Job Discussion Forums

space · Joined: 08 Dec 2004 Posts: 44 Location: japan

Hey all, I applied to JET this month and I was wondering about housing.

Which of you JETs out there arrived in Japan and had your housing arranged for you, and who had to deal with it on their own? Many people I have talked to in person had the houseing prearranged and payment was already made before recieving their stipend. However, they also said that they heard of people who had to arrange their own housing because JET was unable to.

Have any of you really had to arrange you own housing? (with JET)

Nismo · Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 520

JET or the school you are placed at will arrange it for you. I have never heard of any account where the JET teacher had to look for housing on their own. Never. In all cases the new JET teacher replaces their predecessor, who already had a house provided. You basically take over the life of the person before you.

space · Joined: 08 Dec 2004 Posts: 44 Location: japan

Ah very informative. Thanks for the quick reply.

Are you doing ESL/ELT, Nismo? If so, where?

Glenski · Joined: 15 Jan 2003 Posts: 12844 Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN

Well, I have read a couple of cases where the ALT didn't have housing lined up even as late as the orientation period in Japan. Talk about sweating!

You may have to pay full rental price, or you might be one of the very lucky ones who get a discount, perhaps even as high as 90-100%. If you are really interested in the dirt, go to www.bigdaikon.com.

Nismo · Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 520

I have two friends teaching as ALTs through JET. One is in Himeji (my ex-girlfriend), the other is in a small island town off of Hiroshima (one of my best friends and housemates throughout college).

Here is what housing costs usually come down to on JET: The smaller the town you live in, the more of a discount you will get. If you live somewhere like Kobe, or Osaka, or Tokyo-area (not likely to get Tokyo, as only 11 spots are available) then you can expect to pay full cost of your apartment.

My ex-gf in Himeji only pays half of her rent, and the school pays the other half. Himeji is not a small town, but it is definitely no metropolis. The apartment (a 2LDK) costs 70,000/month, but she only pays 35,000 of it.

My friend in the small island off of Hiroshima pays 0 for rent. I haven't seen his house yet, but I would guess that it is remarkably larger than what you would get in a medium or large city.

Nismo · Joined: 27 Jul 2004 Posts: 520

space · Joined: 08 Dec 2004 Posts: 44 Location: japan

I don't really like the atmosphere on bigdaikon.com anyway.

stretch · Joined: 28 Jun 2004 Posts: 59

My quiet little apartment was totally aranged by my BOE.
I just showed up after the Tokyo orientation with bags in hand and walked into my fully furnished place. I did pay the previous JET for some of the items in the room. A practice that happens among JETs. Basicly you are paying them for the stuff they bought, and are leaving in the room. You can do the same whenever you leave.
My place was free but I had to pay for the utilities and monthly phone bill. (The phone line was included, which can also be quite costly.)
However, the motto with JET is ESID. And every situation IS different. I was very rural, but my friend in Osaka was paying 60,000 for just her apartment before utilities. So, the moral of the story is expect anything.