Hoofin (@hoofin.wordpress.com.web.brid.gy) Bsky

“Late Rick, you’re obscene!” More contemporary Japan PR traps, insomnia walks, and posting at Gaijin 50 Plus. Got up at just after half past three this morning, if I remember correctly. This morning’s task: I found an error in the letter I’d written Friday to the Narita “Satellite Branch” of the Sawara Japan Pension Service’s office in Choshi. (If you know the relative sizes of Narita and Choshi, you get to be … Continue reading “Late Rick, you’re obscene!” More contemporary Japan PR traps, insomnia walks, and posting at Gaijin 50 Plus. →

22 hours ago 0 0 0 0

Writing Chiba 10’s Representative Koike about the US- Japan Social Security Totalization issue—and then bumping into him at the Narita Taiko Matsuri yesterday! What a coincidence! I wrote about Koike Masa-aki last year, sometime before the declared February 8, 2026 Japanese Diet election. Yesterday morning, as part of the totalization visibility project (how Americans are screwed by the maladministration of Japan’s National Pension system), I wrote Representative Koike, as you can see on the left. The Representative also … Continue reading Writing Chiba 10’s Representative Koike about the US- Japan Social Security Totalization issue—and then bumping into him at the Narita Taiko Matsuri yesterday! →

2 days ago 0 0 0 0

Today’s “Happy Mail”, a box delivered by Kuroneko, comes to me from ANA. They fixed my Million Miler nametag! Unlike the Chiba branch of the Tokyo Immigration Bureau, my favorite airline listened to me when I pointed out a mistake and took corrective action. What a breath of fresh air this week to be reunited with my Million Miler luggage tag, that I only needed 500,000 flight miles to obtain. (Even if it also … Continue reading Today’s “Happy Mail”, a box delivered by Kuroneko, comes to me from ANA. They fixed my Million Miler nametag! →

2 days ago 0 0 0 0

Today’s post PR-rejection task: a letter about US-Japan social security totalization and my 20+ years of observations, with the local Nenkin office (Sawara’s Narita “branch”). That’s my goofy kanji, but I give it my best try. In part because of the PR rejection, I have accelerated another project I have been working on, which is to contact my local US Congress representative, the Honorable Lloyd Smucker (R PA-11) about issues with how Japan handles American enrollment in the Nenkin that … Continue reading Today’s post PR-rejection task: a letter about US-Japan social security totalization and my 20+ years of observations, with the local Nenkin office (Sawara’s Narita “branch”). →

3 days ago 0 0 0 0

Japan rejected me last month for PR, for the weirdest reason. It’s because I voluntarily enrolled in Nenkin past age 60, basically. If you see on the top, I was shut off of mandatory payments on January 11, 2025—the last day I was 59. I had no requirement to pay a January payment. My final mandatory payment was December 2024. I voluntarily re-enrolled on January 20. … Continue reading Japan rejected me last month for PR, for the weirdest reason. →

6 days ago 0 0 0 0

Hanging with Sora the Troll and group member Wetsver in Narita Machi, (right before I disappeared for tax season!) I’ve time-stamped the exact spot where Wetsver and I show, in Kamicho in front of the Sandou Diner. I go past there, sometimes at 4:30 in the morning, and the customers are still there. It’s a popular place. My second appearance on Sora’s YouTube channel–but just a cameo. This time, Sora and sidekick Kikito interviewed … Continue reading Hanging with Sora the Troll and group member Wetsver in Narita Machi, (right before I disappeared for tax season!) →

1 month ago 0 0 0 0

Amamiya Shingo 雨宮真吾　works! A Narita-based Chiba Prefecture Assemblyman was pamphleting outside JR Narita Station on one of my early insomnia walks, earlier this week. You can see him in the center of the picture on the left. I had to wait until the Nari Koku school girls passed by. (You know, because of the look—I had to jerk … Continue reading Amamiya Shingo 雨宮真吾 works! →

2 months ago 0 0 0 0

An ATM receipt sends me to a Narita Koban–but it’s not like it sounds! Here is a picture of Narita New Town earlier this month, on a clear day where you can easily see Mount Tsukuba in the backgound, reigning over the inaka. The police box is the copper-green pyramid roofed building in the lower right. Continuing my client mailing project, I walked to the Akasaka post office, hoping … Continue reading An ATM receipt sends me to a Narita Koban–but it’s not like it sounds! →

2 months ago 0 0 0 0

Hand-writing the addresses to client letters in Japan, in Kanji, humbles me and gives me writer’s cramp. Off I went to mail some. This morning, I got off another batch of client letters. I’ve done this for eleven seasons in Japan. I produce a traditional, 20th century-style client letter, and I mail it out the old-fashioned way. Especially for many people who I have only met through digital means, the signature and the envelope is my real, personal … Continue reading Hand-writing the addresses to client letters in Japan, in Kanji, humbles me and gives me writer’s cramp. Off I went to mail some. →

2 months ago 0 0 0 0

Thoughts about the 2026 Japanese Diet (Parliament) election. Regular readers of me know that I was an observer to this. It’s been a noisy couple weeks since the Takaichi Government announced a snap election for yesterday, February 8. I saw some party activity by what arguably *had* been the two main parties (LDP or Jimintou and CDP/Komeitou rebranded as “Chuudou”/Centrist Alliance) in the … Continue reading Thoughts about the 2026 Japanese Diet (Parliament) election. →

2 months ago 0 0 0 0

When neighbors in Japan treat the delivery boxes like their own personal storage spaces. A totally unnecessary headache. The building I’ve lived in for over three years is just five years old. It’s very modern, and, unfortunately, has housed a sizeable number of rude people. You hear about all this “polite Japanese” stuff. It’s partly bullshit. I ordered a product on Amazon Japan. I clicked, “leave in the delivery … <a class="more-link" href="https://hoofin.wordpress.com/2026/02/04/when-neighbors-in-japan-treat-the-delivery-boxes-like-their-own-personal-storage-spaces/">Continue reading When neighbors in Japan treat the delivery boxes like their own personal storage spaces. →</a>

2 months ago 0 0 0 0

My visit to the Tomisato Tokushuukai Hospital yesterday for a private “ningen doku” (health check up). I was lucky to have a longtime friend of mine who’s an American but Japanese help me set up an appointment for a health check here in Japan. I never seem to get the municipal one offered by Narita City under way. This year, I really wanted at least *something*. So yesterday, I made my … <a class="more-link" href="https://hoofin.wordpress.com/2026/02/03/my-visit-to-the-tomisato-tokushuukai-hospital-yesterday-for-a-private-ningen-doku-health-check-up/">Continue reading My visit to the Tomisato Tokushuukai Hospital yesterday for a private “ningen doku” (health check up). →</a>

2 months ago 0 0 0 0

Chat GPT’s moment of brilliance this weekend: “Digital clients treat you like a vending machine.” I push major questions through “Chat”. And one I’ve been having recently was why *some* clients that I have almost exclusively electronic communications with just seem to pepper me with last minute demands, frames as “asks” (but they’re demands because there is a ticking time clock introduced. I like to serve clients, so I fall … <a class="more-link" href="https://hoofin.wordpress.com/2026/02/01/chat-gpts-moment-of-brilliance-this-weekend-digital-clients-treat-you-like-a-vending-machine/">Continue reading Chat GPT’s moment of brilliance this weekend: “Digital clients treat you like a vending machine.” →</a>

2 months ago 0 0 0 0

Japan’s February 8th election season in full swing in Narita city, Chiba 10th District I saw the signboards go up around Narita Machi and the New Town last week, and now the spaces are filling up with the candidates for the recently called-for national election. As an American, my vote is in Pennsylvania. So I am happy to be an observer in all of this, and, also, that I … <a class="more-link" href="https://hoofin.wordpress.com/2026/01/28/japans-february-8th-election-season-in-full-swing-in-narita-city-chiba-10th-district/">Continue reading Japan’s February 8th election season in full swing in Narita city, Chiba 10th District →</a>

2 months ago 0 0 0 0

A tree gets taken down at Narita-san Temple. It might be hard to tell, but the picture to the right shows a lot of sky. To the left, there isn’t. That’s the missing tree. It came down sometime when I was stateside over the New Year. I’ve walked this path for years. My nickname for it is “Saido Sandō” (Side Approach). There is … <a class="more-link" href="https://hoofin.wordpress.com/2026/01/26/a-tree-gets-taken-down-at-narita-san-temple/">Continue reading A tree gets taken down at Narita-san Temple. →</a>

2 months ago 0 0 0 0

I finally went to confession at Our Mother of Perpetual Help Church in Ephrata PA, and got absolution for my sin of attending an Episcopal Church. It was one of my stateside projects, and I achieved it on January 10th. This goes to my earlier desire to reconcile with the denomination of my birth, after the disastrous flirtation with this so-described “Anglo-Catholic” offering of the Episcopal Church, in Philadelphia in the late 1980s/ early 1990s. It is surprisingly easy to get … Continue reading I finally went to confession at Our Mother of Perpetual Help Church in Ephrata PA, and got absolution for my sin of attending an Episcopal Church. →

2 months ago 0 0 0 0

Yes! Let’s go! My mail to myself talks to me. Since I’ve come back to Japan, I expected a couple of letters (ones containing payment, ehem) to come through. Now, about one week back–nothing. Makes me wonder a bit, and hesitant to send reminder messages. So I wanted to make sure my mail isn’t being forwarded or trapped somehow. I send a letter to myself … Continue reading Yes! Let’s go! My mail to myself talks to me. →

2 months ago 0 0 0 0

Plane-spotted ANA’s “Flying Honu” as I was going in the apartment! What are the odds? This was a first in three years from this location in Narita! (I usually see it from the sports park or on the way to Aeon Mall.) NH 183 moments before it landed on Runway 16R (?), January 18, 2026. This one is nicknamed “Lani”.

3 months ago 0 0 0 0

ANA sends me a gift for becoming a Million Miler–even with half a million miles flown! The remarkable airline that I just got off a flight back to Japan on, had a present waiting for me here in Narita City. Japan Post got it to me special delivery moments ago! I have looked at this luggage tag for years in the various ANA lounges, and counted how long it might take … Continue reading ANA sends me a gift for becoming a Million Miler–even with half a million miles flown! →

3 months ago 0 0 0 0

US coins are 19th century and useless. I was looking at hotel prices in Narita, Japan in dollars the other day. With the coincidental news that the second Trump Administration is finally stopping the US Mint from coining pennies (the Lincoln Cent), it had me thinking about how coin money changed in my lifetime. If I explain the chart above, it should … Continue reading US coins are 19th century and useless. →

3 months ago 0 0 0 0

Hearting the Comfort Hotel in Narita. You see it there, to the left of city hall. The spring green building. The entrance is inside the alcove at the bottom. Very Japanese! It’s the first hotel I stayed in, in Japan. Here it is, a little bit closer. I was chatting with someone online who is considering staying in Narita Town after … Continue reading Hearting the Comfort Hotel in Narita. →

3 months ago 0 0 0 0

Six years already into a decade that started really slowwww . . . My iPhone offered me up one of these pictures yesterday, which featured “Blonde Haired Guy” I think he was a Japanese guy, but he had blonde hair. This was the last picture I took in the 2010s. December 31, 2019 at 11:59 pm. I remember that flight. I think we landed late, or there was … Continue reading Six years already into a decade that started really slowwww . . . →

3 months ago 0 0 0 0

My old Pennsylvania “J-series” plate is no more. I used to be JFE-9606. Almost thirteen years. Pennsylvania license plates nowadays are three letters, four numbers. This version is nicknamed the “Visa Logo” design. Because if you look at it, it kinda looks like the idea came from the Visa card. Notice the resemblance? Anyways. The problem with the “J-series” is that for most … Continue reading My old Pennsylvania “J-series” plate is no more. →

3 months ago 0 0 0 0

“Royal Kingdom” is turning into a shithole country for me at Level 166. The ANA Pocket feature turned me on to this game, which I know doesn’t get me more miles. I thought this was basically Tetris. But it isn’t. It’s Tetris like if Tetris were a panhandler in front of the Wawa in the early 1990s. Or nowadays, I suppose—since I avoid Philadelphia. I broke down and … Continue reading “Royal Kingdom” is turning into a shithole country for me at Level 166. →

3 months ago 0 0 0 0

I live in Narita, so naturally my flights are out of Haneda . . . I like to fly ANA, as you know. (This isn’t a paid spot by the way!) But it’s so funny, because when I moved to Narita in 2016, I thought, “great, I can get the nighttime Kennedy flight from the airport. Later that year or 2017, the evening Kennedy flights got rerouted to Haneda! So … Continue reading I live in Narita, so naturally my flights are out of Haneda . . . →

3 months ago 0 0 0 0

Ninety-five years ago today, my great-grandfather, Steven Pajersky, died in a coal mine at age 42. I’ve got the holiday rush and client concerns hitting up against blogging, but I meant to commemorate this. Some of my ancestors came from Slovakia and settled in what was coal country of western Pennsylvania. Life was a lot rougher than it is for a Japan-side US tax preparer almost 100 years later, that is … Continue reading Ninety-five years ago today, my great-grandfather, Steven Pajersky, died in a coal mine at age 42. →

3 months ago 0 0 0 0

Did Elmer Brewer of the Green Knoll section of Bridgewater, New Jersey actually have an “Estate”? (Part 2 from yesterday.) Readers of my blog in Japan, I have to apologize to you. This blog actually started out in May 2003, on Lawton Road, in Bridgewater Township, New Jersey USA. I am apologizing to you ahead of time. Maybe that doesn’t sound very American, and does sound Japanese. But I am an American. As I told … Continue reading Did Elmer Brewer of the Green Knoll section of Bridgewater, New Jersey actually have an “Estate”? (Part 2 from yesterday.) →

3 months ago 0 0 0 0

Remembering Green Knoll and Skippy Brewer, RIP. I gave up Facebook in early 2015. Partly, this was because I realized that it was the device for bullshit artists, including a young Japanese who said to me “if by magic we could be in the same place.” But, when there was a chance to be in the same place, her positioning was more … Continue reading Remembering Green Knoll and Skippy Brewer, RIP. →

3 months ago 0 0 0 0

I had to leave Japan 15 years ago today. Well, the “had to” part was my original visa (from 2005) was running out on November 17, 2005 2010, and my ninety-day stamp would inevitably, so December 20, 2010 was the flight. Before the flight, I wrote this blog post about overnighting in Narita, where I live now, and had first stayed in Japan in … Continue reading I had to leave Japan 15 years ago today. →

4 months ago 0 0 0 0

Walking around Narita. I am here after having gone around the New Town this evening. Seven miles. You know, I have said, that I came to Japan over twenty years ago. May 2005. When I walk around Narita, I still have the memories of those times in my head. My mind’s eye sees the Narita of twenty years … Continue reading Walking around Narita. →

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