The Monday Read: Shrines in Japan

A constant theme in Japanese life

This is Shiogama Shrine. It is over 1200 years old and one of the most important shrines in Tohoku. It’s just down the road from us.

I got married there.

We go there a couple of times a year, for life events and to get blessings. We were there last week with our youngest grandchild.

There is something about seeing the shrine in all seasons, dozens or hundreds of times.

A kind of permanence. I’m not particularly religious or spiritual, but it’s reassuring.

Shrines here are interesting. They are different from churches in Europe. There is an element of commerce involved with the payments for amulets, blessings, and ceremonies. They seem more alive somehow, more integrated into society.

I think they are pretty cool.

Your First Ten Million Yen

Our flagship personal finance course returns in November! If you want to get your finances in order but never seem to get round to it, or it seems a bit difficult or off-putting, this course might be just the thing to get you unstuck.

The course is now open, and you can sign up here for the fourth cohort (starts Oct 28th and runs until Dec 1st).

YouTube

Thank you for your support of the RetireJapan YouTube channel. I made a proper new video last week!

What do you think? Would you add anything to either list?

The Forum

Speaking of which, the Forum is doing well (37,964 posts so far). The forum rules are here. In essence, they are:

1. Be nice
2. Ask any question you like
3. Only answer questions when you have relevant knowledge or experience

Here are the latest active threads:

This week’s books

Still reading Burn, by Herman Pontzer, about metabolism and calories, and Alchemy, by Rory Sutherland, about marketing. Both great.

Started reading Dark Matter, by Blake Crouch. It’s a sci-fi ish thriller. Interesting premise, not completely into it yet. There is an Apple TV series too apparently.

Product of the week

I have a fairly old Kindle (micro USB, etc.) and had been thinking of buying a new one, but Amazon has been out of stock for a while.

On Wednesday they released the new Paperwhite Kindles, and I ordered one. It arrived on Friday.

Really impressed so far. It’s bigger, thinner, feels lighter/less dense but that might be an impression based on the weight distribution. Much faster. Screen seems brighter too. USB C and wireless charging.

My wife has the previous generation, which has a lot of these features but is slightly smaller. Not sure it would be worth upgrading from that.

But if you have an older Kindle, or don’t have a Kindle, this is very nice. I’m going to get a lot of use out of it.

This week’s links

1. Interesting stuff. I want to live a long healthy life, but not a long one without the health: Why everything you think about living to 100 might be wrong
2. Really interesting (Japanese TV show with English voiceover): Reality of Women’s Prison in Japan: Life Quality, Humane Treatment, Reoffence Rates, and Aging
3. I approve of higher minimum wages: Japan’s Minimum Wage Miracle
4. Incredible numbers: Long-Term Stock Market Averages
5. Same for Japan, more or less: Six Dumb Misconceptions About The Economy (that the Politicians Want You To Believe)
6. A bit gauche -I’m always suspicious of people who brag about how much things cost (YouTube): Meet the 30 Year Old Japanese Millionaire Making $3.8 Million Per Day! ($6M House Tour)
7. The end of an era (and a great photo blog): The last tiny Tokyo shop and its owner
8. I love this. Not holding my breath on it being implemented, but it’s beautifully simple. Tax on Europe’s frequent flyers could raise €64bn a year – study
9. Interesting: An 80/20 Stock-Heavy Portfolio In Retirement Might Be Ideal
10. Not just Japan now, Japan was just first: UK’s fertility rate falling faster than any other G7 nation – with austerity thought to be ‘principal factor’
11. Probably not a choice for most people: ‘Bocchi’ culture: Japan’s loner lifestyle
12. Down under too: Australia’s birth rate hits rock bottom with severe consequences for economic future
13. This kind of blew my mind a bit (YouTube): The Coming Global Depopulation
14. Some great stories in here (YouTube): How These Foreigners Became Japanese
15. This is a scary trend. Time to fortify your home a bit, I guess (double glazing, decent locks, cameras, a big dog): Robberies in Kanto region may be linked to ‘dark’ part-time jobs
16. This video was excellent (YouTube): How High Are Private Equity Returns?
17. Good news for Wise: Wise becomes first foreign firm to gain direct access to Japan’s payment clearing network
18. I wonder if this issue is gaining traction. Hope so! Tokyo court upholds dual nationality ban, rejecting teen’s citizenship case
19. Am I seeing this everywhere because it is everywhere or because I am thinking about it? Global Baby Bust
20. Nice blog (discussing house construction in Japan): The house construction has started!
21. The numbers are insane: Starship is Still Not Understood
    

What do you think? Anything interesting in there?

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