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After conquering the challenge of watching USA Netflix in Japan (explained here: How to Watch Netflix in Japan), there unfortunately still remained a minor dent in my USA TV streaming desires--watching things like NBC Nightly News with Brian Williams. No one keeps me in touch with my home country's news dramas like good ol' Brian Williams, so my mission was to get him streaming to my Tokyo living room. While it is relatively easy to watch USA news and TV shows on a computer connected to the Internet, my goal here was to have it on my TV screen.
Read more: Life in Japan - Streaming USA TV Shows
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Being American living a minimalist "Zen" lifestyle is not something that comes naturally to me. I'm used to ample space, spacious lawns and backyards, and a commodious garage packed full with crap I barely ever use. Over the years Japan has worked wonders on me. Its overpriced cramped living spaces have afforded me the privilege of aggressively implementing a minimalist Zen lifestyle. Thank you, Japan. You can be a pain in the ass sometimes, but I still love you.
I'd like to share some things I've learned along the way that have both allowed for space maximization, as well as life simplification. Because face it--at least half the stuff you own could probably be thrown away with minimal impact to your quality of daily life. And life simplification is like a breath of fresh air inhaled into lungs you never knew you had.
I'm writing this not to serve as any professorial lecture or authoritative "how to," but merely as a list of things that have worked for me thus far. I still am, after all, a consumerist American living in consumerist Japan--an American boy that struggles constantly with reducing the amount of crap he owns.
Read more: Life in Japan - Minimalist Zen Living Spaces
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I had had enough of Softbank. I wanted out. I had to free myself from their oppressive chains of subjugation. Oh, and I also detest their obnoxious commercials. But at the same time I was married to the iPhone. Au was my other option, but I would be trading one oppressor for another. I wanted freedom--total, complete freedom from contracts, obligations, over-priced sub-par service, and that stupid white dog. I ascertained the only way to achieve such freedom was with a SIM unlocked phone plus a SIM-only pay-as-you-go (PAYG) service provider. With these 2 things I would be able to escape from Softbank's dictatorial rule for good.
Read more: Life in Japan - How I Cut My Mobile Phone Bill In Half
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NOTE: Yes, I know that Netflix is now available in Japan. However, the services I explain below have proven extremely valuable to me for viewing streaming services from other countries, such as the USA. Since Netflix Japan doesn't have nearly the content library that Netflix USA has, I am most definitely keeping my Smart DNS subscription.
Living abroad in Japan I often miss out on cool stuff that my home country comes up with. Netflix USA and Pandora are prime examples. On one trip back to the States, my friends demonstrated the infinite advantages of an all-you-can-watch flat-rate streaming service. I wiped the drool from my lips. I too wanted this magic boom stick; however, for various legal reasons various streaming services do not work in various countries. My next home IT project was clear...
Read more: How to Watch Netflix in Japan
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A permanent resident visa (aka "PR") is the Mr. Miagi black belt of visas in Japan. Why? Well, I'll tell you why:
* Almost all work visas in Japan require some kind of sponsor, usually a company or a spouse. The problem here is that if something happens to your sponsor--e.g. your company suffers a financial crisis, or sweet love turns sour--then your visa could go bye-bye. PR does not have this problem. You're your own sponsor.
* You don't have to renew it every 1~3 years.
* You can get stuff like credit cards and home loans. While it's not impossible to get these without PR, you can enjoy more options and higher credit limits closer to what Japanese citizens enjoy.
* You can work in any industry. Company-sponsored visas usually lock you to a particular industry, but with PR you're free to do whatever you want.
* It's about as close to becoming a Japanese citizen without actually becoming a citizen.
* PR makes you instantly awesome.
As you'd expect, getting something as all-powerful as a permanent residence visa in Japan isn't easy. Unfortunately, it's made even more difficult since the Immigration Bureau's website (esp. the English one) provides very little information as to what's required. Having gone through the process myself, I thought I'd outline it--potentially saving you a headache or two.
Read more: Life in Japan - How to Get Permanent Residence
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I'm "the" IT guy for the Tokyo branch office of a much larger European firm, so I often have to assist visitors from overseas offices with their Japan mobile phone woes. I never understood why sometimes their Blackberries just wouldn't work in Japan. Well, after some research, I think I now know.
Read more: Mobile Phones in Japan