Job Discussion Forums

diana363 · Joined: 15 Jan 2014 Posts: 2

Hello everyone, so I just moved to Tokyo a month ago and started working as an Eikaiwa teacher. Since my hours are not 9-5, I have a really difficult time spending time with the friends I do have here since my school is 1 hour away from where I actually live and our schedules conflict. I have all day Monday and Tuesday off and I'm not sure what to do with myself since my coworkers who I'm friendly with also have different days off. I don't really like spending so much time by myself and I spend a lot of time getting homesick and missing everyone from home. Does anyone have any insight on how to cope with this situation or find people with similar schedules?

nightsintodreams · Joined: 18 May 2010 Posts: 558

Apply for a new job. Seriously, stay away from eikaiwa if at all possible.

Maitoshi · Joined: 04 May 2014 Posts: 718 Location: 何処でも

Yawarakaijin · Joined: 20 Jan 2006 Posts: 504 Location: Middle of Nagano

Pay no mind to those with an axe to grind and no real advice to offer. If you have to work in an eikaiwa to get your foot in the door, so be it. I've heard just as many horror stories working for dispatch agencies who for the most part have a lock on the public school jobs. Do however keep your eyes open for other better opportunities though. There are other options besides just eikaiwa or public schools.

Now to offer some advice. Where you live is going to have the biggest effect on your social life/quality of life overall, no doubt about it. If you can afford it, move closer to your work/friends or to a station with a little more going on around it.

Schedules like yours can be great if you are into things like going to the gym/staying healthy. Anyone you meet when you do drop in mon-tues obviously has the same schedule as you so you have killed two birds with one stone.

Poke around on facebook. See what kind of groups are out there that may be interesting to join. You aren't the only one with Mondays and Tuesdays off.

Those are two things you could try that immediately popped into my head. I'm sure others could add more. Good luck.

rtm · Joined: 13 Apr 2007 Posts: 1003 Location: US

You could also try something like Meetup.com to find things happening on Mondays or Tuesdays. It looks like there's a group in Tokyo specifically for things on Mondays.

I'll second the idea of going to a gym. Other people who are there when you go obviously also have that time off.

timothypfox · Joined: 20 Feb 2008 Posts: 492

Be aggressive about looking for events near you on Facebook on those days. Go to those events regularly. Troll the cafe's near you as they may have day events and evening live events (sometimes even on Tuesday nights).

It may be hard, but go out on the weekend nights once in a while even if you have work the next day. Just drink zero alcohol drinks and don't stay out late.

RM1983 · Joined: 03 Jan 2007 Posts: 360

I moved from eikaiwa to public school a while ago and having weekends off is terrific!

However that might not be useful to you now. I met a bunch of people in Shibuya who have a kind of sunday social, and being a motley crue i guessed theyd arranged it on the net.

I bet if you did the same on meetup.com, organised a monday or tuesday night piss up youd have 7/8 people signed up within a week

nightsintodreams · Joined: 18 May 2010 Posts: 558

I don't have an axe to grind, but after working for both Eikaiwa and dispatch, as well as working as a direct hire, I have made the fairly obvious conclusion that Eikaiwa is the worst choice if you want a social life and the freedom to persue other activities outside of work.

The vast majority of people in this country work from around 8/900-1600/1900, Monday to Friday. Most eikaiwas need to cater to these people by offering lessons outside of the regular work schedule and so the busiest times as an eikaiwa teacher are going to be when everyone else is on vacation. On top of making it difficult for you to plan a social life, it also makes it very difficult to pick up private lessons on any days other than your vacation days, and there's usually very little room for advancement in the eikaiwa industry. At least working at a dispatch company would place you in an environment that enables one to improve their Japanese and gain enough experience to be considered for direct hire or university positions.

Having said that, all the eikaiwa teachers I know get at least one day of the weekend as vacation, so your situation sounds particularly tough.

Of course, it's worth doing anything to get your foot in the door, but there's nothing stopping you from applying for other jobs with a more manageable schedule. If you're not successful then keep working at your current job, if you are successful then you can move. Nothing to lose really.

rxk22 · Joined: 19 May 2010 Posts: 1629

Eikaiwa schedules do suck. But getting two days off in a row is pretty good for an eikaiwa.

That said. Join a club, do ping pong, arrange flowers, do Judo, that kind of stuff is how you meet people.

Also, take Japanese classes. They are usually free at your community center. You can meet people, and learn the local language, so you can communicate better with the locals.