Welcome — we’re Dako and Jay, a Japanese-American couple planning for FIRE while figuring out the bigger questions behind it: where we’ll live afterward, and what we want our lives to look like. Japan is part of that question; so is the U.S.; so is everything in between. If any of that overlaps with your life, this page will point you to the right starting spot. (The full story is on our About page.)
Married to someone from Japan?
Start with For Spouses — Jay’s guides to the things nobody tells the non-Japanese partner: what happens to your 401(k) if your spouse wants to move home, how Japanese inheritance rules treat you, and how to survive Japanese bureaucracy without the language.
Thinking about leaving the U.S. someday — or only halfway?
Head to Exit Tax & Green Card. Whether you’d give up your green card or keep it for a dual-base life, the U.S. exit tax rules (and Japan’s own departure tax) are the numbers that should shape your timeline — ideally years before any move.
Building wealth in the U.S. as a foreign national?
Go to Portable Wealth. We focus on the question most money sites skip: which accounts and investments still work if you leave — from the PFIC trap around Japanese funds to what happens to your brokerage account, 401(k), and HSA after a move.
Raising kids between two countries?
Visit Family & Kids — how we talk to our kids about FIRE, saving for children who might grow up in either country (529 or NISA?), and what a two-country life means for school and stability.
Just want to follow the journey?
Our FIRE Journey is the backbone of this site: our decision log, quarterly updates, and the framework we’re using to think through where — and how — we want to live. We publish new articles twice a week.
Before you dive in: nothing here is personalized tax, legal, or investment advice — see our Disclaimer. Questions? Contact us anytime.