Living in Japan

[Anpanman]

Ah sorry, I should have done my homework on the 401K.

Not sure if Japan have a reciprocal agreement with the UK but I would look into it.

Currently you need 30 qualifying years for the state pension but from April 2016 you'll need 35, but the pension is being lifted to around ?7k.

I've currently got 33 years in!

[kryss]

http://en.rocketnews24.com/2014/12/09/dark-horizon-textbooks-go-beyond-hello-my-name-is-to-who-are-you-calling-a-bitch-bitch/

Thanks to Andrew from Capcom for the linkage.

[Mr Ono]

I have been watching a Youtube channel by a couple called Kayde and Eric recently. THey live in Japan but do videos of travels around the Far East too. Think they both do English teaching and Translation work.

I find their Japan videos of food and life out there really interesting. Well worth a watch for anyone thinking of going out there.

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC8d5J4MxwHtbGINFyJgAJzA

[randombs]

So, four months later and my cable internet is still glorious. Netflix stuff switches to 720p within a few seconds. I guess my building's wiring was just too crap for VDSL.

[randombs]

Anyone have any experience with joint accounts?

I want to open an account and get two debit cards for it so we can do supermarket and other 50/50 shopping without the hassle of our current 'keep the receipts and do the maths at the end of the month' routine.

It doesn't seem like Japan caters for joint accounts. So is there anything similar? From what I understand, they've only recently joined the modern world and started doing debit cards you can withdraw cash with(I had no idea you couldn't do that normally!) and their insistence on paper trails and single points of responsibility don't give me high hopes.

[kryss]

Generally, the wife gets the cash card and takes care of stuff
BIC Camera would let you use your SMBC cash card to pay for stuff directly, although I only did it once. Let's face it, Japan is cash-based and that's not going to change quickly.

[randombs]

Unless I'm missing something, Docomo's voice plan seems to have jumped from 700Y(with zero free calls) to 2700Y/month(unlimited calling).

My Docomo contract will finish in December so I'm back looking into MVNOs(re-sellers). I'm not sure if Docomo would auto-renew at my regular price or if they'll force me onto the new voice plan but I'll ask them later.

Does anyone in Japan use an MVNO?

So far I'm checking these out. I'm only interested in voice+data plans and I want to keep using my 5s so I have to stay on Docomo's network:

IIJ: 2000Y/month for 5GB LTE data(5GB at full speed, 200kb/s after that, unused data roll-over but need to check this). IIJ has an app to change the speed.

U-Mobile: 2000Y/month for 5GB LTE data(also 5GB full speed, 200kb/s after). Unlimited option available for 3000Y but not sure what that's like in practice.

Some, like OCN, have monthly and daily data caps:

2000Y/month for 4GB LTE data at full speed
2000Y/month for 15GB LTE data capped at 500kb/s

2000Y/month for 100MB/day at full speed(3GB/month). This plan ensures you get full speed every day of the month.

[Yakumo]

I use AU myself. Get 8Gb per month full speed 4G which is an average of 25Mbps in peak times. That will drop to 200Kbps after using 8Gb. Also, if there's no 4G signal the phone jumps to 3G automatically. Really good service but cost a lot. 5000 or there abouts per month. Oh, free phone calls to other AU users and free sms however free sms (text mail) has been free over all networks for years.

[randombs]

Dropping to 3G is a standard feature(or at least it should be!) but I had no idea SMS was free. I've only sent a few and most of mine were international 50Y ones because of iMessage/FaceTime activation.

I'd like to test these MVNO speeds first but the shortest contract I can find is six months. Of course, that's only 12000Y which would be less than two months with Docomo! I know B-Mobile's minimum term is only three months but their speeds are very bad.

I might just take the plunge and see how it goes. I could basically get four contracts and pay what I'm paying right now. Come December, I could drop to the 2GB plan but a) that's not a lot and b) I have a feeling doing that will mean I have to move to the new voice plan.

I still haven't got round to calling Docomo to confirm all this stuff!

update: I just learned that most MVNOs need a credit card even for monthly payments. With Docomo, I signed up using my UK credit card then switched to convenience store payment before settling on automatic bank transfers. BiGlobe apparently doesn't need a credit card and they're cheap, too (voice+6GB LTE for 2000Y/month or 12GB for 3500Y). They also do data roll-over which is nice.