TTokyo

Moved to Tokyo from rural Japan and struggling a little bit

  • March 19, 2026

Hello!

I’m sorry to talk about myself for a bit:

I grew up in a really rural part of Japan. Perhaps uncomfortably rural for some. After university I lived in more of a small city, and it felt like the perfect balance for me. I had convenience stores within walking distance, supermarkets close by, but also a lot of nature. Mountains one way, the ocean the other. It just felt easy to live there.

About 6 months ago my husband transferred for work and we moved to the Tokyo area. I was really excited at first, but honestly it’s been harder than I expected to adjust this time.

I think I’m struggling with how crowded everything feels, and how going to “cool” places can turn into a whole thing with crowds, parking, planning, etc. I also miss having easy access to nature, as I never had to go look for it before.

We’re both in our 30s and I’m currently pregnant, so we’re not really in a stage where nightlife is a big appeal either.

I’m not trying to complain, I know Tokyo has a lot to offer. I just feel like I haven’t found what makes it enjoyable for me yet.

So I’d really like to hear what people here actually enjoy about living in this area, or any places you like that are a bit calmer or less crowded. I’m sure there’s a lot I just haven’t explored yet.

Thank you in advance.

by LittlexLilyRose

8 comments

  2. I lived in big cities all my life so I prefer this. Some people prefer nature. You could try living near Takao, or Okutama

    And how did you learn English in such a remote place?

  3. I highly doubt a Japanese native born and raised in the country side ends up posting on Reddit.

  4. Well Tokyo area is pretty big and diverse. As you didn’t state where in Tokyo you are I will just state some of the things I do. I live on the north east border of Tokyo which I find bit more chilled generally and I like to explore that area. If in central Tokyo, I always hit parks I like to break away from crowds for a 30 min break or so. I avoid the big tourist areas unless I have to go there and if I do I often walk between stations, as there are often back roads that are way less crowded. Shibuya to Harajuku for example or Ueno to Akiba. Knowing your routes with places to stop and chill on the way is good too and more enjoyable than the bustle of the metro.

  5. I think there are plenty of areas of Tokyo that have good access to nature or are more green and quiet.

    Unfortunately there are also lots of areas that are concrete hellholes, so you have to do a lot of exploration to find the areas that work best for you.

  6. I hear you on this. I moved to Tokyo after living in an inaka in Kyushu and it was a bit like “wtf am I doing here? What are all these other people doing here? Why on earth would anyone want to live here?” I remember just staring out over a bridge near my apartment overlooking the (beautiful, majestic) kan-nana dōri and just seeing a stream of dirty noisy cars going both ways through a completely indistinct section of Japanese suburbia with shitty chain restaurants convenience stores and car dealerships as far as the eye could see…. And just thinking like wtf is this place even?

    Of course I felt something pretty similar when I first moved to the inaka too and again when I first moved back to the states.

    I think time is a factor, of course, but also your specific location and housing set up. Things got a lot better when we moved to a bigger apartment closer to the station, on the other side of kan-nana even though it was less than a kilometer away from that old place.

  7. You can try living in the outskirts of Tokyo so you can have the best of two worlds.

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