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How do I move to Japan from US?
another thing is the health insurance system, it's actually pretty solid once you're enrolled. national health insurance covers 70% of costs and you pay the rest at the clinic, but you gotta sign up within 14 days of moving here or they backdate it and charge you anyway. my friend skipped it for two months and got a fat bill from the ward office in Setagaya.
for the actual move, ship your stuff via Yamato's international service if you have a decent amount, it's cheaper than air freight and they handle customs. just pack light on electronics cause Japan uses 100V and some US stuff won't work without a transformer, learned that the hard way with my blender.
also don't underestimate the summer heat if you're coming from somewhere mild. Tokyo in August is brutal and most apartments don't have central AC, just a wall unit in the living room. get a cheap usb fan from Daiso for the train commutes it'll save your life
honestly the visa is the first thing to figure out, not the apartment or anything else. if you don't have a job lined up that sponsors a work visa, your options are basically student visa (expensive but doable), spouse visa (if married to a Japanese national), or the business manager visa if you start a company. most people come on a 1-year working holiday visa first if they're under 30, but that's capped and you can't stay long term.
for the job search, Japan Dev is way better than GaijinPot for actual professional roles, but you'll still need N2 or N1 Japanese for most decent companies unless you're in IT with specialized skills. if you're already in Tokyo, the Hello Work in Shinjuku has a foreigner desk that's actually helpful for job leads and visa questions, just bring your residence card.
housing is a pain because landlords often require a Japanese guarantor and upfront costs of 4-6 months rent (key money, deposit, agency fee, first month). monthly rent in central Tokyo for a 1K is around 80,000-120,000 yen depending on the area, but you can find cheaper in Nerima or Katsushika if you don't mind a longer commute. also you'll need a bank account and a phone plan, and Mobal or Sakura Mobile are easy for foreigners but slightly pricier than going with docomo or au directly.
yeah the biggest thing nobody warns you about is the pension system. once you're on a work visa you have to enroll in kokumin nenkin even if you don't plan to stay forever and it's like 16,000 yen a month. also the tax office will hunt you down if you skip it lol
Where can I find crispy, pan-fried bacon similar to a certain international style?
if u have a costco membership the kirkland thick cut is the move, 4 packs of 500g for around 2500 yen and it crisps up proper in a cold pan. for smaller runs, precce in azabudai hills & the basement at isetan shinjuku both carry imported US & danish brands in the chilled case, just read the label for "thick cut" or "smoked" and not "loin". also worth knowing japanese bacon is often wet-cured so pat it dry before frying or it steams instead of crisping
kaldi coffee farm is hit or miss but their smoked bacon from denmark shows up pretty regular, the 200g pack runs about 600 yen. what actually works better for me is asking the butcher counter at peacock or life to slice the block bacon thick, like 5mm, they do it for free and it crisps way better than the pre-packed stuff. also fwiw cheap bacon crisps faster, the fatty supermarket kind at 300 yen a pack works fine if u cook it from cold in a dry pan and pour off the fat as it renders.
tbh the gyomu super store brand bacon is surprisingly decent for crisping up, its not thick cut but if you cook it low and slow it gets pretty crunchy. the key is the dry cure vs wet cure thing, wet cure steams. also check hanamasa if you have one nearby, they sell big packs of american style bacon thats actually smoked and firm.
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