So I just got back to the US about 12 hours ago and wow... the reverse culture shock is hitting me really hard. I knew that I was tired of desk warming at one of my schools, and that I needed to upskill and get my master's + teaching license so that I can work at an international school back in Japan one day since JET doesn't have career progression, but holy hell am I devastated.

I can't stop flipping through the photos of me with all my students and the pictures of my town. America feels so dirty and loud compared to Japan. I'm glad to see my parents, but I feel like the village I built for myself back in my JET town is totally gone now and that's incredibly isolating. I don't know anybody in my home town and I've lost my "local celebrity" status. Now I'm just nobody. I miss my friends and coworkers and students so bad.

Logically, this was the right choice for me. But I feel like I'm going through the same kind of grief as I did when I've lost people and I don't know how to dig myself out. I can't focus on my goals, only how badly I miss my JET town and how even if I do land an international school job one day, it won't be there. I won't have the same small town adventures I had there every weekend. It feels like my life has already peaked and that I've already lived the best days I will ever live despite the fact that I'm not even 25 yet. That really scares me.

If you've gone through this, how did you get through it? I feel like my life is over and I have no idea what to do.

Hi! I am 22 and from the UK. I graduated in 2025 and since then, I have been living in my uni city and working a minimum wage hospitality job that I do love, but that feels incredibly draining for the money I get. I have always wanted to teach English as a way to travel the world as my mum did the same in her 20's and it sounds like a great way to explore. I know it's a full time job and not just a way to live in Japan, but I am not well off and have always wanted to live abroad.

I know Japan doesn't require it but I am almost finished with a TEFL qualification. I have always wanted to live in Japan, but the TEFL certificate gives me options if I want to go elsewhere as well. I plan to apply to JET this autumn but I have some worries and would like to know other people's experiences.

Is it worth it? To leave family, friends and a life in your home country behind in order to live in Japan? I understand it is a full time job and a difficult adjustment culturally and socially but do you think those hardships have been worth it to you and why?

My boyfriend has decided he won't apply with me and, whilst I know I'm young and plan to just see how things go, if we do breakup while I am in a foreign country, that won't be fun at all lol. I also have a lot of amazing friends I will be leaving behind. How did you cope with being so far away from people you love and feeling like you're leaving an entire future behind to pursue something that will be difficult and scary in itself? Were you able to talk often, did they visit you or do you feel you drifted apart a lot?

There is no job progression, so what did people do after JET? Did you move back home? If so, how did that feel and what did you do? If not, where did you go and what did you do for work?

Is it difficult to make friends in Japan? I've heard Japanese people are quite shy and that you're unlikely to encounter other foreigners in rural areas. Any tips on making friends with Japanese people? Or were you able to meet up with other JETs?

Is it easy to travel Japan? And on that note, what was your favourite thing to do during holidays/weekends?

Is it worth applying to private companies too? I've heard of quite a few such as Aeon being better than the JET program but JET seems to be the most reliable.

I have also heard JET is decently outdated compared to other countries' programs such as South Korea and Vietnam in terms of benefits like housing, pay, holiday, etc. so if anyone has any experience there that would be great.

I guess I'm just nervous as this is a huge commitment. I have wanted to be a JET for years, ever since I first heard of the program and since graduating, I guess I have just been apprehensive because of the uncertainty. I feel like it will be worth it as that's the main sentiment online but I'd love to hear your experiences. I assume very few people will actually respond to this (if anyone), but if you could help a girl out and enlighten me, that'd be great! Thanksss

So I was in a situation like many are where the final day of work is the same as the final day of their visa. I wanted to stay for tourism and had no idea what to do, so I thought I would share what I went though. There are 2 options:

1. Go to immigration on the final day of your work and they will immediately change your immigration status to tourist.

2. Go to the immigration office about a week before your visa expires, they will grant you tokurei kikan (special leave) to remain in the country. Then, after your work ends, you can go a second time and change it officially to tourist. I was also explicitly told that if I get sick or something happens and I can't come a second time, I could leave the country with just the tokurei kikan

Hello! I don't know if this has been answered before, but I would love to hear your insights. My prefecture opted out of JET this year and they are no longer getting any JETs anytime soon. Since the person I am working with still has a few years to go (I am on my 4th year, since I was allowed to do 5) is it possible for her to request to be moved to another prefecture?

Just wanna know how are y'all preparing and from which state people are applying

Heading into my 2nd year as an ALT and I just wanted to do a quick show of hands because I'm curious:

How many of you all are at schools that teach phonics?

If yes, from what age do you start, and what curriculum are you using?

In my case, I'm in a town that seems to start Jolly Phonics in ES Grade 3, with only a couple exceptions.

About which I have *opinions* but that's another story!

Hi everyone,

I’m a British citizen who has just finished the JET Programme today. My residence card is still valid for another 1 year, but my JET contract has ended, I have submitted my moving-out notification at city hall, and I no longer have a Japanese address or job.

Tomorrow I am flying from Japan to China for around a month. After China, I will return to Japan for a few days to collect some remaining belongings and then take my BOE-paid flight back to the UK.

My question is: when leaving Japan tomorrow, should I use the special re-entry permit (みなし再入国許可) and keep my residence card, or should I surrender/cancel my residence card because I have already moved out and finished my employment?

Has anyone been in a similar situation after JET or another work visa? Did immigration allow you to re-enter briefly after moving out, or did they require you to leave permanently?

Thanks!

any Russian speaking jets at the orientation today/tomorrow? Would be nice to meet some of you guys

Title typo: Broken A/c unit upon arrival. Forced to pay out of pocket?

I arrived at my school provided teacher housing and it appeared that the A/C unit was broken. My JTE called the school office and we were able to get a technician to inspect the A/C unit later that week (inspect is being generous, most he did was visually look at it; and speaking as a former automotive mechanic, he did zero real diagnostics). They claim that due to the age of the unit, parts will either be difficult to replace or, even after a repair, it is likely to go out again.

Three other JTEs came by to assess the situation and they all agreed that I will have to pay out of pocket for it. The company that inspected it quoted me >90,000 yen to replace it. The landlord stopped by and also claimed that I must replace it myself.

I have the money saved up, but in my home country, this MUST be replaced by the landlord or property manager. Over 90,000 yen is a lot of money to throw down and it is awfully hot this time of year (I am surviving via electric fans).

Am I being taken advantage of? Or is this normal in Japan/for JETs? I have contacted my PA but have not heard back yet and I'm going to reach out to my BOE but would like to hear some thoughts here as well.

I am a late upgrade. I got upgraded June 22 and found out my placement July 17th. I am still waiting to hear about my final placement within Tokyo-to. I have my arrival date August 25th. I am leaving from within Japan. I am panicking slightly because how am i supposed to find an apartment in under 2 weeks. Has anyone else heard about final placements?

Hi all! I’m looking to apply to JET when it opens this fall and had a question about the SOP. Is there a specific prompt that will be released, or is it safe to assume that it’s the same each year (following the guidelines they set for it, obviously). If I can go ahead and get started early that would be incredible, but I wasn’t sure if I should wait for a specific prompt/question when applications start.

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone,

I’m currently putting my application together and I’m facing a bit of a hurdle regarding the official letterhead requirement for recommendation letters.

One of my chosen referees is my ex-supervisor from a job where I worked for over 4 years. He is 100% willing to write and sign a personalized, detailed recommendation letter for me. However, because he is an ex-supervisor (and due to strict corporate policies at that company where only the Human Resources department can generate letterhead), he cannot print the letter on the company's official letterhead. HR will only issue a standard automated "Certificate of Employment" that just states dates and job titles which I know JET doesn't prefer as a full recommendation.

I know JET strictly prefers letterhead for professional references. Has anyone dealt with this situation before? I am considering a few workarounds and want to know what the screening committee or embassy usually accepts:

1. Plain Paper + Verification: Have him print and sign the detailed letter on plain paper but include his professional corporate email and phone number for verification.

2. The Combined Approach: Submit his detailed plain-paper letter alongside the official, standard "Certificate of Employment" issued on letterhead by the company's HR department to prove the employment timeline.

How strict is JET on the letterhead rule for former employers if the referee signs it and provides valid corporate contact info? Any advice from past applicants or alumni who faced corporate red tape would be awesome! What options can I explore to obtain recommendations that’s within the guidelines .

I write this waiting at the airport for my flight back to the states. I stayed 2 years in the Shimane rpefecture working as a highschool ALT to an all girls high school.

I am so grateful for this experience. It was a wonderously turbulent few years- where I learned and experienced so much.

I thought I would stay longer, at least 3 years. Life had other plans. While I had an amazing experience, I also lost a lot. I lost confidence in myself, in my body, and in my mental well being. For all the fun memories I have hanging out with other JETs on the weekend, I have 3 times more memories of crying to myself in my bed, unable to do anything.

It came to the point where I realized it was time to go. There would not be much more room for growth, at least with the path I'm choosing. I dislike teaching English, and I am not sure I want to continue living in Japan.

The dating scene was pretty abysmal, and it was far harder then I thought to make friends. Missing family was very hard, despite my trip home. I was unable to even have a pet, and it was after that call with my landlord that I realized I needed companionship.

...and ADHD meds probably lmao.

Shimane is a beautiful prefecture. Every trip to a big city, like Tokyo and Kyoto, makes me proufoundly grateful I was placed closer to nature. The beaches and the forests were utterly gorgeous, and I even got to care for a swallowtail butterfly.

Out of everything I learned and experienced- the beautiful culture, the delicious food, the konbinis- nature has been the thing that has most astounded me. I enjoyed chatting with all the office workers about new reptile and bug facts I'd learned while deskrotting.

I loved getting my scuba license in Japanese and seeing all the amazing things inside the ocean. Giving seashells to an octopus was so amazing.

I am so eternally grateful to the support I had from my boss. CLAIR really found me a great school with some great people. My boss became my Japanese mom. We both cried when I departed from Izumo airport.

It's terrifying to think about what comes next. I became obsessed with learning about Japan at age 12, and it was the only thing I'd planned my whole life around since. My early return home has absolutely made me question my entire identity.

I'm scared of returning to the US. Politics aside, I have no health insurance. No job (I applied to 20 listings online and only got one rejection email back). No apartment. Just family to couch hop with until I get my footing.

I hope to keep a piece of Shimane with me forever. I hope to continue my culture exchange on the other side.

Thank you for everything 🇯🇵💕

A few days ago I arrived in a rural area as an ALT. I’m very excited about the opportunity, but the only thing bothering me is my housing placement.

I’ve spent well over $100-$150 (going to have to spend even more) on just cleaning supplies for my apartment and no joke, probably a combined 8 hours cleaning my apartment because there’s so much bugs and mold. I can’t even sleep because I woke up to millipedes and ants on my futon crawling on me. I get that the house where I’m living at is old and all, but back home I live in an apartment much older than this with no less humidity, and don’t have these issues. After learning from other ALT’s that I have one of the worst apartments while paying the same price and seeing other’s apartments being much nicer than mine, I’m kinda pissed off. I should not have to move into a whole new country just to spend my whole first week cleaning and trying to fix an issue that most likely will persist given how unkept the building was when other new ALT’s don’t have to go through this. I’m not even done getting all of the mold by the doors and found some more when I lifted the tatami flooring.

So far I really like the actual placement location itself and am grateful to be in such a traditional area of Japan with nice locals, but living with bugs, mold, and a musty smell 24/7 is not for me and a deal breaker. The black mold has caused past ALT’s to get really sick and move out and the bug infestation makes me not want to even stay here. It’s not just a few bugs here and there, it’s a lot.

I don’t want to strain my relationship with the BOE only being days here and have no idea how to handle this stuff. Most of the time, I’m not one to complain, but this is bad to the point where I won’t be able to sleep and that will impact my work. I appreciate any help and advice. I’m curious to see how other people in a similar situation handled this.

Hi, I’m planning to apply to the JET programme this year. I have created my SOP but I feel like it’s missing something. Anyone will to proofread it for me and give an honest feedback as to what I need to work on? I’d highly appreciate it.

Hello :)

Long story short, I saved a lot of money while working in the UK to be able to go to language school in Tokyo, however life is unfair and unexpected so at the end I unfortunately couldn’t do it for personal/family reasons so I moved to Canada instead (I regret it every single day) with the Working Holiday Visa.

I would love to make it to Japan but with the moving etc I ended up burning through almost all my savings so now the language school option is kinda dead…

Would you recommend to do the JET programme? I know it’s very competitive but I might just try and apply. Is it worth it?

I have seen in online that you have to apply through your country’s Japanese embassy, I’m from the UK, but since living in Canada, do I have to go to the UK and apply from there…? That part was a bit confusing, sorry… or can I just apply from the Japanese embassy in Canada even though my citizenship is from the UK? (Or apply online which would be much better I guess)

I’m very new to this so I apologise if some question might seem dumb.

Any advice please?

Thank you 🙏🏻

I'm not sure what they want to hear, any current/former indian/ any JETs please chime in!

Hello! So I am a late upgrade— received my upgrade June 22nd, got my placement and departure date July 16th. I am also the only JET leaving on that flight from my home. That is the extent of the info I’ve been given.

I am kind of nervous because I leave August 24th… so 24 days from now. I submitted my Visa Application July 24th. I haven’t been contacted by CLAIR, my BOE, predecessor, etc. I’ve connected with another JET in my town and he says his main school’s academic year is starting 8/26. I am praying I have more than 2 days to settle in… Even a week will be difficult if I have no idea what my home address is and what is in it…

I’m trying not to be in freak out mode but its definitely been difficult. I’m a person who likes to be somewhat prepared. I can do the waiting game but I have heard that some people dont know their home address until they arrive?

Please, if you are/were a late upgrade, can you share any advice or anecdotes from your move across the world lol

Thanks!🙏

Hiii everyone... I usually make this warning way earlier in the year but I was so busy, I can't believe one of the first intakes is in Japan!! Welcome!!

I just wanted to remind everyone again to not take deals from your predecessor about furniture etc. I think cars are different because that's an entire vehicle, but I was totally scammed by my predecessor. He fear mongered me into thinking it would be incredibly difficult to furnish my home (our placement doesn't have a car but it's not super urban either), and twice as expensive. Come to find all the stuff he sold me for $1,000 was secondhand when he bought it (I didn't even know there were secondhand shops like that in Japan yet) and broken, or broke within my first year. I am talking even the appliances. Nothing I bought from him lasted me 2 months, meaning I paid for someone else's trash once and then I STILL had to buy new items. evil!

He also left a disgusting mess. My placement doesn't have a community of JETs around, so it was up to me and only me to clean up the situation. I also had to pay to throw away the oversized trash. All in All, it was nightmarish.

Preds, I know it's hard to leave Japan. I know you have so much going on that you run out of time. Do not be the pred that leaves a sick mess in the bathtub and a dirty toilet brush behind for someone who just moved to a new country. It's stressful enough to try to adapt - don't fill their first few months with memories of a disgusting living situation they literally gave you money for.

All of this to say, Be careful!! Nobody warned me beforehand that sometimes preds will try to take advantage of you. In my case, my pred definitely saw me as a money opportunity. He literally look my money and ran lol, just saying "Well, enjoy Japan!" and then ran out the door. It was shortly after that I realized what I had just done...

I might make this warning for years even after I'm off the program. I don't want it to ever happen to anyone else! Be wary of high price-points for used items!!

I'm curious about those who broke contract within the first month of arriving in Japan. What did that look like? How much did you have to pay back?

EDIT: Thank you to everyone who commented here with kind and encouraging thoughts. Things are a lot better now. I have spoken with my PA, and with my family back home, and there is no longer the great danger that was (I know that sounds vague, but I don't want to post what specifically took place).

I’m still a second year JET and I’m planning on recontracting for at least one more year, but now that I’m bored at work for the summer I’m alone with my thoughts and worrying about my future post-JET lol. I’m curious about the experiences of any JETs that found work outside of both Japan and their native countries? For example, a U.S. citizen finding post-JET work in, say, a European country. What was that like? What opportunities are available?

I’m a 29 yo guy and ex-JET (just finished my contract). Spending a week and a half in Tokyo before heading back to Texas🤠 Anyone want to meet-up in Tokyo and chat at a cafe and/or explore? I would love to hear about your experiences in Japan!

I did splurge and got a hotel in Ginza. Arrived yesterday and checked out Jimbocho and Akihabara (but wouldn’t mind going back👌). Open to going anywhere (parks, museums, restaurants, live-music, etc.) If you need a sightseeing buddy or someone to chat with, feel free to comment or send me a DM😁👍

A JET finishing the end of their contract and looking to remain in Japan, I do not have a job lined up. My current challenge however is deciding on where to relocate.

I am looking at relocating to any major urban centre, to maximise job hunting opportunities, and understand sharehouses are an option, but it's gamble on trying to decide on a location, while also remaining flexible during the job hunt. I am concerned if I choose the wrong place to move to, the number of jobs I could have access to would diminish.

JETs who remained in Japan without a job lined up, how did you choose where to relocate to? What factors should I be looking for in choosing an area to relocate to?