I’ve never liked commuting.
During high school and University I had a job and I had to drive about thirty minutes to work. I hated it.
Later, while in the Army, my commute time was 10 seconds. I worked and lived in the same place. It was amazing.
Since coming to Japan, I’ve tried to avoid commuting as long as I could but, now that I am working in Tokyo, I have to face reality. Luckily I get to work from home a lot but there are still some days I have to commute.
In order to get to work it takes about an hour. I get the ‘privilege’ of riding the Yamanote line. Famous for being so crowded JR workers have to push people on, Yamanote line can be pretty bad. It is always crowded.
It has only been two weeks and I have already experienced rush hour crowds and even an a 40 minute delay caused by some accident.
One good point for me is that I am a tall foreigner guy. I never feel the anxiety or fear that many smaller, or especially female, commuters must experience. In that way I am very privileged.
Strangely, I don’t mind commuting much anymore. Compared to traveling with small children it is easy! Although working from home is nice, and commuting wastes a lot of time, I enjoy going to the office. It is a different atmosphere and I get to talk with people face-to-face.
I think my new job is great because it is a good balance of working from home and commuting to the office.