Job Discussion Forums

Rockawaybeach · Joined: 26 Feb 2003 Posts: 5 Location: Toronto

Hi All,

This is my first post on this forum. I was hoping there might be someone... anyone... anybody at all out there who might have heard of or worked in a town called Tsuyama. I've recently accepted a position there and I'm arriving in Japan in mid June. This will be my first visit to Japan and I have no illusions that this little town of less than 100K people will be less than glamorous. I'm hoping it makes up for lack of population with beauty and history.

Can anyone suggest anything I should bring with me that would be especially hard to find in a small town? I know I need to bring shoes and shirts. I've heard I should bring toiletries as well.

Any advice would be great.

~Rockawaybeach

buffy · Joined: 12 Feb 2003 Posts: 57

Can you be more specific on which Tsuyama you will be in? Which Prefecture? It ain't the Springfield of Japan, but there are more than one.

Go with an open mind....as for toiletries the only one I would suggest would be deodorant. Others are widely available.

Celeste · Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2003 12:10 am Post subject:

Small town living can be difficult, but if you are well prepared, you will be fine. Books are good. If you know what your address wil be, go to some used bookstores and get a bunch of cheap novels and surface mail them to yourself. It is also nice to tape a bunch of TV to send to yourself, or you can have a friend or family member do this for you periodically. (And having lots of English books and videos will make you very popular with the other foreigners in your little town too). I would also recommend a laptop computer, but be aware that in a small town, you may not get a high speed connection- still, a regular phone line connection is better than nothing.

As for toiletries, as another poster said, deoderant can be hard to find here. I would also recommend that you bring at least a month's worth of any other things that you use such as toothpaste, shampoo, contact lens solution, shaving cream, razor blades, etc. Learning to shop in a foreign country takes time, and it will be a lot easier on you if you don't have any emergency shopping trips to make in your first couple of weeks here.

If you were thinking that you might want to have some sex at some point in Japan, you will probably do well to bring your own condoms from home. A lot of foreigners complain about the condoms here being too small. (Pretty boastful complaint, I must say!)

If there are any little over the counter medications that you use regularly, bring them. Tylenol is almost unavailable here, so if you use that particular pain reliever, bring a big bottle. (I am allergic to aspirin and ibuprofen, so I brought a big bottle of generic acetaminophen with me). Stomach remedies, vitamins, creams for skin conditions. Be careful about cold remedies though. Dayquil and Nyquil are illegal here. So are any other cold medicines with speed or opiates in them.

Now, about food. You may want to stash a little comfort food in a box and send it to yourself. Little spice packets, instant soups, a favourite brand of cookies- basically anything that you think you might crave when you are homesick. I cook a lot, but some of the other foreign teachers here don't know squat about cooking, and were 10 kinds of excited when I made carrot sticks with dip. It seems many of them had been here for years with no dip technology. (To me, yogurt and spices were not a big accomplishment, but if you don't know how to put them together, I suppose it's pretty exciting.)

Finally, bring a million photos of your home town. Pictures of you with your family, with your dog, with your car, at a restaurant, on your couch, etc. This will all be fascinating to the locals, and will give you something to talk about with all of the strangers you will meet who don't speak English very well. It is a much more comfortable awkward silence if there are pictures to look at.

Brooks · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1369 Location: Sagamihara

not all the condoms are small here but in general if you go to a drug store they probably will not fit.
But if you buy Trojans in the US and bring them here, no problem.
I bought condoms with a British flag on them and they fit.　It did not say what size they were.

I am not boasting, just stating the truth.

Brooks

Celeste · Posted: Wed Apr 16, 2003 1:46 am Post subject:

I believe you, Brooks; I was just teasing about the boasting of some of my colleagues Wink

Shonai Ben · Joined: 15 Feb 2003 Posts: 617

Celeste covered just about everything.
I lived in a small city also and as someone else mentioned,deodorant was very difficult to find.The only brand name that I saw was Ban.
May I also suggest styptic pencils if you use them.Shaving cream & razors were really not a problem.
If you smoke,cigarettes are not a problem.I like to puff on a cigar now & then and couldn't find any.I would bring those with me.
Another suggestion for those items that you need and cannot find.Have a friend or family member send stuff to you a couple of times a year.
I hope this also helps with your question.
Enjoy your stay in Japan. Cool

Rockawaybeach · Joined: 26 Feb 2003 Posts: 5 Location: Toronto

The Tsuyama I'm refering to is in the Okayama Prefecture. Anyone ever been there?

Thanks very much to all who have replied! I knew I posted on this site for a reason. The community here is clearly very supportive of each other. Hopefully I'll be in a position to give advice some day.

So...: Condoms, deodorant, books, photos. That's a good start. I heard that some laptops have trouble with the electricity in Japan if they lack internal converters (man, I have no idea if mine has one or not).

For those of you teaching with corporations enforcing dress codes, what is your wardrobe like (for men)? Would 4 suits and 8 dress shirts be overkill?

Thanks again!

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

I packed 2 suits, and 2 sport jackets (with shirts and dress pants to match). For an eikaiwa job, that was overkill.

Whatever suit you pack, make sure it's black with little or no pattern. You never know if you end up attending a wedding or funeral.

Willie Nelson · Joined: 27 Mar 2003 Posts: 9

For dressy clothes I've gotten away with having one good sportcoat that goes with everything. Weddings, funerals, graduations. A dark brown tweed jacket goes everywhere. Don't bring too much. Japan has everything you need. It's just hard to find sometimes. I recently found a good men's store and have commenced adding to my fine wardrobe.

Guest · Posted: Thu Apr 17, 2003 3:08 pm Post subject:

I agree with most of what has been said especially the second hand books. Don't be tempted to buy new, or you won't be so happy to leave them behind when you go.

I wouldn't advise you to weigh yourself down with toiletries. They may not have the exact brand you use at home but several Western brands are widely available. The only exceptions being deodorant - assume you won't find any and you won't be disappointed - and toothpaste. Though some of the brand names may be what you're used to the product is not the same as most (or possibly all) toothpaste in Japan does not contain fluoride.

I worked at an eikaiwa where suits were compulsory. I took three and the black one was only fit for the bin by the end of the year.

Don't worry too much though the Japanese post is very efficient so if your friends/family are willing they can always send things on after you've left.

Katy

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

G Cthulhu · Posted: Mon Apr 21, 2003 6:41 am Post subject:

[quote="Glenski"]

janice · Joined: 27 Apr 2003 Posts: 1

Hello!

I hope that you are still checking responses because I lived in Tsuyama, Okayama prefecture for a year. I worked at AEON. Which school are you working with? Tsuyama is not a bad place to be, i've also lived in rural Japan and Tsuyama is more of a small city. There a a few foreigners in town, mostly jet and some GEOS and NOVA. It is easily accesible to many great places, Hiroshima, Tottori, Kyoto and Osaka.... The town is famous for its cherry blossom watching-they have an amazing park with 5000 cherry trees, everyone drinks and picnics for 2 weeks. very very fun!
I wouldn't bother sending books , if you are working for AEON both teacher's apartments have tons, the library has a few shelves of english books and okayama has a bookstore with a pretty good selection.
There are plenty of grocery , department and video stores. You should be fine getting everything that you need(although i would reccomend bringing your own toothpaste). Anyway you will love it there so don't worry! If you have any questions you can e-mail me at [email protected]
Good Luck!
Janice