Vibe Check #27 (December 2025)

Hello, everyone! Welcome to the final Vibe Check for the year 2025. We have a lot of stuff that happened in December that deals with anime, Japan, Japanese culture, or anything that's on the top of our heads. Before we get started, I would like to thank everyone for reading our Vibe Check for the year 2025, and I will write some more for 2026. Sit back, relax, and happy reading!

Check #1: Niigata Bound 2026?

In August 2025, I have the chance to go to Yokohama, Japan for the second time. Not only Yokohama, but also Kamakura and Ikebukuro. I had an amazing time from start to finish, although it was the first time going outside of the US alone. However, I do want to push myself a little more by going outside of the Kanto region and going to Niigata.

Why? Because I do have a good friend that going to Niigata for work, and visiting him at a different location would be a nice change of pace of constantly skyscrapers and nightlife in Tokyo and Yokohama. 

Don't get me wrong! I am still going to downtown Tokyo (such as Shibuya, Shinjuku, Akihabara, and others), Yokohama, and other places, but I can't fully learn Japan and Japanese culture by staying in the Kanto region constantly. To become a better learner, I would need to be uncomfortable on a moderate level, and Niigata is a great place to push myself a little. 

I would need to learn how to use the Shinkansen, might need to learn a different dialect of Japanese, and maneuver around Niigata since it's the first time going outside Kanto. So, it'll be challenging right off the bat. 

Now, when I'm going back to Japan, I'm not fully certain as of right now, but I know 100% that I am going back to Japan next year. I just need to know the best timing for me to deal with everyone's schedule (which I am not surprised that I am going back in summer 2026).

Check #2: Renewal Passport

Speaking of the Japan trip, before I could get the package deal of flight and hotel, I needed to renew my passport. The best news about getting my passport renewed is that I will get it with less paperwork and can keep my new passport for another 10 years. Which means more time going to Japan and even trying to go to other countries such as Canada, Singapore, South Korea, and probably the Philippines. 

The bad news is I got lucky because in my post office, they only accept appointments for anything dealing with passports. Because I already finished filling in the application and had everything in hand, I cut in line to get everything finished. 

Although I was happy I got everything done for the passport renewal, I shouldn't fully rely on luck by not making an appointment (which I haven't done before when I got my first passport book). The bright side is at least I got the passport book out of the way immediately, and everything will go smoothly for now.

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That's it for this month's Vibe Check. Again, from everyone in Jay Japan, we would like to thank everyone for being in our brand. We'll do more and better for you guys in 2026! Tune in next month for the first Vibe Check for 2026.