The RetireJapan Master Plan Part Deux
RetireJapan Remastered A few years ago I published a master plan for RetireJapan. The original plan was as follows: Step 1: share information on the site/blogStep 2: run a forum so people can ask questions and share informationStep 3: create in-depth Guides on specific topicsStep 4: provide personal coachingStep 5: provide assistance with opening accounts, etc.Step 6: provide financial services When I wrote it we […]
Derek Sivers Book Giveaway
It’s freebie time I’m a big fan of Derek Sivers. I think I first encountered him on TED. Then I read Anything You Want. I’ve been following his projects for a while now too. He inspired my /now page. Last year he started publishing books with an interesting pricing model: you pay for the initial […]
The Monday Read
Where did Autumn Go Edition Well, it’s actually cold today. Felt like I wanted my woolen hat. And a couple of days ago it was 29 degrees in Sendai. It’s getting hard to keep up with the temperature swings. Saw Dune on Friday. It was good! I’m a bit of a fan, so I was […]
Stimulus Payments
What are they good for, anyway? Last year, among other measures to mitigate the economic impact of the pandemic, the Japanese government made a single 100,000 yen payment to all residents of Japan. This was not means tested nor was it restricted in any way in how it could be used. Recently there has been […]
The Monday Read
The Mountains Look Nice Edition Last week I went to Mount Kurikoma with my wife. Unfortunately, half of Japan had the same idea… apparently it’s one of the best places to see the autumn foliage, and we went bang slap in the middle of the ten days or so when the leaves are perfect. We […]
Car died again
Thinking through the options This happened to me a couple of years ago with a different car. Our main car died and we were thinking about how to/whether we should replace it. The Avensis died that time, and we solved it by me driving the Toppo and my wife getting the Aqua back from our […]
NISA settings for 2022
Now available on Rakuten From this month you can now make changes to your NISA account for 2022, at least on Rakuten (I assume it will also be possible to do this with other providers). There are two main things you might want to consider: rolling over your 2017 ordinary NISA account, and changing your […]
The Monday Read
No Time to Die Edition Saw the new 007 film on Friday with my wife. We went to the new Aeon Cinema down the road, and caught the morning showing (8:30!). My first time in the Aeon, we got the fancy armchair seats. Very civilised. The film was good, probably the best Bond film for […]
The Monday Read
Autumn is here edition And it feels great. Really enjoying the cool, dry weather, sunny days, and wonderful evenings. Definitely my favourite time of year in Japan. Went to Koganeyama Shrine on Kinkasan in Miyagi again this year for the ‘get rich ceremony’. Allegedly if you participate three years in a row you will become […]
The Monday Read
Going back to the cinema edition My wife got her second vaccine almost two weeks ago, so I am planning to go back to jiu-jitsu next week. Worryingly I don’t feel the same hunger for it I had before, but I’m hoping I’ll be able to build a different relationship with it, more sustainable and […]