My Japanese Apartment Tour 2016 | Jet Program

[@Geijin]

I move in July! I don't know my JET placement yet but I'm glad you're loving it!

[@ADreamInJapan]

That's awesome! Congrats! I've been having too much fun to post videos! haha. Wherever you are, it'll be great! Inaka or city has so many options! Lemme know where you get placed!

[@Geijin]

Thank you! I'll definitely let you know :) Glad you're having fun!

[@nhelou2009]

I love your bed covers of polka dots of white over brown and a mixture of pink and brown looks just so nice(",)(,") You have a very nice apartment and very spacious one at that! Congratulations to you!

[@Jamaipanese]

thanks for sharing. You have a lot of space!

[@ADreamInJapan]

I loved this apartment so much! It was almost western!

[@jcam7937]

Love the vid. Just watched a different one (same deal, girl only there for a year), but the girl was super fussy and complained about non issues. To the point it made me wonder why she even came to Japan.

[@ADreamInJapan]

If I am ever overcomplaining, assume that Culture Shock has set in. haha. Thanks for watching!

[@haithammahmoud8794]

Nice

[@BandanazX]

Interesting apartment. What happens with taxes? Do you have to pay both US and Japanese income tax?

[@ADreamInJapan]

Yes but with exceptions if you fill out the right forms. JET gives you all the details.

[@AriannaB214]

Very Nice! How long will you be staying in Japan for the Jet Program?

[@ADreamInJapan]

Hopefully 2-3 years!

[@ADreamInJapan]

Ha! I stayed 4 and got married. Funny looking back!!

[@DoubleJinx95]

What prefecture and town is this, and what were your preferences on your application? :)

[@ADreamInJapan]

I will be cryptically answering that soon. haha. But I was placed in the middle of the two places i requested.

[@InstantTofu]

Nice! Not to be nosy, but what prefecture were you assigned to? And where did you request in your application?

[@ADreamInJapan]

I will be cryptically answering that soon. haha. But I was placed in the middle of the two places i requested.

[@InstantTofu]

Awesome, thanks! I'm in the process of finishing up my JET application, so I've been curious to hear where people have been placed and whether or not their placement requests had any bearing on where they ended up.

[@ADreamInJapan]

I'll be completely honest, from my experience and talking to others in my group this year: it has little to no bearing. If you are the PERFECT candidate for a specific school type and there happens to be one that is in an area you wanted, maybe. But otherwise, it's a mixed bag of luck. However, it seems that people who mentioned either in their interviews ( like me) or by obvious choices (all cities in hokkaido, all cities in kyushu) that they preferred a type of weather - i.e. I said i would probably have a harder time if i was placed in Hokkaido because I've never lived in snow. - that they at least considered that. They aren't out to OVERLY culture shock you. haha. What are your choices, if you don't mind me asking?

[@InstantTofu]

Thanks for your thought out response! I really appreciate it. Yeah, that's what I imagined was the case. I'm looking at requesting: 1. Kanagawa Prefecture - my cousin and her family currently live in Yokosuka, so it'd be nice to live close by (but I know Kanagawa Prefecture is pretty highly sought after though, so my hopes are low) 2. Hyogo Prefecture - my great-grandfather actually taught in Kobe for a bit in the 1960s (this one is probably sought after too) 3. Sendai OR Miyagi Prefecture I was also looking at Gunma or Saitama Prefectures. Gunma seems to have a fairly large number of placements.

[@ADreamInJapan]

Apparently my reply to this didn't save! Sorry! From those choices its obvious you want to near a big capital city. I'd aim for the family lives there angle, or the grandpa angle those sound likes reasons. "They have told me how great the area is" or "I heard wonderful stories from him and i always wanted to follow his footsteps." etc. None of those areas sound ridiculously asked for, but they are the surrounding prefectures of the big cities. Just stick to your guns, and envision yourself where you wanna be. I didn't really have a specific place I wanted, so I was happy in general. I just had vague internet search based, and future career based areas picked.

[@Melbester9]

Hey, love the apartment. I havr a quick question. I'm planning on applying for the JET program after my Bachelor's. The question is does your travel and being in Japan affected beginning your own career at home. I'm older and I want to experience the program for a while but I worry that I could hinder the start of my own career at home or when I get back. Is it a dealbreaker for you?

[@ADreamInJapan]

Melbester, I really wish that question had an answer! ( I don't know what you mean by the dealbreaker part, but I'll answer the career concern) As for hindering your career, that will definitely depend on a lot of things, like the type of career you plan to have, and what kind of competition you face getting a job. aka entrepreneur vs. construction worker vs. computer engineer all have very different career timelines. This is definitely something I thought long and hard about when I left my job in the states. I'd be returning home older, with a few years out of the American work force (or my work related field, for that matter) would I be hurting myself? But ultimately, I wanted the experience of working abroad, living abroad, and I saw the plus side for those things on a resume too. So, in the end, I was already 2 years out of college, and I decided that I wanted the experience, come what may for the future. But, you will definitely have to find that answer yourself, sorry!

[@Melbester9]

ADream In Japan Thanks for the advice. I don't mind at all. I feel the same way. I'm still in college and I thought about either going abroad and teaching English in Japan for a bit. It's definitely something I want to experience in the future and I know I would regret not doing something like this but it would be a great way for me to grow and see things with travel from a different perspective. I will look into it. Thanks again!

[@ADreamInJapan]

Lol! you said "I'm older" so I assumed you were out of college. My personal opinion is people shouldn't do this program right out of college unless it is specifically linked to their future career. I'm so glad i had real life experience before coming, and my parents don't mind me being gone as much as they would have if i'd left right out of college.

[@XCitrusOda]

Fun!

[@ADreamInJapan]

It's so fun!

[@animechick1389]

do you have to change apartments every few months or does it just look diff?

[@ADreamInJapan]

I'm not sure what you mean because I'm in the same place. I just bought more stuff. haha.. No, unless you are in a temp situation at the beginning, you shouldn't have to move unless you want to.

[@sharonyang8822]

did you have to look for housing yourself with the JET program or did they help you with it?

[@ADreamInJapan]

My advisor, someone from my school appointed to take care of me, helped look for me before I arrived with help from my predecessor.

[@SuperExtraMedium]

Subscribed!

[@ADreamInJapan]

Thank you! More to come!

[@oliviabrown261]

cute place:)

[@ADreamInJapan]

Thanks!

[@Truecrimeresearcher224]

I would love to live in Japan I'm 26 but am kinda stuck in life.

[@ADreamInJapan]

26 is still young! If you already have your degree, Apply for JET or Interac! Or many other great countries! If you don't have a degree, then I suggest finishing it, or looking for a job privately if you want to go abroad!

[@jamesw703]

I can feel the jealousy of 95% of the people on JET. This is an outlier! Most are MUCH smaller. Mine was basically her bathtub.

[@ADreamInJapan]

I know I feel bad! I do have a fairly big place, but MANY people in my area live in HUGE Teacher housing that they pay next to nothing for, they are just a bit older, and have tatami/shogi door. I do wish it felt a bit more traditional, I thought I wanted tatami, but after learning about real tatami I was like....I'll keep the fake wood and laminate. My pred had a 1k, I saw what smaller was! But, you can actually cool your whole house that way! I have no way to heat/cool the bathroom or kitchen! I still have no insulation though!

[@DarkLunaBabe]

How did you get a car and license in Japan??

[@ADreamInJapan]

Hi Kacie! Thanks for watching! JET(and by JET I mean your advisors and Board of Education) helps you arrange anything you need, in my case I bought my car from my Predecessor for $1300. I don"t need it for my main school, but I do for my secondary school, and I live inaka, so It's nice cause there isn"t much public transport. Especially now that it's cold. As for a license, thats easy! You can get one even if you are traveling for a short time. Just go to your nearest AAA office and pay $20 for an international drivers permit. (assuming you have a license now). Once I hit my year mark, I"ll have to take a test in Japan to keep my license, but that is only for Americans. Hope that helped!

[@DarkLunaBabe]

That's awesome!! I wouldn't have even thought that'd be an option. I've been looking into the JET program, so this is good to know. Thanks!

[@LeilaGhauri]

Great tour! I moved too! I put up an empty apartment tour video :) Check it out and let me know what you think? Spoiler alert: My place is not as pretty as yours :P