Job Discussion Forums

[Zzonkmiles]

Produce is expensive in Japan. Period.

It is very common for me to see oranges and apples selling for $1USD each at my local supermarket. A small watermelon costs about $5 and a small bag of strawberries costs about $4. This is actually fairly cheap compared to other supermarkets I've seen.

Meat, by the way, is also expensive and quite fatty. Pork and chicken seem to cost less than beef, however.

As for weather, Japan is COLD during the winter. Winter is the longest season here and the poor insulation of Japanese homes makes it even more unbearable. It's only early November, but my apartment is FREEZING when I wake up in the morning. If you hate cold weather, then you probably shouldn't consider anything other than southern Kyushu, as the winter there is at least fairly mild. You can expect snow in the interior mountains or any places north of Tokyo.

As for jobs, I too have heard that things are starting to look better for Nagoya in terms of their economy and employment options. The city itself is the largest one between Osaka and Tokyo, and it's easy to take the Shinkansen to both cities. Only Tokyo, Yokohama, and Osaka are larger than Nagoya, so there are bound to be a bit more jobs and a bit more fun things to do--as one would reasonably expect from such a large city (more than 2 million people).

As for Kansai (Osaka, Kobe, Kyoto), it seems like the market is saturated, as there are many foreigners in the area. It might be harder to find a job here than you would think, despite the large population.

[parrothead]

Looking at the job postings online, there are far fewer jobs available in Kyushu than the rest of the country. From my experience there teachers seemed to enjoy the quality of life in Kyushu and stuck around for awhile. I imagine a Nagasaki position would be difficult to land unless you simply went there and started networking. You could always apply to Nova, and for your 'city preference' just write "1. Nagasaki. 2. Kagoshima. 3. Any Kyushu." It'll be like Christmas when you get the letter listing your domicile!