Job Discussion Forums

[kojimoji]

Hey everyone! In a couple of weeks I have a final face to face interview for a school called The English Club located in Saitama, just north of Tokyo. I was wondering if anyone was teaching in Saitama or had information about what it is like to live there. The city is Warabi City, and from what Google tells me it is the most densely populated city in Japan. Other than that, I think it's going to be a surprise! Oh, and has anyone heard of the English Club? It's a private school, with only nine locations in Saitama. Thanks guys! I'm so excited about living in Japan soon (hopefully)!

Megan

[Apsara]

I lived in Saitama for about a year and a half. Cities in the Kanto area are just administrative regions as they all blend into each other- you can't tell where one city ends and the next begins, so Warabi isn't a separate city
physically, just a continuation of Tokyo.

I kind of doubt that Warabi is the most densely populated area in Japan as Saitama is usually less crowded than Tokyo, and I had heard the same thing about Nakano ward of Tokyo, near where I live now, which is truly packed with high rise apartments.

Saitama is basically a giant dormitory suburb of Tokyo and although some people like living there I'm afraid it has a reputation of being a bit boring- the nickname in Japanese is "Dasaitama"- dasai means "uncool". It is kind of like New Jersey to Tokyo's Manhattan if you are from the States or know the NJ-NY comparisons. It is a landlocked prefecture which is just about completely flat other than a mountain range in the far west. Warabi is about in the middle of the prefecture. Not far north of there you start to see vegetable and rice fields, the southern area of Saitama has some light industry but is mostly residential.

I lived in other areas of Saitama but much prefer Yokohama, where I lived 2 years, and Tokyo, where I have now lived for 6 years- there is just more to do, I didn't find Saitama particularly stimulating at all. it's not the big city, but it doesn't have the benefits of the countryside (nature, mountains, beaches) either, so is kind of stuck in between.

At least in Saitama you can be in Tokyo in a fairly short time- from Warabi I believe it is less than half an hour to Ikebukuro, one of the main centres and 5 minutes more to Shinjuku, which is a very busy area for shopping and nightlife. Warabi is on the infamous JR Saikyo line, known for being the most crowded and chikan(pervert)-infested train line in Tokyo. You shouldn't have trouble with the chikans as they tend to target Japanese women, but if you are worried I believe there are women-only cars now at rush hour.

I lived a few stations south of Warabi on the Saikyo line, and I can tell you that it gets phenomenally crowded at rush hour even by Tokyo standards- avoid the Saikyo line in the morning rush hour if at all possible. All the things you hear about being packed into trains like sardines in Japan are true of the Saikyo line. I genuinely thought I was going to crack a rib a few times when I was unfortunate enough to be stuck near one of the poles at the end of the seats and was being crushed into it by all the people, and I have heard of people who actually have been injured.

As I said, Saitama in general is slightly more spacious than Tokyo with wider streets and fewer highrises, and people with kids in particular often prefer to live there. As in most of Japan you don't have any safety worries as long as you your common sense, i.e. don't walk through parks at 2 in the morning etc.

Another thing- since Saitama is landlocked and flat it tends to be colder than central Tokyo in winter and hotter in summer- in summer in particular it is an absolute frypan and areas just to the north of Warabi regularly post the hottest temperatures in Japan in mid-summer- 38-40 deg C can be common. In winter temps of 0-10 deg C would be usual with very cold dry winds.

I hope I haven't put you off too much- you haven't hit the jackpot location-wise, but it can be an ok place and the Japan experience is what you yourself make of it- some people dislike Saitama but others seem to have a great time there, and you can be in Tokyo easily if you want to go. I'm not familiar with English Club, so maybe someone else can help out with that.

[JL]

Excellent primer on Saitama, Aspara. I didn't realize that was why temperatures range more in Saitama than they do in Tokyo. And you offer some good perspectives from a female's point of view, I wouldn't have considered (the pervs, how a packed train could actually injure someone).

Megan,
"Google tells me it is the most densely populated city in Japan."
I found what you were talking about. I think you meant to type "Wikipedia", not "Google." It does say that on Wikipedia. So I went to Wiki's Japanese page on Warabi and got a fuller explanation. It says that Warabi is Japan's most densely populated city after Tokyo's 23 wards. Though, earlier in this decade, it actually did swap rankings with Tokyo. Essentially, consider Warabi to be the same as Tokyo in population density. As Aspara explains on a different thread to someone else, it's all part of a contiguous megalopolis anyway. Warabi is on the Keihin Tohoku train line, 3 stops past Akabane, the last stop in Tokyo proper. You can transfer trains at Akabane, and from there, be into one of the hubs (Ikebukuro, or Shinjuku) in no time. Though you'll find everything for you daily living, right there in Warabi.
Have fun!

[Apsara]

Oops, is Warabi not on the Saikyo line then? I used to use both to get to work, must be why I got confused In any case, avoid the Saikyo line at rush hour like the plague!

[kojimoji]

Thanks for the info, even if it does shed light on the city as more of a boring suburb.

So does anyone know about the cost of living there? I was hoping to save money while in Japan and hope that Saitama isn't as expensive as Tokyo.... so I guess it'd be okay if Saitama isn't too exciting, otherwise I would spend all my money there!

[JL]

Warabi, or nearby, will be slightly less expensive than Tokyo, for renting a room. That's generalizing, of course. The swank districts in Tokyo will be much more expensive. But Akabane, at the edge of Tokyo, just a few train stops from you, will be roughly the same. Food, clothing, electronics, and other consumables will be pretty much the same throughout the entire Kanto area, (if not most of the nation, though I've only lived in the Kanto, myself).
Now, don't get us wrong -if you're based in Warabi and live there too, it will be more of a bedroom community to Tokyo. But you'll be able to zip into the biggest hubs of Tokyo, anytime. After all, many people commute from there into Tokyo for work, everyday.
If you're handy with Google Map's, you can actually taking a "walking" tour of Warabi, using your mouse to click yourself down photos taken at street level. It's pretty awesome, actually.
1)Click on the link I post below.
2)When the map loads on the page, find the little yellow man just above the plus sign in the upper right of the map.
3)Click and drag the little yellow man onto anywhere on the map that is within the BLUE grid -this doesn't work off the blue grid (those areas aren't catalogued yet).
4) When you release from the click, a street level photo of where you are will load.
5)After getting over the shock of now "being in Warabi", notice the white arrows that appear over the photo. By clicking on an arrows, you can advance in that direction.
6)Also, you can reload the entire page and start again by depositing the little man in a different place. Play around with it. It's a lot of fun! You get to "see" Warabi. You might even find your school.

http://maps.google.com/maps?hl=en&q=Warabi%20Station%20Japan&um=1&ie=UTF-8&sa=N&tab=wl

[kojimoji]

JL You made my day!!! THANKS! I truly am astounded by the google maps yellow guy tour. It's kind of spectacular.

[JL]

Happy to share it! Enjoy your time in Warabi, and see you around here again, on the forums.