musictoenglish blog

I’ve been living in Japan for the past 42 years. Had Billy Joel lived here he never would’ve written the lyrics “Honesty, such a lonely word”. Through my experiences here I can truly say that Honesty Is the Best Policy in Japan.

My first day in Tokyo I can remember walking past electronics shops in the Shinjuku district. The shops had tables on the sidewalk with all their goods on display. The shop master would be inside the shop. People would walk by and look but nobody would steal anything. That would be unheard of in America. Of course shops don’t do that anymore with so many foreigners living here.

I’m a very forgetful person and have been since I was a child. I failed a kindergarten test because I couldn’t remember the word coffee cup when I was shown the picture. Anyways there have many instances where I have forgotten items at different places. On the train I left my smartphone one time, another time my stick bag full of drumsticks and my expensive leather gloves. All of these things I got back, I left my wallet on the counter at a bookstore and another time at a convenience store. Both times I got the wallet back with no money missing. I’ve dropped my prepaid commuter pass at my station and I got it back, Each time this happens I say to myself, “I’m so glad I’m in Japan.”
.”