Japan is safe but be careful

I believe that Japan is definitely one of the safest countries compared to others that I have actually visited. (Thailand, Brazil, Poland, Czech republic, Germany, Hungary, Austria and of course US) Ever since I moved to the U.S., I have never walked outside on my own after dark.

I live in an OK neighborhood in Southern California but people carry guns in general and we tend to drive everywhere..we could be shot while driving but it is less likely to become an armed robbery victim while driving.

But in Japan, especially in big cities, people are walking and stores around the stations are open and people walk from the station to home even after dark. Japan is much safer than the U.S. definitely and probably much safer than any of the countries that I mentioned above.

Even then, you still have to be careful if you are especially a foreign woman. Unfortunately tragedy and cruel murder occurred and this beautiful English teacher from UK was raped and killed by a young Japanese man. He was clearly sick. There are five things you can do to protect yourself while you are staying in Japan.

1) Don’t walk on your own especially after dark. It is better to have someone accompanies you in a foreign country.

2) If you need to go out to get something in late evening, you can walk to the convenience store but it would be best to take a taxi just to be safe.

3) Bring a pepper spray. You should be able to get it in your home country before coming to Japan.

4) Make sure that you do have your passport and visa. In Japan, authority (police) can stop foreigners and ask for IDs and it is important in case something happens to you.

5) No matter how nice a new friend appears to be, do not go to his/her house without knowing one extensively.

This Japanese student tactfully invited his beautiful English speaker to his apartment, and that’s where all these horrific incidents occurred.