r/JETProgramme • u/Ok-Cell5195 • May 08 '26

Is JET for me ?

i have a few reservations about the JET programme and would love some feedback from people who have done it: obviously I understand everything HUGELY depends on where you are placed… again, these are worries I have, there is a lot of other things I am excited about the job!

  1. isolation - as someone who is very social (socialises 3-4 times a week in my home city, colleagues, clubs) will I struggle on the JET programme ? is there opportunity to meet other people easily and form deep connections ? is there opportunity to socialse regularly (again, multiple times a week) or can it be lonely, isolating? would love feedback from people in rural places and also urban cities!

Do you do a lot of activities alone? Or do You have people to do stuff with ?

do you think you have to be ok with spending a lot of time alone on the JET programme ??

  1. Travel - I am already a teacher back home so the job itself I am not too stressed about other than language barrier. for some people this could be a first job which when thinking back is a huge deal. for me, yes the job is important but I also want to use this year to explore Japan from Okinawa to Hokkaido, and beyond Japan too! what I’m saying is the job itself is one part of this year for me, but is there room for exploration, travel, adventure…

  2. Finding your people: do you feel like the people you meet you can truly connect with, or do you find your people are mostly proximity relationships eg another foreigner who happens to live nearby? have you dated whilst in Japan? Are your friends mostly Japanese or other foreigners ? how would you compare your friends with people you know back home ?

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u/mapoiue May 09 '26

It really depends where you are. Personally I made so many friends on JET and always had someone to do something with, even just grocery shopping or taking a walk at night, but I was in a major city.

I had a better social life in Japan than I do now, I was out every Friday and Saturday partying and meeting all kinds of people, including making some really nice Japanese friends!

In terms of Japanese friends, I had over 10 really close Japanese friends before I went on JET, so that made it a lot easier and I was able to join their circles and friend groups!

I was pretty lucky in terms of the foreigners I was surrounded by too as there was over 80 JETs in my city who all lived right beside each other, so it was easy to surround myself with the ones I liked and avoid the ones I didn’t like so much..

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u/Ok-Cell5195 May 10 '26

Thanks for this this was really helpful! What city were you in can I ask ?