A residence card is used as a personal ID for foreign residents in Japan. People who will be living in Japan for three months or more will receive one. The card contains information such as name, age, sex, nationality / region, address in Japan, status of residence, and whether or not the person is allowed to work in Japan. It also has a photo of the person.
Foreign residents in Japan must always have this card with them. If someone asks you to show your residence card but you do not have it, it could be a problem.
Oden is a pot of ingredients stewed in seasoned soup stock such as radish, potato, hard-boiled eggs, beef tendon, kelp, konnyaku (a jelly-like food made from the konjac plant), and nerimono (fishcake). It is especially popular in the cold seasons. You can enjoy oden at specialty restaurants or at street stalls while having a drink. It is also available at convenience stores in winter.
Sumaho is an abbreviation of the word sumaatohon (smartphone). Such abbreviations are frequently used in Japanese. Japanese abbreviations are made by omitting the end of the word, or by combining one or two characters from each part of a compound word. Many abbreviations are made from words of foreign origin, but they are sometimes created from Japanese kanji and people's names. The following are some examples.
コンビニ ← コンビニエンスストア(convenience store)
エアコン ← エアーコンディショナー(air conditioner)
リモコン ← リモートコントローラー(remote controller)
ファミレス ← ファミリーレストラン(family restaurant)
セクハラ ← セクシュアルハラスメント(sexual harassment)
ポテチ ← ポテトチップス(potato chips)
各停 ← 各駅停車(local trains that stop at every station)
Mosquitoes appear in summer. If you go out, especially in the evenings, they may bite you and suck your blood. This will make your skin very itchy. However, mosquitoes in Japan rarely transmit infectious diseases such as malaria or dengue fever, so you do not need to worry.
To avoid being bitten by mosquitoes, you can spray your arms and legs with insect repellent. Another way is to burn incense with ingredients that kill mosquitoes. This is known as katori senkoo (mosquito repellent incense). Traditional katori senkoo produces a strong odor and leaves behind ashes that take time and effort to clean up. However, there are now many other varieties such as electric repellents and sprays. You can buy them at drugstores and other stores.