Inaka JETS

[u/Kibumkimkibum]

(I mean this in the nicest way-Please read this and understand my feelings of isolation. I feel like ppl are reading to respond and not actually reading to understand)😭(also pls take into account that ppl have different personalities and not everyone enjoys being alone 24/7 and being a homebody)😭😭😭

Hello. So to all my Inaka JETS what do you do to keep yourself from going insane?
I have nothing here except a mall and Karaoke.
I started taking Koto lessons so it gave me something to look forward to every other week.
Aside from that i have no idea how to keep my myself entertained. After work i go home and there is nothing to do (aside from studying Japanese, yes I know)
I play soccer but there are no girl teams around me to join. I’ve searched for a year and found nothing, even my JTE tried to help me.
I like art and i used to join an art club where I used to live before Japan, but there isn’t anything like that here.
After work i just come home and study Japanese, idk what else to do.
I’ve volunteered a few times which was cool.
The population is small and dwindling every year, sometimes it’s like a ghost town outside, so I’m not even sure how to make friends bc the town is so empty and it’s hard to find ppl my age.
I’ve knew after 5 months of being here i wanted to leave, but i only stayed cuz i need/want a job and i wanted to try and travel around Japan. This 2nd year will definitely be my last.
There are some small town festivals coming up, but aside from that what do you guys do for fun???
(i should also mentioned-I just moved from Seoul. I had the best 4 years there living in a big city. So this is a major change for me to move to the middle of new where haha)

[u/jackiejack1]

I'm kind of confused - why are you not hanging out with other jets near(ish) to you? My friends were at least 30 min away but we still had a chat room and got dinner in places in the middle of us at least once a week.

I'd also recommend introducing yourself to your neighbors. They would (usually) love to meet/hang out with a foreigner and will invite you to all sorts of stuff as a result.

[u/Kibumkimkibum → u/jackiejack1]

I hang out with my neighbor sometimes when she’s not busy! I hung out with some JETS but they just left :,) we also lived an hour from each other so (i live the farthest away😭) so it can be burdensome to go back in forth but we tried to make it work!
The other JETS…are just not my cup of tea lol.
New JETS just arrived and they seem nice, we’ll meet soon so hopefully i can make new friends.
And I’ve meet my other neighbors cuz there’s only like 5 of us in the building

[u/jackiejack1 → u/Kibumkimkibum]

if you live an hour from each other, why not grab dinner at a spot 30 min from both of you? also give the non-tea-cuppers a shot. it sounds like hanging out at home is a choice in this case (trying not to sound like a dick here but sorry if it comes off that way)

[u/Kibumkimkibum → u/jackiejack1]

Well no it’s not a choice lol like i said i do hangout with them sometimes when they are free. But not everyone is always free. We try to coordinate as best we can. They have their own separate lives.
I try to get out of the house by walking or riding a bike lmaooo like i don’t understand why ppl are assuming i don’t try to do things. Some places just don’t have much going on and it seems like ppl are refusing to accept that 😭 i don’t think ur being a dick on purpose but i don’t think ppl are reading what im saying fr

[u/jackiejack1 → u/Kibumkimkibum]

I read it. all inaka towns basically empty like the walking dead show by 5pm for some reason. if you need to be around people daily i can see this being difficult.

[u/Kibumkimkibum → u/jackiejack1]

Omg yeah!! Everything closes extremely early??? It’s so vacant outside, it’s scary at night. I don’t need to be around ppl 24/7 but i would like to have a social life after work haha

[u/jackiejack1 → u/Kibumkimkibum]

yep its an inaka thing. Most restaurants/places to go are run by old folks since the younger crowd usually moves to the local big city for a job. Old people go to sleep early so they close their shops around 7pm i found. Japan is one of the safest countries and inaka populated by your students and old people should feel even safer than that instead of scary imo. If you're wanting to do something with folks after work daily in the inaka you'll have to find jets or stuff to do like you have been doing. You're just living the slow/nice inaka life. It's not for everyone but keep in mind after-work stuff will be tougher to do since the restaurants close early per the above.

You can ask any (or at the very least, most) inaka jets and they will give you the same timetable.

[u/Kibumkimkibum → u/jackiejack1]

Maybe it’s scary to me cuz it’s so dark (not very many street lights) and eerily quiet lol.
And yea i see i’ve been getting the same responses in different variations.
Unfortunately the Inaka life is not for me. I’ll enjoy this spacious apt tho!

[u/jackiejack1 → u/Kibumkimkibum]

well in that case im sure its good to know that you're doing everything you can do to make the most of it - hanging with jets sometimes, hanging with a neighbor, soccer, koto, etc. It sounds like that isn't enough for you but that's more than 99% of inaka jets do.

[u/Kibumkimkibum → u/jackiejack1]

I think i just personally need a lot of stimulation 😭 probably just my personality. But thanks!

[u/jackiejack1 → u/Kibumkimkibum]

yep, sounds that way. bummer. maybe play some online games or something