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kpjf
Joined: 18 Jan 2012
Posts: 385
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 Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2014 12:52 pm Post subject: JET placement choices |
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Hi everyone,
I am going to apply to JET and was looking some advice on placement choices.
I totally understand that you may choose 3 cities/prefectures yet be placed somewhere miles away from those choices, but who knows? Anyway, on other threads here some have mentioned that the Kansai region is very competitive for jobs (e.g. Kyoto/Osaka) so I wanted to avoid this region as one possible plan was to look for work in that region after doing JET (if I like life in Japan).
Ideally I would like somewhere not so far away from Tokyo. I was thinking of choosing Shizuoka prefecture, maybe Kobe, Fukuoka or Hokkaido. Shizuoka looks nice and is close to Tokyo which is a plus. What about Kobe? I wasn’t sure it this city would be quite competitive too?
Could anyone let me know if there are some regions that I should avoid? E.g. if it's competitive like Kansai/not so good for employment opportunities etc; or, on the flip side any regions that could be better for employment opportunities? The user Mitsui did mention that Nagoya could be a good option on another thread, which looks like a beautiful city but on looking at JET stats there do not appear to be many placements in Nagoya at all so it might be a waste putting this one down even though I would like to try there.
I realise there may not be any kind of answer to what regions may be better for employment opportunities but just decided to ask.
Cheers |
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Maitoshi
Joined: 04 May 2014
Posts: 718
Location: 何処でも
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| Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2014 2:29 pm Post subject: |
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| Most of the places mentioned here are not close to Tokyo. |
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G Cthulhu
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
Posts: 1373
Location: Way, way off course.
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| Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2014 7:57 pm Post subject: |
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It comes down to what locations are available that cycle and where you score on the interviews. If you're near the top then there's a good chance you'll get what you ask for if a space there is available. If you're at the bottom of the table then you're meat being thrown into available slots.
Remember the only two rules:
SoP is what gets/loses you the interview slot.
Points scored at the interview gets you the job.
They want adaptable, open minded, interested, and capable.
It's that simple. |
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kpjf
Joined: 18 Jan 2012
Posts: 385
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| Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2014 8:50 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks a lot for the advice G Cthulhu, I appreciate it.
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| They want adaptable, open minded, interested, and capable. |
I would like to think I have all four - definitely the first three at least!
| Maitoshi wrote: |
| Most of the places mentioned here are not close to Tokyo. |
Sorry, didn't mean to imply I thought all my choices were near Tokyo. I did write "ideally"; i.e. the place doesn't necessarily have to be near Tokyo, but would be a bonus. I know Shizuoka is the only place near it. I just wrote that so if someone were to recommend somewhere then they'd have some context. |
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Maitoshi
Joined: 04 May 2014
Posts: 718
Location: 何処でも
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| Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2014 10:09 pm Post subject: |
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| Shizuoka (Hamamatsu) is about an hour outside of Tokyo by bullet train. Not exactly next-door, or a cheap trip. |
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Maitoshi
Joined: 04 May 2014
Posts: 718
Location: 何処でも
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| Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2014 10:11 pm Post subject: |
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| Actually, about 1 hour, 20 minutes and around 80 dollars each way. |
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mitsui
Joined: 10 Jun 2007
Posts: 1562
Location: Kawasaki
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| Posted: Sun Oct 05, 2014 11:57 pm Post subject: |
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Shizuoka is good for JET, I have heard.
I mentioned Nagoya as a place for work, but not related to JET.
To be near Tokyo, well there is Ibaraki, Saitama or Tochigi, for example.
I know one Australian who was in Ibaraki and it worked out well for him.
The mellow lifestyle is attractive for some. Good place to improve your Japanese.
Kobe is a good place for work, but probably competitive. |
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nightsintodreams
Joined: 18 May 2010
Posts: 558
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| Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2014 12:27 am Post subject: |
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Kobe is part of Kansai.
Shizuoka is a nice place, I lived there for three years and would definitely consider going back some day.
In my opinion an hour and a half by Shinkansen is pretty close to Tokyo. What that also means is that you can get on a regulur JH train after work(at the cost of about 3000 yen if I remember correctly) on Friday and be in Tokyo by 8/9pm, with still plenty of time to hit the bars and clubs (as i did a few times).
I'd go for Shizuoka if I were you, but you could be put out in the sticks. I know that in the case of Shizuoka city and Hamamatsu at least, almost all the JETs have been swapped for dispatch workers i nrecent years. |
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Maitoshi
Joined: 04 May 2014
Posts: 718
Location: 何処でも
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| Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2014 1:15 am Post subject: |
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Well if an hour and a half by Shinkansen (from the nearest shink station) is close in OPs opinion, this opens up a good bit of Japan for consideration.
OP might place Gunma on his list, as it is pretty rural and about an hour outside Tokyo by rapid local train.
Not sure how many would view this as near, but the cost and travel times might make Tokyo a weekly possibility rather than once a month or so.
This being said, I'd choose Shizuoka as a place to live over Gunma without needing to think on it much. |
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kpjf
Joined: 18 Jan 2012
Posts: 385
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| Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2014 1:40 pm Post subject: |
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| Maitoshi wrote: |
| Actually, about 1 hour, 20 minutes and around 80 dollars each way. |
I knew that was the distance, thanks, but it is quite expensive as you mention. I had initially thought if it's only an hour or so you could go to Tokyo for trips at the weekend, but prices for Japanese rail seem expensive. Are there no weekend rail prices or specials in advance? In Uk some sites offer good rates if you book in advance or in Germany you can get a weekend pass for up to 5 people and rates seem good. Maybe not the case in Japan?!
Thanks Mitsui. Yes, you mentioned Nagoya unrelated to JET in another thread, but I'm talking post-JET; i.e. I wanted to avoid a place that may be very competitive for jobs, if it's possible to know, such as Kyoto, so that I can try to get a job when JET finishes in an area that isn't saturated with fellow English teachers. Someone else mentioned Ibaraki to me but when I went onto JET statistics few people appeared to be placed there which made me think JET placements there are infrequent.
| nightsintodreams wrote: |
| Kobe is part of Kansai. |
Reason I mentioned Kobe is that someone mentioned it to me as a good option. But, maybe this city is also really competitive?
| Quote: |
I'd go for Shizuoka if I were you, but you could be put out in the sticks. |
Thanks for the opinion on Shizuoka. This is the only one I am definite about putting in my list. Regarding being put out in the sticks that's a gamble you have to take with JET I guess!
| Quote: |
| I know that in the case of Shizuoka city and Hamamatsu at least, almost all the JETs have been swapped for dispatch workers i nrecent years. |
I'm not so familiar with Japan, could you clarify what you mean by this? Do you mean the JETs in these two cities have been replaced by non JET ALTs via private agencies? |
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kpjf
Joined: 18 Jan 2012
Posts: 385
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| Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2014 2:02 pm Post subject: |
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| Maitoshi wrote: |
Well if an hour and a half by Shinkansen (from the nearest shink station) is close in OPs opinion, this opens up a good bit of Japan for consideration.
OP might place Gunma on his list, as it is pretty rural and about an hour outside Tokyo by rapid local train.
Not sure how many would view this as near, but the cost and travel times might make Tokyo a weekly possibility rather than once a month or so.
This being said, I'd choose Shizuoka as a place to live over Gunma without needing to think on it much. |
Thanks Maitoshi. By the way, is there anything wrong with Gunma?  Happened to come across this before: Gunma fights back against 'unpopular prefecture' label
By the way, it doesn't have to be close to Tokyo, my main preference is avoiding somewhere heavily saturated with English teachers if it's possible to know of areas that aren't like that. So, I wondered what places would be good within this context, it would just be a plus it if were close-ish to Tokyo or maybe Osaka/Kyoto.
Thanks. |
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PO1
Joined: 24 May 2010
Posts: 136
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| Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2014 2:12 pm Post subject: |
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| I'm actually thinking of getting out of the Tokyo area altogether. It sounds good at first, but after being here a while, you start to pine for something different. I'm actually thinking of relocating to Shizuoka or one of the less busier prefectures in any case. So perhaps living an hour or so a way wouldn't be bad. You could enjoy Tokyo's fun parts without having to live in the middle of it all and deal with the chaos on a daily basis. |
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G Cthulhu
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
Posts: 1373
Location: Way, way off course.
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| Posted: Mon Oct 06, 2014 3:44 pm Post subject: |
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| kpjf wrote: |
| I knew that was the distance, thanks, but it is quite expensive as you mention. |
Don't fall into the trap of converting everything into another currency: you'd be in Japan earning a Japanese salary so that's your reference point for "cheap" vs "expensive". Making judgments based on pricing in another country and another currency is pretty pointless. |
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nightsintodreams
Joined: 18 May 2010
Posts: 558
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| Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 3:00 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| I'm not so familiar with Japan, could you clarify what you mean by this? Do you mean the JETs in these two cities have been replaced by non JET ALTs via private agencies? |
Yes, that's exactly what I mean. The only JETS working in Hamamatsu or Shizuoka city (the name of a city within shizuoka prefecture) have been replaced by dispatch workers, mostly Interacs.
| Quote: |
I knew that was the distance, thanks, but it is quite expensive as you mention. I had initially thought if it's only an hour or so you could go to Tokyo for trips at the weekend, but prices for Japanese rail seem expensive. Are there no weekend rail prices or specials in advance? In Uk some sites offer good rates if you book in advance or in Germany you can get a weekend pass for up to 5 people and rates seem good. Maybe not the case in Japan?!
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Bullet train tickets are discounted if you buy them either two or three weeks in advance, but it isn't that much of a discount, maybe a third off at best if they're running a certain campaign.
But like I said, you can take the JR train and it will take about 3-4 hours and cost 3000-4000 yen depending on where you are in Shizuoka. If you want to check train times or costs, use the following site: www.hyperdia.com |
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Maitoshi
Joined: 04 May 2014
Posts: 718
Location: 何処でも
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| Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 4:12 am Post subject: |
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| G Cthulhu wrote: |
| kpjf wrote: |
| I knew that was the distance, thanks, but it is quite expensive as you mention. |
Don't fall into the trap of converting everything into another currency: you'd be in Japan earning a Japanese salary so that's your reference point for "cheap" vs "expensive". Making judgments based on pricing in another country and another currency is pretty pointless. |
Generally, this is good advice, but if round trip train tickets cost between 5 & 10% of gross salary, this makes for a rather expensive evening out before spending anything on the activities planned.
Unless someone is going for broke, it's hard to imagine this being an every weekend activity, even on a JET's rather generous (relatively speaking) pay. |
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