For context, here is my situation:
I’m an american remote tech worker. My girlfriend is in the military at Yokota so unfortunately we are kind of in the boondocks near Akiruna.
Coming from Boulder / USA, no one bats an eye when posting up to random coffee shops or even breweries in the afternoon and bust out your laptop for a few hours. I don’t know if it’s in my head or not, but I feel uncomfortable doing that here. Wanted to ask the community what the best move is here? I’m open to hopping on the ome line and going more into the proper city but would like to keep commute time < 1 hr if possible.
Any suggestions or recommendations would be super appreciated!
P.S. I’m also into rock climbing, cue eye roll at stereotypical tech bro lol. I bring this up only because it’s also a thing in the US to just post up at climbing gyms and work for a few hours and then climb. A lot of the gyms in America have really fast wifi and a section of tabletops with outlets nearby. Tokyo seems to have a lot of climbing gyms so is that an option as well? Is that normal?
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> random coffee shops or even breweries in the afternoon and bust out your laptop for a few hours. I don’t know if it’s in my head or not, but I feel uncomfortable doing that here
I assume you’ve never been to Japan? And you don’t live in Japan?
I only assume that because you appear to have never seen a cafe in Japan.
And no, climbing gyms are not cafes to do work at. Go to an actual cafe, the chances of someone caring are about the same as me winning the lottery without buying a ticket.
Literally every cafe, or at least every Starbucks in central Tokyo is filled with people working; it’s not a big deal.
Everyone does it, and everyone leaves their stuff on their tables when they go to the bathroom etc too. No one’s going to care, and no one’s going to take your stuff.
Hope you find a good place to work!
i went to a we-work 3-4 years ago once
there was a pizza party, where you could eat, so i did. the party was hosted by this crypto startup, and i think the leader or ceo or somesuch, who had half his head shaved hairstyle, was like, DJ ing, checking crypto prices, and eating pizza at the same time, surrounded by other 23 – 27 year olds drinking beer.
that scene left a mark on me and i have never went to a we-work ever since.
anyways, lots of co-working spaces, and good internet cafes are abundant in tokyo, which you are not.
Some cafes don’t allow working/laptops, including certain Starbucks locations. They will make it clear if that’s the case though.
I imagine most people don’t work in cafes because they are tiny and noisy. When the table is narrower than your shoulder width and you have a pair of students 10 cm away from you being loud, it’s not exactly an atmosphere built for “hunkering down” to work for hours on end.
Just so you know about the power dynamic, much like hooking up in the US, you have to ask for consento
In Starbucks and similar nobody cares for at least 2-3 hours.
If you want a bit more settled situation, there are plenty of co-working spaces.
I personally like Bizcomfort, since they have many branches and you can use any of them.
I have also heard many good things about WeWork in Japan, but the seemed to have downsized significantly.
Are you here? Are you actually in Akiruno or Fussa/Mizuho/Musashimurayama/Tachikawa? Do you have base access?
I see people working at coffee shops often, but some places do have maximum seating times, so you may be urged to pay and make room for new customers.
You definitely don’t need to commute to a co-working space. (Why does it have to be a public space? Just curious, feel free to ignore)
I think it really depends on the cafe and venue but it’s pretty common to see people working. I used to always work at a Starbucks in Shibuya. Then randomly one day I came in and there were signs everywhere saying “no laptops” and they covered all the electrical outlets on the tables to prevent people from charging.
Probably gonna get some hate but this working in coffee shops annoys me. I wfh quite often and I do so from… home. I get people want a change of scenery so I’d use a dedicated work space or go into the office. Maybe a library if you don’t need to take meetings.
It irritates me when I nip into a coffee shop for a coffee but all the seats are taken up by people working and studying for long periods of time. I honestly believe if it was policeable and they had the staff, more coffee shops would ban it, especially at peak periods.
It sounds like you haven’t been to Japan before.
Most places are very welcoming to people working there for hours at a time.
Almost all cafe’s in Tokyo have people working who stay for extended periods.
Many places also have people doing interviews etc .
Also family restaurants kind of specialise in this and many students and crative people work there taking only snacks and the drink bar for hours.
Also, Tokyos breweries generally don’t hmacceot customers but pubs are also very welcoming.
Oncenyou getnto Japan you will see how easy it is.
But these places are not co-working places. If you are interested in Co-working spaces you should probably go to one of those as opposed to a cafe.
Or a net room.
My take is to read the air: if a place is empty but open, it’s fair game; if it’s crowded during lunch time, let other, paying patrons use your seat.
Chain coffee shops – Starbucks, Sarutahiko Coffee, Dotour, Tully’s – maybe there are exceptions depending on the location (maybe if its a touristy place with a lot of crowds?) but you can totally get away with working on a laptop.
Also family restaurants – Jonathan’s, Gusto’s, Denny’s – especially if you go outside of peak times (e.g. weekdays and not dinner or lunchtime) you can also totally get away with working, and they usually have outlets too. And unlimited coffee/drink machine.
Question for context – are you working in the country on a working visa or are you here ‘visiting’ on a tourist visa?
Yes, you can work in coffee shops, like most of the world. Just read the room. If it’s PACKED, then, no. you’re being a jerk taking seats. If it’s empty, then by all means, hang out. Same as anywhere in the world. If they have a problem with it, they’ll let you know.
Note that Mister Donut and other donut shops count as “similar” – as do many McDonalds. They have a pretty highschool vibe, though, and can be pretty loud, but lots of highschool kids “study” in such places. FWTW.
As for gyms… Dunno about climbing gyms, but many gyms DO have a “work space” where you can use a laptop after working out. The Megalos near my house has such an area, for instance – little work cubbies with comfy chairs. Barely gets used, actually. This will differ by gym, but it’s not uncommon.
Also, Japan is full of libraries, and they are nice and quiet, and happy to let you work there as long as you want, as long as you are quiet and don’t bring food. Most have decent desk setups for kids to study. They are usually pretty old, though, and may not have great power points.
I’ve sat in cafes for hours working on my PC. The thing is to make sure they’re not busy. The one au used to go to in Shinagawa would quiet Dow after the morning rush and be half empty until noon. I also made sure to buy another coffee or a sandwich if I was there very long.
I don’t know about working at the climbing gyms here. I’m guessing most of them don’t have the space to accommodate a guy typing on his laptop.
You can work at cafés, as long as it states that it’s allowed. They’ll usually have rules about “you have to order something every 2 hours” if you want to stay for a long time.
Unusual, perhaps, but you can get a karaoke room daytimes for dirt cheap. Soundproof, usually includes a (nonalcoholic) drink bar.
Climbing spaces are few and far between, and very cramped. They don’t have the space for you to hang out.
-Fellow Coloradoan
Biz comfort is legit