Josugi comments

But.....is the syrup the real stuff (maple) or are they loading up the pancakes with the unhealthy variety made from corn syrup?

Check out Dr. Bob Wachter @Bob_Wachter on Twitter for insightful info. This tweet, for example:

Bob Wachter

@Bob_Wachter

Reminder that, despite its infectivity, Omicron's household attack rate is ~1-in-3 (less in fully vaxxed). People often assume that, if one person in household is infected, it's inevitable everybody'll get it. Ain't so; worth trying to isolate if feasible.

https://en.ssi.dk/news/news/2022/danish-researcher-investigate-omicron-transmission-in-danish-household

I think the author must be a non-drinker - or just confused. Wine is not liquor.

"Wine is an alcoholic beverage that is made from fermented grape juice. Liquor is an alcoholic beverage made from distillation."

Otherwise, a nice article.

Good work NPA in subduing him quickly.

I believe it's good work, local police. The NPA's role is to oversee the local (prefectural) police, based on what I've read.

@GBR48, Hopefully the idiots causing mask incidents are restricted to US airlines, which I won't ever need to fly on.

Unfortunately, not so - a quick search will show you a variety of countries and airlines where such incidents occur, including in Japan. Idiots are not limited to any one country or any particular airline. Not sure who is luckier though - you - or those US airlines you'll "never need to fly on".

@Happy Day

U.S. flight attendants are notoriously bad. Train them to be more like Asian or European flight attendants and you won't have any problems.

Perhaps it's your own attitude and treatment of the flight attendants that causes you to feel this way? I've flown well over a million miles and have found rude flight attendants only a few times - one in particular was an Asian attendant on a US airline. For the most part, I've found that treating them with respect earns the same respect right back. I've never thought of it as being a particularly glamorous job - imagine being on call & on your feet for the greater part of a 14 hour flight, with a short break where you are jammed into a tight area for the rest period; dealing with everything from the drunken fool, to cleaning up the vomit of a sick passenger (maybe or maybe not drunk), discovering that the passenger in row 12, who just looked a bit green around the gills, is now dead; and countless other things that most of us could never imagine happening in our daily jobs or lives.

A job I wouldn't wish on anyone. But I'm always thankful there are those who are willing to do the job every time I fly.

SNAFU

There was a popular Queen on the San Francisco comedy circuit who used to open with, "Hello Boys, Hello Girls, Hello Boy-Girls, Hello Girl-Boys. There, I think I've covered everyone."

As pointed out, "folks" works, but probably not a commonly understood word in Japan. But then, will it be "here comes Mickey-folks!" (although using folks is common in Hawaii - as in "the Smith folks were all at the beach yesterday."

Guests- why, yes - that works. But, there's no Mickey guest, or Daisy guest is there.

Either the editor did a lot of red pencil marks, or the writer is not current with her facts.

"Due to the pandemic, Japan continues to prohibit entry to Americans except for exceptional circumstances."

Americans, who are resident in Japan, are not prohibited entry. Some business travelers are allowed in too.

This sentence is only correct for tourists and even then, haven't heard of any 'exceptions circumstances' that would apply to tourists.

It also depends on

a. Speaking in English (This is Pasta)

b. Speaking in Japanese (Kore ha pasta desu)

And, you order from the waitstaff so you don’t need a Pen (kore ha pen desu) to order.

But, you might need a sPoon so be sure to ask for spoon kudasai, not for a sPoon, please.

And, heaven forbid if you should want PePPer on your salad. Probably okay to ask for peppah though.

It's odd that they never name the app in these articles. It's called COVID-19 Contact App put out by the MHLW.

Instructions are in English and easy to follow.

BTW, if you have Location Services turned "on" on your phone, you are already tracked (or trackable). Just not for COVID-19, but your phone knows and shows.

@Disillusioned. Local tax (city, ward, etc.) is 10% and pension / health about 16% = 26%, not 35%.

National tax varies according to income.

These sort of surveys are a bit misleading because they refer to expats in the sense of (usually) well paid expats with company housing, tax equalization, kids' schooling, home leave, club membership, etc. (I know because I was one of those expats for many years). I am no longer on an expat package, having started my own business a few years ago.

Personally, we find the overall cost of living in Tokyo lower that the equivalent style of living in San Francisco.

Take dining out, for example. In SF we typically spend 30-50% more for a very similar experience. The cost per dish has risen a lot in SF where $30-$35 for a main course is fairly common. $15+ for a cocktail, wine is generally 3x retail price, and the expected tip these days is 20% - or more.

Japan, first of all, no tipping. Cocktails - not as common, but when available around $10. Wine similarly priced. Quality - depends on where we eat in SF - same in Japan, but in Japan the better places are usually smaller owner-chef operated.

Housing - sure $5,000 - $10,000 rents are what many expats pay because they want to be in the heart of the city, or close to their kids' school, or have a house that is as big as, or nearly as big as, what they lived in (especially if they are coming from the US). I've had many younger, singles or couples, tell me that renting an apartment in Tokyo is actually cheaper than renting in SF (I know a number of tech related people, so using SF as the example). A 1-bedroom, 650-800 sq. ft. apartment in SF will go for a minimum of $3200. Similar can be had in Tokyo for $2000 or less. Sure, there are pricier places if one insists on living in the "gaijin ghettos" areas os Ebisu, Hiroo, Azabu, etc.

Many of the other comments have mentioned similar things, of course, so this may be repetitive, but it's worth repeating to avoid the fallacy that "Japan is SOOOO expensive.!"

@kurisupisu: There are actually quite a number of rifles and shotguns registered in Japan. I've met a few people who own them - all legal, of course. It is not an easy process to do, but it is possible. The owner has to undergo training, pass a mental evaluation, and go through regular checks by the police of the guns, ammunition, how they are stored, etc.

Pistols on the other hand - only 50 licenses granted in japan - most all of them for people who compete in pistol shooting contests (like the Olympics). To get one of these licenses, someone has to give one up (or a license holder passes away so the license becomes available).

"Our customers used to be mainly foreign-based multinationals but now they are all Japanese."

No, they are not - we're a customer and not Japanese.

See this article on how to check it.

https://www.entrepreneur.com/article/321967

Unless someone knows differently, I don't think the system of transfers from bus route to bus route is available in Japan. For example, in the US one can either get a transfer ticker, or use a prepaid card, to transfer from a route A bus, to a route B bus, within a fixed period of time (typically two hours) without paying an additional fare.

I think Japan requires a new fare for each bus route.