Dealing with a bad neighbor in Japan
Having bad neighbors can be a nightmare. Having bad neighbors in Japan, with its bureaucratic mountain to climb, a language barrier to overcome and not wanting to upset the wa (harmony) between every…
The archive
Lifestyle — page 8
Browse lifestyle in the Akihabara archive.
Pollen (Hay fever) Season
With spring round the corner, people are gearing up for the pollen allergy season. Man-made pine forests emanate huge amounts of pollen, making those with allergies suffer a lot. Any ideas …
Snowball Fight in Uonuma
About 1,200 people have taken part in a snowball fight in Uonuma, Niigata Prefecture, on the Japan Sea coast. Sunday's event was the 29th contest held in the city. This year 240 teams …
Take a tour of a modern Japanese house
For avid anime watchers, it is common to see anime characters living in an apartment and learning that space is a premium in metropolitan areas in Japan. Though sometimes anime does show actual house…
Japanese Pension Fund
When working in Japan, it is mandatory for an employee to make payments to Japan Pension Fund. If you are leaving Japan for good, you can take back what you paid, but there is an upper limit. Le…
Japan Has a Word for ‘Working to Death’
Death from overwork and ceaseless overtime are closely related to the rise of what in Japan are known as burakku kigyo, loosely translated as “dark companies” or “evil corporations.”
Why is it so difficult to put a child in a daycare center in Japan?
Questions about Japan answered directly from Akihabara, Tokyo!
Child care support seen helping to drive influx of residents to Tokyo
The number of Japanese moving into Tokyo and nearby prefectures was higher than those who left for the 21st straight year in 2016, with the availability of child care support proving a big draw in ce…
Akihabara M's Pop Life Sex Department Store
M's Pop Life store even among the streets of Akihabara is a rarity – an appreciated rarity. On my trip to Tokyo I made it an important place to visit because of all the stuff I’d heard about. My…
Japanese Pachinko Slot Game Generates More Revenue Than Las Vegas and Macau Combined
Last month, legislators in Japan passed a law that legalizes casino gambling in the country. It ended 15 years of political back-and-forth and paves the way for the eventual development of …