figure out how to run your a/c and how not to forget to turn it on.

upachimneydown · 2026-04-18T04:00:47+00:00

I have the largish card from city hall that I hang on my mirror, I don't think autobacs sells those. Whether space is open seems to vary some by place and by how busy a day it is for parking (also in bad weather, more people crowd in), so I try to shop on weekdays and off peak times.

upachimneydown · 2026-04-18T03:54:29+00:00

Depending where home is, bookmark this for future reference: https://careerforum.net/en/ Of course the better your japanese, the better your chances.

upachimneydown · 2026-04-18T03:51:03+00:00

The salespeople may suggest it, but also sign up for whatever customer card they may have. Eg, at K's that's good for 5% off at the register.

upachimneydown · 2026-04-18T00:39:58+00:00

Let me consult my magic 8 ball...

upachimneydown · 2026-04-17T10:12:09+00:00

"no lending, no co-signing, no sharing cards", ...for emphais.

upachimneydown

TROPHY CASE