How to Maximize the Japan Experience

Let me introduce myself...I'm an ex-Korea EFL teacher (the name says it all) who has been hired by on one of the big-three and I'm very excited to be going to Japan in the new year.

I spent 4 1/2 years in greater Seoul and did not run away, but left of my own chosing after completing my fourth contract.

I took a couple hard knocks in my early days in Korea. I learned form them, adapted, and came back with a vengeance. (Mostly I learned that there are two types of people in Korea, exploiters and the exploited, and I dang well wasn't going to be one of firetrucking exploited.)

I've visited Japan several times and spent seven weeks in Tokyo last spring after I left Seoul and before I returned to North America. I met ex-Japanese teachers in Korea, and I know some ex-Korean teachers in Japan, and I hung around with Japanese in Seoul at times, so I have a sense of the similarities and differences between the two places.

• Dull students? Been there, done that.
• Incompetent and arbitrary management? Ditto.
• Economic collapse and rampant corruption? Just another day at the office.
• Strange food? Stranger toilets? How can I communicate? etc? Old hat.

I maybe a newbie, but I come with a different set of questions and attitude (yes, I'm full of pee and vinegar) than your usual newbie.

As a unrepentant westerner, I believe that everyone has the power to shape their own life. So, these days I'm thinking about that time, and thinking about how to mold my situation. I hope that I won't be as overwhelmed by it all like when I first went to Korea.

In my experince, the time shortly after arrival is crucial. You have a very short window to establish yourself with your co-workers, students and those around you. I don't want to come in too hardcore and alienate everybody, but at the same time I don't want to come in too soft and set myself up as a "patsy" if you know what I mean.

Also, I wat to maximize the experience, not let any opportunities slip away--which I'm sure I did in my early days in Korea--so again, what's best?
-seoul sucks

Tips for a successful experience:

• Trains shut down around 11 P.M. If you're not on the last train, you'll be staying at a hotel or in front of the train station if there is no hotel in the town.
• ATMs close around 5.00 P.M. every day. They are not open on some national holidays. Get your money out before then.
• Interest rates on savings in Japan are terrible. Keep your money somewhere else (like in a bank in your home country).
• Many of the guys here use Amazon.com and other companies to buy things because it's cheaper than buying stuff domestically.
• Eating out is very expensive -- avoid it if you are trying to save money.
• If the guy from NHK shows up on the doorstep, say you don't have any money to make him go away. Repeat the process if he shows up again.
• Getting an apartment is very expensive. You will need to pay a huge damage deposit and your chances of getting the money back later are slim to none. Come with a lot of cash.
• Avoid the four-letter English schools.
• Learn Japanese. Most folks over in Japan can't speak English or speak it poorly.

-plaid knight

Dude,
If you survived Korea, you'll shvt on Japan. Come the fvck over. Japan cant screw you any more than Korea, that's for fvcking sure dude.
-Skweekah

Why did I stay in Korea so long? Sometimes I ask myself the same question. The short answer is that time flies. The demand for teachers is overwhelming and the pay vs. cost of living is sweet. As long as you don't let yourself get jerked around, you can make out like a bandit. I worked long hours during the week, partied hard on the weekends, and the time just slipped past. I did try to break into Japan at the end of the third year but I couldn't get a job, and signed on to a place in Korea for a fourth year.

In spite of what people say about it being easy to get a job in Japan, I found it very difficult. Most companies hire locally so if you don't already have a Japanese work visa or come in on a work-study of cultural-study visa or whatever they call them these days, no one wants to even to talk to you. As well, almost all of my teaching experience has been with adults, and approximately 50% of what I did in Korea was business teaching and that doesn't appeal to the few schools who are willing to sponsor teachers since they usually teach children. And I'm also over 30 which doesn't help.

I did go to Japan last spring after I left Korea for seven weeks and pounded the pavement, but I couldn't get anything. The independent schools didn't want to talk to you unless you already have sponsorship.

That's my sad story.
-seoul sucks

Note: Originally appeared on the message board on December 11, 2002.