(I’m a) Japanese Man in London

Today in London, we had the heaviest snowfall in 18 years.

This morning, as I’d expected, it was a complete chaos in transport – all trains and tube were running with delay or disrupted, or even suspended. And…. No buses at all! It was told that it was the first time in the living memory.

I was watching TV this morning and it seemed most of the employees in London would stay at home, and I was thinking of what to do. Then, I’ve realised the overground train line near me was running, so I forced myself to the office. I’ve actually got stuck on a train on the way for an hour!

When I finally got to the office, I was surprised… Almost everyone was there!

I was already informed from my friend that her office was closed today. The city was apparently quiet. However, my office was as normal

“Is this an office in Japan?”

As there was a severe weather warning and also I’ve already experienced a trouble, I really thought we should go home early. The office finally decided to close at 4 pm. Today, I came in the latest and left first. I didn’t feel like a Japanese today.

Two Lives

It’s already a bit too late, but...Happy new year!

It was the sixth time of visiting Japan since I came to London, but, as always, during the stay it was very difficult to imagine my everyday life in London – I’ve realised (again) Japan is such a different place from Britain and I felt as if I was living in two different worlds. I didn’t think I would easily get back to my normal life in London, particularly to my work.

However, I didn’t feel any difficulty when I dived into the office yesterday morning, just after the day when I came back to London. I’ve found myself speaking just as normal. This might have been the first time I’ve felt that I can speak English just ‘naturally’. Maybe I can be more confident about being a real cosmopolitan.

At the same time, I felt the people in the office were very welcoming. It’s really difficult to explain about the feeling of this but I have to say this is something I would never experience in Japan.