For a population of 13 million, living in Tokyo as a 外人(gaijin/foreigner) can be downright lonely. Even me – with the friends I made while studying abroad, the colleagues I work with, and the people I’ve met through my blog – even I sometimes feel isolated living in Tokyo. And it’s weird, because I’ve lived in three different countries and twelve cities, I’m used to meeting new people and creating a community wherever I go. Japan isn’t like that. You don’t chat with the person in line in front of you at Starbucks, the lady with the matching headband on the subway, or the old man sitting next to you at the immigration office. Those casual, silly, meaningless conversations with strangers on the street? Those don’t really happen in Japan. And I didn’t realize how much I missed that until it was gone. I’m not the only one. I run into other foreigners from time to time – foreigners who (just like me) are starved for meaningless conversation. To be able to spill all your secrets, frustrations, and lonely bits to some stranger you will never see again. It’s therapeutic, talking to strangers. I can complain about my landlady, cultural misunderstandings [...]
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