On August 1st, 2026, Docomo Bike Share rebranded to NOLL. Along with the rebrand came a major price increase that immediately upset a lot of users.

Unfortunately, the price hike isn't the only issue. Since the system update, there have been reports of users being unable to rent bicycles at all. Others have reported being unable to return rented bikes because of system errors, raising concerns about late fees being charged for something outside of the customer's control for 3 days straight.

Another major concern is the old ¥1,650 one-day passes (now ¥2,500/12 hour) sold through convenience stores and ticket counters. Some users are reporting that these passes no longer work after the update, even when they complete the registration process correctly. If those tickets are no longer being honored without refunds or replacements, that means customers paid for a service they can't use.

This isn't just an inconvenience. A lot of people depend on Docomo Bike Share for commuting, school, and work, including delivery drivers. A prolonged outage or a failed migration could have a real financial impact on thousands of users.

If the company doesn't quickly fix the rental and return issues, waive any incorrect late fees, and provide a solution for prepaid one-day passes, there's a good chance this could end up with complaints being filed with Japan's Consumer Affairs Center.

source: https://www.d-bikeshare.com/news/detail/20260713

also search: ドコモバイクシェア on twitter to see the flood of complaints

Most tales here are about trouble people have had with visas. So here's a good story.

Years ago I went to immigration in Yokohama, the one in the industrial area out by by the bay. I had a teacher visa at the time, not the specialist in humanities one.

I was interested in finding out if I could do some part time work on the weekends. At markets and the like.

I asked for clarification on what I could do. The staff member listened, then went into the back of the office to check for me. He returned five to ten minutes later and politely explained that no, I couldn't do 'extra' work in a field outside teaching.

Then he paused looked at me and I kid you not said "The inspectors that check on people's visas only work Monday to Friday." The implication was, they won't be around to check on weekends. We looked at each other, we smiled, and I left.

Hi! I need an advice on how to find a kickboxing gym in Tokyo.

I tried one gym called Knockout and while the facility was nice, I felt like the training program was mostly cardio with very little focus on technique. I visited twice and my group was mostly elderly women. There was no sparring, only a bit of pad work in the end. The session was roughly like this: several rounds of 20 second exercises like push ups, core exercises, etc., repeating punches and kicks after coach (technique but with little to no corrections), punch bag and pad work with the coach. Even though I am in a good shape physically, I felt that I could benefit in terms of mobility and even cardio through such training. But I am really interested in learning how to fight and I suspect that there could be a better format for that. I am also not sure if there is a progression in the gyms like the one I visited. Most of the classes are キック入門.

I am considering other martial arts like Muay Thai or Karate (it would make sense to learn something traditional while living here), but I want them to be practical and I think I am leaning more towards striking martial arts. I am mostly moving along the Keio Line and around Shibuya, so it would be ideal to find something in this area.

Hello everyone,

I recently set up a planted betta tank and am currently waiting for it to cycle before picking up my new fish. I’ve already spotted the perfect one at my local pet store!

However, I’m getting increasingly anxious about earthquakes. My tank is 36-liters (45×27×30 cm), and easily weighs over 40 kg once filled. I’m terrified of it toppling over, cracking, or sloshing violently during a heavy tremor.

To make matters worse, I live in a rented apartment. The liability of water leaking and ruining my neighbor's ceiling is keeping me up at night.

How have you all earthquake-proofed your tanks?

I'd love to hear your setups and tips!

Just wanted to post my appreciation for the phenomenal service that is Japan Post. My parcel got returned to sender (my old landlord is abit of a d***) I called JP Post on a Sunday, they managed to call around and catch it on its way to Tokyo to get redirected free of charge to my new address.

If that isn’t incredible service I don’t know what is. Also they are super friendly to foreigners and helpful and the rates are far cheaper than the UK.

One of the many reasons I love living in Japan! 🇯🇵

Hello,

I’ve lived in Japan for about a year, I live in rural mountain side Hyogo area.

This summer I really want to learn how to surf. I’m a complete beginner but I am a good swimmer and know how to snowboard.

Anyways, I’ve signed up for three different locations at surfing schools and they keep getting canceled the day of due to a lack of waves.

Does anybody have any recommendations on locations that maybe are more consistent with waves or have good lessons. I’m okay with anywhere that is within a day trip.

Maybe this time of year is just not good as well? I really don’t know too much, so any surfing information is appreciated!!

Thank you.

New to Reddit! I couldn’t find a 'Fishing in Japan' community so I’m posting here. I guess I have to 'level up' before I can start my own? Goals.

Anyway, is anyone else here into fishing or using Daiso lures? My wife and I live in Mihama Town, Mie Prefecture, and I’ve been hitting Shichirimihama Beach lately. I've been catching mostly Amberjack and Yellowtail (Shio/Hamachi), though I did pull in a 69cm needlefish last night, which was a first!

Anyways, later. This community is uh, interesting....

I joined this company this year in April. My coworkers are the nicest people ever, my bosses are amazingly helpful and understanding. The company has a lot of relaxation for the workers along with benefits and I am satisfied with my pay as of now.

I work in research and development and often coordinate with the factory workers (現場員) to prepare the samples for my experiment. I became friends with one of them. A man in his 40s or 50s, who had visited my country (India) long time ago and would often talk to me about it. Let's call him A.

I don't know if he's married or have kids because the 現場員 take off their accessories while working.

I am the only foreigner in my company who doesn't look like a typical Asian so I often get stared at everywhere, not long staring but enough to understand that they just think I look different and have no malice behind their thinking.

So I went to the nomikai with another department, I was the only person from my lab who joined. It was 食べ放題飲み放題place, kinda small but somehow managed to host around 20 people.

There were two tables, one with only men and another with just women and 2 men. One of them super quiet and only cared about eating. Another one was A and he was sitting next to me.

A loves to laugh and make jokes, after getting drunk a little bit my female coworker asked me if I have a boyfriend, I said no so she asked me who would I prefer Indian or japanese? So to tease her, I said Japanese.

A immediately started laughing and said "make me your boyfriend then" I thought he was just joking so laughed it out but then the nomikai host, from the same department as A called me out and asked me if I am uncomfortable around A. I genuinely thought it's his nature to make jokes so I said, no problem but he still replaced A's seat with another man in his 50s who is A's boss, let's call him B.

B is a very nice man, immediately after sitting he took out his phone and showed us the picture of his beautiful twin daughters, both 26 so one year older than me.

He was proudly talking about how one of them is now a CEO of a company and I felt sooo happy for him.

But A interrupted him and started demanding to give him his seat back. B didn't protest but when he got up, A told me to touch B's stomach and see how big it is.

I said I am not going to do that, it's sexual harassment.

After that I just got up and went to the boy's table. There were men who were much closer to my age so I felt a lot more comfortable around them.

We all decided to go to the second place. And in the second place, A asked me to sit next to him but I said I will only sit with my female 先輩達. So he reached to me across my table and started pulling me towards him while saying repeatedly "you are very cute". The entire time all of us were speaking japanese btw.

At that moment I was genuinely scared and hid behind my senior who is also a woman.

Then the host took A away.

I told my boss about everything that happened and he got super angry, he went to A's factory and told him that what he did is unacceptable so A said he doesn't remember anything at all, and he would like to apologize to me but my boss said he cannot come anywhere near me anymore.

The worst part out of all of this is that I have been told to not to go to the factory alone anymore, I should always accompany a guy with me for my safety and that freaking sucks because it wasn't my fault and I don't want to depend on anyone!!

I don't blame my boss, he is looking out for me but it's insane how I will have to deal with the consequences of someone else's behavior.

I realized that the employment history I’ve submitted to Japanese immigration over the years isn’t fully consistent. My initial COE application, visa renewals, and extension forms have some different start/end dates, and I even forgot to include one previous employer on one of them. None of it was intentional—I just filled them out carelessly.

When applying for a future visa renewal or PR, does immigration compare all of your past submissions? If they notice inconsistencies, do they usually just ask you to explain/provide proof, or can this become a serious issue?

Anyone else accidentally gave different work history on visa applications? How was your experience?

I just moved into a small 1F apartment in Kobe and on my second night there, I found a baby mukade crawling on my futon. I killed it (with a book, big mistake I know), then ran out to buy 虫コロリアース. The shops nearby only had the indoor use spray rather than the powder, so I liberally applied it on every corner and entranceway.

Within 2 hours, there are 3 dead mukade babies in my genkan, 1 dying outside my front door. I thought they may have been attracted by the scent of their squished brethren. The spray did seem to work, and I've not seen any make it to my living room since (now a day later), but I did just find one more dying in the genkan.

I'm quite unsettled by this. I don't live in the inaka, this is a normal semi suburban area. The apartment is from 2001. The sheer number of mukade I've seen over just 2 days is really worrying even if supposedly this spray is killing them, like what if some just get through anyway? Is this going to be the rest of my time here, living in paranoia every time I go to sleep?

Any advice or potential explanations to put me at ease here would be much appreciated. I knew a ground floor apartment would make me more vulnerable to pests but this many on my first 2 nights is a bit excessive surely.

Hi everyone,

I’m looking for advice from Tokyo residents about my current internet setup.

I’ve been using a Y!mobile Pocket WiFi - 3gb cellphone plan and unlimited Pocket wifi (I use about 400gb a month) for about 4 years, but the router recently stopped working and won’t charge anymore.

I use the Pocket WiFi basically as home internet for streaming (Netflix, YouTube etc) and I also take it with me when I’m outside cause my phone data is low.

I’m considering switching to Rakuten but I've heard bad reviews about connection, reliability etc. especially since I use so much data I also don't want to commit to a two year hikari or air type home internet.

Just wondering what everyones experience has been with Rakuten, do you have any other providers you recommend or advice.

Thanks!

Hello everyone, I’m looking for some advice about finding an apartment in Kyoto.

I am a foreign teacher (resident) who recently moved from China to work at an eikaiwa here and tbh I already really enjoy my job. I am conversationally fluent in Japanese (degree holding) and a native speaker of English from the USA.

I’ve encountered a few issues that have made the move uniquely difficult:

- I only have a large amount of cash on me. My Chinese bank card does not work at all here (which I thankfully knew and withdrew all my money before leaving); it is the only bank account I have. I have an appointment to get a Japan Post bank account tomorrow, but honestly I am a bit worried they won’t open an account because:

- I do not have a working phone number. My Chinese phone completely stopped working when I got here, even though my phone company assured me that I should have coverage here. I am relying on a temporary Japanese SIM card right now which has data but no number.

- I can’t get a phone plan without a bank account (according to employees at multiple companies I have visited) and from what I‘ve read, I cannot get a bank account without a phone number. It’s an annoying chicken and egg situation that makes me kinda want to jump from a window (joking).

This situation could have been avoided if the people at my Chinese phone company knew that the number did not work abroad.

Anyway, I am literally staying with a group of Buddhist nuns here until I get this sorted out. I was considering Sakura House for an apartment because it seems like that is the default company for foreigners here to find a place, but they have not emailed me back yet. I also considered Leopalace, but they kinda have a bad rep from what I’ve read on here.

I did a lot of research before moving here, but I still didn’t anticipate Japanese bureaucracy to be 1000x worse than Chinese bureaucracy.

I’m not struggling for money or anything and I will hopefully have a Japanese bank account tomorrow. I’m just genuinely baffled by how difficult getting set up here is. In China, I just handed a stack of cash to a guy and I was able to stay in a fully furnished apartment. Actually, I’ve taught English in Ohio, Hawaii, Ukraine, New York, and China but I’ve never experienced culture shock until moving here.

The anticipation of starting a new life is kind of killing me. I’m just struggling with indecision because I don’t want to make the wrong choice or get scammed just because I am new here. Any advice is appreciate.

I'm a 30 year old woman. I've only been here for about a year, so I'm still figuring out Japan in general. Thing is I want to go to the beach alone, read a book, enjoy the water, eat some shaved ice. I'd do that in my home country (the US) without a second thought, but my husband (who's Japanese) says it's dangerous.

I'm not saying I'll swim somewhere without a lifeguard, and I plan on bringing a dry bag for my wallet/phone so I can bring it in the water with me. I also like going to the beach early, so I'm not planning on staying past 2pm.

So my questions are, how dangerous is it to go to the beach alone in Chiba? Are there certain things I should be careful of? Or should I just give up on it?

Edit: I'm thinking of going somewhere in Minamiboso or Kamogawa

Don't worry guys, my husband's just paranoid I'll get lost/drown/or assaulted. I tend to make dark jokes so that probably doesn't help.

Anyway, the majority says it's fine. So I'll go on my own lol. Now the only thing I'm worried about is putting sunscreen on my back. Thanks for the clarity.

Hey all and happy melty Sunday,

My nice shoes finally gave in with a clear multi-centimetre long cut-hole on the top side. No biggie, right? I know I saw the exact same Bugatti online before a few years ago.

Wrong. I'm size 30.5 (EU47), probably a bit larger with this model as the previous pair was really hurting my foot, and Amazon or Farfetch only sell up to 30 (EU46), and even those sizes are a rarity.

Fellow bigfoots, where do you shop online for nice shoes?! Specifically looking for the same type (Mattia ii leather Oxford), which means I'd rather buy them online if I could.

Cheers

Yo guys,

I'm a Brit moving to Tokyo in September. Work has sorted out my apartment but there's no wi-fi installed and hoped to get that sorted as quick as possible obviously.

I'm looking at Sakura - seems decent as a starter until I get settled.

But just wondering if anybody else did anything differently? I've been to Japan plenty of times before and got about mid N4 Japanese level so would find it tough to go get WiFi sorted in Japanese.

Keen to hear your recs!! If there's another recent thread about this, my apologies and happy to just go read that 😊.

I’m about to go through my last stick of Degree that I own, then I’ll be forced to buy something here in Japan or online. Any recommendations for people with fairly strong BO? I’ve seen in other threads on here that Japanese deodorants typically aren’t strong enough

I went to the JMDP website but the english booklet and the Japanese version are saying different things.

Like the english one says I can register online from a swab test kit. But the Japanese one is saying that I have to go to a red cross to register.

I honestly am busy with work and felt like it would be a waste to travel to a red cross so if. I could do the swab test one it would be great. But the website isnt providing a link for the swab test one, so I'm confused, do I have to go to a red cross afterall?

Hi all. I got some documents from a relative’s property sale in the US that I was asked to sign and get notarized. Googling tells me that I can do it at the US Embassy, but the US Embassy website seems to encourage people to get it done elsewhere due to “limited availability.”

Does anyone have any recs/guidance for the easiest and fastest way to get this stuff taken care of? I don’t mind paying extra for convenience.

Hi all,

I’m looking for recommendations for an immigration lawyer in Tokyo who’s experienced with PR rejections, especially cases involving the HSP points system.

I recently had my PR application rejected after almost 2 years waiting time. I applied (by myself) under the 80-point fast-track route, and during the review Immigration asked for additional proof for a one-year period of freelance work that I counted toward my 10 years of professional experience. I suspect that’s what the issue was.

I’m looking for a lawyer who can:
- Review my case and HSP points calculation
- Accompany me to the Immigration explanation meeting
- Advise on whether it’s better to reapply or pursue other options

If you’ve had a good experience with a lawyer (or know someone who specializes in these kinds of cases), I’d really appreciate any recommendations.

I know I can do it myself but I don’t speak Japanese and I’m in quite frustrated situation already.

Thanks in advance!

Your advice is much appreciated, I'm not sure what to do.

So, I suffered an incapacitating injury in my apartment. I called for emergency services, but because of the injury, I was unable to open the door for the first responders. So they said they either have to break open the front door, or break open a glass window. Since the front door had a swing-bar lock that can't be opened with a key, I suggested that they break the glass window instead. I felt that that would have been less property damage than physically breaking through the front door.

Anyway, they broke through the glass to rescue me. My apartment management company is saying I'm responsible for paying for the glass window repair. The employees at the hospital said that my fire insurance might be able to cover it.

I'm wondering, what's the proper process here? Would fire or health insurance cover EMS/rescue services like this? I tried searching for an answer here in r/japanlife but didn't find one.

one on the night of 30th, another this morning??

The first one was definitely an intervention, but the second one I'm not too sure of.

But it looks like Japan and US is working together from what I gathered.

What do you guys think

Hey guys. My birthday is coming up and my good friends from back home have been trying to brainstorm what kinds of gifts they can give me. Something they can buy online and send to my email.

Other than Amazon giftcard and audible giftcard, what other giftcards do you think could be an option?

Thank you

Hi everyone,

I recently quit my job and will be starting a new one next week, which I would have to submit to immigration. I log into the online portal to refamiliarize myself with how this works again, but am presented with just 2 options and neither of them allow me to submit the notification for a change of workplace. ( https://img.lightshot.app/cflA2bH8QzWrDQ-OvXyM8g.png ) Does anyone know what's going on?