My So-Called Japanese Life

It's time for U.S. residents residing in Japan to file their income tax forms. If you've filed before, you should have already been ...

A sign from the Communist party expressing the notion that the consumption tax (sales tax) should not be increased. Last year, I kept readin...

The XPack 500 next to a B5 envelope with my old passport and a very expensive money order. Last year, my husband went through a panic when ...

Any assertion one makes will be at some point refuted by another. It doesn't matter how obvious or true a statement may be (or appear to...

For many years, one of the lessons I conducted for my former company included the topic of "gambling". Over the years that I taugh...

"Wet paint" signs near the newly-painted step up to our entryway. If you sign a rent contract in Japan, there's a good chance ...

A recent order we made through Amazon Japan. If you've done much shopping in Japan, you'll soon learn that the Japanese are wild abo...

The doorbell rang today (Sunday) and a postman was standing in his rain suit with a registered letter. The last time I got a registered lett...

Click on this smaller picture for a more readable large one. The gray areas are what we pay. The numbers on the left are income levels. This...

In previous posts, I've mentioned that city (" ku ") taxes and health insurance rates are calculated based on the previous yea...

When I first arrived in Japan, I got hired by Nova conversation school and got my first taste of "how things work" in Japan from ...

Click this picture to see a full-size one. The other day while I was waiting in a long line at the supermarket, I saw a woman walk up to the...

Every year, people feel annoyed at the prospect of having to deal with the tediousness of filing their income tax forms. There is one thing ...

Hanamasa coffee...when they say "pro", they don't mean it in a good way. There are some things in life where price matters lit...

Previously, I did a post which was an overview of the tax situation in Japan. At this time, there are a few specifics I think are worth men...

A letter on Dr. Andrew MacAllister's advice blog ( To Love Honor and Dismay ), reminded me of a psychological survey I once read abou...

I posted previously that my 2-year-old, lightly-used Mac Mini seemed to have a dead hard drive. In comments, my brother-in-law suggested I ...

I haven't been posting as much lately because I'm starting to feel a bit burnt out. I'm not burnt out on posting, mind you, but ...

A recent post by Roy indirectly reminded me about something I learned about taxes in Japan. The tax situation in Japan is pretty complicate...

A story about a student who made a decent amount of money selling virtual weapons and gold in the on-line game World of Warcraft has been ma...