Has anyone here ever stayed in a Japanese capsule hotel?...

[GaijinPunch]

Does Japan have a national health care system?

yes

[SuperDeadite]

@GP

I pay zero on parking. When I moved into my mansion, I simply told the rental company we needed 2 spaces and I would not pay for them as the rent was pricey enough, and they said ok.

[GaijinPunch]

@GP

I pay zero on parking. When I moved into my mansion, I simply told the rental company we needed 2 spaces and I would not pay for them as the rent was pricey enough, and they said ok.

Ah.... good old deflation at alarming rates. What about reikin, please tell me you got out of that? I know some people that still don't stick to their guns. I guess for a brand new joint that's a hot commodity, cool, but I see places that are 20 years old listed w/ a month of reikin on there, and I'm just like... you nuts. This ain't the 80's you relic.

That does remind me though... when people ask me about costs in Japan, it's really hard to pinpoint one thing. It's the nickel and diming that really adds up. When moving you may need to consider buying new curtains, light fixtures, mother fucking stove... what? Haha. Then the 2 months deposit, a month to the locator (even if they did nothing), maybe reikin. Utility bills... don't get me going, and that's only at survival level of comfort in the extreme months. I do miss that shit though!

[quash]

Obviously, I can't speak for everyone, but all the nickel and diming in Japan doesn't even begin to add up to what a month's worth of rent is where I'm from.

My younger brother lives in a house with five or six other people in the Bay Area and pays nearly twice of what I pay to live in a house to myself.

Between that and the cost of tuition when I do go back to college, I think I know where I'm staying for the foreseeable future.

[SuperDeadite]

Of course no Reiken. When we first went mansion hunting we told the agent we wouldn't pay reiken, and he took us to places that didn't ask for it.

[GaijinPunch]

Obviously, I can't speak for everyone, but all the nickel and diming in Japan doesn't even begin to add up to what a month's worth of rent is where I'm from.

My younger brother lives in a house with five or six other people in the Bay Area and pays nearly twice of what I pay to live in a house to myself.

Between that and the cost of tuition when I do go back to college, I think I know where I'm staying for the foreseeable future.

If you're from the Bay Area, that's obviously an outlier. It's basically Manhattan. And I wasn't referring to nickel and diming just in the housing industry (even though that helps)... just seems there's a cost of anything everywhere, and Japanese have no idea how to do a sale. My favorite were the gyms that are 12,000 a month. Introduce a friend, and get 1000 yen off for 3 months.

For all the shit Chicago brings with it (violent crime, soul crushing winters) it's still the most urban feeling city in the US next to NYC... yet the cost is quite affordable. That doesn't stop locals from bitching about the prices though.

I think the most inescapable cost though are the taxis. Many people are way better than me at avoiding them, and when I lived there, I made up my mind I wasn't going to waste my money. I'd go out to bars in typhoons on my bike. But when you're a visitor... or a sane resident that's not going to do stupid shit like that, you're gonna get caught at some point. Either that or piss away some time, which isn't always an option. Having ride shares here that can get me door to door for $3.50 USD has totally broken my acceptability monitor for cabs.

[dave4shmups]

Obviously, I can't speak for everyone, but all the nickel and diming in Japan doesn't even begin to add up to what a month's worth of rent is where I'm from.

My younger brother lives in a house with five or six other people in the Bay Area and pays nearly twice of what I pay to live in a house to myself.

Between that and the cost of tuition when I do go back to college, I think I know where I'm staying for the foreseeable future.

If you're from the Bay Area, that's obviously an outlier. It's basically Manhattan. And I wasn't referring to nickel and diming just in the housing industry (even though that helps)... just seems there's a cost of anything everywhere, and Japanese have no idea how to do a sale. My favorite were the gyms that are 12,000 a month. Introduce a friend, and get 1000 yen off for 3 months.

For all the shit Chicago brings with it (violent crime, soul crushing winters) it's still the most urban feeling city in the US next to NYC... yet the cost is quite affordable. That doesn't stop locals from bitching about the prices though.

I think the most inescapable cost though are the taxis. Many people are way better than me at avoiding them, and when I lived there, I made up my mind I wasn't going to waste my money. I'd go out to bars in typhoons on my bike. But when you're a visitor... or a sane resident that's not going to do stupid shit like that, you're gonna get caught at some point. Either that or piss away some time, which isn't always an option. Having ride shares here that can get me door to door for $3.50 USD has totally broken my acceptability monitor for cabs.

What about taking local rail transit instead of taxis or using a bike? AFIK, Japan Rail is one of the best rail systems in the world, and individual cities in Japan have excellent public transportation.

[GaijinPunch]

What about taking local rail transit instead of taxis or using a bike? AFIK, Japan Rail is one of the best rail systems in the world, and individual cities in Japan have excellent public transportation.

It is unbelievably amazing, and cheap. However, it has some faults.
-Service stops at midnight-ish until 5AM. Taxis go up 20% at this time. (Used to be 30%).
-Some places are flat out a bitch to get to by train. You're looking at 45 minutes (but only a few hundred yen) by train, or 15 minutes and like 1500-2000 yen in a taxi. Just depends on how much time you have.

Bike trumps everything by a mile (very cheap, very fast) but not a real option for tourists.

[gbaplayer]

I´ve stayed at 9 hours in Kyoto. Worth the experience for sure, but you won´t get enough sleep.

https://ninehours.co.jp/en/

[GaijinPunch]

I´ve stayed at 9 hours in Kyoto. Worth the experience for sure, but you won´t get enough sleep.

Very cool... Using this place to film my retro sci film if I ever make it.

[dave4shmups]

What about taking local rail transit instead of taxis or using a bike? AFIK, Japan Rail is one of the best rail systems in the world, and individual cities in Japan have excellent public transportation.

It is unbelievably amazing, and cheap. However, it has some faults.
-Service stops at midnight-ish until 5AM. Taxis go up 20% at this time. (Used to be 30%).
-Some places are flat out a bitch to get to by train. You're looking at 45 minutes (but only a few hundred yen) by train, or 15 minutes and like 1500-2000 yen in a taxi. Just depends on how much time you have.

Bike trumps everything by a mile (very cheap, very fast) but not a real option for tourists.

Gotcha. How expensive would it be to rent a bike in Japan?

[PC Engine Fan X!]

For dave4shmups,

Try riding the Japanese bullet train during your stay in Japan. It's definitely an experience you'll remember for the rest of your life. I've had the pleasure of riding it twice (from Tokyo to Kyoto & back). I was pleasantly surprised to see the female train maid serve Hagen Daz ice cream in those dainty small cups. Of course, you can choose a "non-smoking" car if so desired.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

[dave4shmups]

For dave4shmups,

Try riding the Japanese bullet train during your stay in Japan. It's definitely an experience you'll remember for the rest of your life. I've had the pleasure of riding it twice (from Tokyo to Kyoto & back). I was pleasantly surprised to see the female train maid serve Hagen Daz ice cream in those dainty small cups. Of course, you can choose a "non-smoking" car if so desired.

PC Engine Fan X! ^_~

Oh I definitely will! I've seen some videos on YouTube of Japanese trains, and some of them are so sleek that they look more like spaceships then trains!

[Skykid]

Has anyone stayed in a Japanese love hotel?

[GaijinPunch]

Has anyone stayed in a Japanese love hotel?

Got a free box of pocky last time I went to one.

[GaijinPunch]

How expensive would it be to rent a bike in Japan?

I hear they are testing the community bikes but I've yet to see one, which means they can't be horribly convenient... at least not compared to the systems in Chicago, NYC, and probably every other major US city. Also worth noting, I'd highly encourage you to not ride a bike in Tokyo... or really anywhere. It's a different world to riding in the US and takes some getting used to.

[Obscura]

Obviously, I can't speak for everyone, but all the nickel and diming in Japan doesn't even begin to add up to what a month's worth of rent is where I'm from.

My younger brother lives in a house with five or six other people in the Bay Area and pays nearly twice of what I pay to live in a house to myself.

Between that and the cost of tuition when I do go back to college, I think I know where I'm staying for the foreseeable future.

I don't know what prices are like in Japan, but "Bay Area" is the key word in your brother's case. In Texas, a mortgage payment on a nice suburban house is about $1200-$1500 a month. Flyover country is crazy cheap compared to the coasts.