Kind of sad, I found out today I’m probably not getting the transfer that I wanted.
I love my job, I really do, but as soon as I leave… I live in this bedroom community that’s far enough from Tokyo it’s not feasible to go there on weeknights, but it’s not so far that there’s things to do in the town itself.
I have walked almost every street within a 90 minute radius of my apartment, and there’s… nothing. Just house after house after house. No parks, no shrines, no sports facilities, no festivals in the summer, no martial art classes, no beaches, no mountains, no trails or forests, not even a scenic road through some rice paddies. It’s literally just suburban sprawl. Shopping is limited to a grocery store, a pharmacy, and a few convenience stores.
If it was the city, I’d have things to do (and I’m saying this as someone who hates big cities). If it was actual inaka, there would be people around and a local culture, or at least some form of nature to enjoy. But there’s neither here. Everyone works and plays in Tokyo, and they come back here to sleep and literally nothing else.
I don’t know what to do. Initially I got by on the novelty of walking around Japanese neighborhoods aimlessly, and then graduated to wasting time on video games every night. Now I just go home, drink, and fall asleep, every night. I can go into Tokyo on weekends and that’s something, but I honestly don’t think I can do another year of this.
What do you do in this situation? I could take the city, I could take a remote inaka town, but suburban sprawl is the worst of both without any of the benefits of either. How do I stay sane??