Job Discussion Forums

[Suwon23]

OK, so I'm moving to Matsusaka/Matsuzaka in about two months. Anybody know the place? Does it have things like buildings, electricity, and horse-less carriages, because from everything I've heard it's the ass-crack of nowhere.

Secondly, how do I find blogs for people teaching in Mie prefecture? When I taught in Korea, every town, village, and hamlet would have a hundred gaijin furiously blogging away as a public service. I can't find hide nor hair of a westerner in Mie with a blog.

Help!

Thanks.

[steki47]

[markle]

I live in Mie, just, I can almost throw a rock into Aichi, but I haven't been to Matsuzaka, so couldn't comment. As steki said it's an hour or so to Nagoya so it's not that isolated. Tsu and Yokkaichi are reasonable large cities close by.

[Suwon23]

Thanks for re-assuring me, guys. One thing I'm still worried about, though... Usually when I ask a question about girls they lock the thread and send me a PM about being a menace to society, but here goes. I used to teach in Korea and there all the smaller towns were devoid of eligible bachelorettes, because they all went to Seoul or some other major city in search of what we used to call the "Apgujeong" lifestyle, Apgujeong being the equivalent of, say, Ginza or Shibuya in Japan. So the countryside is mostly male farmers and old people, and the gender gap is so severe that there is a HUGE trade in mail-order brides from SE Asia. So I guess I'm asking, is this a problem in rural Japan as well, or are there plenty of young women? Again, I usually get a response like "Go to hell, you sick, perverted f***! How dare you seek companionship from another human being while outside the territory of your own country!" whenever I ask, but I think it's a fair question.

Markle, I'm guessing you're in Yokkaichi?

[ill lo9ic]

My advice is to not come to Japan, or anywhere for that matter, with finding a partner in mind. But, no matter where you are there are always larger towns within a reasonable distance.

[Suwon23]

Well, I'm trying not to bring a bunch of expectations, of course, but I'm 24 years old and human. I know some people who can live without any personal attachments, like bears in the woods or something, but I'm not like that. I would definitely go crazy if I had to go a whole year with nothing to do but watch everyone else fall in love and make snookem faces at each other. :[

But actually, I've done the math, and it looks like Nagoya's only about two hours away, much closer than I originally thought. It took me that long to go half as far in Korea. Must be faster trains! Yay Japan! *\o/*

Anyway, enough emo-ranting . Back to Matsusaka. Any other Dave's posters in central Mie-ken? How do you like it? Any warnings/advice?

[markle]

[Suwon23]

[randompan]

Matsusaka's an old castle town, with the ruins of the old fortress and a few historic houses and museums about. It's a pretty small place though, so I can't imagine it'll be bustling with activity. Never been there myself, but it does seem nicer than some of the other options in the area. Getting to the Nagoya will take you roughly 60-90 minutes depending on which train option you go with (Kintetsu or JR - the former is more frequent).

Dunno if you found it yet, but there's a resource guide for Matsusaka put together by JETs here.

Not personally a big Mie fan - much of the coastal area extending between Nagoya and Ise is pretty dull and drab. Yokkaichi used to be one of the most polluted places in Japan (it's improved in the last couple decades, fortunately) and Tsu is pretty bleak and boring. I've not been down to the south side past Ise-shima though, which is supposed to be quite picturesque (and has the UNESCO-listed Kumano Kodo). There's also supposed to be some good, relatively off-the-beaten-path hiking in the mountains west of Yokkaichi, and the old ninja town of Iga Ueno is worth a visit. Ise is cool too - the inner and outer shrines are atmospheric and there's a fun, touristy stretch of nouveau "Old Japan" (Okage Yokocho) that the locals go gaga over.

Nagoya's probably the easiest and cheapest place to go for big city attractions. Osaka takes only slightly longer, but is a bit more expensive to get to. Nagoya itself has lots of restaurants, bars and shopping, and most of it is without the crush of Osaka (though it's not quite as buzzing and fun either). The nicest thing about Nagoya (and by extension Mie) is that it's extremely central, which means you can hop to other parts of Japan without too much difficulty.

[steki47]

I lived in Matsusaka for about 4 years and loved it. I had great friends and co-workers. As far the social/dating aspect, I was not lonely or bored. Or sober. Once you meet people there, they will show you around and your social opportunities can expand.
In short, you don't have to worry about living like a monk in Matsusaka.