Japan calling

[Jacob]

Okinawa is pretty cool from what I hear, though I've never been.

I can probably point you at some resources once you're about to go, as one of my good friends went native there as an ESL teacher.

[HisMajestyBOB]

Okinawa was nice, but it's definitely not what you'd want if you want an urban area.
Plus, the food is meh.

[Monoriu]

Plus, the food is meh.

Yeah.  Okinawan food is a bit different from the real Japanese deal.  It has its distinctive dishes, but there is not much in terms of variety.  Japan proper/mainland has much better food. 

But Okinawa is very popular now as a tourist destination.  HKers love to go to Japan, but are afraid of the radiation leaks in Fukushima.  Okinawa is the furthest away area from Fukushima while still being in Japan. 

[Monoriu]

The biggest problem with the Japanese is they are afraid of making mistakes.  So they avoid speaking Engish if they can.  We once checked into a hotel in Okinawa, and the hotel manager felt compelled to explain the hotel facilities to us.  He drummed up enough courage to utter a few English sentences about the pool, then turned to his computer to have a mental break.  He was so nervous that his voice and hands were shaking.  After about 30 seconds of pretending to type something, he struggled to find words to describe the restaurants.  The computer was again his salvation.  Then he went on about the spa, before escaping once again by staring at the keyboard intently, while gasping for air.  At that point we got up, thanked him and went to our rooms.   

[MadImmortalMan]

You'd think English would be such a big deal in a place like Okinawa. With the big foreign presence there and all.

[Monoriu]

You'd think English would be such a big deal in a place like Okinawa. With the big foreign presence there and all.

In my experience, Okinawans are indeed much more willing to speak English than the average Japanese.  Japanese hotel managers in Tokyo or Osaka won't bother to attempt to introduce their facilities to us at all 

[HisMajestyBOB]

Also, Okinawa has great scuba diving and snorkling.
It's definitely worth a visit, and wouldn't be all bad if you had to teach there.

[Caliga]

Okinawa is pretty cool from what I hear, though I've never been.

I can probably point you at some resources once you're about to go, as one of my good friends went native there as an ESL teacher.

+1

Ex-girlfriend did the ESL thing for a while, and Okinawa was her favorite posting in the world.

[Viking]

I got a letter from the Japanese embassy today.
Apparently I'm shortlisted for the Jet programme.
Just so long as I get my medical forms in on time (damn you easter, damn you slow results processing) and the police don't attribute any crimes to me I'm going to be moving to Japan come August to be an assistant language teacher.
A well paying, interesting job in a country I've always wanted to visit....
I am: Happy.

We have folk here who've lived in Japan before right?

I was an AFS exchange student in Japan for a year, if you want to discuss anything just PM me.

[Josquius]

Why?  When I was there, I had the strong impression of Okinawa as essentially a "Japanese" Hawaii.

Super hot weather, cut off and isolated from the rest of the country, overrran with American soldiers, historically not even part of Japan, a huge chunk of the population don't speak Japanese as a first language.

When does the spring semester start? April?

IIRC the Japanese school year starts around then yeah.

[The Brain]

Why?  When I was there, I had the strong impression of Okinawa as essentially a "Japanese" Hawaii.

Super hot weather, cut off and isolated from the rest of the country, overrran with American soldiers, historically not even part of Japan, a huge chunk of the population don't speak Japanese as a first language.

... the emperor was "born" there, ...

[BuddhaRhubarb]

I got a letter from the Japanese embassy today.
Apparently I'm shortlisted for the Jet programme.
Just so long as I get my medical forms in on time (damn you easter, damn you slow results processing) and the police don't attribute any crimes to me I'm going to be moving to Japan come August to be an assistant language teacher.
A well paying, interesting job in a country I've always wanted to visit....
I am: Happy.

We have folk here who've lived in Japan before right?

Congrats

and we had one that i know of, but Buddha bounced. You might be facebook friends withhim and i'm sure he'd be happy to give advice if you PMed him there.

or here. I don't know a lot about JET, other than afaik it's similarly compensated to the private schools.(not much at first but decent eventually) and the hours for foreigners are pretty easy. pm me for more detailed questions.

[Caliga]

Super hot weather

The average high temperature for the entire year is 25 C and for the hottest month is a mere 31 C.

How on EARTH did you people manage to conquer India!?

[Josquius]

... the emperor was "born" there, ...

ey?

Super hot weather

The average high temperature for the entire year is 25 C and for the hottest month is a mere 31 C.

How on EARTH did you people manage to conquer India!?

That is very hot even in bulk numbers let alone considering, from what I've heard, this is a very hot feeling 30 degrees.

We paid the Indians to do it for us whilst we sat in the shade and drank tea.

[garbon]

How on EARTH did you people manage to conquer India!?

I don't think it is far to place Jos as the typical Brit.