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want to meet at fmd_good The Pickle Barrel
want to meet at fmd_good Old Market Hall
want to meet at fmd_good Foundry Brewing
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Is Vintage Avenue in Harajuku still worth a visit in 2026?
Weekday afternoons around 2pm are dead quiet there, way better than fighting the crowd for the window racks.
Agreed, that afternoon lull is real. One catch is the staff start pulling stock for the next day around 4, so between 3 and 4 you get the quiet plus first look at what's coming out.
3 to 4 is even better since the office crowd clears out and the tiny elevator is all yours
their fitting room situation is rough on weekends, one stall and a queue. tbh the racks near the front door get picked over fast, the better stuff hides toward the back by the window. cash and PayPay only last time i checked, no cards.
Second floor, go early Saturday.
yeah opening time sharp, they restock overnight
Honestly the overnight restock lands closer to 10:30 than opening, so 11 is the safer bet.
Early is right but they open at 11 not 10, so dont show up at 9 like i did once.
Sunday's picked clean by noon, go Saturday
Saturday still works, but the back window rack gets raided by resellers before 10, so aim for the 9:30 restock.
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Tokyo work visa renewal 2026: what documents do I need?
Your employer files the COE at their local immigration bureau, so ask them to start it now since it takes 1 to 3 months.
Agreed, and add a month of buffer since January is peak renewal season at the Shinagawa immigration bureau.
ask them to send u the COE scan before u book the flight
employers here often drag their feet on the COE until u nudge them, so get a written timeline from them first
One thing: the bakery needs a 雇用保険 and 社会保険 setup before immigration will even look at it, so confirm they've got that sorted.
Timing matters too: COE applications submitted in late March tend to clear faster than the December crunch before the new fiscal year.
Right, and it's worth naming the actual office on your side of the desk: the employer lodges it at the Tokyo Regional Immigration Bureau at Konan, Minato, not the local ward office. Some bakeries assume otherwise and lose a week.
The usual snag is the job description: "baker" alone can read as unskilled, so the employer should write it around baking techniques and recipe development to fit the skilled labour category. Also check your passport name matches the COE exactly, middle names cause delays.
Also get the employer to attach a few photos of finished products and any competition or training certificates, since immigration officers here respond well to visual proof.
Middle name mismatch cost me six weeks. Match exactly.