Job Discussion Forums

[fizayded]

Hi, I just got the news from GEOS, I am going to Machida, Tamagawa Gakuenmae, Tokyo, anybody been there or know about it? I'm going in January too, I assume it's kinda cold. Hey I'm from Southern California, everything seems cold to me.

[Nismo]

Machida is a very uneventful location, but shinyurigaoka is right nearby and there is plenty to do there. You are looking at about a 40 minute train ride to get to Shinjuku, another 10 minutes to shibuya, where you will probably spend most of your weekend time. That isn't bad travel time at all.

The mall at shinyurigaoka is a fairly decent size. The movie theatre looks really nice. A friend's family lives out in the neighborhoods in Machida, and you have to take a bus to get to their house - which I don't like (I hate the Japanese bus system - it's so confusing!).

I'm sure the company that hired you will show you around and get you on your feet.

[Brooks]

I have worked in Machida for over 4 years. What do you want to know?
I know exactly where you are going to work.

last winter I remember one day where it snowed but didn`t stick to the ground. I would say that there isn`t winter usually in Tokyo, it is more like a perpetual autumn.

[Nismo]

[fizayded]

thanks for the info, how long does the shinkasen take from Machida to Yokkaichi (or Nagoya)? Is Machida just like a big suburb? And what's the average temp there from January to March? I've never been to Japan so any info is appreciated.

[azarashi sushi]

You would have to take the shinkansen from either Tokyo or Shin Yokohama stations. From Tokyo station, it takes about 2 hours and 15 minutes to get Nagoya (minus about 15 minutes for Shin Yokohama).

From Machida, it would take about 1 hour to get to Tokyo station. Maybe Shin Yokohama is closer but I'm not sure.

A SLIGHTLY cheaper option would be to take a KODAMA shinkansen from Odawara station. Odawara is about an hour from Machida on the same train line (Odakyu) and slightly closer to Nagoya. Although the time taken to reach the final destination would probably be the same.

[Brooks]

you should look at a website called jorudan for train schedules.
It is a bilingual site.

Shinagawa is also a shinkansen stop.
Going to Shinagawa or Tokyo station (east) to go out west to Nagoya doesn`t make sense. Shin-Yokohama is the closest shinkansen stop.

Take JR from Machida to Shin-Yokohama. From Shin-Yokohama you can get a Hikari or Nozomi train. From Odawara there are very few Hikari trains which depart daily. Kodama is pretty slow, as it stops at all stations.

It takes about an hour and 40 minutes from Shin-Yokohama to Nagoya on Hikari.

in the winter high temps are in the 40s and it doesn`t tend to dip below freezing at night but can happen.

[Nismo]

Machida is a city within Tokyo.

If you want another resource (bilingual) for train information, try www.hyperdia.com - I use it all the time.

[SEndrigo]

[Canuk girl]

Hi there.. I worked at Machida every now and then, and my boyfriend worked there all the time, so I was there almost every day. If you're from Southern Cali, it is damn cold, I had a friend from San Diego, who thought it was freezing.. on the other hand, I'm Canadian, so January there is like November in Canada. It only snowed once last year, and it lasted about 30 mins. Machida is an alright place, let me know if you want any info.

[Brooks]

if you look at weather on Yahoo, click Japan and then the letter M and you will find Machida. I think you can find the monthly average temperatures too.

Machida has about 800,000 people who live there. It is a busy and crowded place since from there you can go directly to both Yokohama and Shinjuku.

Prostitutes have relocated from Shinjuku and other parts of central Tokyo and have come to Machida since the police tend to tolerate them. In Shinjuku and specifically in Kabukicho there has been a crack down on crime so it is not surprising that the criminals have relocated to Machida (close to the JR station), Saitama, and Chiba. Drugs are also available.
So it is not surprising that parents don`t want their students to be hanging around there.

[SEndrigo]

Hey Brooks,

I keep hearing that too, from Japanese people, but I have yet to see these dodgy characters

I suppose I'm just lucky....ha ha!

Where do they hang out in Machida?

It's quite amusing though, Japanese peoples' idea of dangerous and everyone else's idea....Machida is probably Disneyland compared with any other citiy in the world with the same population....

But we forgot to tell people the greatest thing about Machida.....DON QUIJOTE !!!!!

[Brooks]

Well stand by the JR entrance at night and you can see the crows hassling women who walk by. They want to recruit for their `businesses`.
In Shinjuku the cops may give these guys trouble but in Machida they get a free pass.
Fujisawa too has become seedier than it used to be.
Prostitutes used to not solicit out in the open, but they do now.

It used to be that the cops turned a blind eye but the mafia had a hard time after the bubble burst so their sales tactics have become more assertive.

Lots of mafia types live in Sagamihara and Yamato. Machida and Fujisawa are therefore convenient because they aren`t far away.

[Nismo]

[SEndrigo]

Hey Brooks,

Yes you're right, I've recently seen the prostitutes in Fujisawa....they're all over the place!!

Before I was always under the impression that Fujisawa was a really nice place to live, and hence, expensive.

But I can see why Machida/Sagamiono/Yamato would be hubs for the mafia, as you said, they are close enough to Tokyo but maybe a cheaper and less conspicuous place to set up shop