Job Discussion Forums

Apsara · Joined: 20 Sep 2005 Posts: 2142 Location: Tokyo, Japan

Better than without water I should imagine. As adults we don't need medicines to be strawberry flavoured though, do we?

Hoser · Joined: 19 Mar 2005 Posts: 694 Location: Toronto, Canada

To be fair, the powder does taste horribly bad. And unlike a pill its not easy to swallow in one go. Little bits end up getting stuck under your tongue and behind your teeth and it's just one hell of a hassle. I don't mind the bad taste so much as the trials you have to go through to get it all swallowed down.

wayne432 · Joined: 05 Jun 2008 Posts: 255

Always use a chaser! When I used to take powder for medicine, I usually downed the glass and followed it by a chaser of ginger ale or some other soda.

G Cthulhu · Posted: Sat Jul 05, 2008 6:19 pm Post subject:

Quibby84 · Joined: 10 Aug 2006 Posts: 643 Location: Japan

Health insurance is more here...we were only paying like $150 a month for two people, really good coverage. But that was because my husbands job was full time and was a good job....our company now....well, they told us that it is more expensive for us if they pay half...I am not sure how they go that idea...

parrothead · Joined: 02 Nov 2003 Posts: 342 Location: Japan

Coming from the U.S., I'm thrilled just to have health coverage now. Spread out over 12 months, it's not THAT expensive, and it's worth it for the peace of mind.

cafebleu · Joined: 10 Feb 2003 Posts: 404

is not much.

When I earned 250,000 yen per month before tax in Japan in my first four years there, I paid 25,000 won per month National Health Insurance. Add it up over the year and it works out to be way more expensive for one person than the 300,000 yen does for two people.

Yes - for 1 person. Your health insurance sounds cheap for two people.

As for city tax - if it's for two people then 300,000 yen isn't that much over a year. It works out to be 150,000 yen each - given the tales I have heard of huge local tax increases (ward/city tax) it sounds like you and your partner are paying about average.

So - what's the story? Have you added to many digits to the figures you posted? 300,000 yen is about (before devaluation) 3,000 American bucks. Are you sure you don't mean 30,000 yen which is about 300 American bucks? If so, for two people per month then that is nothing unusual and again sounds better than what I was paying as a single on the NHI.

If it's 30,000 yen per month for city tax for two people then the price increase doesn't sound that high for you.