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 bit full, and I was very tired, so I impulsively got myself a seat in the Gran Class carriage (JR East’s super premium seats).
The seats are amazing, better than airline business seats. There are only six rows of three seats in the entire carriage. You get free drinks and snacks, with an attendant whose only job is take orders from Gran Class.
I enjoyed it. It was relatively expensive, but I don’t mind spending 9,000 yen (for comparison’s sake the Green car is 4,000 yen) on a one-off nice experience.
Next time my wife and I go to Tokyo I will probably book us Gran Class seats, just to share the experience with her 🙂
Mailing List
I apologize for the mailing list being a bit messed up last week. Our provider Aweber changed their system slightly, and so it added a bunch of past blog posts to the newsletter. I am hoping this week will be back to normal!
YouTube
Thank you for your support of the RetireJapan YouTube channel. We released a new video:
Also, check out RetireJapan TV S01E07: International schools in Japan, side hustles, and more! if you missed the live broadcast last week.
You can also listen to it on your favorite podcast source.
Metrics
Jiu-jitsu instructionals: three (pass)
YouTube videos: one (pass)
Consequences: None.
I’m back from Europe, and will go back to live jiu-jitsu training from this week.
The Forum
The Forum is doing well (27,761 posts so far). Here are the latest active threads:
This week’s books
Nothing new this week. Lots of things going on so just trying to finish off some books. More next time!
This week’s links
- I really enjoy Ali Abdaal’s Sunday Snippets weekly email
- I will stick to global index funds, but what a great year to date performance: Nikkei 225 ¥30,000+, is it too late to buy Japanese stocks?
- Great interview with Ramit (YouTube): Living a Rich Life with Ramit Sethi | Animal Spirits
- I love Sean’s writing, and am also having a mid-life crisis: Restless 19 – Walking Nagoya – Mini Midlife Crisis?
- I do like this idea: The end of screens?
- Very interesting: Reading the Mind of BOJ Chief Ueda
- Another kabunushi yuutai fan: Top 20 Japanese Stocks Offering the Best Shareholder Gifts
- Madness? Is the Former Athletes’ Village of the Tokyo Olympics Part of a New Asset Bubble?
- This was an interesting video for the content, but also to practice easy German (YouTube): We Asked People in Munich How Much They Earn | Easy German 499
- I can’t remember if I posted this before, but this is a great interview with a really charismatic person: The Weight Loss Scientist: You’ve Been LIED To About Calories, Dieting & Losing Weight: Giles Yeo
- I’m baffled by Japanese carmakers’ approach: BS-TBS News Interviews Me On Japan’s EV Problem
What do you think? Anything interesting in there?
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I like Paul’s suggestion of taking Melatonin in “Flying more comfortably”, but in the UK Melatonin is a prescription only drug.
I picked some up in Canada when we went, but I forgot to take it this time.
Seemed to help coming back from Canada.
At least on the local shinkansen, I dislike that the gran class car is at the end of the train–more walking to get to it, and the same when getting off. The green car(s) are usually in the middle, far more convenient, especially when connecting.