vibe check ·3月 01, 2026

Vibe Check #29 (February 2026)

Hello, everyone! Welcome to the 29th edition of our Vibe Check (second edition for the year 2026), where we talk about anything and everything that happened during February. We talk about anything dealing with Japan, Japanese culture, anime, or anything that's on the top of our heads. Hope you have a happy reading~

Check #1: JAPAN BOUND 2026

As of mid-February 2026, I've officially made a return trip to Japan for August 2026. Because the trip was a lot more affordable despite being 2 months into the year, it was the fastest way to lock in the best deal. In my itinerary, I'll mostly be in Yokohama (for the third time), going to downtown Tokyo (such as Shibuya and Shinjuku), and there might be a chance I can go to the outskirts of the Kanto region, such as Osaka and Kobe.

It'll be the third time for me to go back to Japan and the second time in three years. Although I know Japanese humidity hits a lot harder than Louisiana's, it'll be a great time for me to go. The one concern I'll try to handle is the different dialects I'll have to challenge in Osaka and Kobe.

On the bright side, it'll give me the chance to save up as much as I can to buy more souvenirs to bring back home, either in my luggage or by shipping them with the nearest JP Post (which has changed its rules for souvenirs over $100).

The best part of getting the ticket now rather than later on is that I can not only get the package done (flight+hotel+airport transfer), but this will be my first time for me to purchase travel insurance, meaning if anything happens that'll derail the original date, I can change it at anytime for a year.

Overall, the suckish thing I would have to do is to wait. Waiting for the third trip back to Japan would be a complete hassle because anything can happen.

Check #2: JLPT Cancellations in Japan

While I was reading some articles from SoraNews24 (a news website dealing with anything cool and wacky happened in Japan) and Japan Times (Japanese version of New York Times in my opinion), there was this one article that caught me offguard for a bit.

The article says that the JLPT (Japanese Language Proficiency Test) has been banned for tourists inside of Japan. The rason being is that overseas applicants use Japanese addresses without consent whatsoever, and even use invalid phone numbers to take the exams. Which caught me by surprise because how would they be able to find Japanese addresses to use for the exams?

From the same article, it explains how the exam works:

You would need to register for the myJLPT portal.
Pick the exam you want to take (You can even take N1 on the very first try)
Pay the testing fee
Wait for a testing voucher to see where you need to take the exam at. (For example, since I live in Louisiana, the nearest test location would be in the University of Arkansas)
Take the test
Wait for online results. People who passed the exam would have their results mailed to them.

However, it doesn't mean they'll end the exams overall. Exams outside of Japan would still be held, which means I can have the chance to take the exams sometime next year or later on down the line. Surprisingly, I've never taken the exam before. Not even N5, which is considered to be the easiest stage for the JLPT.

In my opinion, my Japanese would barely be OK enough to pass N3. The reason is that my grammar is not the strongest, and I haven't had the chance to write in Japanese a lot compared to everyone else. I would mostly listen to the Japanese radio and watch Japanese TV on my Android phone to get the listening part going. Guess that means I would need to buckle down and study some Japanese before I go back to Japan in August.

That's it for this month's Vibe Check! Tune in later on in March for the third edition of Vibe Check. Hope everyone have a good reading~