Relaxed on a Tokyo Train

9.00am

A diagram of Tokyo's train system

I'm sitting on a Tokyo train, over an hour from home. It seems amazing to me that I can be relaxed. Incredible, even, to think that I come from a big country town and had rarely used public transport before I left home at 17.

We moved to Tokyo ten years ago. Though we'd lived in Japan for nearly four years before we came to this metropolis, Tokyo was overwhelming. It didn't help that we had three children under seven.

Three young energetic boys had their benefits as well as their drawbacks, though. They meant I had a way to meet other mums amongst the masses. We enrolled the older two in a local kindergarten and then a local school. I still have Japanese friends from that time.

But the boys did limit my ability to get out to meet others who weren't local. They also definitely delayed my education about Tokyo trains. Our local station didn't have a lift at that point, so it was difficult to catch a train. I basically didn't. 

So it feels great to take a train journey now without raising a sweat, because I certainly did get anxious early on.  Take a peak back to just before the first cross-Tokyo trip on my own and the "I made it" post afterwards.

7.30pm

I'm back home, after three hours on five trains. A bit tired, but really happy. Not only did I have a low-stress journey, but I got to spend several hours with many of my fellow OMF colleagues. We laughed, prayed, meditated, worshipped, shared, and generally enjoyed each other's company. I'm so thankful that I don't need to be afraid of catching the trains I need to take to go and meet up with them.