3 years in Tokyo: Alex, Senior Software Engineer, how he lives his 7-8h time gap.

Alex has lived in Japan for 3 years. 8 years of dev behind him, with a specialization in the JS ecosystem (Next.js, React). His official role: Senior Software Engineer. Unofficially, he also does quite a bit of project management. Here's how he held a French client for 3 years from Tokyo.

Why Japan, and when to take the leap

"I wanted to try an adventure abroad and Abbeal had a branch in Canada and was about to open one in Japan. I was thinking of visiting Japan one day because people had told me it was very different. So I grabbed the opportunity Abbeal offered."

Working hours: a 100% remote dev, 7-8h later

Alex works roughly French hours. Japan is 7h or 8h ahead depending on France's time change. His Tokyo working hours: 2pm-3pm until midnight. Not trivial when you say it out loud, but it's workable — he comes back to that below.

From the client's and the team's point of view, he operates as a 100% remote dev. Tools: Google Meet and Slack. That's it. No magic, just rituals you stick to.

How he convinced the client

"I offered to align on French hours for 6 months. It's now been 3 years."

What this model brings

• Discover Japan while keeping a French work environment — Japan's can be very different and disorienting
• Organize time off differently: in Japan, holidays are mostly taken during Golden Week (late April-early May), Obon (mid-August) and New Year. Not depending on the Japanese calendar is real freedom
• The benefits of remote work: dodge rush hour (especially summer at 35°C), prevent random interruptions, be more productive

The challenges and how to work around them

The main challenge: the time difference. But once you've found a good rhythm with the client, it's negotiable. Alex offers two options that work:

• France-side presence in the morning only. You wrap around 7pm-8pm Tokyo (12pm-1pm France) — short overlap window but enough for the rituals
• Fully shifted days with 1h-2h of sync in the French morning. You wrap around 5pm-6pm Tokyo. Takes some organization with the client but doable

His advice

Ideally, you've already lived a 100% remote experience to know if it suits you. You can also drop by the Abbeal Tokyo office and meet the colleagues — that's often what unlocks the decision.

On managing the time difference: start by aligning on French hours with a 1h-2h shift while everyone finds their bearings and trust builds. Once the relationship is built, the adjustment is easy to bring up.

• Keep Google Calendar and Slack religiously up to date (status, visible agenda)
• Don't hesitate to schedule a call if written exchanges drag too much
• For asynchronous communication, read and apply nohello.net

— Alex, Senior Software Engineer at Abbeal, in Tokyo for 3 years.