Japan Figured Out

Selling Used Goods in Japan? How Foreigners Fix Mercari eKYC Locks & Avoid Furniture Dump Fees "When I was moving out of my Tokyo apartment I had a bed frame, desk, washing machine and two bookshelves to get rid of. I called the municipal office to book pickup and found out I needed separate disposal stickers for each item totaling over ¥8,000. I paid it. Two days later a coworker told me about Jimoty — she'd listed her entire apartment contents for free and had strangers come collect everything within 48 hours. I'd paid disposal fees for items someone would have happily taken off my hands for nothing." Updated September 2026  |  Written by Luna H When moving out of an apartment or preparing to leave Japan permanently, selling your second-hand appliances, electronics, and daily goods is the best way to recoup cash. Japan's second-hand marketplace is massive, dominated by flea market apps like Mercari (メルカリ) and local community bulletin boards like Jimoty (ジモテ...

Visa Renewal Pending in Japan? How Foreigners Stop My Number Cards From Expiring Mid-Process "I submitted my visa renewal at Immigration two weeks before my expiration date and assumed everything was covered during the grace period. On the day my original visa expired, my My Number Card stopped working. I found out at a clinic when the card reader rejected it and I had to pay the full medical bill out of pocket. Then the convenience store kiosk blocked me from printing documents I needed. Nobody at Immigration had mentioned that the My Number Card doesn't extend automatically. I went to the ward office the next day and was told I was one day too late to extend it — I had to reapply from scratch." Updated September 2026  |  Written by Luna H Applying for an extension of your Period of Stay (visa renewal) at a Regional Immigration Bureau in Japan automatically grants you a 2-month Grace Period (Tokurei Kikan) beyond your printed expiration date. Under immigration law, you ...

Rejected for Japan Credit Cards? How Foreigners Fix CIC Name Mismatches & Build Credit Fast "I applied for three Japanese credit cards in my first year and got rejected every time. I assumed it was because I was a foreigner with no credit history. A year later I finally requested my CIC report and found out my name was recorded differently across each application — one had a space between my names, one didn't, and one had my middle name truncated. On top of that, three rejections in quick succession had flagged my profile for six months. I'd been making the problem worse every time I reapplied. One secured card and six months of clean payments later, I was approved for a standard card without any issues." Updated September 2026  |  Written by Luna H Getting repeatedly rejected for Japanese credit cards or smartphone installment plans is one of the most disheartening experiences for foreign residents. Many expats assume their rejection is due to low income, only to...

Missed a Delivery in Japan? How Foreigners Fix Redelivery Errors & Pick Up Packages at Convenience Stores "I ordered a new laptop from Amazon Japan and got a missed delivery slip while I was at work. I put it on my desk and told myself I'd deal with it later. Seven days passed. I went to request redelivery and the tracking page said the package had already been returned to the sender. I had no idea there was a 7-day limit. I had to reorder, wait another week, and this time I set up a PUDO locker pickup instead. The package sat waiting for me at a station locker for three days until I collected it at 11 PM on my way home. I've never had a missed delivery problem since." Updated September 2026  |  Written by Luna H Coming home after a long day at work or school in Japan only to find a paper slip stuffed into your mailbox is a ritual every foreign resident experiences. This slip—called a Gofuzai Renrakuhyo (ご不在連絡票) or Absence Notice—means a courier tried to deliver ...

Sending Money From Japan? How Foreigners Bypass High Bank Fees, Source of Funds Checks & Transfer Locks "I'd been sending money home through my Japanese bank every month for a year — ¥5,000 in fees each time plus a terrible exchange rate. I assumed that was just the cost of international transfers. Then my transfer got frozen because the bank flagged it as a Source of Funds check and asked me to come in with my tax slip and My Number card. I sat in the branch for two hours. A friend texted me while I was waiting to ask why I wasn't using Wise. I set it up that evening. My next transfer cost me ¥800 in fees and arrived the same day. I'd wasted over ¥60,000 in bank fees over twelve months without knowing there was a better option." Updated September 2026  |  Written by Luna H Sending money back home to pay off student loans, support family, or transfer savings is a monthly necessity for foreign residents in Japan. However, moving money out of Japan often feels u...

Stressed by PayPay eKYC Rejections? How Foreigners Fix Name Mismatches & Top Up Without Japanese Cards "I tried to set up PayPay my first week in Japan and got rejected during eKYC three times in a row. Each time the app froze my verification for another 24 hours. I eventually figured out the problem — I'd been entering my name as 'John Smith' but my Residence Card says 'SMITH JOHN.' After fixing the name order it went through immediately. Then I tried to top up with my foreign Mastercard and hit the ¥5,000 monthly limit within two transactions. A coworker showed me the Seven Bank ATM cash top-up method that same afternoon. I walked to the 7-Eleven downstairs, loaded ¥20,000 in two minutes, and haven't touched my foreign card for PayPay since." Updated September 2026  |  Written by Luna H If you live in or travel around Japan, you quickly realize that QR code mobile payments are integrated into almost every corner store, restaurant, and vending mac...

Opening NISA or iDeCo in Japan? How Foreigners Avoid Departure Asset Liquidation & US Tax Traps "I'd been contributing to a NISA account for three years when I found out I was being relocated back to the US. I assumed I could just keep the account running from abroad. My broker called me two weeks before my departure to tell me my NISA had to be closed or converted to a taxable account before I left. Then my US accountant told me the Japanese mutual funds I'd been buying inside NISA were classified as PFICs by the IRS — meaning I owed US tax on gains the Japanese government had already exempted. Three years of 'tax-free' investing turned into a complicated international tax filing. I wish someone had told me this before I opened the account." Updated September 2026  |  Written by Luna H When living and working in Japan, you are constantly advised to take advantage of tax-free investment accounts like NISA (Nippon Individual Savings Account) or individual ...