Guest Post: Solar Panels in Japan in 2023

Photo of people installing solar panels in Japan.

I contacted three different providers and asked each for an estimate for a solar power generation system equipped with a storage battery. Two of them provided me with two sets of estimates (with and without), while another just gave one (with).

The Monday Read: Gran Class

RetireJapan Monday Read logo and illustrative photo of newspapers and coffee.

I am back in Japan! The flight back was fine, even though it was my first long-haul economy flight in quite some time 😉 Here’s a quick snapshot of an anecdote from the flight. After arriving at Narita, I took the Keisei Line to Ueno, then the shinkansen back to Sendai. The train was a […]

The Monday Read: Big Dog

RetireJapan Monday Read logo and illustrative photo of newspapers and coffee.

I’m close to the end of my Europe trip, and it’s been great. Not only did I see all the people I needed to see, but I also got to do a lot of thinking. (was not able to do… any of the work I was planning to, but this should not be a surprise […]

The Monday Read: UK Love/Hate

RetireJapan Monday Read logo and illustrative photo of newspapers and coffee.

I’m in London now seeing friends. As usual, had a fairly poor initial experience, but it got much better once I met up with people. Last night I went to a Eurovision Song Contest party and drank far too much. Today I met a friend for a walk and lunch. This evening I met my […]

Should I pay off my mortgage early in Japan?

Photo of apartment buildings in and property Japan.

A lot of advice in English recommends paying mortgages off early, and many people dislike being in debt and aim to be debt (and mortgage) free as soon as possible.

But this is not necessarily the best option in Japan.

The Monday Read: Eurobliss

RetireJapan Monday Read logo and illustrative photo of newspapers and coffee.

I am back where I grew up near Bilbao. I wrote a long Twitter thread about the first part of my trip. You can read it here if you dare 😉 Now I am hanging out with my family, eating tortilla de patatas, and walking around the town where I grew up. A lot has […]

The Monday Read: Going Home

RetireJapan Monday Read logo and illustrative photo of newspapers and coffee.

I’m finally taking a trip to Europe to see family and friends. It’s been… four years I think? Far too long. Looking forward to it of course. But it’s going to be weird to be away for three weeks. Good to get out of the daily routine, enjoyable though it is. On the other hand, […]

The Monday Read: Living Life Now

RetireJapan Monday Read logo and illustrative photo of newspapers and coffee.

I’ve been doing a lot of thinking recently. To be honest, I have overthought things my whole life, but recently I have been thinking about health, mortality, and making the most of today. I’ve also been reading a lot about AI, and that makes me almost as nervous as climate change. Cheerful stuff. In terms […]

The Monday Read: Health and Fitness Edition

RetireJapan Monday Read logo and illustrative photo of newspapers and coffee.

Now that I am unemployed (according to my wife) I have been focusing on health and fitness. Or, at least in my case, unhealth and unfitness. On the health front, I am still committed to getting my weight down to a healthy 77kg by September (I have not been under 83kg in my adult life). […]

The Monday Read: Back on Track

RetireJapan Monday Read logo and illustrative photo of newspapers and coffee.

The weather and the cherry blossoms have been glorious. Classes started at my wife’s school without too many incidents, I finally managed to book a flight to see my friends and family in Europe, after two decades of trying I finally have official ID with just my kanji alias on it (kokumin kenkou hoken card), […]