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| Is Sendai a good choice for a Japan 'newbie'? |
| Yes, it's great. |
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| It's quite good. |
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| It's a bit lame. |
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| It sucks big time. |
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| Total Votes : 8 |
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hentaigaijin
Joined: 05 Oct 2006
Posts: 104
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 Posted: Fri Oct 06, 2006 6:31 am Post subject: mori no miyako |
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I am thinking of moving to Sendai. I studied Japanese as a minor at university some time ago. I have been accepted on to a masters program in Japanese Studies and I intend to come to Japan for a year to prepare.
I have never been to Japan. I have a good Japanese friend from Sendai and I always talked about going to live there. My primary concern is learning Japanese and finding a decent school to study at but I will also teach English to make my way.
I have been in Bangkok for the last two years. Do you think that I would enjoy Sendai? Is Sendai a good city for a 'newbie'?
What is good and bad about Sendai? |
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luckyloser700
Joined: 24 Mar 2006
Posts: 308
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 12:06 pm Post subject: Re: mori no miyako |
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| hentaigaijin wrote: |
I am thinking of moving to Sendai.
I have been in Bangkok for the last two years. Do you think that I would enjoy Sendai? Is Sendai a good city for a 'newbie'?
What is good and bad about Sendai? |
Where are you from? What's the weather like back home? Sendai is a cool town with lots of areas of historical and cultural interest, plenty of nature, and great food; however, it's cloudy and gloomy quite a lot in Tohoku. It's like that for plenty of other places in the country, too.
They people are friendly, in general, but there are many old-fashioned types up in that region as well
The nightlife is hardly worth mentioning, but it's not entirely dead.
I had a car the whole time I lived up there and can't imagine what life would have been like without one. There's not much once you go out past the city limits.
If you're interested in learning a lot about Japanese language, history, and culture, it's a good-enough place.
I prefer the Kanto and Kansai regions, but Tohoku's not bad for a year.
Of course, nobody has any way of knowing whether or not you'll like Sendai. But, if you truly have an interest in Japan, you'll like it well enough, I suppose.
Good luck with the decision. |
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hentaigaijin
Joined: 05 Oct 2006
Posts: 104
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| Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 1:16 pm Post subject: |
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Thanks for the reply chief. I'm from England so I am used to lousy weather but I've been told that Japan can be particularly melancholic. Oh well.
I do enjoy the nightlife. Having lived in London and Bangkok, I kind of expect a little bit of action. Then again I lived in Oxford for many years and the Oxford nightlife was rather dismal. Sendai must have a fair few university students, no? I don't drive either so...
I really need to find a half decent Japanese course and combine that with a convenient job. I was thinking that I might be more in demand in Sendai since there are less foreigners there (?).
Is it much cheaper than Tokyo? I am a bit loathed to bite off more than I can chew by moving to Tokyo or Osaka, not knowing much about anything.
I want to come ASAP but I'm not exactly flush with cash so I am trying to organise work, etc. before I come over.
I work in a major Thai university and I've just been offered a better job so I could come in March instead but I'm not sure 6 months will be enough time to prepare for the masters. |
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gaijinalways
Joined: 29 Nov 2005
Posts: 2279
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| Posted: Sat Oct 07, 2006 3:41 pm Post subject: |
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I haven't lived there, but visited and met a few foreigners that were living there. The night life was not a high point, but it easy to get out of the city as it's small with lots of trees outside of the downtown area. Lots of history (true of many areas in Japan), and the weather, well..
But hey, might be good for working on your Japanese!  , though I imagine the employment chances are limited. |
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hentaigaijin
Joined: 05 Oct 2006
Posts: 104
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| Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2006 6:10 am Post subject: |
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so the weather is none too great.
the nightlife is crap.
there are hardly any jobs (?).
what about the onsen and stuff?
i like nightlife but then i should probably just graft for a year so it might be a good thing. |
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luckyloser700
Joined: 24 Mar 2006
Posts: 308
Location: Japan
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| Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2006 3:52 pm Post subject: |
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| hentaigaijin wrote: |
so the weather is none too great.
the nightlife is crap.
there are hardly any jobs (?).
what about the onsen and stuff?
i like nightlife but then i should probably just graft for a year so it might be a good thing. |
Onsen are plentiful in the Tohoku region. Some famous ones are fairly close to Sendai.
There are jobs in and around Sendai; you'll just have to look a lot harder than you would in Tokyo.
It's not that the nightlife is crap; there just isn't a lot of variety. You might end up frequenting the same few places most of the time.
You know, Sir hentai (by the way, most Japanese people, even younger ones won't find your name to be cute; there's an middle-aged man connotation attached to it nowadays), I've been thinking about my time in Sendai recently. I have to say it's a really decent place. Like I said before, if you're serious about Japan (learning the language, experiencing culture and making friends), any decent-sized city is good. You've already got a friend there; go for it.
I lived in Western Japan before living near Sendai and I have to say that my Japanese ability skyrocketed after moving there because I had to use Japanese most of the time (I'm not saying I'm all that great; I just got a lot better than I was before coming to Sendai). It sounds like your main motivation is to learn Japanese. You minored in it in university so you must have at least a couple of years under your belt. I studied for a couple of years before coming and continued to self-study after arriving. I still do. But what has developed my ability the most is having used primarily Japanese on a daily basis for most of the time that I've been here. Do you really need the Master's program to learn Japanese language, culture, or history? I've been able to do it on my own. Sure, school's good for people who lack self-discipline or just like some kind of regimented program, but is it necessary for you?
Anyway, just wanted to say a little more on the subject of Sendai. I'm no expert on the city and haven't seen all there is to see there; but I lived there for a year and hope that my experience has helped me to offer some decent information about the place. |
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hentaigaijin
Joined: 05 Oct 2006
Posts: 104
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| Posted: Sun Oct 08, 2006 5:42 pm Post subject: |
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sendai is sounding like a half-decent proposition. i can always give tokyo a whirl later.
i need the masters to get better teaching jobs and also acts as a credential for work as a translator. i think i'll do a PhD too so i need the MA for that also.
at university my main interest was japanese but i ending up getting sidetracked (and now i'm in thailand earning peanuts). i was upto JLPT 3 but i've forgotten all my japanese now so I'll be starting from scratch. My game-plan is to study japanese relentlessly for the next 3-4 years. i'm going to study at SEAS, Sheffield.
i wish a few more people would vote in my poll. |
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