I’ve heard both good and bad things about UR apartments in Japan. From what I’ve seen, the more expensive/newer UR properties seem pretty nice, but some of the really cheap ones — especially in Saitama — seems yabai.

For people who have actually lived in saitama UR:

How was your overall experience?Were the cheap/old UR apartments actually as bad as they look? How was the noise and insulation?
What were the neighbors and general atmosphere like? Are there certain UR complexes in Saitama that you would recommend or avoid?

Would love to hear from people who actually lived there rather than just general opinions about UR.

Hi,

I'm a long-term resident of Japan and wondering if anyone can help. As the title asks, has anyone applied for a US travel visa (holiday) via the US embassy? If so, how long did it take to get your visa and what was involved? Did you have to attend in-person interview at the embassy in Tokyo?

I hold a passport from an ESTA approved country and have always done ESTA visa waiver online for travel to the USA. However since my last trip to USA I have travelled to one of the countries on the US banned travel countries and now I'm not eligible to apply for ESTA. It says to apply for a visa via embassy instead. Problem is the Tokyo embassy website just sends me round in circles. 🫠

Many thanks in advance if you can share your experience 🙏🏻

Went to TeamLab Borderless on the weekend and they got this new exhibition on, which was absolutely fabulous!!

I’m really into physical media, but I keep reading online that it’s still the most common way people watch movies and TV shows in Japan. I don’t really buy into that. I find it hard to believe that most people would choose physical media over the convenience of streaming. This is coming from someone who’s a strong advocate for physical media. I think people mostly buy physical copies of video games these days, and even that is disappearing.

Looking to cover some of my grey hairs--I have naturally straight Asian hair, and have never dyed my hair before. I would like to dye it a natural color (dark brown). Any salon recommendations in Tokyo?

I tried this setup:

• work in Shinjuku
• rent under ¥100k
• commute under 30 min
• walk to station under 5 min
• top priority: quietness

The neighborhoods that came up were:

1. Nishigahara 3-chōme
2. Honkomagome 2-chōme
3. Wakamatsucho

If you're currently looking for a place in Japan, you can try it with your own commute, budget and priority here:

https://app.sonar.place

If you find an area that feels right, there's also an option to request help finding an apartment based on those conditions!