Best location in JET

[mrcharisma]

Anyplace outside THE city is going to be pretty similar. I could show you a photo of Nagoya, Sendai, Fukuoka, Kyoto, Kanazawa, Niigata, Maebashi, Tsukuba, Mito, etc etc and you wouldn't be able to tell the difference. Once you get out of the urban area, the countryside is also pretty damn homogenous.

I.E. the point of this post, and the point of a lot of peoples posts here. There really isn't that big a difference, and if/when you come here you will probably find that place to be to your liking. So don't think about it, or worry about it unless you are really affected by the weather (i.e. hate the cold... don't go north)

Assuming "THE city" means Tokyo I'd maybe group Osaka closer to that than the other cities above.

Personally I'd opt for Otsu / Kusatsu if I could request again. It's the Saitama of Kansai.

[BeckyJones]

Assuming "THE city" means Tokyo I'd maybe group Osaka closer to that than the other cities above.

Personally I'd opt for Otsu / Kusatsu if I could request again. It's the Saitama of Kansai.

THE city does mean Tokyo. I didn't put Osaka in that list because Osaka at least has its own flavor. But really, most people always seem to want THE city and JET isn't going to provide that. Sure, there are a lucky 4 or 5 people who get placed near THE city but for the rest of the lot you are going to be someplace out in the country or near a major city you havn't heard of.

I personally think that is a great thing. When I did JET the closest major city was Fukuoka and it was great. Now I live near Tokyo and Tokyo sucks ass compared to Fukuoka, If i was placed near Tokyo I would of missed out on a hell of a lot of fun

[mothy]

Oh that reminds me, also not Osaka.

[Shincantsen]

My guess is that the best placement is in Kobe. JETs are actually placed in the city, it's a gorgeous place, and I heard they get summers off.

Otsu is a really shitty city but it's really close to Kyoto/easy to get to Osaka. Kusatsu is much nicer, but I'm not sure where the JET there is placed. Shiga in general is pretty nice, as long as you're on the right side of the lake.

[Page]

^ I second any BOE that gives their JETs summer (and BOE days) off. A few cities in our prefecture do this (though you are required to stay in the city, nenq has to be taken for leaving the area as far as I know).

Pretty much what BJ said, all of Japan will net you nearly the same experiences (minus the obvious weather-related ones)--the only difference is convenience, access to foreign stuff, and levels of staring.

[Gizmotech]

Agree with Page.

So the list so far:
No Tohoku
No Saitama
No Osaka

Everywhere else, exactly the same. Some have better perks.

[SomePeopleJustSaySnow]

Well I'm in Hokkaido, and I love it here - but that's mostly because I'm boring. Don't come up north if you're after nightlife, unless you're willing to drive for hours to find it. On the plus side if you're from small English town #275, you'll feel right at home in Hokkaido - same lack of people aged between 18 and 30, same short drives to a cold, stony beach, and same feeling that if the wind blew really heard and knocked over a sign it would be all anyone talked about for several weeks.

It's perfect!

[HorseFeathers]

Why do people keep saying that about Saitama? Is it really that bad there?

[MJN]

Agree with Page.

So the list so far:
No Tohoku
No Saitama
No Osaka

Everywhere else, exactly the same. Some have better perks.

I really want to slander my former almost-BOE that asked me to hand in my passport & driver's licence. No to them, too.

[word]

Why do people keep saying that about Saitama? Is it really that bad there?

It's a running joke here on ITIL, but, like all stereotypes, it is very much rooted in an unfortunate reality. Saitama is the Detroit of Japan.

[Azrael]

Saitama is the worst place in Japan. Its one of the few things foreigners and the Japanese agree on.

[johnny]

Saitama is the worst place in Japan. Its one of the few things foreigners and the Japanese agree on.

Saitama has a neat train museum.


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[mothy]

Why do people keep saying that about Saitama? Is it really that bad there?

Yes.

Saitama has a neat train museum.

It has a train museum. Lets not get carried away.

[johnny]

Yes.



It has a train museum. Lets not get carried away.

I guess that is a little too otaku, eh?


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[Jiggit]

It certainly isn't a little too interesting.

[BeckyJones]

Why do people keep saying that about Saitama? Is it really that bad there?

Saitama is the boring/poor outskirts of Tokyo, and everyone who lives there takes the train into THE city to party/shop. Think of it like, New Jersey.

[Azrael]

it takes ages to get to tokyo from saitama. The only people who live in saitama are the ones working factory jobs and they certainly cant afford to go party or shop in tokyo.

[OdysseyOfNoises]

Kusatsu is much nicer, but I'm not sure where the JET there is placed. Shiga in general is pretty nice, as long as you're on the right side of the lake.

There are about three JETs placed in the Kusatsu area (including Ritto). I actually prefer Otsu to Kusatsu but maybe that's just me.

[BeckyJones]

it takes ages to get to tokyo from saitama. The only people who live in saitama are the ones working factory jobs and they certainly cant afford to go party or shop in tokyo.

under 2 hours isn't ages.

[Azrael]

it is in my book