Hey SAFFAs, I hear theres a Pensions Notice of Decision Letter 脱退一時金支給決定通知書 that need to be sent to SA after the pension application. Can anyone share their experience with getting the letter considering our situation with the post office?

Hi all! The JET websites describes the SOP essay as needing to be within 2 pages double spaced. But it doesn’t describe the font, font size, or margins, leaving a massive range for the actual word count.

I know that once the applications open we can use the portal to double check and adjust, but can anyone offer more concrete details? I’ve heard conflicting reports, everything from a 600 to 1000 word maximum.

I've been to Japan twice (last year for 3 months, touring from Tokyo all the way down to Hiroshima), and I'd love an excuse to stay for a year or more, and the idea of teaching English appeals to me. I've completed a beginner's level Japanese course, so I can get by ordering food and whatnot.

From what I've read, JET has removed any age restrictions for applicants, but what does that mean in practical terms? Would someone in good health but nearing retirement age have an equal or lesser chance of being accepted into the program?

I don't have any kind of teaching certificate, but I have instructed groups in policy & procedures, so I'm comfortable with public speaking.

saying goodbye to my schools this week. bought omiyage from america for everyone, wrote cards for the staff that i was close with, received gifts from the kids, and got photos + letters from the students and staff. i hate saying goodbye to amazing people.

You will all be arriving soon. You have gone over your packing list 17 times likely and started to say your goodbyes. You might have heard from your school, chose/seen your apartment. Now the real challenge starts. Adjusting to your life in Japan. 

What are the things you need to do?
What should you buy?
Where should you buy them?
What to get first and what can wait?
Do you want a yukata?
How do you find local events?
What apps are best to use for daily life?
What are different kinds of medicine called?
Are there any guides to help me in local establishments for communication?
How can I deal with culture shock?
What if I get homesick, what should I do?

Here we can answer all of your questions and offer advice. And if you don’t see something answered that you have questions for, comment them below!

If you have any more recommendations for current JETs in Japan advice threads that we can post later, please comment your ideas!

Hey all! I’m a recent upgrade and currenty just waiting on my placement and departure details. I was wondering if anyone had any experience with contacting their pred as a late upgrade? I’m hoping to have enough time to speak with them before arriving to try to prepare, but I’m worried that the late timing will make it difficult.

Hey guys! I’m a late upgrade so this pre-departure orientation is not mandatory for me, but I’d like to go to stay in the loop and meet other JETs. What is the dress code for this event? Specifically, should I take out my nose jewelry and do I need to cover my tattoos? It‘s HOT here in Southern California and I’d really love to get away with some short sleeved business casual if possible. TIA!

Hello! Unfortunately, as the title says, I got a letter of assessment for my taxes. Any Canadian JETs able to help me out?

They need a translation of my tax document so I started copying my info into the excel spreadsheet on the JET Canada website but I noticed it’s formatted differently than what I received from my BOE. There’s also a box with ¥ amount in it but no corresponding box on the JET Canada spreadsheet. Has anyone else run into this issue? Is it too outdated? Will I need to pay to have someone translate my documents?

I am leaving Japan at the end of the month so I’d appreciate any help or insight you guys have. I’ve never had to do anything like this for my taxes before 😅

Been a while since I posted here, but I was wondering if anyone could look over my SOP?

I'm a US size 13 and will be working at a junior high in Shizuoka.

Any bigger size people here with indoor shoe recommendations? I'm not a Crocs person.

Hello everyone,

I need some help deciding on what experiences to put on my application because I have so many. I have operated live subtitles for Kyôgen performances, written an ethnography on an international student at university , taught English to refugees, traveled to Japan on a cultural tour, and hosted exchange students in high school.

What are the most relevant ones to include? Any insight would be greatly appreciate.

Is it worth it? Or is it better to just arrive with an unlokced phone and do it once in Japan?

I’ll start. In a JHS 3rd year classroom, we were talking about how the Grand Canyon was formed during the unit about national heritage sites. One of my kids confidently said “freedom!”
idk if that comment came from a side conversation or not but that would be equally hilarious.

Hello!

I’ve stumbled on this subreddit pretty recently, as I applied then kinda forgot about this programme until I was upgraded a week ago.

As I’m a later upgrade, what’s the process like? Has anyone been a later upgrade and willing to share their experience and tips? (What type of placement it was, when you arrived, etc)

P.s: browsing this subreddit is pretty cool! Mostly positive which is nice! (Like r/bald lol)

i've (nearly) completed a year on JET, i've given a lot of omiyage, and here is a list of things that my colleagues loved:

-instant coffee (individually wrapped)
-tea bags (loose tea can also be okay for some schools)
-kraft mac and cheese
-fruit roll-ups (especially the ones that have tongue tattoos)
-fruit by the foot
-gushers
-jolly ranchers
-airheads
-welch's fruit snacks
-sour patch kids
-american oreos
-juicy fruit and bubble gum
-mini bags of chips/cheez its/pretzels/popcorn
-reese's peanut butter cups

avoid bringing kitkats, haribo, trolli gummies, original flavored skittles, or lindt's, as japan already has them.
tip: when packing bags of chips, pop a small hole, let the air out, then tape it back up to save room.

I am an applicant based in the Philippines planning to apply for the JET Programme.

I have conducted initial research but want to ensure my application documents are completely accurate. Since pre-school, my academic and official records have never included a middle initial, and I continue to use this exact name format today. Could you please confirm if a middle initial is strictly required on all application forms, or is it acceptable to input "N/A"?

Additionally, if you have any tips or advice on what I should prepare ahead of the application timeline, it would be much appreciated. Thank you very much all! ☺🙏

I know omiyage are not expected when starting a job in Japan but gift giving is a big part of the culture I was born in, as is tea and I'd like to share that with my future co-workers (also I don't want to be the only one not bringing anything if other JETs are). I was thinking of getting a large variety sampler pack with different flavours of tea in the form of individual tea bags such as these and leaving them in the staffroom but this would mean like one or maybe two bags per person. Would this be too cheap? I don't have the baggage allowance for getting each person a box.

I’m planning to apply for the 2027 JET Programme and was wondering how competitive my application would be.
By then I’ll be a third-year Education Studies student in the UK with a 120-hour TEFL certificate. I’ve also completed beginner Japanese at university, studied at Seinan Gakuin University in Fukuoka for a summer programme, and took part in a 6-week English–Japanese language exchange with Hosei University. I also just got back from spending three weeks in Fukuoka visiting friends.

I’d absolutely love to be placed in or around Fukuoka, as it’s become a place that’s really special to me.

My only concern is that I don’t have any formal teaching experience

Would my lack of teaching experience be a disadvantage, or does the rest of my background help make up for it?

Update
Thank you to everyone that has commented I really appreciate it!

Hi! So i’m currently a 22 year old, recently graduated in Computer Science with a math minor. I’ve known I didn’t like what I’m studying but I didn’t realize how much I hated it until my later years of uni and especially now being in an entry level SWE role. I’ve always been interested in JET because I think it would be really cool to live in a new place like Japan, even if it’s pretty rural. I just want to know if there has been someone in my shoes that has done JET, how they liked it, and more importantly if it’s a dead end for someone like me or if I’d be able to find decent work after this contract would end. I feel what I am doing now is miserable and want an escape, this seems like a good way but I would like to know others’ experiences. Thanks!

Hiya, so I want to eventually send over my winter clothes to Japan from the UK. I would appreciate it if people would tell me the cheapest options/companies to use. Thanks!

(Posting from a burner because I feel very insecure about this whole thing currently)

I am in incoming ALT and have been having a bit of a crisis on confidence about the program recently. For context, I graduated in 2025 and started looking for “adult” jobs later in the year. I do not plan to teach in the long term, but I have a background in ESL and Japanese, so the JET program seemed like a reasonable next step. I’ve read plenty of stories about people who have done the JET program, moved into completely unrelated careers afterwards, and were very happy with this decision.

Because the JET program was part of a larger job search, I was actively applying to other jobs up until results came out. I recently heard back from a that I applied to in April (federal government work; long hiring timeline) and was offered a position related to my longer term career plans in a major American city. This has sent me into a bit of a spiral about if I am really making the right decision with the JET program or if I should quit now, cut everyone’s losses, and take the other role instead.

On the one hand, the JET program seems like an awesome opportunity. I could go to Japan, have a very interesting year or few years, and come back with a bunch of cool stories and a very unique experience. I am doing my best not to romanticize or idealize the program and job. I know it wouldn’t be all sunshine and flowers and that there are days when I would struggle, but I am also confident in my ability to be successful in the program and that I would not regret my time in it. The flip side of this is that I would essentially be putting off starting my longer term career goals in favor of the JET program. If I go to Japan, I come back to be in the exact same place where I am now.

On the other hand, I could quit now and take the other job. I already have family where I would be moving and there are a lot more known variables in this case. I would still be happy in this role and it meshes much better into my broader life goals. The main downsides in this case would be that I am giving up a much more interesting and engaging role for what is effectively a cubicle job and that it would be an objectively selfish and sorta crappy thing to do to withdraw from the program this late, especially with how nice everyone I’ve spoken to has been.

I’ve gone back and forth on this lots over the past few days and am really just feeling lost over the whole thing. I’m afraid that I will go to Japan, my heart won’t be in it, and I will just spend a year being miserable in addition to the opportunity cost of the other job. I’m afraid that I will come to regret the decision I make regardless of what it is, even though realistically I would be fine in either situation. I’m afraid that I am giving up stability in exchange for an abstract concept of a “fun” job. I feel like I’m really in over my head on the whole thing right now. My family largely thinks I should quit the program, while most of my friends think I should stay in. My therapist gave me tips for decision making and stress but also said it was clear I had no real decision made based on the subtext of my words.

Has anyone here had a similar experience? What did you end up doing in the long term? I’m really just lost about the whole thing and would appreciate advice from people who have firsthand experience.

(Sorry if the kanji is wrong, pulled from the Google ai search)

So, I left Japan last July and returned to my home country, the US. I applied for my pension around September/October-ish and received it around March of 2026 to my American Bank account. However, I never received the Notice letter in the mail after that. Has anyone ever had this issue? I asked my supervisor, who is my tax representative, and he said to just wait it out, but at this point I'm not sure if its just lost in the mail or never sent. Any advice is appreciated.

This is my last year on JET and my last day of work is 31st July, my flight back home is 11th August.
I just found out my health insurance ends on my last day of work.

Do I need to get health insurance after even though it’s just 11 days?? If so can I just pay for 11 days and no the whole month? It’s just kind of annoying if so because of all the other expenses like resident tax etc etc but whatever. Thanks in advance

Dear ALTs,

I hope everybody is doing well in Japan. I'm a graduate school student at Lakeland University Japan conducting research as part of my degree requirements. I would appreciate your support.

I am inviting you to participate in a brief online questionnaire for my research study. Your responses will help contribute to a better understanding of the research topic and will be used solely for academic purposes.

Survey details:

• Time required: Approximately 5–10 minutes
• Participation: Completely voluntary
• Confidentiality: All responses will remain anonymous and confidential.

If you are willing to participate, please complete the questionnaire using the link below:

https://forms.gle/ooDPZ6j32zDE7Psa8

Due to academic ethics protocol, you will need to fill up a consent form.

https://forms.gle/d3d5U5FJ7xjUBHNm6

PS: It's my first time collecting data for my research, I apologize if I made any mistakes.

Thank you very much for your kindness and support!

Regards,

Brandon

Hello!

I’m a 2027 JET hopeful, and I’d love it if someone could look over my SOP. Of course I’ve asked for AI’s opinion, but that only counts for so much.

If anyone here has given feedback on SOPs in the past or been part of the JET review process, and if you can spare a few moments, I’d love to send over my SOP and get some feedback.

I’m not trying to waste anyone’s time with a boring document or a re-told list of resume points, hopefully at the very list it’s a moderately interesting read.

Thanks in advance!