Quote:
Originally Posted by MMM
Would the mountains and northern coast not be cooler in the winter, Nyororin?
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Mountains in the south - no.
The northern coast, in most places no. The ocean keeps the winter mild, but also keeps summer a bit milder.
Mountains along the northern coast? That would be one to avoid, but not what I intended to suggest.
Quote:
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Originally Posted by espie
Do people not use babysitters in Japan? (For the dinners etc)
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This may be a surprise to you - but they do not.
Japan simply does not have a culture of babysitting. The idea actually tends to shock a lot of people as it is simply not done.
You can find evening/night childcare
services, but expect to pay enough that it WOULD be pretty painful even on a JET salary (6000yen/hr after 8pm). And that is in the city, where you can actually find that sort of service. I can guarantee there would be nothing of the sort in the countryside.
You may find info on inexpensive babysitting services, but they are provided by the local government only in the event of an emergency (usually medical) which a dinner is not.
I understand that being a single parent is a stress anywhere, but single parent culture in Japan is very very niche and the type of support you are accustomed to is likely not going to be found. Daycare/preschool/kindergarten is an end at 3pm thing - and you can pay a huge extra fee to get them to extend it to 5pm at the latest.
In most cases single parents choose to live close to or with their extended family for the childcare grandparents provide.
When this isn`t possible, what happens is that single parents receive government housing support to reduce their cost of living and take on employment that can be tailored to fit the childcare schedule.
The other way around isn`t feasible at least until later in the child`s schooling. (ie. There are after elementary school programs at libraries, etc, that last until 6pm, and then after 3rd grade last until 7pm.)
But these are things you really would have to be in the city to even find. A rural setting is pretty much to the last place I would choose to go as a single parent with no family support.