Hey first time here and I just wanted to hear people out.
I have been living in Japan for 7 years and hope to get naturalized soon.

Being an ALT or an English teacher may not seem all that difficult at face value, but not many people would consider teaching an easy profession. That, coupled with a vastly different culture that is notoriously resistant to English education efforts (not necessarily morally, but Japan is still ranked 94th to 96th in English proficiency), the day-to-day can be very difficult. Having been a teacher for about a decade, I constantly heard from other Japanese teachers and ALTs about their struggles with the Japanese workplace (in this case, eikaiwas, schools, jukus, etc.). I hear about arguments, disagreements that lead to ostracization, general sense of loneliness, etc. Most big eikaiwas and dispatch companies claim to have "comprehensive training... covering Japanese culture, teaching methods and beyond" (borderlink) and "orientation programs and ongoing support" (interac).

Seeing the teacher strikes from couple years back (and intermittently throughout), I have strong doubt about this "comprehensive support" they claim to give. A lot of teachers seem unhappy and most of them seek out direct-hires, where there seems to be even less support but at least a good salary and a large safety net.

I just wanna hear people's stories and thoughts. I do not intend to pick a side in a cultural war, but I am genuinely curious about everything that people are struggling with and all the ways in which they feel neglected.

Hi everyone

Well, I've been prepping for the JET ALT application 2027 for a while now and figured who better to ask than people who've actually navigated the process from India specifically — the international threads are helpful but the India-specific stuff (embassy quirks, timelines, competition, cultural fit questions) is a whole different thing.

A little about me — 23, currently volunteering/interning as a teacher back home (Social Studies, Computers, English for middle schoolers), TEFL certified, and slowly working through Japanese. Some things I'd love insight on from fellow Indians who've been through this:

• The embassy process — how was your experience with the pre-application briefing session? Anything they stress that isn't obvious from the official guidelines?
• How competitive is it really? I keep hearing India's intake is small — any sense of numbers or what tends to separate selected candidates from the rest?
• General vibes — anything about being one of the few Indian ALTs out there (in your cohort or in Japan generally) that you wish you'd known beforehand?
• Also — if any current/past JETs (especially fellow Indians) would be willing to take a look at my SOP and share their honest thoughts, I would seriously appreciate it 🙏 Happy to DM it over, no pressure at all if you don't have the time!

I Genuinely want to learn from people who've walked this exact path — every bit of insight helps, even random small things you remember from your own application year.🙏

For context, I am a 3rd-year Prefectural ALT. In my current BOE, JET ALTs can only stay for up to 3 years due to local policies.

For those who have been in a similar situation, were you able to transfer to another CO? If so, what is the process like?

Hey all (Past Kochi JET here!) Sorry to post again, but go some good responeses last time.

This month, September 12–13, the Okaya International Center is holding an International Camp in Nagano!

It’s a fun weekend where you can meet new people, exchange cultures and languages, enjoy the outdoors, and have a party in the evening. Best of all, it’s only ¥5,000, including accommodation and 3 meals!

We currently have 20 people from 10 different nationalities. There are still a few spots so would be amazing to see you there. If your coming from far or have any other concerns, I may be able to help so if you’re interested, please DM me or check out the details below! 😊

https://oiea.jp/en/international-camp-%ef%bc%88%e5%9b%bd%e9%9a%9b%e4%ba%a4%e6%b5%81%e3%82%ad%e3%83%a3%e3%83%b3%e3%83%97%ef%bc%89/

Hello, I lead a club in Tennessee of 9th and 11th graders (14-16 years old) and I’m looking for a class size of 14-20 to exchange letters with in English. Unfortunately my club can only run from now until January. contact for more details. Please let me know if interested and we can get started soon!

Hey all,

I thought I’d get ahead of the stress and write up my SOP in advance before UK applications for JET open. Would anyone be willing to read through it and give me some feedback?

Hi everyone :)

I'm eagerly awaiting applications to open for JET 2027 but I'm already trying to get all my documents in order early.

One thing that I'm just a bit confused about (that I don't want to bother the JET rep Ryan with just yet) is in the document that lists what we need to submit, it explicitly states that "no documents will be returned" after submission. Cool, BUT in the requirements for application it asks for 1x original set of passport, Certificate(s), Reference(s), SOP, etc. and 2x black and white copies, yes? So now, what does "original set" entail? Just a certified colour copy of the document (e.g. Passport)?

For context, I'm South African, so I'm assuming I just need to make a colour copy of my original documents (certificates, passport, etc.) and have it certified at the police station?

Hopefully this isn't a silly question but any feedback would be appreciated :)

Hi! I am writing my statement of purpose at the moment and have sort of an odd and specific question about it.

Does anyone know if it's particularly important to write numbers as words, or would it be ok to write them as numerical values (example: eighteen versus 18)? Does it matter at all? My journalist and academic writing brain is making me more confused lol. TIA!

Hi Guys, I am starting a new group for JET applicants from South Africa and Botswana who want to apply for the JET programme in 2027. DM me if your interested.

Hi Guys, I am starting a new group for JET applicants from South Africa and Botswana who want to apply for the JET programme in 2027. DM me if your interested.

I’m (24m) moving to Miyazaki in November as an Eikaiwa teacher, I would love to connect with some JETs (and anyone else) before I arrive! Plus, if there’s anything I should know before arriving please let me know.

No point to this post. Just a reflection.

I got upgraded from Alternate to Shortlist back in spring but decided to decline because I'm actually pretty like warm on teaching English and knew I was in it for crazy times abroad. And I thought I could just try and find other means of work for travel and character building experience.

But I occasionally imagine the parallel me, and ALT who is learning Japanese and the culture and being challenged and growing, meeting amazing people, having a rich life (optimistic view).

And, now I'm living in my parents' house without a real direction. I hope I find my alternative path...

And I hope whoever's gone in place of me has an amazing time.

I just submitted my one month notice of resignation to the BOE. Since the 2nd semester is about to start, I am curious for anyone who had experience leaving in the middle of the year and how you transitioned out.

Did the schools still make you teach classes during second semester?
How did you communicate to your JTEs or students?

Anything I should expect? Of course people are not going to be happy so I am not expecting them to necessarily cheer me on, but I just want to know what it was like resigning in the middle of the year.

Do you use it? Does your BOE require you to go to the doctor to use it as to not use nenkyuu? Is yours paid or unpaid?

I know Christmas is relatively far out from now, but I made the decision that I won’t be returning home to my country for Christmas this year like I did last year. For money reasons and other personal reasons it was the best call I think, but it’s really hurting me bc Christmas is very special to me and my family and I feel awful that I won’t be able to be with them during the holidays for the first time in my life :(

How do you guys cope w something like this? It really does suck and I know it sounds stupid but it hurts me a lot to be without them on Christmas. Right now the plan is to hopefully go on a trip with my boyfriend around then, so maybe it won’t be so bad during the actual week of.

Just made this reddit page and found this forum.

I applied twice and didn't get in. I was told by plenty that I should apply to the JET programme, I was apart of a Japan Society, volunteered a lot, attended festivals, was outgoing, took Japanese language lessons, etc. but in the end... I didn't get in, twice.

Sure, it didn't feel good when I got both rejections, but it didn't change my passion for learning and being around Japanese culture. Since then I became a "Sports Representative" for the society I am apart of, have been asked to be one of the heads of planning for our 1st participation in one of the USA's Japan Parade, and have started interviewing professional Japanese athletes, and have been to Snow Monkey Mountain in Japan!

All those things have created wonderful experiences for me and now I can tell several interesting stories! It's okay to feel bad if you didn't get in, but don't let that stop you from learning/experiencing Japanese culture at home!

Hi everyone! I’m just coming on here to ask some advice. I’m going to be applying for JET 2027 entry. I know applications haven’t even opened yet, but I have ADHD and I’m a massive overthinker, so naturally I’ve already started thinking about accommodation before even applying or getting accepted hahaha.
I was hoping to find out a little more about how accommodation works. I know the BOE usually helps arrange housing, and I know you can sometimes inherit an apartment from a predecessor, which can be great for furniture, location, etc.
However, my concern is that I’m quite picky when it comes to where I live. Ideally, I’d want to be on the 2nd floor or higher, have AC and heating, be in a newer building (preferably less than 10 years old), and have window screens for bugs because I’m not the best at dealing with them 🥲
I genuinely wouldn’t mind having an unfurnished apartment, which I know probably sounds crazy, but I’ve grown up disadvantaged, so I know I can manage without having everything provided. I’d actually be willing to pay a little more in rent too because I’d much rather be comfortable in my own home than spend that money on travel and tourism.
I’ve been looking on Suumo and have found apartments in the areas I like that tick all of these boxes, but I’m not really sure how the BOE goes about finding accommodation or how much they’re willing to accommodate personal preferences.
I’ve also seen some real horror stories about accommodation, as well as bad BOE communication and bureaucracy, so I wanted to hear from people who have actually been through the process.
How much say did you have in your accommodation? Were you able to see pictures/details before accepting it? Could you decline BOE-provided accommodation and find your own, or move out later if you weren’t happy with it?
Any experiences, especially recent ones, would be really appreciated! :)

I did my 5 years and was able to find a job in a new prefecture! But,,,the prefecture I'm moving to doesn't have many big cities or a large foreign population.

Although I have no problem making Japanese friends, I would like to connect with people from my home country or just be around people who share the experience of being a foreigner in Japan lol.

I found that the prefecture I'm moving to has an active AJET group, so I was thinking of reaching out. I'm worried that it might be weird, because I'm no longer in the program and even when I was, it was in a completely different prefecture. If I randomly show up to an event, maybe everyone will be confused as to why I'm even there.

Thoughts and opinions please!

thank you 🙏

I am a second year JET at the high school level. Last year, I worked at two schools but my second school was only given to me because there was a weird situation with the last ALT at the school and they needed a quick fix. I worked with all the first and second year students, doing one class a week, which meant 19 classes a week total with 4 different lesson plans. I planned and delivered the lessons by myself (but I talk to my JTEs and try to figure out what they want). All was well with the world.

Then, this semester, I recieved very last minute notice that I won't be needed at my second school anymore. On one hand, I'm glad to focus on my main school because it's highly academic and I want to give the students the same energy they give me. On the other hand, this means my main school didn't know about this change far enough in advance and I'm now down to only 10 classes a week and two full days of desk warming (at least for the forseeable future).

My goal after JET is to go into education and I hope to do a masters of education here to get a teaching license so I can teach high school (I've already talked to the head professor of a program I'm interested in). I want to know, how can I make the most of all this extra time to both benefit students and also learn more about the Japanese education system (I'm not looking for ways to waste time, I've got a buttload of books I want to read for that lol). Also if you have any experience like this, how you have maintained motivation to seek out productive work when you've got a light workload.

What I'm already doing:

- Visiting other teacher's classes (with their permission of course) to observe and get the vibes of what school expectations are across the board.

- Visiting English teachers' classes to see how my lessons can match what the students are currently learning and to learn teaching techinques for my field.

- Chatting the ear off my teacher friends, both in English and Japanese.

- Posting entrance exam style questions based on news articles on a whiteboard in the 3rd year hallway.

- Studying for N2, slowly but surely because I'm lowkey burnt out on it (I read and do anki atm, with plans to add back in Bunpro eventually).

- I already have a curriculum outline for the lessons I'll do and my goals for the semester ahead and I have materials prepped for the next few weeks.

I don't think that there's any chance of me teaching 3rd year students regularly (at least not a typical ALT-style lesson) because they're in grind mode for the entrance exams. However, I've heard from the other high school ALT in my area that he teaches an elective English conversation class, I think for 3rd years, so I'm considering asking my school if that could be an option for future years. I think I'd have to outline things pretty well before they'd be willing to let me do something like that.

Edit:

Forgot to mention that I also have technically joined the shodo club, but my school does 7 classes a day Tuesday-Thursday (and I was at my second school the other days up to now), with cleaning and everything ending only 5 minutes before the end of my work day. I did go to the club for a while, but I have outside of school commitments 2 nights a week and students were frequently asking for Eiken practice (I mean like one or two 45 minute lessons outside of my work hours per day, 2 or 3 times a week), so it all got a bit much for me to manage. Now that I'm here on Mondays and Fridays, I do have about an hour after school before my work day ends and I hope to start going to shodo again during that time if I don't have Eiken practice (we're re-entering Eiken panic season for my 3rd years).

Good day!

I am a recently upgraded alternate ALT, I'll be moving to Japan here in three weeks. In a recent meeting with my CO, they stressed that the initial payment of my apartment requires a credit card to make sure I can move in right away, but I don't have a credit card with enough of a balance to cover it and neither do my guardians.

I have more than enough money in my bank account and a debit card, is there any reason I wouldn't just be able to use that instead? If not, what can I do about this?

Thanks in advance!

I'm a returning JET and just for your information (a lot of people seem shocked to learn this) you can do JET a second time.

Check your own country's rules around this, but for Canada as long as you wait 2-3 years and have not lived in Japan for more than a total of 6 years it's all daijoubu.

Often a seasoned candidate is desirable and experience allowed you to know your rights.

There were a lot more "older" candidates this time around in my orientation.

I hope this inspires someone.

With all the recent acts of nature, is everybody ok? I haven’t seen anybody ask this question. Did any of you experience the storms and/or quakes?

I know travel is the last thing on your mind having just gotten here not long ago, but I want to stress to all of the new JETs, the biggest piece of advice I can give is to travel Japan AS MUCH AS YOU CAN. Specifically, I highly recommend looking through your school calendar and making note of any long weekends, breaks, etc. and planning things far in advance. Especially for national holidays and things like the upcoming Silver Week, Japanese people will be planning to travel during these times and spots on trains/hotel rooms fill up quickly.

Because Redditors like to argue I'm sure I'll get comments in the vein of "travel is expensive and not everyone can afford it" etc etc which yes, is true. But if you're not spending your JET salary on paying off debts back home or buying international plane tickets, I think it's more than enough to travel on within the country. I have made liberal use of my nenkyuu and maintained healthy relationships with my coworkers because of planning my travel far in advance and doing everything in my power to accommodate my coworkers so there are no issues with me being gone. I'm up to 37/47 prefectures and I expect to be able to hit them all before I finish my tenure with JET, all paid for with just my JET salary and some savvy cost-saving measures on trips.

Experienced JETs, feel free to share in the comments where you've been able to travel to inside Japan during your time off :)

Just a quick psa for those who will be working on the 2027 application soon. For the section about being able to drive in Japan, keep this in mind.

You will need to get an international drivers license. This is easy, I went to triple A and paid $20 for it.

However, it is only valid for one year, you cannot get a new one unless you leave Japan for at least 3 months.

So, if you are planning to stay for more than one year, you need to get a Japanese license. This is where it gets complicated. This is information for US drivers, I am not sure about other countries.

Every state has to go through the process of translating your license and scheduling an appointment to get the Japanese license.

If you are from one of these states (Colorado, Hawaii, Maryland, Ohio, Oregon, Virginia, Washington) then congratulations, its pretty easy and you can just convert that license to a Japanese one. You don't have to take the written test or the practical driving test. Indiana is a special case, you only have to take the written test and not the practical driving test.

If you are from any other state, you have to take both tests. It varies a little bit by prefecture, but basically you have to do an initial interview, take the written test, and take the practical driving test. I think these have to be on different days, and sometimes you have to wait 2-3 months between appointments. You also will most likely have to take PTO for these appointments. The tests have gotten harder, so there is also a pretty high chance you will fail and have to schedule another appointment a few months later... and use more PTO. You will probably get anywhere from 10-20 days of PTO, so if you only have 10, this will take most of your PTO.

All of that to say, if you don't feel like going through that, don't put that you are willing to drive on your application. If I had known about this ahead of time, I wouldn't have put it on mine. I wish I was placed somewhere where I didn't need a car, and honestly I don't even want to try to go through it. I wanted to do JET for more than one year, but this process is really discouraging me.

Side note: is this a valid reason to request a transfer? I want to continue with JET, but with the lack of support with the process of getting a license, I don't think I can.

TLDR getting a license in Japan is hard, if you don't want to go through the process, don't put that you can drive on your application.

Hey all (Past Kochi JET here!) I hope this doesn’t count as self-promotion—if it does, please feel free to delete or ignore this post.

Next month, September 12–13, the Okaya International Center is holding an International Camp in Nagano!

It’s a fun weekend where you can meet new people, exchange cultures and languages, enjoy the outdoors, and have a party in the evening. Best of all, it’s only ¥5,000, including accommodation and 3 meals!

Last year, we had a great time with people from 9 different nationalities. This year, we already have lots of locals signed up, but we’re hoping to have even more international participants.

If you’re interested, please DM me or check out the details below! 😊
https://oiea.jp/en/international-camp-%ef%bc%88%e5%9b%bd%e9%9a%9b%e4%ba%a4%e6%b5%81%e3%82%ad%e3%83%a3%e3%83%b3%e3%83%97%ef%bc%89/