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I highly recommend reading "The Bogleheads" as a great introduction to investing.

The Bogleheads are basically a group of people following the investment principles of late Jack Bogle, founder of one of the most successful investment companies, Vanguard.

Have fun.

https://www.amazon.com/Bogleheads-Guide-Investing-Taylor-Larimore/dp/0470067365

There's also a remarkable forum/ community over there:

https://www.bogleheads.org

There are some where you pour the water in (Balmda and etc) and it just does its thing, but mine just has a ceramic cup I fill and put in the corner, in a spot marked for it, which does some sort of induction cooking to the pot of water. It's fucking great. Seriously, if you're looking for an oven, the model I have is wonderful. I use it to bake out of for a cafe on a weekly basis. Don' t be afraid!! Haha.

Two best resources to get up to speed:

1. retirejapan.com
   
2. Millionaire Expat by Andrew Hallam
   
   Long story short, America hates when it's citizens have the gall to leave it's borders and live elsewhere and tries to punish us by not letting us plan for our future.
   
   Best thing to do is open a trading account, probably at InteractiveBrokers since they're one of the only places that will deal with American expats, and invest in things like US-based ETFs.
   
   EDIT: Quick addendum, since I see others suggesting a lot of ostensibly good resources around reddit and the internet at large.
   
   While there are MANY great places to get educated in ways to save and invest, almost all of that information goes out the window when you become an expat. It is a frustrating and sad fact that, especially as US citizens, we have shockingly few options to invest long-term without incurring huge fees/penalties.
   
   By all means, read up, but MAKE SURE that what you're reading is specifically tailored for the expat situation. Otherwise, you may as well just go to the pachinko parlor and try your luck there.

Have you tried these? (link is to Amazon, but they sell them in Donki and drugstores. I sweat a lot too, and while this (and its menthol blue cousin) doesn't do much to reduce the amount (even though it says it's an antiperspirant), it helps a lot with the smell. It's definitely the best thing I found in Japan - not too expensive, so you can give it a try and see if it works for you.

I know this is asking about store bought ice coffee, but this is ridiculously easy and cheap.

Just buy one of these. All you have to do is fill the steeper to the top of the filter screen with ground coffee of your choice, pour enough cold water so it comes to the top of your ground coffee and put it in the fridge to brew overnight. It takes about 8 to 10 hours. Wake up, pull the filter out, and pour yourself the absolute best glass of ice coffee you've ever had.

Yep. No English classes yet. I had been worried that they'd speak down to the level of an elementary school English class, but I think they're already beyond that sort of regression. I've been thinking of shipping them off to Canada for a year of elementary in a couple of years.

BTW, for reading we're using this book to great success (about halfway through now.)

I should write a guide about this... the outline is:

0. Don't be American.

1. Get educated: I recommend this book plus a good amount of reading on the net.
   
2. Set your goals (whether you're going to spend some of your invested funds in the short term vs just retirement fund, when do you want to retire, acceptable risk, etc). 2a. Determine your asset allocation from that (mainly % of stocks vs. % of bonds). 2b. Calculate how much you need to save per month.
   
3. Get an account at a Japanese online brokerage, and select the mutual funds that correspond to the previous step.
   
4. Transfer a % of your income every month to that account and then into the funds.

I've actually seen a lot of vending machines are now ¥160 for a 500ml of Cocacola (which seemed to happen after the tax increase). My local Max Value supermarket sells Cocacola for ¥84.

Amazon.co.jp lists 24x500ml bottles at ¥97 each. At least the supermarket is cheaper, faster and has it chilled...

Also since tap water tasted weird a few weeks ago before the wet season, I bought a box of 6x2L bottles of water for about ¥400. Mmm tenzensui...

And since I get my Amazon orders delivered to the nearest conbini since I'm never home for their next day delivery and can't find time to get the delivery anyway, I actually end up having to go further than the super market to get a super heavy box of drinks...

Have you considered a seasoned cast iron skillet?
The Lodge ones are cheap and will last forever if you wash them properly after use.

https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00006JSUA/

I got one of these 7 years ago after a few years of wasting money on the usual variety of non-stick pans and its still going strong.

You need to take a little care in how you clean it after use, but its great to cook with.

This is great for the money. The best oven I've owned in Japan or back home. It's red though!..

https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/aw/d/B00KV9W4EU?psc=1&ref=yo_pop_mb_yo_pop_mb_pd_t2

Thanks very much....is this the kind of transformer you use? http://item.rakuten.co.jp/netkashi/nti-149/
I want to get a sous-vide too!

And with the earthing deal (another stupid question coming up), when using products like that sous-vide and other things with or without the transformer, what happens with the earthing and those foreign devices' 3-pronged plugs? I've been going a little beyond the simple old 3->2 prong adaptor and using this Hataya extension cord and adaptor for 3-pronged devices to keep some of the earthing going as I connect it to the one socket in my kitchen that actually has an earth.
Even though it's for outdoor use....I used it to connect this Bonavita kettle from the US with temperature control and it seems to have been alright except for error messages coming up sometimes. But I want to go that transformer route for future things. Of course Japan has no shortage of its own great kitchen supplies, but for certain things like the above, I was more enamoured with the American option.

2 Questions from me this week!

1. I want an oven, I miss having an oven, I want to bake and make pizza and baked potatoes and anyway... I am looking at the SHARP RE-SS10B-R for around 26K from Amazon.. Now it says that it is an oven and steam oven. Will this be okay to use like an English oven? Also does it have a microwave function?
   
   
2. I also want a blender, I am looking at getting the Ninja Ultimate, in Japan it costs nearly 40K, where as back home in the U.K it costs <20k. Now for the question, if I were to purchase it in the U.K and send it over to Japan, would it work? U.K uses 230V compared to Japans 100V.
   
   Thanks!

Check your local drug stores plenty of them should have it like HAC drug, fit care depot etc. Amazon also has it of course.

Cheers will look into that!

<edit> I definitely need this one!

> I've accepted that I can no longer bake the dishes I spent years perfecting due to the lack of anything like a decent oven.

If you adjust time/temperature a bit, this type and similar ones work just as well.

So far I tried without issue: pizza, frozen pizza, all kinds of cake, cookies, gratin, roast chicken/ vegetables, bread,...

Can't say anything about big pieces of meat...yet

Basically you'll have to become one of those kyoiku parents everyone hates; simple osmosis from Thomas the Tank Engine reruns is not sufficient. Head over to r/homeschool and do some research, they have experience with the nuts and bolts of formally teaching their own kids English (which is what you'll be doing). Your kid is still a bit young but when he's bigger you might give this book a try. I'm going through it with my five year old now and we spend about 10-15 minutes a day doing the lessons. It can be a bit of a slog at times but teaches reading, pronunciation (reading a lot of words slowly to make sure the sounds are correct) and writing. Teaching one's own child is insanely fun and rewarding... If you outsource by throwing your kid into a school you'll never experience that kind of bonding.

Twinbird makes pretty decent quality stuff.

Whatever you get, I recommend you get a simple on-off type, not a digital one. Then you have the option of making a sous-vide controller later.

You can get corn grits at Aeon - it's coarser than masa and you'll need to soak it longer since it takes more time to absorb the water and form a proper dough. Lard is pretty easily available although the little squeeze bottles bug me.

<3000yen...

https://www.amazon.co.jp/Norpro-1063-%E3%83%88%E3%83%AB%E3%83%86%E3%82%A3%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A4%E3%83%97%E3%83%AC%E3%82%B9-%E3%83%88%E3%83%AB%E3%83%86%E3%82%A3%E3%83%BC%E3%83%A4%E3%80%80%E3%83%A1%E3%83%BC%E3%82%AB%E3%83%BC-%E3%80%80%EF%BC%96%E3%82%A4%E3%83%B3%E3%83%81%E3%80%90%E4%B8%A6%E8%A1%8C%E8%BC%B8%E5%85%A5%E5%93%81%E3%80%91/dp/B00004UE8E/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1472709681&sr=8-1&keywords=tortilla+press

I feel like there's a whole site dedicated to this

Amazon Japan has the gooseneck version of the Bonavita available via Prime.
https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B005YR0F40/ref=s9_acsd_hps_bw_cr_x__a_w

I brought over the non-gooseneck version of the Bonavita and have used it for a few years. I like the degree-specific setting and hold mode for up to an hour. Built in timer as well.

Dude, get this. It's absolutely one of the best things I bought.

It use that one: https://www.amazon.co.jp/ツインバード工業-TWINBIRD-TS-4118B-コンベクションオーブン-ブラック/dp/B002MRRA0W/ref=sr_1_16?ie=UTF8&qid=1516855108&sr=8-16&keywords=twinbird Probably the best bang for your bucks you can get. Size is decent too (25cm) wide

I got one of these Hario 1l bottles from Amazon for under 1,000 yen: https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/product/B00I7JKAQ0/ref=as_li_qf_asin_il_tl?ie=UTF8&tag=thejetlounge-22&creative=1211&linkCode=as2&creativeASIN=B00I7JKAQ0&linkId=0980b4a3d7b52acf2b32d3ac62a7352f

Just grind some beans, fill with cold water, and stick in the fridge the night before :)

Looks like standard apartment wall. Washi tape should be fine (as long as you don't keep it up for like... a year or something). You can also try these removable double-sided tape

I think that was the Lodge ones https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B00006JSUA/ Haven't bought one yet but certainly will do in the future

Here's a good cheap model if it's your first slow cooker:

http://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/aw/d/B009JXQWR4/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?qid=1458627745&sr=8-1&pi=SY200_QL40&keywords=slow+cooker&dpPl=1&dpID=41q1bVj964L&ref=plSrch

How about a Ketoconazole shampoo, like this...

ニゾラール

Try reading this book: The Subtle Art of Not Giving a F*ck: A Counterintuitive Approach to Living a Good Life https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/0062457713/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_i_tRq1CbWW649SZ

There are copies around online and the author also has a blog.

Blu Tack also exists as Blu Tack... https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0010ZMQHE/

Some food for thought:
1)
https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/aw/d/4770018487/ref=mp_s_a_1_1?__mk_ja_JP=%E3%82%AB%E3%82%BF%E3%82%AB%E3%83%8A&qid=1497715637&sr=8-1&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=Straitjacket+society&dpPl=1&dpID=51W2BFZZGEL&ref=plSrch


2)
https://www.amazon.co.jp/gp/aw/d/0809039435/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?__mk_ja_JP=%E3%82%AB%E3%82%BF%E3%82%AB%E3%83%8A&qid=1497715742&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_FMwebp_QL65&keywords=alex+kerr&dpPl=1&dpID=512x9dkcRcL&ref=plSrch

I've been using this one for the last few years.

It's cooked pies, bread, cakes, cookies, all sorts really.

https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B003OCOE3K

This is a hook that can be attached to the wall with adhesive tape.

​

There was a tool to fix the wooden post with a spring.

https://www.heianshindo.co.jp/labrico/

https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B0010ZMQHE

Could probably shrink that URL down a bit:
https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B009W4ASW0

Or even use markdown properly...

https://www.amazon.co.jp/Permanent-Record-Edward-Snowden/dp/1250237238

There is a very good book about a guy who did this. He worked overseas, came back with a western way of thinking, and started rocking the boat. They demoted him a bunch of times because as he called out his superiors, he told the stories each week in a popular newspaper. The book is an insane read that will have anyone who has put up with Japanese bureaucracy totally agreeing with his points.

Straightjacket Society review

Amazon link

After he published the book he was finally fired for a bullshit reason and died a few years later. The book became very popular in the 90s.

Sorry, I should have clarified. I was talking about 500mL can.

Edit: 500mL PET bottle for 85 yen!

Weird, I though cans would be less expensive.

There is a really great book that talks about how British expats get screwed with pension scams and advice on what to do instead. The book is Millionaire Expat by Andrew Hallam.

This one: It's pretty cheap, but I only make tacos about once every month and a half so I didn't see the reason in making an investment into a cast iron one like I have back home. I place a cut open zip lock bag (so it's just one large piece) on one side when I press to keep the masa from sticking together and shredding.

My only regret is that it's a bit on the smaller size, but hey it's not like I'm rolling around in tons of kitchen space.

Dude m, I used to have dry scalp to no end! I switched to this shampoo, and it solved all of my problems.

https://www.amazon.co.jp/%E3%82%AA%E3%82%AF%E3%83%88%E3%82%BB%E3%83%A9%E3%83%94%E3%82%A8-serapie-%E3%80%90%E5%8C%BB%E8%96%AC%E9%83%A8%E5%A4%96%E5%93%81%E3%80%91%E3%82%AA%E3%82%AF%E3%83%88%E3%82%BB%E3%83%A9%E3%83%94%E3%82%A8-%E8%96%AC%E7%94%A8%E3%82%B9%E3%82%AD%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B1%E3%82%A2%E3%82%B7%E3%83%A3%E3%83%B3%E3%83%97%E3%83%BC/dp/B001ET6528

> https://www.amazon.co.jp/dp/B003OCOE3K
>
> This is a hook that can be attached to the wall with adhesive tape.

These specifically say not to be used with wallpaper. I can confirm that they will damage it when removed.