Job Discussion Forums

king of the bees · Joined: 13 Jun 2007 Posts: 14

Me, I'm headed to Fuji City in Shizuoka. A quick search on the Internets reveals the following:

Nismo · Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 520

Oh yeah, Fuji city? Highest rate of leukemia in Japan. Awesome view of Mt. Fuji.

furiousmilksheikali · Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 1:11 pm Post subject:

Bat country eh?

That's an amazing picture. Somehow the write-up doesn't match. Good luck anyway!

Yawarakaijin · Joined: 20 Jan 2006 Posts: 504 Location: Middle of Nagano

Does it not seem odd that the prefectural/national government would allow a city at the foot of its greatest national landmark fall into such a state? If Fuji city is indeed that bad I mean.

king of the bees · Joined: 13 Jun 2007 Posts: 14

kahilm · Joined: 12 Apr 2007 Posts: 43

I lived in Fuji City for about a month last year with a host family. I enjoyed it, but then again they were showing me around and everything was new to me.

There were a bunch of nice parks, an amazing view of waterfalls created by snow melting off of Mt. Fuji, and they even took me to an amusement park near the slopes of the mountain. I'm sorry that I can't give you any names of these places but I just don't remember. It was quite a drive to get to the amusement park, though.

edit: Well I found a few of the places on this site http://www.shizuoka-guide.com/english/area_guide/rec.asp?a3_id=4
It also reminded me that we went to Fuji Milk Land and got some pretty good - and really fresh - ice cream.

fragglerocker · Posted: Thu Jun 14, 2007 6:23 pm Post subject:

I've been placed in Takagi village in Nagano - it was my first choice prefecture and my placement sounds awesome so I'm very happy

fat_chris · Joined: 10 Sep 2003 Posts: 3198 Location: Beijing

I have been slated for Shizuoka Prefecture as well. Unfortunately, my Contracting Organization has not contacted me yet. Any day now, any day now....

Question

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

Congratulations King of the Bees!

Thanks for posting those photos... My first job in Japan was in Fuji City so those photos took me back. Those factories are literally everywhere you look in Fuji! The view of the mountain on a clear day is nice and I found the people to be very friendly but they are about the only positives in my opinion. The city really is a dirty, grimy hole. The worst thing is the smell... Some chemical that they use in the production of the paper has a VERY bad smell and causes quite literally, the whole city to stink.

The best place in Fuji, in my opinion, is Shin Fuji station... getting on a shinkansen and leaving.

JimDunlop2 · Joined: 31 Jan 2003 Posts: 2286 Location: Japan

Never lived in Fuji City, but have been through there many, many, many times. It is NOWHERE near as bad as what that first description makes it out to be...

It's got a lot of things going for it -- in the way of having decent access to other parts of Japan. There's a major Shinkansen station in Fuji City -- which will take you directly to Kyoto, for instance. Just get onto the road heading south and within an hour you're in surfing country... Beaches for swimming too, mind you, but the real draw in Shizuoka (especially around Shizunami) is the surfing... And as has already been mentioned, you're not far from Mt. Fuji. It's not just for looking and climbing, you know. There are all sorts of interesting little places, sites, attractions, golf courses, and whatnot near the base. For example there's a well-known para-gliding area near Fuji City, up towards Mt. Fuji.

Heck, I wouldn't mind living in Fuji City one bit...

Apsara · Joined: 20 Sep 2005 Posts: 2142 Location: Tokyo, Japan

Aahh, they make paper in Fuji City? That is truly a nasty stink, and involves some really bad chemicals. I once went to the small city in New Zealand where most of the paper is manufactured, and you could smell it from miles off. I knew a guy who worked at the paper mill and commuted 50km to work every day because he said there was no way he'd make his family live there.

That said, it's nice to have a view of Mt. Fuji, even if it is through a whole lot of chimneys. I would probably go for Yamanashi myself though...

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

Jim... Are you sure we're talking about the same Fuji city?

I remember driving home one night, in a car with the windows wound up... I was sleeping but as soon as we reached Fuji, I was awoken by the foul stench which manged to waft into the car despite the closed windows.

furiousmilksheikali · Posted: Fri Jun 15, 2007 3:24 am Post subject:

Oh dear! It doesn't say much about a place if the best thing it has is a way out.

It's like the old Yorkshire joke: "The best thing about Lancashire is the road to York!"

JimDunlop2 · Joined: 31 Jan 2003 Posts: 2286 Location: Japan

I dunno. I guess I haven't had the (mis)fortune of smelling anything while there. But then again, my hometown in Canada was a brewing/distillery town -- you could generally only smell it when they emptied out the huge fermentation tanks, but even then only when the air pressure was low...

I suspect that maybe Fuji is kinda the same way -- depends on the winds and the air pressure whether or not you can smell it.

Also, it's not so much that the best thing about Fuji is the road leading out, it's more the fact that it's strategically placed close to some really cool things to see/do that aren't so far to access.

fat_chris · Joined: 10 Sep 2003 Posts: 3198 Location: Beijing