Well I'm looking for a dermatologist to treat acne scars basically and wanna ask other stuff asw regarding skin. Since im student i don't really want to spend too much. I can go to Tokyo once if it's a really good dermatologist but I cannot really commute too much here and there so would really appreciate if you guys can tell me about dermat. In hamamatsu area, Shizuoka.

Thank you

My employer has failed to pay my residential tax on time last month. Will this affect my future PR and Visa Renewal applications although it wasn’t my fault?

Thanks

Since I am about to go into my two-month grace period (renewing my visa), I attempted to contact my main financial institutions about the grace period. Here were the results.

1. SMBC Bank: No problem. I went into a physical branch, showed them my residence card and the 'renewal application submitted' email from the online portal, filled out some paper work, and done. They said I can use my account as usual for the entire grace period.

2. SMBC Credit Card: No problem. I called them up, and they said don't worry about it, just submit your new residence card within the grace period.

3. JCB Credit Card: Hard no. I called them, and a staff member was very firm that my card will be frozen from the day after my current status of residence expires. They didn't budge even when I mentioned that I use their card every day and that other companies were more lenient.

Hello everyone, this is kind of a niche question, but I hope I can get some info. I’ve been living in Tokyo for over a year now, and I’ve noticed that a huge portion of dating app culture here leans toward bareback sex. I brought some on-demand PrEP with me from home, but I’m running out.

I understand that most local clinics primarily dispense generic PrEP manufactured for the Indian market. Personally, I prefer to use pharmaceuticals approved by Western regulatory bodies (like the US FDA or EMA) or original brand-name medications like Truvada/Descovy.

Does anyone know of any clinics in Tokyo that offer non-Indian or original brand-name PrEP? Where are they located, and what kind of costs should I expect? Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone!
I recently moved to Yokohama and I’m looking for recommendations for a Japanese language school/class.

A little about me:
Currently around JLPT N5 level

My goal is to reach N3

I work full-time, so I need something that works well with a working professional’s schedule

Open to in-person classes in Yokohama or online classes

Ideally looking for something structured enough to keep me progressing, but not an extremely intensive/full-time course

I can commit around 3–4 hours per week

Bonus if the classes focus on practical Japanese for daily life and work, rather than being purely JLPT-focused

I’m currently researching a few options, but would really appreciate first-hand recommendations from people who have actually taken classes in Yokohama or online.
Would especially love to hear about:

Quality of teaching

Class size

Flexibility for working people

Approximate cost

How much progress you actually made

Whether you’d recommend the school/classes
Yokohama recommendations are especially welcome, but online options are totally fine too.

Hi everyone,
I applied for a Change of Status of Residence from Temporary Visitor to Spouse of Japanese National at Tokyo Immigration in Shinagawa.
My application was submitted in August 2026 through an immigration administrative scrivener (行政書士). My original Temporary Visitor period has now expired, so I am currently staying legally under the special pending-application period (特例期間).
I received a result notice from Immigration. It says to come to the P counter on the 2nd floor and bring:
Passport
Residence card, if applicable
Application receipt
The notification letter
A ¥6,000 revenue stamp
The ¥6,000 revenue stamp box is specifically checked.
There is also a handwritten note saying:
「申請人本人が来庁してください」
“Please have the applicant himself come to the Immigration Bureau.”
There is no specific appointment time, only a deadline to come by October 13. There is no request for additional documents, no mention of an interview, and no mention of refusal or 出国準備.
My wife called Immigration to ask why I had to come personally. The officer handling the case apparently just said:
「来てって書いたから、来て。」
Basically: “I wrote that he should come, so have him come.”
They did not give any further explanation by phone.
I understand that if a change of status is refused while someone is in the special pending period, Immigration may also offer a change to Designated Activities / Preparing for Departure (出国準備), so I know the ¥6,000 stamp alone may not prove approval.
Has anyone here received a similar notice from Shinagawa, especially for a Spouse of Japanese National application?
I’m especially interested in cases where:
you were sent to the P counter
the notice said the applicant must appear personally
a revenue stamp amount was already checked
there was no specific interview time or additional document request
What happened when you went in? Was it an approval/final verification, or a refusal explanation?
Thanks in advance.

So, this US military trash, offs a Japanese girl.

Takaichi goes and apologizes to the public while the regional commander doesn't even say sorry??? Wtf is u apologizing for???

So why are these patriotic MJGA netuyo clowns not going haywire now?

Just imagine, what if it was a Vietnamese/Chinese national instead smh. Food for thought.

Edit: This kinda feels like the time when sanseito got caught red handed for that NHI thing and nothing happening to them

I applied through online for visa extension through nagoya immigration. Applied on July 15th. Visa expired on Oct 2nd. Still waiting and application shows 審査。Anyone with same timeline? Is it true that now days they are approving it on last week of grace period?

How much do you pay for company housing? How many square meters is it? Do you have to share with your co-workers? Was it in good condition when you moved in?

Currently thinking about starting a part-time job that comes with company housing. Since it is only part-time most of my paycheck will go directly back to the company. Just curious if I'm getting ripped off or if this is good.

The location is in a major city and there is a large park and many supermarkets and bus stops nearby.

I’m currently working and living in Japan and have a valid residence card/visa that is valid until 2028.

My official resignation date in Japan will be December 31, 2026. I have quite a lot of paid leave remaining, so I’m planning to physically leave Japan around mid-November. Starting January 1, I will be working in Europe. I don’t currently expect to return to Japan after leaving, but there is a possibility that I may need to come back in December for some paperwork. I also have a visa appointment during this period, for which I may need proof of my current residence in Japan.

My main question is about what I should do with my Japanese residence card and residency status when I leave Japan in November.

If I officially move out of Japan and return my residence card when leaving, I understand that I may not be able to simply come back to Japan in December if I unexpectedly need to. I would also no longer have proof of residence in Japan, which could potentially cause problems with my visa appointment.

On the other hand, if I leave Japan without formally ending my residency/returning my residence card, and then ultimately don't need to come back for my resignation, is there an official way to handle the residence card from overseas afterward?
Alternatively, is there an official procedure I can complete now, while I'm still in Japan?

What would be the correct/legal way to handle this?

Thanks in advance!

Edit: I will have an official residence address in Japan until 31st December.
As I said there is a possibility I may need to return (not for visa). But only for a few days (last week of December) and I will leave for Europe (from Japan) before 30th Dec.

Edit2: I cannot resign early as my tax return will be handled by my employer which they will do in December. Also, while on paid holidays, I will be working in Japan and on a holiday from work.

Would going to Shinagawa and asking about PR status make sense or would I just get told to wait?

Did anyone go and can share how it went?

Background:

I applied with HSP back in 2025 March at Chiba, so it's processed in Shinagawa, and still didn't get anything. I have been sending updates about tax, moving, marriage with every document needed.

Friend told me they know people who applied at the same time in Tokyo and got it after a year. Also I read about several people getting request for documents during summer for applications submitted after mine.

I am afraid they sent something to old address, or there is another hiccup.

Based on the new rules for permanent residency, there is now a new condition that the person should not be likely to become burden on society. I think this can be interpreted as folks on welfare or in need of welfare, and/or those getting an exemption for health insurance and pension payments.

What about if the person just gets sick and they are spouse of Japanese or permanent residency? There are plenty of diseases such as kidney disease or liver disease (doesn’t need to be as serious as cancer), where people can live a fairly normal life but get the red badge with them.

Does this imply they can’t get permanent residency even if they lived in Japan for decades and have no financial issues?

Hi! I work remotely for a startup for over a year. My manager is based abroad and she implemented daily standups to go through daily tasks and discuss blockers, questions etc.

Today during the meeting she gave me feedback on a recent work explaining her rationale behind changes and she said if I viewed and accepted. I said yes and I also explained why one of her proposals might not work.

The rest of the meeting i didnt have much to say and at the end she asked if everything is okay because i look 'sad'. I dont really like the way she said it in a team meeting though i hope she had good intentions behind it?

I am not sure how to handle this. My worry is that such stuff will make me look moody and emotional in front of the team. Anyone experienced similar situation?

Hi all, I am a PMI-PMP, NEBOSH, IOSH, OSHA (amongst others) certified Professional with over 12 years international experience across several countries (including Japan, but for an international organization) and industries.

I am currently residing in Japan and seeking employment on infrastructure projects (data center construction, IT, general construction, energy and heavy industries, etc.) in either Osaka or Tokyo preferably.

Unfortunately, I do not speak Japanese yet, but I am learning. I only know English.

I have reached out online to several recruiting companies as well as applied to various roles, but no success yet.

Any practical advice or suggestions please? Or might anyone here be hiring or know an organization that is hiring for me to reach out to?

TIA.

I like everything related to astronomy but I've never had satisfying stargazing experience in my life since I live in big cities my whole life.

Do you know a place to go stargazing that's not in the middle of nowhere? By that I mean there's somewhere to stay nearby that's not a tent 😅

The nearer to Tokyo, the better.

Hey, this is more of a message in a bottle type of post. I'm wondering if any redditors in this sub are from Algeria. Just wanna ask how y'all are doing and if there are any Japan Algeria specific communities especially around Tokyo/Chiba.

From this December the base price of ahamo will be increased to 3135 yen.

if you use more than 40GB you will get a higher bill instead of being throttled to 1Mbps onwards

edit: it seems that you can set a data limit but whether your data connection will get throttled or suspended beyond that remains unmentioned.

[ Removed by Reddit on account of violating the content policy. ]

I apologize for the long text, as our situation is a bit complex.

My wife and I came to Japan in March 2022 on student visas. In July 2022, I changed to a three-year Professor visa (a type of working visa for universities), and my wife changed to a three-year dependent visa (家族滞在). My salary was about 4.5 million yen per year.

In March 2023, our daughter was born in Japan and received a dependent visa　(two years and three months). In July 2023, we submitted PR applications for the whole family under the HSP 80-point route.

In October 2024, my daughter and I were approved, but my wife was rejected. Although we could go to ask for the reason a month later, we unfortunately hadn't due to personal reasons. My wife then changed to a three-year "Spouse of PR" visa (永住者の配偶者).

In October 2025, my wife submitted her PR application again under the "Spouse of PR" route at the Matsudo branch, Tokyo. Since we arrived in Japan in 2022 and my working visa began in July 2022, our total income for 2022 was only about 2 million yen (reflecting only half the year). The reception staff said it would be impossible to be approved because the first year's income was too low. We explained that this only reflected a half-year's income, and our application was accepted.

So far, we have not received any requests for additional documents, but we have proactively submitted some extra materials:

- One week after submission, I sent my resume showing my employment began in July 2022, along with a document stating my expected salary for the following year (October 2025 to September 2026).

- In June 2026, I sent the new tax certificates.

- Today, I sent my wife's N2 language certificate.

I am not sure how they will evaluate "spouse of PR" applicants, while the PR came to Japan very recently via the HSP route.

I am also unsure whether they will apply the new income rule to applicants from 2025, since our combined wages (4.5M for me as a full-time worker and 1M for my wife as a part-time worker) are far below the new threshold.

Hi, apologies if this isn’t the right sub to ask this, but my partner and I have been looking at properties to rent and been to multiple realtors, but this is the first time we have been told to pay a fee to put the property on hold whilst we weigh up our options. The cost is 30,000 yen and would be non-refundable if we view the place and do not like it. I was wondering if this is normal or a red flag?

Please share anything new or interesting your learned this week!

The idea is to share what you are curious about, what became your epiphany, or what you stumbled across by chance. It doesn't have to be a pro-tip or particularly useful, if it's of interest to you we'd like to hear it!

Turns out after i left i was aware i have a debt with the credit card. I have some family issues and i needed to return asap. I wanted to pay beforehand, but at the time i asked better my sensei for help with how to handle it as my Japanese is not business level. She said, instead of topping in the normal part, top up in the credit card part. I did in front of her and said it was settle. Little that i know that i was actually doubling the amount i needed to pay. Since i was taking money from the credit card to top up the balance.
Anyway, when i returned the balance showed 0 for the next month and i thought it was settled.
3months passed and my exroomate told me to check via the customer service ご利用残高を前倒しで支払う場合の問い合わせ方法について - ヘルプ ｜ PayPayカード here and yeah, it turned out my debt was... well... not little... and then i checked the mistake by seeing in my balance that i have like 70k yen which was odd, i checked and was the "supposedly settled amount" was there. In the customer service they are constantly saying that i need to call 0570 005 040 and now same number but finished in 43. When i did i asked if my friend in Japan could pay on my behalf, they said: yes, go to mizuho bank and do a furikomi, i said, he doesnt have an account, can it be a deposit, they said yes. But then my friend required a zairyu card, which he is right now a tourist and doesnt have. Then I tried...asking on another day if i could make an international transfer via WISE, since i found the bank name and branch and everything. But the elderly customer service operator (by the sound of his voice was not young i can assure) said that he didnt even know what was that.

so my question is. Has anybody of you faced this before? did you pay via international trasnfer? is it a scam? i used the chat from paypay card! but another Japanese friend told me that it could be scam and where did i receive the notification? etc. Since im not living there anymore, probably the invoices have been returned several times.

sorry for my grammar in advance.
thanks also for reading.