Hey everyone 👋
I'm based in Bali and have to recieve a package the problem with shipping is that it's only shipped domestically,

is anyone currently based in Japan who could help me receive a small package (a Neurosity Crown headset) and either forward it to Bali or bring it over when they travel here?

I’ll cover shipping or any costs involved and make as easy for you as possible

are there any reliable platforms for short term apartment / studio <$2000 in tokyo?

there definitely was one, but I don't remember the name 😬

As of earlier this year my picks were:

Hmlet for nicer places (and cheaper the longer you stay).

Sakura House for older cheap places (lots of share houses but also studios).

Are the share houses pleasant to live in? They seem so much cheaper than renting apartments

How does it compared to capsules

Can’t compare from personal experience. I don’t think of capsules as viable living space. Share houses depend on how much personal space you need and/or socializing you can stand.

Read some horror stories about Sakura House.

In addition to hmlet, you can check weave living and sumyca.

I find their added fees make them all overpriced for short stays, though.

I’m seeing cool share houses (built 2024-2025) around 70k - 100k yen per month

Hello, just landed in Osaka for about 10 days until Dec. 15th ish.

Happy to meet up and explore together.

Hello, do you have any idea how much it would cost to live in Narita for three months? We’re a couple and would need a simple 1-bedroom + living room accommodation. How much would that cost roughly?

which websites are you checking? I am also looking for options to go on march

Anyone knows where to buy whey protein isolate in Tokyo?🙏

New Coffee meetup every morning in Tokyo until Monday

Hey there 👋

I will be Tokyo for 2ish months, I was wondering if I should get a digital nomad visa or not

I know is a grey area to work on a tourist one and I like to go to coworking space almost every day but if I can avoid the admin….

What’s your experience working from coworking space on a tourist visa ? Do they ever check?

They don't. No point getting nomad visa unless you want to stay 6 months. Tourist visa is fine unless you're trying to get paid by Japanese companies while you're there.

It's not a gray area, working for a non-japanese company while on a tourist visa is 💯% ok

Thanks guys !

I’m doing a Christmas hang with some people I met through coworking space, DM me if you wanna join!
It’s in a traditional townhouse in Kyoto, which should be kinda cool.

Related to this ? Checking tourist visa requirements and it says I should have my return/onward ticket out of Japan booked

What’s people experience with this ?

Have anyone did a visa run for Japan? Liked it here so much and wanted to stay a bit longer than the visa waiver of 3mo. If so, did they give you a hard time on next arrival?

I did it 2 years ago, no problems hopping over to Korea for a week.

What is your experience? Mine is: visiting Japan is 2x more expensive compared to visiting China and 3x more expensive compared to visiting Thailand. (Based on spending 2 weeks each with similar hotel lifestyle)

Don’t know when you went, but China is cheaper than Thailand now, for sure.

It obviously depends on which cities within those countries, but having beem to all 3 recently, I'd also say China is the cheapest right now. That said, while obviously more expensive, the difference between Japan and Thailand isn't nearly as high as it used to be. Definitely not 3x.

Can second that. Thailand has become surprisingly expensive if you're earning Japanese yen. A big cost in Japan is accommodation because most places have rates per person per night instead of per room per night, and hotel prices have skyrocketed after the coronavirus pandemic ended. It's pretty outrageous. So accommodation is one area where Thailand is still cheaper than Japan. One way to keep such cost down is to rent something for a longer period outside of Tokyo. There are many nice regional cities in Japan that could work as bases for indie hackers. Honestly I think it is only a matter of time before more people will choose Japan as a base, though it depends on whether they are able to get visas.

Im looking into doing this. Could I bother you for info about where you think it could be cheaper? I’m considering going far from Tokyo all the way to Kagoshima or Hiroshima, just on an exploratory trip, but I’d love to get some more informed opinions.

Hey Marcel, did you end up making that Hokkaido trip? I am planning something similar this year. Will probably go to Furano if I can find a place to stay that is not $6k for two weeks 🫠😅

I did not

Depends how close you want to be to a major urban area! My advice would be to ask an AI...! Also, consider what kind of weather you like best. Do you want to be somewhere where it's generally not that cold throughout the year or do you want to be somewhere where you can ski and snowboard?

Currently looking at where I go next, curious which area did you choose for your 4mo stay

I chose Kyoto.

Any advice on how to find sublets in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka? Obviously, besides Airbnb. Are there any other good sources/local sites?

Here are some recs from earlier in the channel

tokyosharehouse.com

but you need to apply for a few places to try your luck. The site don't have real time update, so check your email often.