Being an expat in Tokyo can be an incredible, life enhancing experience or it can be a nightmare. The choice, to a large degree, is your own.
You can choose to focus on the bad cultural differences and try to fight them or you can adapt and accept the bad with the good.
Naturally, most of us want to compare our own upbringing and original home with our newly found home here in Japan. Therein lies the main problem, we can sometimes develop a poor attitude from this type of comparison.
Since Expat life is normally in the short to medium term, it may be best to absorb the cultural differences and go with the flow so to speak. Trying to understand the Japanese and their thought processes can help alleviate some anxiety. This will also help to lower your blood pressure as well.
In conclusion, being an Expat in Tokyo, it is what you make of it…let’s try our best together.
