Working in Japan

Posted on 2005/12/03 13:29:26 (December 2005).

[Thursday 1st December]
Well it's already over a month since I started my new job in Japan, albeit that a large chunk of that time (three weeks) was spent in the US. So this is the third week that I have actually been working in Tokyo.

When I lived and worked in England, I was living literally opposite to my office and a very pleasant little village in a fairly rural area. Tokyo is obviously quite strong contrast to this. Another thing that is a big contrast is getting used to a commute - I've gone from 45 seconds to 45 minutes each way. Thus far though, I haven't found it to be too bad. I'm going against the main flow of commuters so the trains I use are generally not too crowded - I can sometimes sit down on the way into work.

I find myself listening to music a lot more recently - largely because of the hour-and-a-half of my day when there isn't much else I can do. I'm really getting my money's worth out of that MP3 player I bought in the summer.

I suppose in a way the music is not just there to pass the time, it provides a sort of buffer between me and my surroundings, which I'm still getting used to. Sometimes on my daily commute I have a lapse of concentration, and when I recover, I look around me and think "Help! Everybody's Japanese! What am I doing here?". Sort of a double take you could call it.

Probably this will pass in time, but for the moment the whole thing is a bit weird.

Hi John,

I am still reading your blog and after reading today about your 45-minute commutes and how you listen to your mp3 player I thought I'd let you know about a hilarious podcast which you may like to try out on your player on the daily commute - it is a very funny 30-minute show by a couple of chaps (Rob and John) in Peterborough who do "top ten" lists (in much the same way as Gary and Tony of Men Behaving Badly fame did). I have been listening to them for about four months now, and they do a show pretty much every weekday, and it is a great laugh. Their site is www.topofthepods.com if you want to check it out! One word of warning, though, is that I have found that when I have listened to them on my mp3 player in a public place I have often burst out laughing, much to the surprise of any Greeks around me!!!

all the best,

Bryan in Greece

Posted by Bryan Hollamby at 2005/12/04 16:55:01.

Strange coincidence - just browsing through some old entries and came across your comment Bryan. It's almost a year since this post, and as it happens in the last few weeks I've bought an iPod and have, indeed, started listening to Top of the Pods.

Obviously something registered at a subconcious level!

Posted by John at 2006/11/28 12:56:59.

Post a comment