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wailingtraps

And also Shizuoka. . .

I've been offered a job that could take me to any of these destinations for about half a year. Is anyone in a position to give me any advice about these strange sounding places. I've been to Japan before and from what I saw in my brief time it looked like it would probably be best to either be in the countryside or a BIG city. Ie small towns looked like a bit of a mare. .

If anyone can help me with this tricky little puzzle I would be v.greatful as my knowledge of Japan's hinterlands is more than a little sketchy.

Best
The trapster

TokyoLiz · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1548 Location: Tokyo, Japan

But you gotta pray for a location closer to Chiba City or nearly into Tokyo. Chiba City itself is quite beautiful. I just moved into town and I'm liking it.

I just moved from a smallish town and now commute an hour to get to work. It may sound like a hardship to some, but I like being in a big city center and commuting out to a little place. It's like going on a trip to the country to work. Consider your commuting time, whichever prefecture you end up in and what your priorities are. Do you need to see green? Get out into the rural areas. Like the neigbour's concrete walls? Go urban.

azarashi sushi · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Posts: 562 Location: Shinjuku

You may or may not be aware... Saitama, Tochigi, Chiba, Kanagawa are prefectures and the other three are cities. I've not been to Fukushima so maybe it's a cool place...

However, in my opinion, except for Kanagawa, it's a little bit a case of "the pick of the bad bunch"... all pretty uninspiring places.

It were me, I would choose Kanagawa... It's got Yokohama which is a pretty cool city... much more relaxed than Tokyo but has lots to offer. It's also got Kamakura which is beautiful.. you'll never get tired of walking around there. It has Shonan... not one of the worlds great beaches, but a beach none the less .... AND, you're only a hop, skip and a jump from Hakone, Izu and of course Tokyo.

A.S.

wailingtraps · Posted: Thu Jun 26, 2003 3:36 am Post subject:

Thanks for the input, i'm really feeling arund in the dark so you've been very helpful.

Do you think i'm right in my big city/couuntryside good, small town bad theorem ? Or is it far too much of a sweeping statement?

best

the wailer

TokyoLiz · Joined: 16 Jan 2003 Posts: 1548 Location: Tokyo, Japan

There are lots of sad little places in every prefecture. It seems that after the bubble economy collapsed, all the cool, young people moved out and went to Tokyo or Vancouver or LA.

There are lots of pretty small cities even in Chiba Prefecture. Some rural places in Chiba are so beautiful...And even some of the suburbs, too. If you want to see hideous industrial sprawl, check out south of Chiba City. Exquisitely ugly.

BenJ · Joined: 11 May 2003 Posts: 209 Location: Nagoya

sorry i've read this a couple of times but I dont understand - why are small towns 'bad' as opposed to picturesque countryside or exciting cities? I would have thought small towns would have the best of both worlds?

Felix · Joined: 21 Jan 2003 Posts: 34

Wailingtraps,

So has any mention of where you'd be posted come up yet? How exactly does that work - does Westgate post you or do you get a choice?

azarashi sushi · Joined: 23 Jan 2003 Posts: 562 Location: Shinjuku

I don't quite understand the "big city/small town good and medium sized city bad" theory either ... It depends on WHICH city and depends also what you like ... There's a big difference between big cities and rural places ... Japanese cities tend to be VERY urban and rural towns tend to be VERY rural (read: boring and isolated).

A friend of mine a while back went to work in Ishikawa ken, miles from anywhere ... She said the beautiful nature, fresh air, open spaces were all very nice... But it wears off pretty quickly when you realise you're living in the middle of nowhere.

So anyway, you need to think more about what you like and then find something that suits that.

Oh and just to add to Tokyo ChuHi Liz's list of exquisitely ugly places... Beware of Fuji City in Shizuoka ken. Don't let the mountain pictures fool you... It is the most polluted place in Japan and has highest rate of leukaemia.

A.S.

cheryl · Joined: 01 Apr 2003 Posts: 119 Location: Japan

Sorry for this little aside but.....

I feel I must defend the smaller cities (i.e. around 20-40K in population).
If what posters meant a super rural area such as with a population of 7K then read on and happily igmore me.

I lived in Brasil for a year on an exchange program in a city with a population of 30K. (I understand that Brasil is a heck of a lot different from Japan but stay with me on this.) We didn't have any big pubs/clubs to go to, no up to date movie theatre, hardly any television channels, and...get this...no internet. So what did I do with my time? I hung out with friends, learned the language, hand wrote letters home (this was so freaking time consuming), went to the gym, learned how to cook new foods, travelled to other cities when time and money permitted, and participated in some of the local clubs and fesitvals. I really can't say that I found it hard to find something to do. Sure, not everday was jam packed with activities but my days here in Canada weren't and aren't jam packed either.

What I'm trying to get across is, no matter where you go you'll be able to have a great time if you want to. Unless you're a total city man who needs to have big bright lights and huge ass highrises around you 24/7(that's how a girlfriend of mine is.... Rolling Eyes

) then I don't think a smaller city will be dull. At the risk of making you puke....I honestly believe that life is what you make of it.

good luck with your move,
Cheryl

wailingtraps · Posted: Fri Jun 27, 2003 9:18 am Post subject:

First of all thanks to everybody for all your input, it is much appreciated!

Apologies if I've caused a bit of an uproar with my ideas about Japanese small towns but as I think I indicated this was meant to be a general statement based on my very limited experience (about ten days in Japan).

I was mainly in the Nagasaki area and I also spent a little time near Tokyo and it just seemed that the big cities I saw ie Nagasaki, Tokyo and Osaka had a lot to offer in terms of entertainment, culture etc The countryside had it's own obvious attractions and the two small towns I went to (pop about 50-60,000) had little of either.

Anyone if I raised anyone's hackles I apologise, as I say I'm an amateur when it comes to Japan. . . . .

As for Westgate, I get a small input into where I go, but it's basically up to them(If they accept me!)

Once thanks all and if anyone else has anything to add then feel free.

Best

The Wailer

Have a good weekend!

As Das Fads · Joined: 06 Mar 2003 Posts: 44

I live a town about 75 minutes from Tokyo, in Ibaraki, where the population for the whole town is around 45000. There is simply nothing to do in the evenings, unless you have a car. Even though the train station is walking distance, the closest you get to nightlife is a good 50 minutes away by train. It's fun at first, and boy is it cheap! But after a while the stares, the lack of English native contact and general isolation is tough - and I'm saying this as a member of a married couple. If you can speak Japanese, then it will be tonnes easier in the countryside, but my advice - stick to city life if you can manage it