[Nyororin]

Originally Posted by Payne222

I grew up in the city here in the US and now I live in the sticks,
It's boring as all Hell.
So I'd prefer Tokyo, maybe another big city around there.

I am not discouraging you from going to a city - I am discouraging you from going to Tokyo. There is a huge difference. Tokyo is full of foreigners - an abnormally large number of them bitter for various reasons. I believe it`s far too easy to be sucked into the "expat" lifestyle there, and end up with all sorts of misconceptions and frustration. A lot of people who would have had an excellent time elsewhere in Japan find themselves in really uncomfortable situations via the expat community in Tokyo. Obviously this isn`t the case for everyone, but it is enough to make me VERY wary of advising anyone to live in Tokyo.

Other cities seem to escape this problem - likely because everyone who knows nothing about Japan and only wants to live here because they think it`s cool from a very limited slice of information never leave Tokyo. I have heard Osaka is, to an extent, similar in some ways but not close to the way it is in Tokyo.

I live just outside a major city (in the center of the third largest metropolitan area in Japan) that is virtually unknown among tourists and "Japan fans". I wouldn`t choose to live in the countryside - it can be quite inconvenient.

You seem to know a lot about it, and I really appreciate your help!

You`re welcome. I enjoy helping people who are serious in their plans.
As for knowing a lot... I live in Japan, and received my degree at a regular Japanese university, as a normal student (in contrast to in an international program).

And the reason I was gonna do Germany was because (at the time)
My German pwnd my Japanese. But now, I'm getting better at Japanese
so my confidence in the language is growing.

Quite frankly, I wouldn`t be too incredibly concerned about your Japanese level at first. More likely than not, if you`re an international student, you`ll want to go into some sort of Japanese study (And in most cases, the university will require a year of intensive language focus.)

And Nyororin, if it isn't a bother, d'you think you could help me with looking
up Japanese college information on becoming an ESL teacher...
I dunno what they'd call it abroad.

MMM already covered this, but studying for ESL certification in Japan is a bit silly, if you think about it. In Japan, when people aim to teach English, they take intensive English courses and then later a bit of teaching focused classes. The ultimate goal is to reach a level of proficiency in English that would allow them to teach. In your case, you have already mastered the English language, as it is your native language. It would be a bit strange to take extensive English language courses.

In the end, it`s far better to aim for a degree in something that will be of greater use later in life. Presumably, you will return to the US after your university stint, and need to find a job - which is unlikely to be in the English teaching field. Even if you stay in Japan for some time after you receive a degree, *any* degree is sufficient for teaching English.

Of course, if your ultimate goal is to be a university professor teaching English in Japan - a degree related to that field will definitely put you at an advantage.