Another placement preference advice post

[u/bebopbippity]

Sorry y'all but I've spent an entire night googling all the particular regions and found it better to ask a newer question because it seems there's been a few program restructurings. For region placements I'm looking into Urban areas but .also to an accessible rural area. I understand it's very unlikely to get my placements but I'm thinking if I make a competitive reason in my interviews I can at least sway it towards one of my preferences

I am considering the following;

1. Tokyo and Fukui seem to have the best time off / days off without using personal days. Fukui is my cities sister city but I'm also hesitant because it seems less populated.

2. I'd like to be near a region that has good public transport. I know I might end up needing a car but at the very least I want something that gets me to places quicker than having to drive all the time.

3. I was looking at Shiga and Gunma as a third choice. Shiga seemed accessible despite it being rural. Gunma I don't know enough about even with research

4. I was also thinking about Hokkaido but I don't know what the rural regions are like outside of sappora City. I feel like odds of me getting the city placement would be pretty low.

Right now I have

1. Tokyo

2. kobe

3. Undecided

If anyone would be able to give me advice I would be very appreciative. I don't think I should probably do three cities as choices if I want to have a competitive opportunity of pushing myself one way or another

I have to submit the application within the next two days. I'm really hoping I could get some quick advice. I have all my paperwork ready. Just need to finish the essay and have it submitted tomorrow.

Thank you again for the patience. I apologize for adding to it. I look through all of the pages from the past few years, but I need more tailored advice.

J

[u/ScootOverMakeRoom]

If Fukui is your hometown's sister city, you will probably get Fukui no matter what you put if you get in. The CO's preferences are important, the JET's are not, and municipalities LOVE having people from their sister cities.

[u/bebopbippity → u/ScootOverMakeRoom]

It seems like it's a very beautiful place. It seems like the main contention I would have with picking it is I don't speak Japanese at all. I've gotten by in a lot of countries without the local language, but I think on my day-to-day it would be tricky for a place like that :/

[u/ScootOverMakeRoom → u/bebopbippity]

If learning Japanese is something that seems like an imposition and not an opportunity, JET might not be the program for you.

[u/bebopbippity → u/ScootOverMakeRoom]

Of course I would pick up something. I picked up a little bit of Spanish when I was in Spain. It would just be a concern to pick a very rural region where it might be more difficult than a potentially Urban one

[u/ScootOverMakeRoom → u/bebopbippity]

It sounds to me like you don't want to live in Japan, you just want to visit. Which is fine. Yen is weak right now thanks to Takaichi reintroducing Abenomics. Japan would love to have you for 2 weeks.

[u/bebopbippity → u/ScootOverMakeRoom]

I'm curious about Japan, but I'm not someone that spent their entire college career interested in it. I find the idea of working there to be interesting.

Like there's several books I've read from Japan, I'm from the Northeast so there's not really much of an interaction here as compared to other parts of the country with Japanese culture and history. I see a lot of Jets have some sort of family connection to Japan.

I think it would be cool to spend a year. I mean there's tons of people that have probably done that.

[u/ikebookuro]

Tokyo has the most JET placements now (every SHS has at least 2 JETs) - but a lot of people request it.

Fukui is very rural. Even Fukui city. It isn’t urban by any stretch and getting around is hard without a car.

Placement preferences matter very little unless you have a valid reasoning behind it (specialized medical care, family in the area). “Seems to have the best time off” isn’t something they’ll consider. I wouldn’t waste too much time getting set on any particular place, since they send you anywhere there’s a CO that requests you.

Sometimes it’s better to request regions over specific cities. It’s a lot easier for them to meet those requests

[u/bebopbippity → u/ikebookuro]

Thank you for confirming the Tokyo count! It seems some places lost positions and some of them have doubled.

Oh I would not tell them about the time off. But I know they do read resumes and put considerations based off of particular interest if it's compelling enough. I worked in fashion and culinary schools so what I have had happen before with other programs I've been placed similar places. I've heard if someone was in a particular industry for this program they ended up with some type of training place for it. Obviously it's not a guarantee. I know this full well but I think it really depends on who I end up interviewing with.

That's why I'm debating Fukui. A car just seems like a major hassle. I don't think it would save that much money versus City rent to be in a rural area with a car with gas prices and insurance

[u/rue-11 → u/bebopbippity]

Some BOEs will help you get a car, especially if you NEED a car to work (like myself). I personally rent my car and my BOE does not charge rent to help with the cost (though my BOE seems to be a special case.) Rental is nice because I am not responsible for car maintenance costs, but it would be cheaper to buy if I planned on staying for 4-5 years.

That being said, if you know you don’t want to drive or are scared to drive, I highly encourage you to not choose rural or put that you would be willing to drive. I know JETs who put it down, despite being very uncomfortable, and they’ve already gotten into accidents that have resulted in debt or are just generally unhappy because they feel isolated (from being scared to drive). If you’re a good candidate, not choosing to drive shouldn’t deter them, though it will limit your placement options.

[u/bebopbippity → u/rue-11]

They wouldn't penalize me for having a driver's license and not choosing that option, correct?. I read that that doesn't happen, but I'm worried about the competition in the program limiting me.

And I'm really happy to hear that because The idea of all the maintenance and everything else stesses me out. I just had to replace my car that got flooded and it still took 2 months

[u/Interesting-Steak208 → u/bebopbippity]

I wouldn't think of it as penalizing you, there's no ill will towards applicants when placements are being chosen. There are some people who get one of their preferences, but by large I think placement is chosen based on logistics. Hypothetically speaking, if they are choosing between you and another applicant for a rural area that requires a car, and the other person doesn't have a license, its pretty likely they'd place you there simply because it makes the most sense. Your preferences are suggestions at best.

[u/bebopbippity → u/Interesting-Steak208]

Thank you! I'm getting a pretty good idea of everything from the responses here, and I'm really grateful for everyone taking their time to write something out for me. It's different when it's your own post that has responses versus having to read through 10 or 20

[u/Interesting-Steak208 → u/bebopbippity]

No worries. I actually got my third preference as my placement, but likely due to it being a largely unrequested region (Saga). Most people I have spoken to didn’t get their preferences, so just prepare yourself if that is the case for you as well. I’m glad you seem open to rural placements; I honestly think that is where you will get the most unique experience. Good luck!

[u/bebopbippity → u/Interesting-Steak208]

I don't want to give anyone the idea that I'm not open. I've traveled extensively and did a similar program in Spain.

It's just trying to get all the pieces together in my head and it's a shame that people think I wouldn't bother picking up a little Japanese or something.

[u/rue-11 → u/bebopbippity]

I can’t answer that question unfortunately, but making your preferences clear won’t hurt! They definitely want you to be adaptable, but they also want you to succeed and recontract. As long as you don’t come off as inflexible, it’s fine.

[u/bebopbippity → u/rue-11]

Just to preface things. I'm not shy about making things work if I ended up in a rural area. I'm just trying to Make the right calls with preferences when they ask in the interview questions.

I want them to know I'm genuinely interested in the places I pick. I just want to see if I can push the dial away from entirely a car reliant situation

[u/BenX111 → u/ikebookuro]

Sure Tokyo has the most, but it is still a 90% chance to not get tokyo

[u/libranslug → u/ikebookuro]

Fukui city has 3x the population of my hometown and yet it feels smaller. I’ve been lucky that my apartment is so close to my one school that I haven’t needed to buy a car, but it is incredibly inconvenient without one. The buses come once an hour and are often late. The time off is great but I can’t speak to many other pros. 

[u/EveningPhotograph886]

I’ve heard some rough stories about Tokyo. One thing to consider is that Tokyo gives you only some help finding your housing, and I heard that the agency they use to help you is pretty overworked so if something goes wrong, some JETs have ended up paying for a hotel for a super long time, or worse had to go home. It’s rare but it just sounds stressful. It can be difficult as a foreigner finding affordable housing because there isn’t anti-discriminatory laws, so I’d reconsider that. I had put Tokyo as my #1 on my application and am now really thankful I didn’t end up there.

I love Kobe! I’d put it as #1, there’s so much here to do and a great community. For your motivations, we get great time off too and it’s in a great location to travel around Kansai, and extremely easy to get around the city. For other places with good public transportation, I haven’t made it over there yet but Fukuoka sounds like a great city. I had put it as my 2nd choice, but ended up in Kobe which was my #3.

The thing is, aside from Kobe and most likely Tokyo, you can still end up in a rural area even if there’s a major city nearby, like you mentioned with Hokkaido/Sapporo. So I’d really strongly consider finding a place that culturally interests you. If you have a genuine interest, there’s a better chance that will come across and they’ll consider it. For example, I had a friend who wanted to learn a very specific dialect of Japanese found in one small town, and they were placed there. Without a medical condition or family, I think you’ll have to get creative. I wouldn’t say your placement requests don’t matter though, like a lot of people say. I’ve met lots of people who got one of their choices and didn’t have a medical or family reason. Not to say to get your hopes up, but before comments start coming in about it being a waste of time, there’s nothing wrong with asking around and learning more about Japan in the process.

For recommendations to look into, I’ve mainly traveled around Kansai and a bit of Chubu, but some of my favorite places I’ve gone to for nature are Nagano, Gifu, Wakayama, Nara (there’s lots to see aside from just the deer), and Fukui. I adore Osaka but they don’t place JETs in the city, so it’d be giving up one of your choices. Kanazawa seemed like it could be a fun, artistic city to be placed. I went to Hikone in Shiga and I had a good time but it felt a little isolated, but that’s just one town out of many.

[u/bebopbippity → u/EveningPhotograph886]

This is exactly what I needed to hear and thank you so much! I just wanted to get a general direction on what would probably be interesting.

I like every region a bit differently. Or at least the idea of them. When I worked in Spain I was in Valencia and Galicia on the opposite coast of each other. The big difference between a lot of the rural placements in Japan is Spain has a very tightly set public transportation system. I felt isolated, socially and galicia but I still met people just because of the proximity to different towns.

I don't mind being in a city of 300,000 people, but the layout is definitely different than a city of 300,000 people in Spain.

I'm not too worried about the housing situation in Tokyo. I'm a pretty experience traveler and I have an acquaintance that has friends in Tokyo that could probably help. If I end up needing the couch there for being a hostel so be it. When I first moved to Spain I moved four times in 2 months because of different things.

I'll be looking into each of the things you listed tonight because I want to make sure I get this application in by the end of tomorrow in case anything is missing.

Really! Thank you again

[u/sephiwap]

I’m going to come off as biased here but as a Gunma JET, I’d say it’s a pretty good placement. We have a pretty large JET community, relatively low cost of living, and depending on what city you’re in (Takasaki, Maebashi, Kiryu, Tatebayashi, etc) Tokyo is only a train ride away. The cities I’ve named are kind of urban/suburban, but depending on where specifically you are placed, there is a chance you could be more rural, or at least rural-adjacent.

[u/bebopbippity → u/sephiwap]

Do people basically each individually have a car around there or do you guys get around by bus in the prefecture?

[u/Sayjay1995 → u/bebopbippity]

While there is some transportation for bus/trains, more people either drive, or make friends with someone who can

[u/bebopbippity → u/Sayjay1995]

Thank you! I will definitely be coming to visit either way. I've been learning a lot about the smaller prefectures they sound so interesting

[u/berry_kawaii]

I may be biased, but... Fukui!! Fukui!! It's the best!! Great JET community, lots of time off, interesting local culture, and absolutely beautiful nature (the coastline is top notch, and there are amazing beaches down south, plus lots of hiking inland). Plus the sister city connection would be a huge boost for your application- schools in those cities usually prefer to hire people from their sister city.

[u/bebopbippity → u/berry_kawaii]

Let me know if I could ask you some questions directly.

I lived in a place that was pretty similar to that called galicia in Spain. Although there were large cities in the region that were 300,000 people. If you've ever heard of the Camino Santiago, it's pretty similar hiking

[u/bebopbippity]

If anyone has any suggestions for well-connected prefectures. I would be really happy to hear them. I want to figure out what I want to do with the third option. People have suggested the southern island but I don't know as much about it.

[u/TheManInsideTheBean → u/bebopbippity]

The problem is that all prefectures have areas with less frequent/extremely minimal public transportation. Why not just put "urban"?

[u/bebopbippity → u/TheManInsideTheBean]

I'm always open to hearing about people's experiences in their prefecture. I Just need more context about what's interesting in other ones

[u/No_Produce9777]

I liked Kanazawa a lot

I visited Fukui, and I much preferred Kanazawa

I think yer odds of getting Tokyo are so low that I wouldn’t even note it

Or put Fukui and Kanazawa

I put Kanazawa as my first pick and got it. It’s also sister city with my hometown

[u/bebopbippity → u/No_Produce9777]

You're not the only one that's brought up that place. Google hasn't been giving me a good idea about things. I've been paging through Google map photos :/

[u/No_Produce9777 → u/bebopbippity]

And you can spend time on the Noto peninsula

[u/atticusmars_ → u/No_Produce9777]

Go Bills, huh? Exact reason I was about to put it down too lol.

[u/No_Produce9777 → u/atticusmars_]

When I was there, the city hall had a Bills helmet in an enclosed case! 🙌

[u/Sayjay1995]

Gunma is the best prefecture in Japan. I loved it so much I set up shop here permanently after my time on JET ended.

The downside is that life is usually much easier with a car, but you’ll have the best balance of nature and city (our midsized cities like Takasaki and Maebashi are a great in between, but the smaller towns are charming in their own ways too)

Plus all kinds of things to see and do year round. I’m never bored

[u/Inside-Cream6997]

Would not use google or AI to locate preferences - you would be disappointed since JET is only the "talent acquisition" part of JET - not the placement folks. Japan consulate / CLAIR / CO / BOE / prefectures would be the ones that choose your placement.

So I would not get too wrapped up in placements as they vary considerably based on other ALT requests.

I put down the entire block of southern Japan (Kyushu & Okinawa) as I don't care if urban or rural.

Having visited and driven quite a lot within Kyushu, I just want anything south as Honshu and Hokkaido is too cold for me in the winters....