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Japan GAF |OT| I'm not planning a trip; I live here!

Brhoom

Banned
Let me give it a try:


I think the issue here is you should be slecting うなずく, but the cursor is on the "explain things and then go practice".

Thanks. I'm just thrown into a group with no one to copy his rhythm and then I'm kicked out. I will not give up trying.

I only found one video for it on youtube, Utauta Woo - Seirei-Songs is the name of the game.
 

KtSlime

Member
Let me give it a try:


I think the issue here is you should be slecting うなずく, but the cursor is on the "explain things and then go practice".

Thanks. I'm just thrown into a group with no one to copy his rhythm and then I'm kicked out. I will not give up trying.

I only found one video for it on youtube, Utauta Woo - Seirei-Songs is the name of the game.

The unreadable kanji is 演奏 (ensou): to perform a musical act.
 
Holy shit so I randomly hung out with the girl's in my office after playing pokemon go and drinking in the park after work. I went along with them looking for handbags and found some awesome sunglasses, a bracelet, coffee mug, and an amazing t-shirt all for men.

Well the shirt is for women, but its more hiphop style so it fits me perfectly. They were surprised how happy I was to hang out with them and just shop for clothes. I kept telling them I don't get to buy clothes and accessorize when hanging out with the bros lol. Awesome monday night.

Also had dinner at a new chicken place down the street from our work. Gaddamn it was amazing. "ladies night" was great haha.
 

Hasemo

(;・∀・)ハッ?
Hopefully it is better than audible, signed up for that but the selection in Japan is dismal.
Quantity wise, 120k books doesn't sound bad. As for the quality, I found at least a few things which I want to read, but my main problem is going through hundred of pages of search results, cluttered with multiple volumes of various series.
 

Darksol

Member
Carrying the Mikoshi kind of sucks if you're even remotely tall. My shoulders are purple now. I feel like I lost a fight with a lead pipe.
 

Hasemo

(;・∀・)ハッ?
The hell did I just see? Some things can't be unseen :eek:
I saw a segment on TV about 3 mikoshi-carrying ladies with lumps like that. Looked a bit creepy, but they didn't seem to mind. The explanation is what you'd expect, but I think you'd have to do this very, very often to end up with such shoulders.
 

bluethree

Member
I have like 3 months left on my current contract and I managed to get a 3 year visa at shinagawa, lol. My company did put 3 years on their part of the application though.
 

Darksol

Member
I have like 3 months left on my current contract and I managed to get a 3 year visa at shinagawa, lol. My company did put 3 years on their part of the application though.

Nice!

I just got back from there myself, picking up a new residence card. I look pissed off in this one though :/
 

ajfoucault

Member
Was in Tokyo for a week at the end of July, best experience I had... Fantastic food, people are so polite, the subway system is freaking amazing (cheap too) and Akihabara felt like I died and went to heaven.

I highly recommend going to Tokyo Skytree and the nearby Shrine, best of old and new Japan.

Wanna check Akihabara for sure when I go visit.
 

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
Any primarily work at home/remote work people here? Tell me about your industry/life. I'm entertaining the thought of quitting being a millionaire salary man. Maybe the digital nomad life is my next calling..after a few years off lol.
 

Resilient

Member
Hey guys. Anybody else here own a Lamborghini Aventador? Wondering if you may have been experiencing the same problem I have where the door sticks a little too tight when I go to open it. Know any good auto shops I could take it to in Tokyo? Small annoyance I know, but it irritates me so I've had to drive my 488GTB to avoid it lol. Thanks guys.
 

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
No but I just sold a Panamera thay had the same issue. I'm just getting an Alphard next for the growing fam.
 
Any primarily work at home/remote work people here? Tell me about your industry/life. I'm entertaining the thought of quitting being a millionaire salary man. Maybe the digital nomad life is my next calling..after a few years off lol.
Yup, me. I'm in IT/Web Design and I can't really complain. It is more work than being a salary man, but then again, I do that for myself and I can structure my free time as I wish, which is cool. Went to the beach this morning for a swim, had yakiniku lunch before, will work until 10pm tonight and go out drinking after that.

It is not easy, but if you are well connected you can start somewhere - even if it's a slow start. I looked into the Digital Nomad life, but too many assholes around which makes the whole thing not so pleasant. I'm basically having a slice of a nomad life here in the Fukuoka area which fits me best, because I need my home base. And I have a wife too so.. lol.

Reading your posts until this point, I'm sure a nomad life would fit your lifestyle.
 

bluethree

Member
It is not easy, but if you are well connected you can start somewhere - even if it's a slow start. I looked into the Digital Nomad life, but too many assholes around which makes the whole thing not so pleasant. I'm basically having a slice of a nomad life here in the Fukuoka area which fits me best, because I need my home base. And I have a wife too so.. lol.
.

man working at home while living in fukuoka would be like a dream come true for me
 

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
Yup, me. I'm in IT/Web Design and I can't really complain. It is more work than being a salary man, but then again, I do that for myself and I can structure my free time as I wish, which is cool. Went to the beach this morning for a swim, had yakiniku lunch before, will work until 10pm tonight and go out drinking after that.

It is not easy, but if you are well connected you can start somewhere - even if it's a slow start. I looked into the Digital Nomad life, but too many assholes around which makes the whole thing not so pleasant. I'm basically having a slice of a nomad life here in the Fukuoka area which fits me best, because I need my home base. And I have a wife too so.. lol.

Reading your posts until this point, I'm sure a nomad life would fit your lifestyle.

Ive just spent 13 years climbing the corporate ladder..do my posts really say that it would fit my lifestyle lol?

It's an interesting thought though. Im assuming you had your contacts and such before you came though. I mean I have a trillion contacts in my line of work but the thought of being some selftaught guy in his underwear searching online ads (no clue how digital nomdas get work) for small projects kind of intrigues me lol. Take a year off to learn rails or php or some shit.
 
man working at home while living in fukuoka would be like a dream come true for me
It's a nice place for sure. Work/life balance is perfect here imho.

Ive just spent 13 years climbing the corporate ladder..do my posts really say that it would fit my lifestyle lol?

It's an interesting thought though. Im assuming you had your contacts and such before you came though. I mean I have a trillion contacts in my line of work but the thought of being some selftaught guy in his underwear searching online ads (no clue how digital nomdas get work) for small projects kind of intrigues me lol. Take a year off to learn rails or php or some shit.
That's why it would fit you. You seem to travel a lot and you're probably tired of corporate life.

Nope, I started networking here after I moved to Fukuoka from Germany almost three years ago. Trillion contacts in Japan don't mean shit when all of them promise you something over a beer while they are drunk at an Izakaya. You really have to seperate these guys from people who are interested in your work and where it makes sense to work together business wise. You will probably end up with a handful of people and then you start growing from there. It does sound like common knowledge but a lot of people waste too much time with the wrong people, judt because reasons.

There are dedicated job sites for digital nomads. Also I wouldn't recommend working in underwear, because you won't get shit done that way. One more thing, it can become a very lonely life working alone, so you would rather join a share office than working at home all the time. Keep socializing and networking while working. Best advice I can give, especially in Japan.
 

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
That is good advice indeed. Im in a very weird spot in life right now so it's definitely fun to fantasize about. I wonder what the long term goal would be for me though. All kidding aside my pension from my work alone would be enough for the rest of my life so what am I even doing it for..I guess to not just retire and be bored all day in my 30s. Also kind of sick of staring at a screen all day.

Should I be an English teacher? Is this life trying to teach me a lesson?
 

sprsk

force push the doodoo rock
That is good advice indeed. Im in a very weird spot in life right now so it's definitely fun to fantasize about. I wonder what the long term goal would be for me though. All kidding aside my pension from my work alone would be enough for the rest of my life so what am I even doing it for..I guess to not just retire and be bored all day in my 30s. Also kind of sick of staring at a screen all day.

Should I be an English teacher? Is this life trying to teach me a lesson?

ALTs get off at like 4pm, weekends off and summer vacation #thelife
 
That is good advice indeed. Im in a very weird spot in life right now so it's definitely fun to fantasize about. I wonder what the long term goal would be for me though. All kidding aside my pension from my work alone would be enough for the rest of my life so what am I even doing it for..I guess to not just retire and be bored all day in my 30s. Also kind of sick of staring at a screen all day.

Should I be an English teacher? Is this life trying to teach me a lesson?
I believe life is all about teaching me a lesson and me learning from various situations.
Money is not such a big factor for me as in when can I retire etc., but instead doing what I enjoy and earning enough money to not worry is what I really care about. Sure, that means a lot of work at times which ends up in stress, but I would rather call that positive stress instead of being something negative. Having a well balanced work/private life is my ultimate goal.

Speaking of teaching English.. I'm not a native speaker and therefore I never really thought about teaching, but I got asked to do it once and every now and then I teach this one lady a few hours a month, which is cool. It's a nice change to my main work and I get 1万/h while eating/drinking out. On top of that she has a great network in the fashion/design space which helps me with my main work in the end. It's full circle of give n take I guess.
 

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
ALTs get off at like 4pm, weekends off and summer vacation #thelife

That sounds nice lol. But man..I don't think I could even get a job like that. Explaining my resume would be interesting. Honestly I dont think I could get a lot of jobs. The appealing thing to me about the IT space is I would essentially be a nobody, blank slate. Anything even remotely related to business or linguistic skills would just sink me. Going from negotiating contracts for banks to singing songs to kids, mhmmm.
 

bluethree

Member
I work as a full time corporate ESL teacher and it's seriously the best job I've ever had. I get off at around 5 most days (except for a couple of night classes), work by myself in my own room, and get exceptionally good pay (by ESL standards). I love it.
 

Resilient

Member
Quit being Beta, my dude.

maybe. I need to have it slapped out of me. If you don't mind me asking, how old were you when you got on the plane?

That sounds nice lol. But man..I don't think I could even get a job like that. Explaining my resume would be interesting. Honestly I dont think I could get a lot of jobs. The appealing thing to me about the IT space is I would essentially be a nobody, blank slate. Anything even remotely related to business or linguistic skills would just sink me. Going from negotiating contracts for banks to singing songs to kids, mhmmm.

you're actually insane, you know that right? is this cause you've conquered everything you set out to do at the current job?
 

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
I work as a full time corporate ESL teacher and it's seriously the best job I've ever had. I get off at around 5 most days (except for a couple of night classes), work by myself in my own room, and get exceptionally good pay (by ESL standards). I love it.

My entire life is corporate interpretation, translation, negotiation..endless J<>E. I couldnt actually stomach doing it as a separate job like that.

maybe. I need to have it slapped out of me. If you don't mind me asking, how old were you when you got on the plane?

you're actually insane, you know that right? is this cause you've conquered everything you set out to do at the current job?

Why am insane lol. Im financially set for..ever. Can do what I want. Want to be with my fam but continue to grow in anothet way.
 

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
Im a b4 partner with a very unusual internal path which meant big comp jumps and a fairly quick partner track (13 years). Dont forget I had to pay in a quarter mil for my share. Thing is I have a book of business from my time in the states as well so my comp is even higher for a new partner. But now back in Tokyo where the office and market are a very different world. It makes you dream a lot lol. The big thing for me is I'm on the US pension too. A fully vested partner's pension at retirement is usd 450k.

Youve been here for a while right. No clue of your career goals but if youre making anything less than 20 mil then yeah youre underpaid for what you probably should be in my industry.
 

DCharlie

And even i am moderately surprised
Well I'm glad to know I've been earning above someone's threshhold

What exactly is "your industry" - just curious?
 

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
Just said im a b4 partner lol. Pwc, ey, kpmg, dnt. Im in international tax advisory. And then it sounds like youre doing just fine! Not my threshold though, just saying someone with like a minimum 10 years at my firm (depending on service line) would be a senior manager around 20 mil.
 

Resilient

Member
My entire life is corporate interpretation, translation, negotiation..endless J<>E. I couldnt actually stomach doing it as a separate job like that.



Why am insane lol. Im financially set for..ever. Can do what I want. Want to be with my fam but continue to grow in anothet way.

nah, not insane in a bad way. you're insane cause most people I know that are at your age bracket are happy to keep cruising along riding the gravy train. but yeah you have the time, money and security to do whatever you want and grow...it's cool, I'd say I'm jealous but I'm still young and have time to get there as well :p

haha, WTF. 20m Yen. yeah, you don't see that money in Construction..
 

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
nah, not insane in a bad way. you're insane cause most people I know that are at your age bracket are happy to keep cruising along riding the gravy train. but yeah you have the time, money and security to do whatever you want and grow...it's cool, I'd say I'm jealous but I'm still young and have time to get there as well :p

The gravy train from here on is endless years of crazy meetings, travel, proposals, busy seasons..all for money I don't need. It'd be an ego or passion thing. I like my job but at the age where having family make the sacrifice for the career isnt as appealing. And the ego only works in our small financial world. Outside of it no one gives a fuck who I am. I wasnt being serious about the above line of thinking but it's nice to hear what may be out there.
 

DCharlie

And even i am moderately surprised
How does it work out with an initial 250k payment vs returns ? I assume the tax situation becomes fraught - even at 20m a year you're at 12 years to break even right ?

I can only assume other benefits etc
 

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
Eh? Lets keep it in dollars for simplicity. Buyin is 250k which can be paid in cash or lent interest free from the firm. Partners that borrow it end up making less than their senior manager salary usually because of the loan and not having enough percentage of the profit sharing. Partners thay pay in full get instant sharing at their book of business erp and share.

So it's def an investment but you plan to be partner usually to retirement. Most partners grow their books enough to be in the black in 4-5 years. You also get paid depending on any management positions.

Wont say exact number but I make over 1mil gross due to my book.
 

DCharlie

And even i am moderately surprised
right - got you.

So what you are saying is you can make this sort of return dealing with ... reading between the lines... local domestic banks?

Again - if that's the case - then perhaps i'm in the wrong game (was my point)

from previous conversations though - i'm not sure we are.
 

urfe

Member
I'm in Toyama today. Going to explore Kanazawa all day, and then Shirakawago in Gifu tomorrow. First time to really explore Hokuriku and it feels very cool to do so.

Any advice on what not to miss around here? We originally planned to do Nagano, but just kept on driving.

Also, I want a job where I make more money. Something to look into after vacation.
 

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
right - got you.

So what you are saying is you can make this sort of return dealing with ... reading between the lines... local domestic banks?

Again - if that's the case - then perhaps i'm in the wrong game (was my point)

from previous conversations though - i'm not sure we are.

i mean yes i have local banks as clients, all the b4 do..but i also have auto companies, life sciences, IT, a mom and pop grocery store.. always trying to sell our audit/tax/advisory services somewhere.

i dont think youre in the wrong game lol, nor am i saying accounting is the easy track..there are 25 year olds making more than me. just that if youre in financial services with at least a decade of experience in tokyo, i couldnt imagine making less than 20mil. which isnt even much money.
 

DCharlie

And even i am moderately surprised
well, i'd disagree given the recent adjustments in salary bases which are lowering drastically.

The standard IB coder could join on anywhere from 8-10m with 1-2 years experience back in the 2000s - that's now down to around 5-6m and contract. Have a look around see how many places are offereing perm places - it's becoming a rarity :/

Even for what i do - i can see other firms are not paying anywhere near the same so any move into a similar role would be a cash loss which seems to be the consistent story across the board (unless you are a Supervisory Analyst, Lawyer, FPGA algo wizard etc) and even then the requirements at most places are now -at least- full fluency in two languages but preferably three (Cantonese/Mandarin). even our grads we talked to recently all spoke 4 languages fluently (which , franky, made me shrink in my chair a bit)

Certainly the Gaijin gravy train from the late 90s is coming to an end in terms of IT/etc - unless you have business chops and language skills you are largely f-cked.

I'd categorically say that the average wage for 10+ years IB experience in Tokyo is still closer to 12m than it is 20m unless you are in law side or have super specific knowledge (tax code etc)
 

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
I have a 25 year old UK 2 year secondment kid here making 12mil with a 2.5mil living allowance lol..
 

DCharlie

And even i am moderately surprised
doing what though?
And that's in southern Japan right?

I guess it all depends on what they are doing but that would be seen as good salary in Tokyo, no question.
 

I'm an expert

Formerly worldrevolution. The only reason I am nice to anyone else is to avoid being banned.
Big4 tax assignment as an international desk. Its like a rotation. We're right here in tokyo man. Toranomon/Kasumigaseki. Hello.

Are you on the IT side of things? I thought you were on the financial side. You cant possibly not know the firms Im associated with and what we do..how much we make..etc if youre doing anything financial. I have definitely had meetings with the head of your employer lol. I cant say much more than that of course.
 

DCharlie

And even i am moderately surprised
Big4 tax assignment as an international desk. Its like a rotation. We're right here in tokyo man. Toranomon/Kasumigaseki. Hello.

for some reason i had it in my head you were outside of Tokyo. doh.
Are you on the IT side of things? I thought you were on the financial side.

Started on IT, worked way through, now client/finance side.

You cant possibly not know the firms Im associated with and what we do..how much we make..etc if youre doing anything financial. I have definitely had meetings with the head of your employer lol. I cant say much more than that of course.

well, i can read between the lines yes
 

Gromph

This tag is currently undergoing scheduled maintenance...
Staff Member
You guys give money too much weight....

I'm not in 20m, i can be in that if i start to sacrifice my personal life but then i will not have.. an 8 to 5 work, no overwork, work at home 2days/week and remote work from anywhere in the planet.

I love IT :)
 
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