Recommended Places to Request

[u/ubepan]

Hi! I'm reapplying for the 2027 JET program this year after being accepted (but declining) this past years. I realized my preferences, though of course not guaranteed, are probably not somewhere I'd request to stay if I did get accepted to work in Japan again.

I previously requested Hokkaido (as my town has a sister city there), Shizuoka (I have a friend who teaches there), and Okinawa (Heard good things!).

This year I definitely want to do more research on places that would be ideal for my lifestyle. If anyone can point me in the right direction with some recommendations based on my interests and wants, it would be greatly appreciated!

Hokkaido would be fun and I would love to travel there for winter sports, but it is too similar to my hometown's weather, so I would like to experience something warmer (so, anything south of Hokkaido!).

I would ideally like to be close to public transportation and live in a relatively large city with an active city life and night life. If there is a big food and art/music scene that would be an additional plus! If the cost of living is lower that is extra great.

I heard Kobe is great for Jazz and night life, so I am going to do more research into there!

** As we all know, a placement request doesn't guarantee anything. I am fully aware despite my request I may be placed somewhere completely different, however this is also a great way for me to get a better understanding of Japan's geography and possible places I'd like to travel to!

TIA :)

[u/Fenritha]

Okinawa is great, but is shifting away from JET and going to dispatch so I don't know if any more JETs will get placed here. Prefectural has definitely switched over with current JETs being allowed to finish their contract, but I don't know much about the municipal side. So if you want a warmer tropical-ish placement maybe look into Kagoshima?

[u/Dirt_and_Entitlement]

Hiroshima.
Although if you want your nightlife scene and you want relatively cheap, you are going to need a massive US military presence nearby. Misawa, Hiroshima/Iwakuni, Nagasaki/Sasebo, and of course Oki.

[u/Big_Explanation_9295 → u/Dirt_and_Entitlement]

What? Why would you need the US military for good night life? That just isn’t true.

[u/Dirt_and_Entitlement → u/Big_Explanation_9295]

You think OP can deal with "music and nightlife scene" in a Japanese environment?

[u/Big_Explanation_9295 → u/Dirt_and_Entitlement]

Uh... how do you know they wouldn't? What kind of point are you even trying to make?

[u/ducksinthegarden]

if you can't drive it'd be best to request a prefecture with access to the shinkansen or an airport. pretty much it

[u/Sad-Day9022]

i requested the kyoto/osaka area because i'd lived there before, but i got a very, very rural hokkaido placement instead. i'm incredibly fortunate that i pretty much immediately grew to love it even in spite of the factors that make day-to-day infinitely less convenient than some other places around japan, so i think that the placement request part of the application form is something you probably don't need to give too much thought to. you're unlikely to get what you request without very good reason, and you might end up somewhere you never even considered, and you'll end up loving it there! ofc, there is always the possibility that you just won't gel with your placement, but hopefully those situations are few and far between 😅

edit: typo

[u/For_The_Alliance_]

I was always a little jealous of the Hokkaido ALTS. It looks instantly pretty there. I got Fukui a few years ago and loved it. Not too far from Kyoto. Closer to Fukuoka than Tokyo by a few hours. It’s deep enough in the countryside to get that “real” Japanese experience. Very slow pace of living there still. It was definitely the experience I was looking for. Oh yeah, and beaches for days.

Like any less conventional/rural picks, you do have those backwater placements. I knew one person that quit cause they were deep in Ono and hated it. Their home was literally on farmland.

What really makes JET is the people and experiences along the way. It’s not just about where you’re placed. Also, remember most of your traveling will be done over the breaks. So it doesn’t matter too much where you’re placed if your goal is to experience a particular region.
Typo: I got Fukui not Fukuoka…calling Fukuoka countryside probably had some ppls shaking their heads.

[u/rcrthrblr]

Kobe is great. I lived near Kobe.
The truth is, it’s a lottery.
You can name places if you’re genuinely interested in a place, not just a “they like jazz there”. But they will know if you genuinely are interested in the place, or are trying to sound informed.
But a better approach is whether you do or don’t like the idea of living in the countryside. And it’s a genuine thing. I lived VERY rural. 45 minute drive to the next nearest English speaker. But I was fine with that. Be honest about what you want. And they’ll place you (somewhat) appropriately.

[u/Different_Taro2474]

nobody can really give you the right recommendation because a dream placement for one person can be someone else’s personal hell.

some people come to JET and end up absolutely loving their placement, even if it wasn’t what they originally wanted. i didn’t have that experience. i didn’t like my placement, and i never had the “i grew to love it” happy ending. i made the most of it and did as much as i could while i was there, but adjusting to life there took an awful long time and it was not easy mentally. at the end of the day, though, it just wasn’t for me. i can’t thrive in a car-dependent village with a rapidly declining population in the middle of nowhere. i have certain needs and wants that my placement simply didn’t meet.

there’s also the reality that even if someone gives you the perfect recommendation, you very likely won’t get it anyway. yery few people get exactly what they put down.

do your own research and look at prefectures based on things that actually matter to you: climate, cost of living, access to public transportation, and the overall vibe.

for example, if you like a more tropical/subtropical vibe, you could look into Okinawa, Miyazaki, or Kagoshima. if you prefer a northern climate, Hokkaido, Aomori, or Fukushima. for a more traditional/rural experience, Gifu or Shiga. for onsen vibes, Gunma, Oita, or Shizuoka.

[u/ubepan → u/Different_Taro2474]

Great, thank you! Again, completely aware that I will not get what I want, but I want to have a better understanding of places in Japan outside of the major cities. I will do further research and see if that is something I can see myself putting down as a request OR traveling to. I am sorry to hear about your less-than-ideal experience, but thank you again for giving me some insight.

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/ubepan]

best of luck with your application!

[u/esstused]

I'm begging people to stop asking for recommendations for placement requests.

If you can't come up with a specific place on your own, you don't have a good enough reason to request that location, so they will ignore you anyway.

If you don't know, just choose urban or rural and leave it at that

Edit: also if you can't do the research and figure stuff out on your own now, how do you expect to live in a foreign country alone?

[u/Different_Taro2474 → u/esstused]

agreed, why even ask for recommendations if they probably won't even get placed there anyway?

and also the "what are my chances to get in?" questions. nobody knows what your chances are, the acceptance rate is 25-30% for everyone.

[u/BanzaiPhillies → u/Different_Taro2474]

Agreed with the both of you. It's getting absurd. Reddit is a community forum, so you have the entire wisdom of the group at your fingertips if you just search, and the chat bots have synthesized all our suggestions already anyway. It's very telling that people insist on asking the exact same questions that ultimately should be researched independently, because they'd rather have it spoon-fed to them. You aren't the main character. If you don't know enough about Japan to even say what you like about it or learn about it on your own, I have serious doubts about the longevity of your time on the program. Rant over.

[u/ubepan → u/esstused]

Personally I see nothing wrong with hearing other JETS experience in living in Japan. Not everyone is aware of places in Japan and this is a great way to do further research into where you might want to live OR travel to. It is not a big deal. I have specific places I loved when I visited Japan but I would like to learn more about Japan outside of where I've been.

[u/esstused → u/ubepan]

Sure but there's like 800 posts like this during application season and they're all the same. "I want a mix of urban and rural, I want to experience the real Japan, I want to go outside but also have conveniences"

There are a million JET alumni blogs and youtube channels and old posts to dig through. Why do you need your own special recommendation?

I'm aware that it sounds harsh, but I just don't think this kind of expectation for everyone to make recommendations just for YOU to be a good sign for how you'll fare once you'll get here. Are you also going to go around asking for recommendations of what to do every single weekend when there's guidebooks already made for that purpose?

Where's the fun of discovery when you need everything curated just for you?

[u/ubepan → u/esstused]

Sure, it must be annoying to see those posts. I am so sorry they irritate you that much and that my post set you off! :)

[u/esstused → u/ubepan]

It's not just you. That's why I commented. There's literally hundreds of posts that read exactly the same.

I love to encourage and help hopeful and new JETs, I'm just begging y'all to have some self sufficiency first

[u/ubepan → u/esstused]

Ok thanks, if you have anything helpful to say about your experience instead of complaining that would be great, if not, thanks for your comment!

[u/esstused → u/ubepan]

I had the most fun when I went on adventures that no one around me had done before. : )

And I still do because I still live here. And I could only stay because I make my own path.