Surviving In Rural Japan

Many foreign teachers come to Japan with hopes of being placed in a large city, usually one of the big four (Tokyo, Sapporo, Osaka, Kyoto). The level of competition for teaching jobs in well-known cities is very fierce, with the majority of jobs going to experienced teachers that are already living in Japan. For an aspiring ESL teacher coming to Japan for the first time, the chances are good that you’ll be placed in smaller cities or rural areas. So we’ll look at how to survive in rural Japan. 

The Good News

Generally speaking, the smaller pool of foreign teachers willing to work in rural Japan means that these towns and villages offer more generous terms than similar teaching positions within the large cities. This can include subsidized housing, transportation, lighter workload, and much more. Your cost of living will be much lower than in a large Japanese city regardless of the actual terms in your contract. Added to this are the long-term advantages of learning more Japanese and actually joining a Japanese community, two things that are by no means certain in an urban placement.

Housing – Can I Move?

Contracts vary, but your employer usually sets up housing in advance. Ideally, this saves you a lot of headaches, but there are cases where people are unsatisfied with the housing situation. If your house has a bear living your garden, a squat toilet, or some other sticking point that you’re unable to live with, then move. Very few contracts stipulate that you must live in the house procured for you and, if your contract does, it’s definitely something you’ll want to bring up before signing.

Moving may mean moving to the nearest city if your town doesn’t have a better apartment or house for rent. In this case, you will likely have to buy a car as well, but if the state of your housing is bad enough to have a negative affect on your experience in Japan, then it’s better that you move. Apartment and housing rentals are advertised in booklets you can find in convenience store stands or you can use a rental agency like My City Home, basically an office where landlords list vacant rooms. You may have to pay the infamous, “key money,” meaning three months of rent upfront plus a deposit, but the overall peace of mind is worth it. 

Taking Stock

The next step is practical: walk around your town and take stock of what is there. Your watch list should focus on necessities – grocery stores, hospitals, police stations, banks, fire stations, post offices, gas stations, public buildings, and convenience stores – and you should make yourself a simple map as you go. Most of these buildings will be obvious, but you may have to walk into some buildings to make sure that what looks like a library is actually a library. If you are going into a town to replace someone, you can save yourself some of the legwork by asking your predecessor about the house and amenities. That said, you can’t take everything your predecessor says as gospel, as he or she might not have actually done all the legwork.

Don’t Panic

If your town seems vastly under-developed, don’t panic. It may be that you didn’t register everything on your first survey. Very small towns of less than 3000 may not have a large supermarket, but they’ll usually have farmer’s markets or something similar to fill the gap. This is not ideal, but it’ll do in a pinch. Also, towns that small often combine to make a district for the purposes of hiring an ESL teacher, so the chances are good that you’ll be placed in the most populous town in your district. If you are placed in a truly small town, you’ll probably want a car to go to the nearest city do your shopping. 

Learn to Love Trial and Error

The steps for surviving in rural Japan aren’t that different from surviving in any foreign country. You need to make sure your everyday necessities are taken care of. Trial and error will take on a whole new meaning as you struggle through everyday tasks like shopping, but the challenge of telling squid guts from spaghetti sauce is one of the things that makes working abroad a life-changing experience.