How to survive Tokyo as a Singaporean

This post has been germinating for a very long time. I haven’t published it because I kind of lacked the time and energy to write a “thinking” post for a while. Things at BB Headquarters are abuzz and there’s lots to do daily.

But today has been relegated as a blogging day so I will stop procrastinating.

Why would I want to do such a post? Well, I think it could be of value to those who are going to take the plunge to move here and although it has a very Singaporean slant to it, I think some points could be useful to anyone considering being an expat here.

Lastly, I sometimes ponder on what’s the definition of a good expat experience, and after talking to many people, it seems to mean differently to everyone. Some believe you have to delve deep — master the language, make many local friends, and “think” like the locals. Or some are just happy with a good job and heading to Roppongi for drinks every weekend. I’m not taking sides but I’m just illustrating both ends of the spectrum.

For me, I certainly believe you should face relocation with a sense of adventure, and if you’ve found your groove in your adopted home (work, friends, food, going out, apartment, hobbies, daily joy), I would say you’re digging it as an expat.

Anyway, let’s cut to the chase and here are tips to rock it in Tokyo as a Singaporean.

Train yourself to go without chilli. It’s like drinking — the more you do it, the stronger you get, but the less you have it, the weaker your stamina becomes. The less chilli you consume, the less able you are to tolerate incredible levels of spiciness.

I can assure you, togarashi (red chilli powder you can spot at any noodle shop in Japan) will be enough to satisfy those red-hot cravings eventually. Learn to appreciate other types of flavours besides spicy and you will find a whole new dimension to dining out and cooking in.

Stop being so kanchiong (anxious). Singaporeans are always rushing to go somewhere or say something. WAIT – chotto mate, ne. Whenever I visit Singapore or meet other visiting Singaporeans, I notice they tend to speak over each other and they are just buzzing to rush somewhere or do something. It comes across as abrupt and even rude, so slow down. The Japanese may be stressed bunnies in the work place, but they are much more measured in terms of mannerisms.

Start being a planner. Singapore is such a tiny place that you can pretty much jump into a cab and be some place in less than half an hour. This makes life very spontaneous — you can ring up a friend and meet for dinner in 20 minutes in a neighbourhood neither of you live in.

In Tokyo, people and places are very far apart, so they plan as far as a month ahead for activities. Commitment could be quite hard to swallow at first but it’s not such a scary thing eventually so just note it down in your diary and show up on the actual day.

Money is not something you talk about. It took me a while to realize this — Singaporeans tend to chat about money as something as ordinary like the weather. “How much is your rent?”, “How much is this dress?”, “How much does your country home cost?”, “How much is your car?” — I don’t think it comes from a bad place as these people ask because they want to compare to what they have or what it’s like back home. But it’s actually really rude and embarrassing to ask such questions, so don’t.

Check out Singaporean restaurants. Most of them in Tokyo are pretty good if you get a dose of homesickness. I personally love Singapore Seafood Republic, Hainan Jeefan in Ebisu, and there’s one opposite Roppongi Hills whose name I cannot remember, but you can’t miss it because it looks like it’s an old white shop house.

Research on dealing with cold weather. I don’t think you can take the tropical soul out of you but you can live more comfortably if you learn how to keep warm. The winter clothes here are much better (and more fashionable) than anything you can find in Singapore.

Layer with breathable material like cotton and wool but don’t go overboard and bundle yourself up like a sausage (long johns are only for Arctic temperatures) because it’s pretty warm indoors when you get out from the cold. Find out what’s the difference between wool types like Merino wool, angora, lamb’s wool, cashmere.

If your head, neck, hands, and feet get cold, your entire person will feel chilly so cover those areas up.

And remember not to sleep with the heater on, but if you want to, get a humidifier to hum away all night.

Stock up on must-haves. Prima has an online store that will deliver your goodies to your doorstep. Or get visiting friends and family to smuggle in much-needed condiments like belachan and fried shallots.

There’s no point being emotional or aggressive about food. I’m sure you can put on a smiley face in dire situations but how do you stop the icks from coming at you when the food just lets you down. Singaporeans have this raging passion for hunting down the best laksa or Hokkien mee and some folks see it as a catastrophe if the food is poor in quality and expensive.

One thing that you will face in Tokyo: the food is mostly good but the portions are tiny. I’ve to admit that if it’s an izakaya that I’m going to, I might down a fruit smoothie an hour before dinner to keep ravenous hunger pangs (and emotions) at bay. But I’m actually quite used to it now and I might snack on something when I get home or I might not and thank my lucky stars I’m in a country that will keep me slim.

Get out of the house. Not all Singaporeans are inactive but I think it’s easy to form the habit of just “being lazy” (similar to goro goro, which means rolling around at home) and Singaporeans will actually tell you, “Lazy, lah” when they don’t want to move their butts.

I’ve pondered on the “why” for this and my conclusion is that Singapore is pretty small so the variety of places to go to are quite narrow, so people just stick with the status quo — dine out, watch a movie, sip a cocktail at a bar, go home, watch TV. Also, I often hear excuses like, “It’s too hot” or “I’m too tired” but the weather is not going to change, so where does that leave you?

My advice to making your expat experience as colourful as possible is to travel. It’s intimidating especially if you haven’t travelled within Japan or have shaky Japanese, but just do it and you will have great stories to tell.

No related posts.