Shimane prefecture, What it is?

[Abaddon]

Hello everyone, I just got accepted as an ALT in Shimane prefecture. I was wondering if anyone is currently living there and can share what its like. I haven't found very much information at all about the city I will be in (Masuda). Thanks.

[tenderRondo]

find that fat guy who made vlogs about it on youtube. he has like 80 videos where he talks about jet and a whole bunch where he talks about shimane. I cant remember his name but searching for "fat guy JET shimane" should pop him up.

[miss. m]

hi! i currently live in shimane. when i first found out that i was going there i definitely had a "where the hell is shimane" moment because i had never heard of it. basically it`s incredibly inaka, and is actually the second most rural prefecture in japan (we only win/lose to tottori). however, the area is beautiful and the jet community tends to be very close/friendly. i was a bit apprehensive about it at first but i really love it here now.

masuda is a city of about 40,000-50,000 people. it isn`t too big, but there are a decent number of restaurants, bars, shops, etc. masuda also has some nice temples. and, if you need a night out, hiroshima is only 2 hours away! please feel free to ask any questions or send a private message to me. i can give more detailed info privately.

[MC Market]

...basically it`s incredibly inaka, and is actually the second most rural prefecture in japan (we only win/lose to tottori). however, the area is beautiful and the jet community tends to be very close/friendly. i was a bit apprehensive about it at first but i really love it here now. ...

Haha, Tottori wins for least populated.
I spent some of Golden Week in Shimane.
Touring the largest silver mines in Japan (awhile ago) along with seeing the largest sand hour glass in the world. It counts down 1 full year before they flip it on Dec 31st. It was pretty interesting.
There are a ton of other things to see and do there, along with being pretty close to Hiroshima.

I don't know what kind of person you are, but I would enjoy living in Shimane. Nature and ocean is usually a pretty good combo.

[4186]

The Shimane JET forum will have much more local info.

ShimaneJET.com - A Home for JETs in Shimane

[Omoplata]

find that fat guy who made vlogs about it on youtube. he has like 80 videos where he talks about jet and a whole bunch where he talks about shimane. I cant remember his name but searching for "fat guy JET shimane" should pop him up.

That guy has a couple of accounts on youtube I think . This is one of them --> YouTube - TaishaJason's Channel.

[Laxmaan70]

You are in luck, myargonauts is the name of the guy who has made a ton of vlogs about his life in Japan (Shimane) and JET. He is a wealth of information and I have watched many of his videos, a good activity to do while at work with headphones if possible - they will add to your excitement for Japan - from his descriptions Shimane seems like a very nice place.

[cranguy]

the vlog guy on Youtube is named myargonauts and I actually really enjoyed the 2 vids of his that I watched.

[AllGunsPoolside]

ok

[tenderRondo]

hey i'm a current shimane jet and have been living here for one year in a small town (16,000). the big population center is matsue/izumo. matsue is alright but i am usually going to izumo (which has the new shopping center youme town). we may be in the middle of nowhere but it is easy to travel and save money here.

matsue/izumo two cities that are kind of close to each other. i'm 45 minutes from izumo so i generally go there versus matsue (which is an hour). an airport is between the two cities and it flies to tokyo, osaka, fukuoka, etc.

yonago (in tottori) is not too far away if you are on the izumo side of shimane. has an airport with flights to tokyo, nagoya, and seoul. pretty good shopping here.

hiroshima only two hours fifteen minutes from me but i am almost near the hiroshima prefecture border. i'm am one of the JETs who is closer to hiroshima.

also remember we have a billion old people living in shimane. it can be boring at times do to not a lot of young people but there are people your age in the cities and there are 3 JETs in my town (including myself) and 6 JETs in the town 20 minutes from me. i do recommend getting involved in some sort of activity or you will get bored on weekdays.

Are you the fat youtube guys successor?

[obiwen]

Hello everyone, I just got accepted as an ALT in Shimane prefecture. I was wondering if anyone is currently living there and can share what its like. I haven't found very much information at all about the city I will be in (Masuda). Thanks.

When I found out I was going to be placed in a small mountain town in Shimane, population under 5000, I cried. But I signed up for a third year in spite of all my original apprehensions. It is beautiful and the JET community is pretty tight. I think the trick is to make sure you have plans on the weekends and get involved in some sort of activity during the week. Masuda is a good size with quite a bit going on. You have young people there to make friends with and a variety of activities to keep you busy.

And check the Shimane forum. All Shimane JETs just got a notice today that newbies are posting there, so it should get a little more active.

[AllGunsPoolside]

ok

[ChuChuRocket!]

We over in Hiroshima have thrown together a Chugoku region forums.

So if you're a Shimane person and would like to take part, or even know whats happening in your nieghboring prefectures, come on over.

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