I think it might be we prefer to spend our money and time on other things, instead of giving it to the local gaijin bars, and peeing it down the toilet, which from anecdotal information means about a 10,000 yen a night. At once a week turns out to be 40,000 yen a month. Quite expensive.AreTheyTheLemmings? wrote: ↑Wed Jan 26, 2022 12:27 am A question popped into my mind when reading this thread: Is it significant that most of the things mentioned here are essentially solo activities? Apart from jiu-jitsu etc., the activities are things you do yourself. You might see or be among other people, but there is no requirement for real social interaction. The fact that we enjoy essentially solo activities is fine, of course, and it's not central to the question that this thread raised in my mind. What I ask myself is should we conclude that "other people" do not provide value for money?
I also think people assume people who drink alcoholic are more sociable. Possibly?
It may also be that when we were single we were focused on other delights of the night., which made the investment seem worthwhile………. at the time. Then I realized all my money became her money and all her money became her money. When they said for richer or poorer……….cough cough.
goodandbadjapan wrote: ↑Tue Jan 25, 2022 1:36 pm Paddle boarding - I bought a board for about 50,000, I think, a year and a half ago. A one-off payment the has since given me so much relaxation and pleasure for no additional cost. Take a little picnic to a the lake, spend a few hours on the water and de-stress! After the initial layout it is a very cheap hobby if you have easy access to water!
Another one that did cost me a few million yen but has been worth every penny was building a big wooden balcony on my house .
Vinyl records - I love music.
I’d love to see a pic of that balcony. Cool idea. What was it before? One of theirs plastic Japanese ones?
Records, kids will never enjoy spending time together admiring the art, the touch and feel of a record and also playing a whole album without having to press skip.
So it Seems we all enjoy popping out to cafes, and just being with other people.
Right now I’m starting a new hobby, model trains, second hand stuff but I get to save money, recycle,save the planet, and have a damn good time with the kids. Right now it’s the flying Scotsman and the Mallard. It has certainly come a long way from when I was a kid.
Sadly Japanese rental homes aren’t that big so I’ll have to make space.
We all seem to have one big interest, our financial side but such wide interests, and we spend money on them, by maybe avoiding Starbucks, Gaijin bars/over inflated booze.
I’ve also started to send my clothes for repair.
650 yen for a new pocket instead of chucking it,
A ripped shirt, again 650 for a running repair,(2500) for the super repair). And YouTube’s cleaning channels have become pretty darn interesting. Signs of getting old my friends.