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How I Steam Japanese Sweet Potatoes at Home Instead of Buying Yakiimo

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I love yakiimo , the roasted sweet potatoes sold ready to eat at supermarkets in Japan. They are warm, sweet, and especially tempting when the weather gets cooler. But I do not buy yakiimo every time I want a sweet potato. For everyday eating, I usually buy uncooked sweet potatoes at the supermarket and steam them at home. My method is simple. I wash the sweet potatoes, cut off both ends, place them in a steamer over cold water, and start heating from there. I steam them slowly over low heat and check the thickest part with a chopstick or skewer. Once they are soft all the way through, I take them out, cut them in half lengthwise, and leave them uncovered for about 5 to 10 minutes before eating. It is different from roasted yakiimo, but that is part of what I like about it. Steaming gives me sweet, moist sweet potatoes that I can easily enjoy at home. After making them this way many times, it has become our usual way of cooking sweet potatoes at home—almost like our own little family r...
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Got a Cancer Screening Voucher in Japan? Don’t Leave It Unchecked

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Recently, I saw a cancer screening test on Japanese TV that uses a urine sample. At first, I thought, “Wait, can you actually diagnose cancer with a home test kit now?” I was curious, so I looked into it. It turned out that the test I had seen was not something that could diagnose cancer on its own. It was designed to check for signs associated with cancer risk, with further medical examinations still needed if necessary. While reading about it, I suddenly remembered the cancer screening voucher that my city had mailed me earlier this year. When it arrived, I remember thinking, “Oh, this year’s voucher is here. I’ll get around to it later.” And then I simply put it aside. So this time, I took another look. I wanted to know what screenings I could actually get, how much they would cost, and whether being a foreign resident in Japan made any difference. What I found was more useful than I expected. If you receive a cancer screening voucher (受診券) from your city in Japan, it is worth check...
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I Drive Almost Everywhere in Japan, So I Started Walking for Small Errands

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I drive for most of my shopping in Japan, even when the store is not very far away. Over time, it became automatic. If I needed something, I grabbed my car keys. If it was only one small item, I usually added it to my shopping list and waited until my next grocery trip. Recently, though, I started thinking, “Am I walking enough?” I spend a lot of time at home, and driving for almost every errand means there are days when I barely walk anywhere. Then I ran out of bar soap. The supermarket is about 1.1 km from my home, and I only needed one or two bars. It was a cool October day, so instead of getting in the car, I took a small reusable bag and walked. It turned out to be much easier and more pleasant than I expected. I bought what I needed, got some walking into my day, and used no gas for that trip. That gave me a simple idea: instead of making separate time to exercise, I can sometimes use a small errand as my reason to walk. I’m not giving up my car. I’m simply trying to stop using i...
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How to Read a Garbage Collection Calendar in Japan: What “2nd and 4th Tuesday” Means

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If you live in Japan, you may see a garbage collection schedule that says something like “2nd and 4th Tuesday” or, in Japanese, 「第2・第4火曜日」 . This means the second and fourth Tuesday that occur in that month . It does not mean the 2nd and 4th day of the month. For example, imagine the Tuesdays this month are: 6th → 1st Tuesday 13th → 2nd Tuesday 20th → 3rd Tuesday 27th → 4th Tuesday In this case, “2nd and 4th Tuesday” means the collection dates are the 13th and 27th . It seems simple once you know it, but this was one of those small Japanese 생활 rules that confused me when I first started dealing with garbage collection in Narita, Chiba. I remember looking at the schedule and wondering, “Does 2 and 4 mean the dates? Or the second and fourth week?” Now I know exactly what to look for. How “2nd and 4th Tuesday” Works Japanese garbage schedules often combine items collected every week with items collected only once or twice a month. For example, you might see something collected every Mond...
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I Changed My Address at City Hall. Will Japan Post Forward My Mail Automatically?

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When I first moved in Japan, there was one thing I didn’t know: changing my address at city hall does not automatically set up mail forwarding with Japan Post. If you move to a new address in Japan and want mail sent to your old address to follow you, you need to submit a separate change-of-address notification, called a tenkyo todoke (転居届) , to Japan Post. Once it is registered, Japan Post forwards eligible mail from your old address to your new one free of charge for one year from the date you submit the notification . I wish I had known this when I first moved. At the time, I contacted companies and services one by one to tell them my new address. Updating those addresses was still necessary, but Japan Post’s forwarding service would have been a useful backup for anything I had forgotten. City Hall and Japan Post Are Two Separate Procedures Changing your registered address with your city or ward office and asking Japan Post to forward your mail are separate procedures. Your municipa...
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Can You Reuse Bathwater in Japan? Why I Stopped Using Mine for Laundry

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Yes, leftover bathwater can be reused for some laundry in Japan, but it depends on your washing machine, detergent, and whether you used bath additives. It should not simply replace clean water for every part of the wash. When I first started living in Japan, reusing bathwater for laundry was one of those small household habits that surprised me. Some Japanese washing machines have a bathwater function, often labeled 「風呂水」, that uses a pump and hose to draw water directly from the bathtub. Seeing a whole tub of water after a bath, I could understand why people would want to use it again. I tried it myself for a while. But eventually I stopped. The method wasn't difficult; it just didn't fit the way I wanted to do laundry. These days, I no longer feel the need to reuse every tub of bathwater. If the bathroom needs a good clean, however, I sometimes use the leftover water there instead. Can Leftover Bathwater Really Be Used for Laundry? Using leftover bathwater for laundry is pos...
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How to Use a Japanese Bath Control Panel: What Do 追い焚き, ふろ自動 and 優先 Mean?

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When I first started using a Japanese bath control panel, one button confused me more than any other: 優先 (yūsen) . I knew the panels in the bathroom and kitchen controlled the hot water, but “priority” did not tell me much. Then one day, I tried to change the hot-water temperature from the kitchen panel and nothing happened. I checked it again, walked back to the bathroom, looked at the other controller, and returned to the kitchen. It took me a while to realize that the bathroom controller had priority. If you are new to a Japanese home and staring at buttons such as ふろ自動, 追い焚き, たし湯, and 優先 , you do not need to understand the entire control panel at once. Here is the quick answer: ふろ自動 (furo jidō) automatically prepares the bath on compatible systems. 追い焚き (oidaki) reheats water that is already in the bathtub. たし湯 (tashiyu) adds hot water to the bathtub. 優先 (yūsen) determines which controller has priority when changing the hot-water temperature. The buttons and exact functions var...
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Can Foreign Residents Join Disaster Volunteer Work in Japan? A Beginner’s Guide

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After the recent heavy rain, I saw news reports of serious flooding not far from where I live in Chiba. Some homes had been flooded on the first floor, and residents were still dealing with the aftermath. Because it was only a short drive from my home, it did not feel like a disaster happening somewhere far away. I started wondering, “Could I help, even if it was only for a few days?” That led me to another question that may be familiar to other foreign residents in Japan: Can foreigners join disaster volunteer work in Japan? Yes, foreign residents can take part when they meet the requirements set by the local volunteer center. Being a foreign resident does not automatically mean you cannot volunteer. However, each disaster volunteer center decides who it is currently accepting, and recruitment may be limited to people living in a particular city or prefecture. So the first step is not going directly to the affected area. It is checking the official volunteer information and finding ou...
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Is Beer Getting More Expensive in Japan? What Changes in October 2026

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If you buy beer in Japan, you may have noticed big signs at supermarkets and discount stores warning about price increases from October 1. I’ve been seeing them a lot lately, including at Don Quijote. After passing another “price increase” sign while shopping, I started wondering: Is regular beer getting more expensive too? The short answer is no. From October 1, 2026, Japan’s alcohol tax on regular beer will actually go down. At the same time, the tax on some cheaper beer-like drinks will go up. For a standard 350ml can, the alcohol tax on regular beer will fall from ¥63.35 to ¥54.25. So those big price-increase signs do not mean every can in the beer aisle is going up in price. What Changes for Beer in Japan on October 1? Japan has been gradually changing the way beer-type drinks are taxed, and the final stage of that reform takes effect on October 1, 2026. The easiest way to understand it is this: Regular beer → lower alcohol tax Some previously lower-tax beer-like drinks → higher a...
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What Should You Do First After Your Home Floods in Japan? Take Photos Before Cleaning

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When your home floods, your first instinct may be to start cleaning immediately. There may be mud on the floor, wet furniture, damaged appliances and things you want to move outside as quickly as possible. But before you start cleaning, there is one important thing to do: Take photos of the damage first. Official disaster guidance in Japan recommends taking photos of your home before you start cleaning or making repairs. The photos can help show what happened, how high the water reached and what was damaged before the evidence disappears. It sounds simple, but it is easy to forget when you are standing in a wet, muddy home and just want to clean up. I live in Narita, Chiba. After recent heavy rain, there was flooding around the area where I live, and some roads in the direction of Inbanuma became difficult or impossible to use. My husband normally travels that way, so the flooding suddenly felt much closer to everyday life. While watching news coverage, I kept hearing the same practica...
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