<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nJapan is an extremely clean country, if you don’t believe it, please take a look at their toilet (LOL). In addition, Japan is a paradise for pedestrians, drivers are very courteous to pedestrians (otherwise it would be against the law) and the car speed is not too fast most of the time, which I like it truely. After getting used to it, when I go back to Singapore or Taiwan, it always takes me days to get used to the loud, busy, and sometimes freestyle streets.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Despite the good experience with cars in Tokyo, pedestrians in Tokyo move so fast. I still remember when I just arrived in Tokyo, I was often hit by pedestrians on the MRT platform because I walked too slowly. The person who bumped into you won’t apologise, after all, crowded subways\/trains\/roads with some “little touches” are daily routines for people in Tokyo. All you have to do is to “move on” when you bump into or step on someone. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
There are a lot of rules, both spoken and unspoken ones, to follow if you want to stay in Japan smoothly. But if you care about the rules too much, you might feel very stressed. For example, I was stressed by the trash categorisation and recycling rules because it’s way too detailed. For a PET bottled drink, you need to categorise it into 2 types of trash – cap and wrap are plastic, and the bottle is PET bottle (if it’s transparent). Trash needs to be categorised properly or the staff is allowed to reject and leave your trash behind. Can you imagine, there is a manual for you to throw trash and recycle? It is up to you to adapt yourself to live happily under so many rules.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Singapore is a city country in a tropical area. It’s hot and humid for the entire year. So people in Singapore usually fly overseas to enjoy their vacations. On the other hand, Japan has a big land with four seasons, so you may need years to travel around Japan. Note: Speaking of the land size, even Tokyo is bigger than Singapore. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
Tokyo has more entertainment programmes and is more fun. For example, I went to a rock band concert in Tokyo. Before entering the venue, I received a memorial card from the local fan club. And during the show, everyone was so crazy, chanting slogans and making hand gestures together. It’s quite normal that the audiences stand up through the whole concert. But when I went to another rock band concert in Singapore, the audience just sat quietly in their chairs throughout the show. The scene was so calm that if I took photos of the audience, others might thought I went to see a barre dance performance without any contradiction.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
But if you are scared about natural disasters or a risk avoider, I have to tell you that there are no typhoons or earthquakes (although some places do flood occasionally) and it’s very safe in Singapore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
A small note for a spicy lover, spicy cuisines in Tokyo are usually not that spicy. Eat more spicy food while you can if you plan to move to Tokyo. <\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/span>Work Related <\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\nAlthough I am not working in Tokyo, I heard some interesting things from my friends who have been and worked in Japan for many years that I would like to share.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
\nIn Japan, not all companies provide paid sick leave. So if you feel unwell, you may need to leverage your annual leave to rest at home. I’ve checked with my friend about the rationale and she said that’s because as a professional, you should take care of yourself to be healthy and ready to work. And you bring other people to trouble if you take leaves without prior notice. ( That’s tough, right? ) However, some companies give women staff paid menstrual leaves which is not common in Singapore. However, in Singapore, if you want to apply for sick leave, a Medical Certificate issued by a doctor is required most of the time. <\/li>\n\n\n\n Some companies in Japan provide summer vacations for days ( apart from the public holidays ). And it’s not true that every company has to overtime a lot like what we saw in Japanese dramas.<\/li>\n\n\n\n Japanese companies usually pay a maximum amount of commute subsidy based on the distance from office to home, but not in Singapore.<\/li>\n\n\n\n The typical working visa in Japan is not restricted to the company you applied visa for. So it’s ok if you want to quit the job without finding the next one as long as your working visa has not expired. However, if you work with a Highly Skilled Professional Visa in Japan, then the visa would be invalid once you leave the company. Singapore operates oppositely that the typical working visa is tagged with the company so foreign workers usually resign after they already secured the next job with an In-Principle Approval issued by the Ministry of Manpower. Only very few work passes in Singapore are tagged with the individuals. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\n<\/span>Miscellaneous<\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n\nQuite a lot of mobile apps in Japan are still using the mobile web so it’s quite hard to use compared with native apps. I use my laptop more often after relocating to Japan. <\/li>\n<\/ul>\n\n\n\nThese are the differences between life in Singapore and Tokyo that I have experienced so far. Will update once I observe any!<\/p>\n\n\n\n
<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
After relocating to Tokyo from Singapore, I have been asked by several friends in Taiwan about the differences between living in Tokyo and Taiwan. Honestly, since I haven’t lived in Taiwan for years, I don’t think I can answer that question properly. However, from another…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":4,"featured_media":927,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[47,29],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"\n
Singapore vs Tokyo: Living Experience Comparison - WangWang Here!<\/title>\n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n \n \n \n\t \n\t \n\t \n