Cherry blossoms are in full bloom but it’s due to rain tomorrow
I don’t think I have enjoyed the cherry blossoms for about fifteen years now. I see them, of course, and sometimes I stop and look at them. But I haven’t attended or hosted any hanami parties for a long time.
My wife’s school, like all schools in Japan, starts in April and the first 2-3 weeks are crazy busy. As the buck stops here, I don’t feel like I can relax until the Golden Week holidays start.
After that things settle down a bit and life returns to normal, but the moment is gone.
I feel like there is a bit of a metaphor in there somewhere.
How is your work/life balance?
RetireJapan TV
RetireJapan TV will be back on April 22nd from 20:00 (we had to change the day! It will be on Tuesday this month).
We’ll be talking about how to navigate the health system here in Japan. Join us live to ask questions or contribute to the discussion.
YouTube
Thank you for your support of the RetireJapan YouTube channel. New video soon. Maybe.
Bite-sized podcast
We have a new episode about the stock market: My NISA is evaporating!
The Forum
Speaking of which, the Forum is doing well (41,039 posts so far). The forum rules are here. In essence, they are:
- Be nice
- Ask any question you like
- Only answer questions when you have relevant knowledge or experience
Here are the latest active threads:
This week’s books
I am still on my Terry Pratchett binge! Bought all of his Discworld books on Kindle and just finished reading The Night Watch (29/41). One of the best.
This week’s links
- There is a twist: You Should (Possibly) Be Day Trading
- I love these dinosaur robot things (Twitter)
- Pretty bad: How Bad Could This Get?
- I agree with Vitaliy here: Tariffs, Debt, and a Recession by Design
- This was wonderful. Just what I needed to read today: Doing More is Often Easier
- It’s not different: Deja vu all over again
- Seen this before, seeing it again helped: Things That Aren’t Doing the Thing
- Never heard of Binchotan charcoal, but an interesting read: The Burn Identity
- Craig Mod x Tim Ferriss? Two full podcast episodes
- This is hilarious: Japanese government’s investment alligator mascot missing, possibly in hiding
- I’ve heard lots of stories about people being impacted by this. Seems some banks are freezing accounts the day zairyu cards run out… even if immigration is processing the renewal and the person has the correct stamp proving that Japan banks block withdrawals from expired foreign resident accounts
- No bueno: Pollen peril: how heat, thunder and smog are creating deadly hay fever seasons
- 10% YoY growth? Damn: Japan foreign population grows twice as fast as expected on worker influx
- Still not interested, but I hope it goes well: Japan’s Second City Is Hosting a $66 Billion Coming-Out Party
- Martin at Smart Money Asia Taps the sign
- Was not expecting the twist! Damn you, Derek. Urashima Taro
- Eeew. That is a new simile. But it is memorable: Welcome to the Grasslands
- Not as impressive as I thought it was from the title: Meanwhile, in Japan, train stations are being 3D-printed in an afternoon
- I love this kind of detailed explanation of a topic. Absolutely nothing to do with personal finance: The Golden Age of Japanese Pencils, 1952-1967
What do you think? Anything interesting in there?
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