Job Discussion Forums

[Taffmonster]

I just got my shipping orders through from GEOS and I am being placed in Toda City in teh Saitama prefecture. Trying to find out about the city is pretty hard as I can't find much in english. It seems to be famous for being near Tokyo and for being overpopulated, elast that it was I can tell. I also imagine it's expensive and not that easy to travel into to Tokyo! Basically I am kinda dissapointed, I knew I wasn't going to get my requested placement in Sapporo but this seems kinda lame.

However the main point of this post is to ask if anyone knows anything about the city? As I have said I know very little and most google search simpley return results in Japanese (not surprising but my Kanji and Kana is pretty much rubbish).

So if you know anything about the prefecture or the city please share it with me. Things to do, cool sights spots, any castles or temples if there are any?

Cheers

[Khyron]

[Taffmonster]

Thats a relief. Well lets just hope I'm not living to far from my school then!

[Khyron]

[Apsara]

Oh, Toda. I lived there for about 6 months back in 2002. It is literally a stone's throw from Tokyo, right on the border, like someone said, just across the river, especially if you live in Toda-koen- if I remember rightly there are 3 stations, Kita-Toda, Toda, and the one above. Toda is known for its kyotei- boat races. From Toda station it's maybe 8-10 mins to Akabane, a largish station, and 12-15 from Ikebukuro.

I'm afraid that's about all the good things I can say about Toda, it's typical Saitama, some residential, soon thinning out to rice or vegetable fields and light industry. Very flat, hot in summer, not very pretty, although my friend lived near the river and said she liked her view.

The train line is the dreaded Saikyo line, one of the most crowded in Tokyo and best known for chikan, so there are Women Only cars at certain times. Hopefully you won't need to take the train at morning rush hour because the few times I did I seriously thought I was going to crack a rib, it was so crowded- try to avoid the metal bars near the doors as you get pushed into them and can't move away. Even by Tokyo standards the trains are packed.

Toda-koen sounds like it might be nice- a park, right? When I found the park, it turned about to be a few square metres of open space, 90% taken up by homeless people. That said, the Toda-koen station area is probably the best area of Toda.

Since you're so close to Tokyo though, with Shinjuku and Shibuya also on the Saikyo line a bit further than Ikebukuro, you might be quite happy there. As Saitama goes, it's not bad

[bornslippy1981]

I lived in Toda for a few months last year, and now live in the city next to it.

If you're at Toda-Koen Station, a few minutes from the east exit has everything you need. Plenty of supermarkets, restaurants, pachinko, video shops, sports clubs, etc.

Toda Station is a little quieter, but has the above.

Kita-Toda is rather lame, and aside from a large shopping mall a 5-minute walk away, it's not that great of a place. Although, a new sports gym just went in that looks really good.

As somebody said, there's only the Saikyo Line which is crowded going into Tokyo in the morning, but only 15 minutes from Ikebukuro, and 22 minutes from Shinjuku. The morning isn't too bad as the people don't smell, but at night the odor of stale tobacco, beer, sweat, etc. can really cause one to gag.

If you miss last train, a taxi from Akabane Station is about 2000 Yen to Toda-Koen, but if you have no plans the following day, the walk is a little over an hour.

It's not Sapporo, but if you're apartment is high enough, you'll have great views of Mt. Fuji in late fall and winter.

I'm not sure how far Geos places their teachers from the school, but there is a Geos near Toda-Koen, Akabane, and Musashi-Urawa Stations.

[Taffmonster]

Thanks guys

Seem's to confirm my suspicions that it's simply part of the urban sprawl. As it's so close to Tokyo I'm sure it's fine. I'm not worried about having an apartment with a nice view (although obviously it would be nice), I'm more concerned about having somehwere to go on weekends and places to meet people and just generally be social! Things to do and see etc! I am really keen to get my Japanese to a conversational level so being so near to Tokyo I imagine theres going to be plenty of oppertunities to make friends and practice.

All i know at the moment is my school is in Toda-koen whether I'm housed there I don't know, but I am sure I'll be in the vicinity!

The trains sound some what dodgy (as in over crowded) but I am sure I'll manage to avoid the peak hours what with GEOS's deranged teaching hours.

You've been very helpful people, thank you