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Manada
Joined: 20 Jul 2006
Posts: 9
Location: Toronto, Canada
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 Posted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 1:13 pm Post subject: Where's a Good Location to ask for with Applications? |
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I know -- it is a bit of a rediculous question.
I'm in the process of applying to companies for jobs in Japan next year --- My reasoning is that I'll apply to the major recruiters here, see what comes of it, and go from there. (This will be my first time teaching overseas).
I'm not that familiar with Japan, and while I'm not totally hooked on the idea of staying in Tokyo I WOULD also like to stay in a somewhat urban environment (just so that I have a chance to meet other ESL teachers and don't end up totally isolated). Basically, aside from Tokyo, Osaka & Kyoto I don't really know anything about other cities in Japan!
Can anyone recommend a good resource? Or did you get lucky and live in some gem of a city that was just awesome?
Any trinkets of experience would be much appreciated! |
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Khyron
Joined: 10 Mar 2006
Posts: 291
Location: Tokyo Metro City
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| Posted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 2:38 pm Post subject: |
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| I liked Fukuoka. Hiroshima was nice too. |
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Glenski
Joined: 15 Jan 2003
Posts: 12844
Location: Hokkaido, JAPAN
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| Posted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 2:45 pm Post subject: |
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Before people start naming cities that you can easily find on a travel guide search or Wikipedia, let me just give you a bone to chew on.
What sort of climate are you considering? Japan has quite the variety. Semi-tropical Okinawa to 5-month-long snowy cold winters in Hokkaido. Will you be put off by the dozen or more typhoons that hit every year, most strongly in the southern half of the country? Can you tolerate >90% humidity and very hot summers in some of the bigger cities?
| Quote: |
| while I'm not totally hooked on the idea of staying in Tokyo I WOULD also like to stay in a somewhat urban environment (just so that I have a chance to meet other ESL teachers and don't end up totally isolated). |
This has its down sides, too.
1. If all your acquaintances are fellow foreigners, how are you going to learn to speak Japanese or get more involved with the culture here?
2. Realize that many of your fellow foreigners hang out with each other purely to vent their frustrations.
3. Many people have never traveled abroad, and they have a pretty narrow view of the world. These could end up as your "friends".
4. Are you looking to get teaching tips? Be wary, as many foreign teachers are just here to pass the time and have zero education & experience in teaching. (Anecdote: Friend of mine went to the gym a lot and overheard a couple of guys talking about their eikaiwa situations. One said he just put on a tape for the whole period and sat back to read Time magazine. Another guy was bragging about giving his students some written work to do while he lazed about. They were both trying to find ways to do the least amount of work.) |
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Manada
Joined: 20 Jul 2006
Posts: 9
Location: Toronto, Canada
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| Posted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 6:15 pm Post subject: |
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| Glenski wrote: |
| Before people start naming cities that you can easily find on a travel guide search or Wikipedia, let me just give you a bone to chew on. |
Oh, I've looked on Wikipedia  It's just that if you don't really have anywhere to start it can get overwhelming... plus some personal experience would help too (ie. ended up in this place -- which has a friendly bar and a great surfing school --- stuff like that).
I do plan to get the travel guides and stuff... just haven't gotten there yet I'm a newbie.
| Glenski wrote: |
What sort of climate are you considering? Japan has quite the variety. Semi-tropical Okinawa to 5-month-long snowy cold winters in Hokkaido. Will you be put off by the dozen or more typhoons that hit every year, most strongly in the southern half of the country? Can you tolerate >90% humidity and very hot summers in some of the bigger cities? |
Mmmmm... I'm from all over Canada - and have lived in the UK too ----- I guess I'm not THAT fussy about climate really. I mean, warm is good, but it's not a huge priority on my list of needs/wants at all. But thanks for bringing it up... it's definately something I'll look into when I have a shorter list 
| Glenski wrote: |
| Quote: |
| while I'm not totally hooked on the idea of staying in Tokyo I WOULD also like to stay in a somewhat urban environment (just so that I have a chance to meet other ESL teachers and don't end up totally isolated). |
This has its down sides, too.
1. If all your acquaintances are fellow foreigners, how are you going to learn to speak Japanese or get more involved with the culture here?
2. Realize that many of your fellow foreigners hang out with each other purely to vent their frustrations.
3. Many people have never traveled abroad, and they have a pretty narrow view of the world. These could end up as your "friends".
4. Are you looking to get teaching tips? Be wary, as many foreign teachers are just here to pass the time and have zero education & experience in teaching. (Anecdote: Friend of mine went to the gym a lot and overheard a couple of guys talking about their eikaiwa situations. One said he just put on a tape for the whole period and sat back to read Time magazine. Another guy was bragging about giving his students some written work to do while he lazed about. They were both trying to find ways to do the least amount of work.) |
Yeah --- we encountered alot of the same issues (although I'm sure to a lessor extent), working abroad in Europe. However, there is something to be said for having a person or two that you can hang out with and communicate with relatively easily I don't want to create a mini-Toronto in some Japanese town, but it'd be nice to have someone who I can use slang with in normal conversation....
Any personal experience or anecdotes of places you guys have lived/visited would be awesome |
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PAULH
Joined: 28 Jan 2003
Posts: 4672
Location: Western Japan
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| Posted: Thu Aug 24, 2006 11:59 pm Post subject: |
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| Glenski wrote: |
1. If all your acquaintances are fellow foreigners, how are you going to learn to speak Japanese or get more involved with the culture here?
2. Realize that many of your fellow foreigners hang out with each other purely to vent their frustrations.
3. Many people have never traveled abroad, and they have a pretty narrow view of the world. These could end up as your "friends".
4. Are you looking to get teaching tips? Be wary, as many foreign teachers are just here to pass the time and have zero education & experience in teaching. (Anecdote: Friend of mine went to the gym a lot and overheard a couple of guys talking about their eikaiwa situations. One said he just put on a tape for the whole period and sat back to read Time magazine. Another guy was bragging about giving his students some written work to do while he lazed about. They were both trying to find ways to do the least amount of work.) |
Just to add some points to Glenski's remarks
Though it is true that many foreigners come here to 'rape and pillage' it is not always necessary to hang out with such people. One does not travel halfway around the world to latch on to the nearest English speaking caucasian that happens to walk across your path.
If you are a social human being it should be possible to make a wide circle of friends even among foreigners. Your immediate circle of acquaintances will be peope that you work with, I doubt all of them will be 'losers' and party bums and you can usually find someone you have something in common with. I would however avoid relying on such people to be your tour guide/translator/best friend/ conversation companion just because you happen to be just off the boat. Most people have their own lives and interests and dont want to be bothered by groupies and lonely newbies. My advice is to get out and about, get involved in social groups and you will meet people, even if you dont speak good japanese.
As Glenski says, misery loves company, and often foreign teachers will get together after work talk shop and gossip. I have never really been into that myself though its nice to have English speaking company. Try and avoid cliques that spring up, and some people may even want you to take sides. it can almost become incestuous as one person snipes about another or backbites at drinking sessions.
I think a lot will depend on what you are looking for in 'friendships' , whether you simply want people to speak English with, to stave off boredom or loneliness. I lived in Shikoku in a small city (Takamatsu, nice city by the way) where all the foreigners knew each other) but I didnt really hang out in groups and did my own thing. Go hiking, explore the countryside, join clubs. If you study japanese after work you probably wont have much time for socialising with other foreigners anyway. i found Japanese study to be a fairly solitary activity and you get tired of all the shop talk after a while anyway.
One option may be to join something like JALT or ETJ where you meet foreigners outside your social circle and people you wouldnt ordinarily meet. There are chapters in every prefecture and usually something going on every week somewhere in the country. Its a good chance to meet people and get outside your little eikaiwa bubble.
Joining clubs is a good idea, such as judo, tennis or martial arts. these are just a few suggestions.
As for which city i have traveled from Tokyo to Kyushu and back and most Japanese cities are remarkably similar though different in size. I live in Kyoto which is nice, Osaka is very big and bustling but its easy to feel anonymous in such a large place. Fukuoka is said to have a fairly sizeabel foreign population and I know people who live in Nagoya and up in Nagano Matsumoto regions.
Plenty of foreign bars and sports bars to hang out in too. it all depends on what you are into. Japan is what you make it and you shouldnt rely on the resident expat population to entertain or become your friend simply because you speak the same language. Its the same anywhere you go in the world. You dont socialise with everyone you went to university with, its no different here. |
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Zzonkmiles
Joined: 05 Apr 2003
Posts: 309
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| Posted: Fri Aug 25, 2006 5:00 am Post subject: |
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If you're accustomed to cooler climates and are looking for something urban, but not TOO urban, I'd recommend Sendai in the northeastern part of Honshu, the main island of Japan. The city has about a million people and is the largest city in that part of the country. (Sapporo is on the northernmost island of Hokkaido.) Sendai provides easy access to the mountains and the ocean. You'll find foreigners there, but not nearly as many as you would find in a place like Osaka, Kobe, Tokyo, or Yokohama.
Niigata might be another option. It's smaller than Sendai (it has about half as many people) and gets A LOT of snow despite being much further south. The reason for this is that areas facing the Sea of Japan (the northern and western coasts) receive much heavier snowfall than areas facing the Pacific Ocean (the southern and eastern coasts).
Neither Niigata nor Sendai are heavily requested areas, perhaps because they are not as well-known as the usual suspects of Tokyo, Okinawa, and Osaka, but they might be suitable for you. You also might want to check out this website: http://www.jinjapan.org/ |
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