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nightsintodreams
Joined: 18 May 2010
Posts: 558
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 Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 4:15 am Post subject: |
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Round trip JR ticket = 6000 yen.
If that is 10% of your salary you're earning 60,000 yen a month. |
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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 4:17 am Post subject: |
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| nightsintodreams wrote: |
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| 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 Do you mean the JETs in these two cities have been replaced by non JET ALTs via private agencies?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 The only JETS working in Hamamatsu or Shizuoka city (the name of a city within shizuoka prefecture) have been replaced by dispatch workers, mostly Interacs.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 |
Wouldn't JR require an overnight stay in Tokyo? Maybe take the bullet train back to Shizuoka or have a friend's place to crash at? |
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nightsintodreams
Joined: 18 May 2010
Posts: 558
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| Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 4:30 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
| Generally, this is good advice, but if round trip train tickets cost between 5 & 10% of gross salary |
No one is being paid 60,000- 120,000 yen so I'm not sure where you're getting your figures.
There are hostels in Tokyo that cost 3000 yen a night, capsule hotels for a similar price, net cafes for even less, I've heard the floor of a subway station is even cheaper and there's also the option of staying out until the first train the next morning.
Maybe not things you want to be doing, but I was quite happy to do them when I first got to Japan. |
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G Cthulhu
Joined: 07 Feb 2003
Posts: 1373
Location: Way, way off course.
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| Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 5:45 am Post subject: |
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| Maitoshi wrote: |
| 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. |
Nothing I wrote suggested it was cheap or that the person shouldn't consider their financial position before deciding if the trip cost is worthwhile to them. I simply said it's pointless to constantly compare costs in Japan to costs to other countries as a way of determining "expense".
Besides, even if it was 60,000 yen RT since when did that become 5-10% of gross? Salaries aren';t that bad yet, are they? |
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nightsintodreams
Joined: 18 May 2010
Posts: 558
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| Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 6:04 am Post subject: |
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| I think he meant %5-10 of one's gross monthly salary, but that's still way off if you ask me, even if you instist on going by shinkansen rather than JR. |
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kpjf
Joined: 18 Jan 2012
Posts: 385
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| Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 6:39 pm Post subject: |
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| nightsintodreams wrote: |
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.
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Thanks for letting me know. That's a pity as out of Shizuoka, Shizuoka city and Hamamatsu looked quite appealing.
Also, thanks for the advice regarding tickets. I have used www.hyperdia.com before thanks! |
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natsume
Joined: 24 Apr 2006
Posts: 409
Location: Chongqing, China
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| Posted: Tue Oct 07, 2014 9:13 pm Post subject: |
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Municipal JET ALTs (mostly junior high and elementary posts) were phased out in Hamamatsu and Shizuoka cities. I was a Hamamatsu based prefectural ALT (mostly high schools), so there are still JETs in those cities, just not as many.
Still, I think you are jumping the gun, as placement is very much a crap-shoot unless you have a very compelling reason for a specific area.
Shizuoka-ken was completely off my radar before I was placed. Worked out well, though... |
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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 9:27 pm Post subject: |
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I was using round-trip Shinkansen tickets for 5-10%. With salaries starting at ¥170,000, I'd say those figures are a sight more accurate than many I have seen on Dave's. I said gross salary, because if you look at it as a percentage of expendable income, the percentage gets disgustingly high.
I recognize that nobody was saying it would be inexpensive to make this trip. I was just trying to give what I believed to be an accurate picture of proximity to Tokyo. If the only "affordable" options for travel can take up to 8 hours round trip, how close is it, really? |
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nightsintodreams
Joined: 18 May 2010
Posts: 558
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| Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 2:01 am Post subject: |
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| Quote: |
I was using round-trip Shinkansen tickets for 5-10%. With salaries starting at ¥170,000, I'd say those figures are a sight more accurate than many I have seen on Dave's. I said gross salary, because if you look at it as a percentage of expendable income, the percentage gets disgustingly high.
I recognize that nobody was saying it would be inexpensive to make this trip. I was just trying to give what I believed to be an accurate picture of proximity to Tokyo. If the only "affordable" options for travel can take up to 8 hours round trip, how close is it, really? |
I'm sorry, but a lot of what you say on these forums is really useful to a lot of people, but you often seem to exagerate how bad things really are in Japan.
Firstly, the OP is talking about joining JET, don't they get 300,000 yen a month? So, the gross salary is probably around 250,000 (after the first year).
10% of 250,000 is 25,000 yen
5% of 12,500 yen.
A return JR ticket from Hamamatsu (the furthest major city from Tokyo in Shizuoka ken is 7,000 yen.
But let's take the 170,000 yen example you give, personally I've never met anyone on such a low salary, so I don't think that's the norm (I think the lowest I've heard of from people I've actually met is actually around the 220,000 mark, but I have seen lower salaries on job sites so I know they do exist). I think most starters arrive with a salary of 220,000 - 270,000, but anyway I digress.
Someone on the 170,000 salary would not be paying shakai hokken and tax would be incredibly low. They could also quite easily get away without paying pension for at least three years. But even if they were paying pension and health insurance, their gross salary would probably be around 140,000 yen in their first year.
10% of 140,000 yen = 14,000
5% = 7000
So we finally hit that 7000 mark.
So IF you live in the furthest point from Tokyo in Shizuoka, and IF you are on a lower salary than anyone I've ever met, and IF you pay all your taxes and pensions then a round ticket to Tokyo may cost %5 of your gross salary, NOT %10.
How many people reading this do you think this information is useful to?
Why would you quote Shinkansen prices anyway, It's perfectly possible to ride 4 hours on a train after work and then 4 hours back on a Sunday evening. Especially with a Monday public holiday that gives you plenty of time to enjoy Tokyo.
Anyway, Atami (also in Shizuoka ken) is on the other end of the scale. It's only 95 minutes from Tokyo and a return ticket to Tokyo costs less than 4000 yen.
You seem to give the absolute worst case scenario for everything, exaggerate it a bit to make it sound even worse and then present it to people as if it's the norm.
Again, some of the stuff you post is very informative and useful, but a lot of it is extremely negative. |
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Maitoshi
Joined: 04 May 2014
Posts: 718
Location: 何処でも
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| Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 2:23 am Post subject: |
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Well, I guess what I perceive to be as reality is even worse than your post suggests because gross refers to the amount received prior to taxes, expenses, etc.
When people look at numbers, they often look at best case scenarios, rather than realistic ones.
Originally, I was operating on the notion that there was a stronger motive for close proximity to Tokyo. The OP already said this was not the case, so the point really is moot.
That being said, if others think "Hey, Shizuoka is near Tokyo, so I can easily go to visit my significant other in Tokyo every weekend," this is wishful thinking.
The reason I was quoting Shinkansen ticket prices was because it was the only way I could think that someone might mistakenly think Shizuoka was near Tokyo.
I live in Chubu and I get friends who say, "Hey, I'm going to be in Tokyo. Want to meet up for a drink?" They have no idea how expensive travel can be in this country. All they look at is "only an hour and a half away."
I'm sorry if what I write seems down on Japan, but when it's cheaper to go on trips abroad than to travel within the country, how is it you are knocking me for trying to provide some perspective about cost and expectations? |
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Maitoshi
Joined: 04 May 2014
Posts: 718
Location: 何処でも
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| Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 2:42 am Post subject: |
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You are certainly right that there are cheaper ways to get around. Night busses will save you a bundle, particularly since you avoid having to make overnight arrangements. These buses can be really difficult to sleep on, though.
I guess I just wanted to help OP to see that speedy travel in Japan makes everything here more convenient, but it comes at a cost. It's time or money, here. Anyone who tries to tell you differently may be selling you a bill of goods.
Wouldn't want anyone to think they'd be whisking into Tokyo every weekend to live it up on a TEFLer's earnings.
BTW, ¥16,000 (rounded DOWN round-trip Shinkansen from Hamamatsu to Tokyo) is more than 5% of a JET's ¥300,000 monthly earnings. |
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Maitoshi
Joined: 04 May 2014
Posts: 718
Location: 何処でも
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| Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 3:42 am Post subject: |
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| Am I alone in thinking that 6-8 hours of round-trip travel time using JR is not close? |
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Maitoshi
Joined: 04 May 2014
Posts: 718
Location: 何処でも
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| Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 8:41 am Post subject: |
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| kpjf wrote: |
| 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. |
There's nothing wrong with Gunma as far as I know. I know it has some very famous onsen (Kusatsu) and have heard people like the proximity to some good snowboarding.
A lot of Gunma is very countryside, but it's relative proximity to Tokyo appeals to some. I prefer the countryside, so proximity to Tokyo wouldn't be high on
my list. Then again, I'm not really that young anymore, so this is certainly influencing my perspective on things.
Shizuoka (Hamamatsu area is all I really know) is beautiful. I would be happy to live there.
Perhaps someone with more knowledge of the Gunma area can help out here? |
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kpjf
Joined: 18 Jan 2012
Posts: 385
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| Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 3:05 pm Post subject: |
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| PO1 wrote: |
| 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. |
Thanks for the opinion!
| natsume wrote: |
| Municipal JET ALTs (mostly junior high and elementary posts) were phased out in Hamamatsu and Shizuoka cities. I was a Hamamatsu based prefectural ALT (mostly high schools), so there are still JETs in those cities, just not as many. |
Thanks for letting me know.
| Quote: |
Still, I think you are jumping the gun, as placement is very much a crap-shoot unless you have a very compelling reason for a specific area.
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Sorry don't get what you mean! |
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kpjf
Joined: 18 Jan 2012
Posts: 385
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| Posted: Wed Oct 08, 2014 3:07 pm Post subject: |
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| nightsintodreams wrote: |
| Why would you quote Shinkansen prices anyway, It's perfectly possible to ride 4 hours on a train after work and then 4 hours back on a Sunday evening. Especially with a Monday public holiday that gives you plenty of time to enjoy Tokyo. |
Maybe not everyone wants to spend that long on a train when there are faster, albeit, more expensive options. |
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