Time difference

7 comments

1. Different people respond to jetlag differently. I find when I’m travelling between here and EST spaces (13 or 14 hour time difference, depending on the time of year) it usually takes me 3 or 4 days to get used to it. I do find it’s much easier adjusting back to my Japan schedule after the trip is over.

2. I have chosen to reject the concept of time to lessen the unbearable burden on my life.

3. I play a video game called Destiny with pals, and we organise weekly raids (special cooperative missions). The servers “reset” at 5pm UTC, and we arrange to play then, which is 2am JST. That means I just suck it up, go to bed at 8pm, get up at 2am, raid, finish up, then get ready for work, sit about then fuck off out the door. If we’re quick, I can just go for another wee hour or two kip.

   I do this maybe twice a week and its all good. The team is 2 Aussies, 2 Americlaps, one Dutch, and me. We make it work.

   For family shite? My sister wakes up when I finish work, and she’ll usually give me a call to have a good moan about back home.

4. Dunno. I just message people back there when I have free time, and they do the same 🤷🏻‍♂️

5. Just remember: time is an illusion.

6. For me, coming to Japan is always easier. My city is 17 hours behind, I schedule my flights (9 hours direct) to arrive around 2pm – 5pm Japan time. Given that I can’t sleep during flights, I am in bed by 8pm the day I arrive. I equate it to a night out drinking and coming back home after 2 am haha. The return is always the hardest to reset

7. I also have 7 or 8 hours plus difference when I go to Japan. The first day is usually okay then I do have 3-4 days with jet lag afterwards it is fine.

   I travel a lot, traveling to the east is always more tiring. For leisure up to 4 hours to the east is not an issue, when I have to be somewhere in the morning (business trip) it starts getting exhausting. Over 4 hours I don’t plan any activities for the first couple of days.

   I have flown to Japan over 50 times partly leisure trips partly business trips and only one time I had next to no jet lag. For a first time visit I always recommend at least 3 weeks to have some buffer to adjust without having too much time pressure.