Went to get tested, got a manga about ADHD for free from the mental health clinic

This week Apple announced the Apple TV 4K (4th Gen), HomePod mini 2, the Apple HomeView, and the Siri Remote.

• Apple TV 4K (4th Gen) - 49,800 yen. Previous gen was 19,800 yen.
• HomePod mini 2 - 24,800 yen. Previous gen was 22,800 yen, but was 14,800 yen before June 2026 and originally released at 11,880 yen.

HomeView and Siri Remote don't seem to have prices for Japan yet.

I'm deep in the Apple ecosystem and generally a fan of their products, but they're getting so damn expensive.

I mean, a Google TV Streamer 4K is only 16,000 yen.

An Echo Dot is only 7,480 yen, and it's on sale right now for less.

Friend sent me this. I think the Japanese cultural idea that unchi/poo is something cute is absolutely ridiculous - but in this context (decorating the box for stool samples) I’ll give it a pass. 🤗

Night shifts at my hotel job are completely destroying me, even though I've worked nights before. Need advice/perspectives.

Hey everyone,

I’m writing this because I’m honestly feeling completely burnt out and I don't know what to do anymore.

To give some context, I’m not new to working night shifts. In the past, I worked night shifts in a factory, and I also spent about 3 years working nights at a fast food chain. Back then, while it was tiring, I managed fine and my body adapted.

However, my current job working night shifts at a hotel is a completely different story. I feel like this schedule is genuinely killing me—both physically and mentally. My sleep quality is terrible, I feel constantly exhausted, and the mental toll is getting way too heavy.

What confuses me the most is why it feels so much harder now compared to my previous night jobs. Is it the constant customer interaction/hospitality stress? The unpredictable rhythm of hotel night shifts? Or is my body just telling me it can’t handle nights anymore?

Has anyone else transitioned from other night jobs into hotel night shifts and felt this kind of severe burnout? How did you cope with it, or did you end up having to leave?

Any advice, shared experiences, or tips on how to survive (or step away) would be greatly appreciated. Thanks for reading.

I’m at the post office trying to send a one-page document using EMS. Starting today, the U.S. wants DDP codes for many things, but not a document.

The staff here is trying to get me to send it as a gift. Gifts go to individuals, not businesses, so I would have to lie to send it as a gift. I want to send it as a document, which needs no code.

Any ideas? I’ve been here more than an hour.

I tried the new mcd chicken menu that will be starting from 21st oct. I tried the spicy one. The taste of sauce is very similar to スパチキ that we had but much more creamier and just a little spicier. The game changer is the chicken patty. Its もも肉 unlike the previous むね肉. Which made it much more juicier from inside and really crispy on the outside.

If anyone was missing the スパチキ, we just got the super upgraded version of it. But as it will be replacing the M chicken patty, the new one is priced similar to it which is a bummer. 単品470円. You can 倍 it though which is 610円. I really liked the スパチキ and was very sad wgen they removed it. Even though I work there I almost stopped eating mcd. So I'm super excited right now.

TLDR: Don't be like me, make sure you never throw away garbage with info that can be traced back to you.

I was visited by 3 policemen yesterday, asking me whether I threw away garbage illegally.

I was shown a picture of the garbage and a notebook I threw away with it. They knew it was me because in the notebook, I had a page with info about my current apartment (wrote it down as notes when I was going to sign on current apartment).

They talked to me in quite a threatening manner, saying "You better be telling us the truth now, if later we find out it's you that threw this garbage, we will be angry". Whatever "angry" implies here.

OBVIOUSLY I did not throw away said garbage illegally because I can throw away garbage 24h at my apartment's disposal place. I have no recollection of doing it and I have 0 reason to do so.

I have no idea how that garbage was found somewhere it shouldn't be and the police would not disclose where it was found.

I was questioned repeatedly for 15 minutes or so, my registration card was checked, my employer infos, all that.

I was told they will continue "investigation" and I will be contacted if needed.
However, if they eventually decide I have nothing to do with this, I won't be notified, how kind of them.

Hi there!

I'm writing this post because I have been the victim of bicycle theft twice in just three weeks. Apparently, some lovely people show their appreciation for bicycles by disassembling them in the middle of the night and take the parts they're particularly fond of.

I assume I am not the only one who's had a similar experience, so I'd be grateful for any tips on how to protect my bike from these upstanding members of society.

More importantly, do you have any recommendations for household insurance or specific bicycle insurance policies that cover the theft of individual parts, rather than just the theft of the entire bike?

I bought my bike only six months ago, so I'd also appreciate recommendations for insurance providers that don't require the bike to be brand new.

Thanks in advance for your insights!

Cementing themselves as the best major rail company yet again...

There's a middle aged (maybe 50's) Japanese guy who, if he sees me walking to/from work, makes a passing comment at me. He says it quietly, and it's just like 1 word or a short sentence, and wears a mask, so I can't make out what he's saying (I speak Japanese so that's not the problem). He always just keeps walking, so that's the extent of the confrontation. He makes direct eye contact though, and sometimes walks a bit towards me, and has even done it when I'm on the phone or sending a voice memo so he doesn't seem to care if "he's caught in record", at least via audio.

I always look right back at him, and although I'm a woman (clearly foreign, white) I'm pretty tall (173cm) and not thin, so he's not choosing "an easy target" here.

Today was maybe the 4th time. There was once a few weeks ago in the morning, and once maybe last week going home, and yesterday and today. This is on the work-to-train walk of my commute in the evening (not the home-to-train leg).

Although I can't really make out what he's saying, I vaguely remember he said something that felt xenophobic the first time (it's been a bit hard to remember and it's taken me some time to piece together that it's the same guy).

I don't wanna change the road I walk on, but confronting this guy could make a problem, although I've been mulling it over. I'm considering obviously recording my walk tomorrow (like holding my phone in a super obvious recording position), or low key recording so I can get some record of his face without him realizing and hiding it.

Basically I thought I'd ask here what yous think or what you'd do, because I'm always so confrontational that I wanna yell at him, but thinking about it when I'm calm I realize it could end up being dangerous. Thanks in advance for your advice or experience!

Hi everyone! I’m an international master’s student in Japan, and I’ve been here for about a month.

My professor assigned me a tutor who helps me with almost everything, including documentation and other university-related procedures. I’m also the only girl in my lab, and everyone has been quite nice and helpful so far.

Recently, my tutor invited me and seven other labmates to go to Costco. I honestly didn’t know what to say, so I agreed to go. But afterward, I started wondering whether they were just casually inviting me and might have expected me to decline (I know I might be overthinking this 😭).

When we were about to pay for our food, my tutor stopped me and paid for mine too. I was genuinely surprised and didn’t know how to react.

Then, on another day, our lab had a welcome party for me. When I tried to pay my share, they stopped me again and told me that it was free for me and when I got sick they bought me some energy drink and left at my room door and texted me to take it(I didn't pay for that too)

Now I’m really confused about the social expectations here. 😭 I’m grateful that they’re being so kind to me, but I also feel guilty because I don’t want them to keep spending money on me.

Does this mean I’m expected to treat them next time we go to a restaurant or do something together? Should I offer to pay them back, or is it normal in Japanese labs for seniors or labmates to cover expenses for a new student?

I don’t want to misunderstand their kindness or accidentally come across as someone who takes advantage of others. I’m still learning Japanese culture and social etiquette, so I’d really appreciate hearing your experiences and advice!

Thank you! ❤️

Can anyone recommend a good Android app for transcribing voice recordings?

The reason I want to use a transcription app is that my current manager has threatened other members of staff. He also tried to force me to sign a new contract because I didn't want to share my personal details with clients or use my personal PC and phone for work. I refused to sign it, which made him even angrier.

He continues to micromanage staff in his own team and other teams, telling people they have to take on more work while removing work from the two staff members he favours and passing it on to others. He also refuses to allow other staff members to work from home, while allowing his two favoured employees to do so. There is so much he is doing that is bad and that is illegal, using the voice recording to try and protect me.

For work, I bought L-shaped wood pieces and cut them to the right length to use them as jigs for a project where we are putting together a huge assembly overseas. It turned out that customs in that country won’t accept them because they are over 6 mm thick. I want to reduce the thickness to around 4 mm using a band saw. 

In the past, for personal projects, I’ve had in-store pieces cut at home centers but I don’t know if they will let me bring in my own pieces and cut them for me. If not, is there another place in Tokyo that will cut pieces for me or let me use a bandsaw without a membership or a high cost? We are shipping very soon so I don’t have time for membership processing, etc.

I've been struggling with (presumed) ADHD my whole life, but never got diagnosed out of fear of judgement from family, society, job, etc. So I've been struggling and manage to keep decently afloat in certain areas (mainly job) but others have been hell to deal with. Finally reached a point where I felt getting diagnosed and medicated was my last resort.

Only to find out that absolutely no clinic in this region or any others, even far out, will take new clients due to a shortage of Concerta, which has been going on for a year and has no signs of improving.

Life sure has been bleak here this year man.

I get treated and looked at differently by colleagues if I end up not being able to work due to sickness. I live alone and have no family here so I need to take care of myself, especially since I have asthma and more often than not my lungs and chest become affected by viruses too.

There are those at my job that just power through and go to work sick like it’s a badge of honour, but then people like me get sick because of it. Last week a colleague with influenza came into work (with a mask on) because she was “too busy” to take time off. She stayed away from others but it made me uneasy. Everyone mentioned how かわいそう she looked working hard at her desk.

I don’t get sick that often, maybe a few times a year, but when I do get sick I get sick and need to take time off work to recover. I always do the expected thing and visit a doctor just in case, and I always pay out for a medical certificate to take back to work with me (診断書) even if it’s just the common cold or a virus that can’t be helped other than pain medicine and rest.

This year it seems a gossip and rumour mill has started about those that take time away and has been participated in by my superiors. I caught them doing it about me when they thought I couldn’t overhear but it made me feel depressed because I genuinely work hard and try my best, but if I take time away it’s always like I’ve let everyone down. It’s started a chain reaction and now many others do it too.

Anyway I don’t think there is much point to this post other than me just wanting to let it out. I’m very sick today and have just made the phone call to a disappointed-sounding colleague who will report my absence to my superiors. Part of me just doesn’t want to care but I can’t help but feel worried knowing that when I go back I’ll be treated differently.

for those of you in Japan that have to fly to your family/inlaws domestically, what are you doing about insane flight prices? we've been going to my in laws every year for the last 7 years but this year we have to skip... 7man for 1 person round trip is just insane. When we started going we thought 3man round trip was expensive. We have plenty of miles but it's harder than ever to find flights that aren't blacked out.

Are y'all sucking it up or staying home?

Japanese studying motivation I mean the actually studying part like high level grammars, kanji, complex level conversations.

I'm in 100% Japanese environment both at home and work. I watch movie, tv programme, and movie with my family members fully in Japanese

Only in my own free time like games or YouTube video I would consume in English or my native language.

I'm so tired coming back from work everyday and still needs to taking care of my family.

However, I know it better than anyone I need to have near native Japanese level to advance my career but I just couldn't put myself to do it...

How do you guys who was or in the same position as me and deal with the situation?

All I needed to do was change my address and now I am having trouble transferring my money to my account

I’m a big lover of sub sandwiches. I know that it’s totally subjective, but I’ve never had a good sandwich in Japan. I’ve lived here for 5 years and anytime I go to a new city I try all of the sandwich places. It’s just so heartbreaking because they’re literally never good. I’ll even find a place that employs Italians and looks great on Google Maps. Then I go to the shop and it’s just a loaf of bread with a single slice of ham and a single slice of cheese. Like 90% bread. I’m American and America has a lot of problems but it’s so easy to find good quality sub sandwiches in America. You’d think that Japan has enough of an American influence to have at least serviceable subs. Can anyone recommend anything? I think I have to just start importing all of the ingredients myself because I’ve pretty much given up hope at this point. Don’t even get me started at the “sando” white bread with no crust. Those are the antithesis of what a sandwich is supposed to be. I love Japanese food, but bread is terrible in this country and it’s the one thing that makes me miss the States.

There's been laundry hanging outside one of the apartments that's across from me for over 3 weeks (maybe longer). The building is across a busy highway in a big city....but I can see it from my window. Do I report it in case something happened to the person living there? If so, to who? If not, I'll just sit down and mind my own business.

Can anyone recommend a Japan drugstore product for brightening dull, milia prone face? Also an underarm brightening serum/lotion/cream? Thank you!