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Researching cities/areas in Japan -
02-13-2011, 03:03 PM
Hi all,
So, I'm starting to transition from "thinking about going to Japan to teach English" to "planning on going to Japan to teach English". I'm trying to figure out what cities I should look into, but I'm having a hard time finding the information I'm looking for. There are basically two different things: 1. Practical: The pros/cons of a city when it comes to a foreigner teaching English there. 2. Personal: A) How conducive the immediate surroundings are to outdoor activities such as cycling, hiking, trail running, etc. B) How close to parks, beaches and/or other areas of nature. C) But also, still having a dense(r) urban core with many shops, restaurants, cafes, "urban things to do", etc. that would have a sizable population of people looking to learn English. From what I know now, Tokyo wins for 1, but looses for 2. And Kyoto wins for 2, but looses for 1 (due to over-competition of English teachers). But I hardly know anything about any other cities in Japan. Ultimately, I guess my plan would be to get a list of 3 or 4 cities to eventually visit. Does anyone know of any websites that provide any of this type of information? Or perhaps you have some experience yourself? My Google-fu is failing me in this endeavor. I have a feeling most of the info I'm looking for in number 2 is written in Japanese. Thanks, Greg 
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02-13-2011, 03:38 PM
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I don't think Tokyo wins for 1, it's bloody expensive to live there lol, unless you're on the outskirts but then why bother, just go somewhere else. With respect to 2, there are dozens of large cities in Japan that are cradled between mountains and the ocean, Kobe for instance, where I live, is like that. I live at the foot of Mount Rokko, which is known for it's hiking, and I am a 5 minute walk from the city center, which is a 20 minute train ride to Osaka, if you wanna go big city. The Kobe-Osaka commute is incredibly common also. Kyoto is hotter in the summer and colder in the winter than Kobe, and has a surplus of foreigners, I'm not a fan of the place aside for the temple-visits. If you like it cooler, Sendai is great, if you like it warmer, Fukuoka sounds like it fits your bill. Kobe is in the middle but has big-city proximity that is nice. Yokohama has Tokyo-proximity and has some nice parks with less concrete-jungle feeling. There are few places you need to worry about competition for English teaching, I opened a school with about 30 competing schools in my immediate vicinity, and am doing quite well. The demand is just so much higher than most think, I wouldn't factor that into your decision. Kobe is what I settled on, I loved living in Ashiya actually, that was a nice place, right in the middle between Osaka and Sannomiya, and peaceful. edit; there are so many places that are great to live, you have the luxury of getting picky on other factors, consider weather, local food, cost of living etc.
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02-13-2011, 04:27 PM
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However, I'm sure I'd have to be flexible. I have no doubt a great location is out there. It's just a matter of figuring out how to find it. Quote:
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02-14-2011, 03:16 PM
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 lolSeems to me like you'd be better off in a satellite town of one of the major cities. Most of Japan, mid-sized city and up, will have all the amenities within a short distance, perhaps not on a walmart scale but at least a shopping arcade for food and cheap goods. I haven't seen anywhere here that is both warm in the winter and doesn't have an ultra-humid summer lol, but honestly you adjust, at least I did, my 2nd summer wasn't even half as bad as my first, and the 3rd was a cake walk.
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02-14-2011, 03:53 PM
I would suggest looking at somewhere like Hakodate in Hokkaido. Although the winter is not exactly short the town doesn't get a lot of snow and it's about the shortest winter experienced anywhere in Hokkaido. It's also a very beautiful city with a lot of interesting history and there's plenty of places for outdoor activities close by. It's probably a bit more humid than further north in Hokkaido but nowhere near as warm and humid as most of Honshu.
And Hokkaido is one of the cheapest parts of Japan to live in.
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02-15-2011, 12:16 AM
Good recommendation, GoNative. I really like the idea of recommending a place like Hokkaido as a first stepping stone to Japan. Although it's not what I did (and I am currently in Tokyo and Tokyo-centric), it's what a friend of mine did after his older brother strongly advised him to start out in Hokkaido (outside of Tokyo). He started out working in IT up there and he picked up Japanese quickly. When he re-located to Tokyo, he realized that his brother's advice was spot on. Had Tokyo been his first point of entry, he would have never bothered to learn the language as there were too many English-speakers and distractions for him here.
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02-15-2011, 03:10 AM
Hmmm... I wouldn't have thought Hokkaido just because of how far north it is. It also seems much more often cloudy. But it does have some amazing scenery, and I know it's well known for outdoor activities. Is Hakodate the main/only city you'd recommend there?
I certainly wouldn't choose Tokyo for a first city. I had been thinking mostly of either Honshu, west of Kyoto; or Kyushu. One thing I'd like to do while there is road biking, so I'd like to be near a variety of nice, 3 hour to full day (perhaps overnight), scenic, road-rides. (scenic = nature as well as history, 50 years old or 500 years old).
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02-15-2011, 03:52 AM
Maybe a place like Kanazawa would work out for you. It's certainly got history. It has a lot of nature, but some crazy weather. It's near the coast, too. The city can be a little confusing though, in my opinion. I always enjoy Fukui when I go there, but that might be too rural for your taste. [EDIT: See Nyororin's post below about Fukui] You'd certainly not have too much competition.... although there might not be as big a demand for English as in other areas.
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02-16-2011, 12:02 PM
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Fukui has to have the least interest in English that I have encountered in Japan. There are "anti-English" clubs in high schools, and a general lack of apparent interest. I believe it is also home to one of the main "Why on earth do we force students to learn English? At the very least make it an elective class!" groups wanting to reform education. Of course there are going to be plenty of people who do have interest, but I doubt you`re going to find the levels that exist elsewhere. It`s also very far down on the list of places that I would recommend for learning Japanese. The regional accent is VERY strong and completely pervasive - to the point that even the local NHK announcers can`t seem to hide it. I think that it scored either at the top or very close to the top for the level of regional accent evident in all walks of life. (Not just limited to older generations or a handful of regional words.) My personal recommendation would be to look around a bit in the Chubu area. Or more specifically the Tokai area. (Aichi, Gifu, Shizuoka, maybe Nagano.) I live in Aichi, and am biased as I personally think it`s the best place to live long term. Nagoya is a huge city with all the convenience and benefits that come with being a big city, but is also well planned out with plenty of parks and a very good public transportation system. It is also a pretty close to being in the middle between Tokyo and Osaka. It`s even closer to Kyoto/Nara and Mt. Fuji. It`s fairly easy to get to any of them. It`s also one of the most historically rich areas of Japan. The winters are fairly mild - maybe a few spots of snow - but the summer can be quite humid... But almost anywhere in Japan that isn`t high in the mountains seems to get fairly humid in the summer. It`s near the ocean, and there is tons of nature to the north. Aichi is one of the only prefectures in which it is not only legal to ride a bicycle on the sidewalk - but there are wide sidewalks designed for this. (May not be a big deal to hear, but try riding around on streets where there is maybe 20cms of space on each side of a car with NO extra space and you will understand the joy of having huge sidewalk spaces with marked "lanes" for bicycle and pedestrian traffic.) As for teaching English - Despite being a huge city and the center of the third largest metropolitan area in Japan, Nagoya seems to be almost entirely off of the foreigner radar. Virtually no one has heard of it, so it rarely shows up as an option.
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