4 ms·
I lived in Japan for 4 years, and afterwards felt in many ways similar, it's a place that can take a lot out of you, especially if you have expectations of fitt
by lkramer 9y ago
I lived in Japan for 4 years, and afterwards felt in many ways similar, it's a place that can take a lot out of you, especially if you have expectations of fitting in.
That said, in my 4 years there, the police was never anything but polite and friendly (I was never once stopped for a bag search or gaijin card check either) and now living in London, I find the police here, while polite and professional, much more intimidating with their open carry of massive guns. (This is not to excuse the very real problems with judicial fairness that have been well documented elsewhere).
I think everybody's experience is different, but most foreigners I know who's stayed there long term does seem to develop a sort of exhaustion with the place.
- peteretep 9y ago> with their open carry of massive guns This is an odd comment for a country (and indeed city) where the police are not routinely armed.
- lkramer 9y agoI guess it's largely a response to terrorism, but I routinely see heavily armed policemen at various tube stations.
- pm215 9y agoAs a UK citizen, I find that when I see armed police it is inherently intimidating, because the cultural expectation is that police are unarmed and so it represents a massive escalation. (Seeing them in the UK is becoming more common these days as a counter-terrorism thing, though it is still rare, thankfully.)