Hey everyone, I was recently upgraded about almost a month ago and still haven’t heard anything about my placement or, more importantly, when I’d be leaving. I just wanted to check in if anyone knows how long I’d be awaiting to hear back. I did send an email asking for any kind of estimate date but I still haven’t heard anything. It would be nice to know how much time I have to prep but also to inform my current job when they need to prepare for my leave, (context: I run children’s programs and they want to know when to find my replacement). Any advice as well is welcomed, thanks!

Hi all. I first submitted my Pension Refund Application in August 2024, and got it back with a note in April 2025. The note was about the bank code, which I corrected and sent back. There was also the issue of my address, which had changed since I last sent it in, so I wrote the new address as well as a note of the old one in the margin.

Anyway, I haven't heard anything from them since. I would have looked into it earlier, but I expected a long wait after the first response took so long and I just stopped thinking about it after a while. That, and the sense that there's not really anything I can do about it.

Is there anything I can do about it?

hey all, i’m from the Philippines (which makes for a competitive pool of applicants) so i’m a bit nervous in applying for the program. here are my qualifications:

• bachelor’s degree in Communication
• well-traveled + been to Japan 4 times, including visiting the countryside
• participated in an online learning exchange program
• i used to be active in leadership/volunteer roles but from 2019 to 2022 only. i was also a student-athelete from 2019 to 2023
• i plan to start tutoring english online within the month and i’m in the process of getting a TEFL certificate
• i also love reading japanese literature :)

what do you guys think? anything else i can do to strengthen my application? TYIA.

Hi Reddit. For context: I'm doing a presentation for the incoming JETs in Ishikawa next month and took it upon myself to create a huge workload for myself. I am ending my presentation with some advice so I thought who better to ask than the kids at my junior high school. I've known these kiddos for 2 years so I asked them to help me give advice to the new ALTs. I gave them a worksheet and asked what advice they would give. Then I painstakingly transcribed their unreadable squiggles and translated them in the hopes of giving people an insight into Japanese schools. Here are the responses:

https://docs.google.com/document/d/1Hb-vHpyI3qOnaj7LGSGNCnBZmOxcC7AXh0lCmUEOWXY/edit?usp=drivesdk

Because I'm such a generous and all round fabulous person, I didn't want to gatekeep and give this advice to only Ishikawa JETs so here we are. I hope new JETs who are placed all over can take something from my self inflicted hard work!!

Let me know if you have any questions. I hope this might alleviate any worries or shed some light on the real inner workings of Japanese school life!!

Hello! Can you please guide me? Is there any specific format for letter of recommendation?

Hello all.

So I have a question regarding reference letters. I attend the Open University in the UK, which is a distance learning university. I'm just wondering if there's anyone here who also attended the OU and how you went about getting your reference letter? There is a program you can go through to get a reference from the Uni, but they state they can't comment on personal character, so I don't think that would work out.

Thanks in advance!

Hi everyone!

Quick question! Did any of you end up buying additional insurance before leaving for JET?

I’m trying to figure out if the coverage we already have through JET is enough or if it’s actually worth paying for extra insurance. If you did buy additional coverage, what made you decide to do it?

Just curious to hear what everyone else is doing.

Thanks! 😊

A friend of mine recommended I the Jet Programme to me! My partner and I aren't married yet but we both have our Bachelors and both of us do carry some teaching experience. We're in our 20s and thinking of doing the Jet Programme together but are afraid that since we aren't married we might not get placed near by/together. Do any couples have any experience with Jet Programme and can speak about their placement experience?

I've been back in the UK for just over a year and had a job in a school. I've recently been offered a job with the NHS, so they are currently reaching out to my previous employers of the last 3 years. I know the NHS are strict with these checks and I'm concerned because my base school essentially refused to give a reference when I got my last job and asked me to tell the employer it's not standard practice and to please understand. Does anybody have any experience of applying for an NHS job after JET and the references process?

Hey all. Incoming TJET here.

I was a formet TJET, but times have changed and I am really struggling with my Able agent. I haven't been shown any viable apartment, and I have a medical condition which means I really cant afford to be without housing in the Japanese summer heat.

Is anyone else having trouble getting housing? I've reached out to other agencies as well but sl far its a bust and thr JET Help email also hasnt offered any suggestion other than saying Able is working on it, then my agent just told me he is going on parental leave.

With just over a week to go, I am feeling overwhelmed by the housing situation. Any advise would be great.

Edit: I'm in my 30s and really don't want a sharehouse if I can help it as I have people who want to visit.

does anyone have a current invite? the link I found is expired. I’m a late upgrade but attended regular pre departure orientation yesterday and wanted to connect with everyone!

alternatively, if there are any LA JETs (especially late upgrades) that would like to connect, please DM me :-)

Hi everyone!

I've been lurking on this page for the past few months, ever since I decided to apply for the program this fall. I was wondering if I could get some help form current or past JET ALT's on writing my SOP.

I'm currently going into my 4th year teaching in the United States and I have a Single Subject credential in English as well as Social Science, my B.A in English and History as well as a minor in education, and my Master's in Teaching. I will also be Department Head of the English department at my school this year. I've taught at 3 different schools and the students I have taught have ranged from 6th-11th grade. My first year of teaching I was the English Language Development teacher and Lead at my site which meant I was in charge of all 85 English Language Learners to organize ELPAC testing as well as teaching them. I also created an after school program that helped Newcomers from various Latin American countries grow confident in their language acquisition skills as well as helping them make friends with students who had previously ostracized them.

I was also a teacher on an island which meant having to take a boat early in the morning everyday to get to work. I worked with a small but great staff and learned how to teach students who saw me as an outsider and tried their hardest to try to get me to quit the first few months. I grew to care about those kiddos a lot and was proud to see their growth from the beginning to the end of the year.

I've always wanted to apply to JET but because of the pandemic and personal reasons I was not able to do so, until this year when I spoke to some of my co-workers and they encouraged me to take more risks. I love teaching, but specifically I love helping students grow confident in their English skills since my heart has always been in helping English Language Learners.

I write all of this as a way to say that I am very serious in applying to JET and want to do it to become a better teacher and also accomplish a goal I have had for nearly a decade. I'm trying to get as much as I can done before summer vacation ends so I don't have to stress once the school year starts (I'll be very busy as DH and doing other duties I was recently made aware of). Any help in the form of past SOP's from those who were accepted or people willing to look over my current drafts would be much appreciated! Thank you!

Okay, so i know this is probably far in a way too advanced but id like to get some insight on something that i havent seen quite as much discussion on here.

Im planning on applying for the 2027 JET cycle and while I understand i will need to make sure I have what i need for the application, get accepted, and have enough money saved to make the transition, there is one thing im not entirely sure of, Mobile phone transition.

Until now I havent been in the country for more than a month or so consecutively so a normal data only esim or pocket wifi has been sufficient. Obviously that wont be good enough to deal with a year or more abroad.

What should I be looking out for in terms of transitioning my cellular plan over to Japanese service? Do I need to plan to buy a new phone if the one I currently own will be unlocked by the time I transition if I do?

obviously keeping my original number in the US is going to be a separate thing, probably involving paying for some kind of plan from abroad. But im curious on what others have done to make the transition happen.

Today we had our Closing Ceremony. Our BOE moves us to different schools yearly so I also gave my Farewell Speech. I can say it was very moving because a lot of my students were sobbing and some teachers congratulated me after. For the past year, I can say I truly had the best time here. I dont talk to a lot of teachers tho but still I think I have positive relationship with them. The past days during my final lessons, so many students were crying and my JTE even said it was her first time witnessing such. Now, when the ceremony was over and we were back at the staff room for a short meeting before lunch, there was no acknowledgement from my principal nor from my vp (who i talk to all the time) that Im leaving. I didn’t give a speech for the teachers (which I did in my prev schools) and most importantly I didnt receive flowers and token from the school like I always do. There’s two teachers who gave me their parting gifts and I really appreciate it but I am shattered. Truly. When I said my final “osaki ni shitsureishimasu”, the teachers waved at me with their two hands and thats it. I went home crying overthinking if I was truly a good ALT. I dont know how to move forward from this. Any advice is appreciated. Thank you.

PS: I still have go to school during summer break and technically my last day is on July 31st but I dont think they’ll do anything on my last day either.

Hi! Wondering if anyone can help?

I’m trying to fill out the visit Japan web form as recommended in the London pre-orientation but it is asking if I have a visa and to copy its details into the website.

I haven’t yet received my passport through the post or any visa details. Should I just wait longer to complete this form or have I missed something?

Thank you for any help!

I think a lot of people demonize those who express disappointment or even drop out due to placements. A lot of people harbor the "each placement is special" mentality, but truth is not every placement is as well suited to every person. It's good to challenge yourself but as someone who is starting my third year, I remember feeling disappointed when I got my placement and saw my lodgings etc. I was like wow, really? This it is? When so many other people had dream situations. Yeah there's good and bad to anything, but I know my placement isn't very good. Nobody envies anything about it besides the fact that I'm near a train line. If you feel disappointment I think that's okay, being made to feel guilty for feeling disappointment is evil in my opinion. It's not for a lack of trying that I feel underwhelmed by my placement. I've really done my best to integrate and involve myself in the community. I just realize the community here isn't great. Even coworkers who come from outside of town and move to my school mention that my city is known for it's mean people and crime, that they were nervous to get selected by the BOE to move here. It's not a crime to be disappointed and pretending some placements aren't better than others is delusion

EDIT; i didnt assume i’d get tokyo. I don’t think rural placements are even bad. Remote islands, thats exciting. What i ended up getting was a town with no parks, mostly chain restaurants and stores, mostly inconvenient, little to experience without leaving the actual town. Its not a rural, remote area surrounded by culture and natural beauty. Its not a city with convenient transportation and fun local mom and pop shops. its an asphalt nightmare with 0 trees and flat so no mountains or fun views, the places to eat are coco’s and mcdonald’s.

Before I say anything else, I want to make it clear that I am incredibly grateful to have been accepted into the JET Programme. It has been a dream of mine for years, and I genuinely can't wait to begin this new chapter in Japan. I know how competitive the program is, and I don't take this opportunity for granted.

That being said, I wanted to be transparent about something I don't see discussed very often, not to discourage anyone from applying, but because I think it's helpful for future applicants to know what the process can actually look like.

One thing that surprised me was how expensive the journey can be before you even get to Japan.

Even the application process itself can come with unexpected costs. Depending on your situation, you may have to pay for things like fingerprinting (mine was around $50), obtaining official documents, passport photos, mailing your passport and paperwork to your consulate, traveling to appointments, and other miscellaneous expenses. None of these costs is huge on its own, but together they can add up.

Then, after you're accepted, there are the pre-departure expenses. Depending on your placement, you may need to budget for apartment move-in costs, furniture, household essentials, temporary accommodation if your apartment isn't available right away, transportation, food, phone setup, and having enough savings to get you through your first few weeks before payday.

I think the financial side of JET is something that deserves more attention because everyone's circumstances are different. Some people have significant upfront housing costs, while others don't. Some have to relocate across the country before flying to Japan. It's not impossible, but it definitely requires planning.

What surprised me even more, though, was the emotional side of the process.

There is so much waiting.

Waiting for placement.
Waiting to hear from your contracting organization.
Waiting for apartment information.
Waiting for visa updates.
Waiting for travel details.
Waiting for emails.

It feels like you're constantly waiting for the next piece of the puzzle. Sometimes weeks go by with very little information, and it's easy to start wondering if you've missed something or comparing your timeline to everyone else's in Facebook groups and on Reddit.

On top of that, you're preparing to move to another country. You're saying goodbye to family and friends, leaving jobs, organizing finances, packing your life into a few suitcases, and trying to prepare for a move where not everything is within your control. It's incredibly exciting, but it can also be mentally exhausting.

I wanted to share this because I don't see many people talking about these parts of the journey. Most posts (understandably) focus on the excitement of getting accepted or arriving in Japan, and there is so much to be excited about. I just think it's also okay to acknowledge that getting there can be stressful, expensive, and emotionally demanding.

None of this changes how thankful I am to have this opportunity. If anything, it makes me appreciate it even more. I just hope this helps future applicants set realistic expectations and know that if they're feeling overwhelmed during the process, they're not alone.

For current and former JETs, did you feel this way too? Is there anything you wish someone had told you before departure?

Edit: I was placed in Tokyo and live in the US if that matters

Also, for the bitter redditors, be considerate of the fact that others may not have had the privilege of going abroad and this may be their first time. So, if you have genuine advice please leave it below, Thanks <3

share your best moments and ideas

share your worst moments and regrets

ill go first

best really great lessons using my unique materials that students really enjoyed for long periods of time

worst teacher who seems to hate me for no reason lol

Hi. I’m a first-time poster, longtime lurker of this sub, and I want to give some advice to all incoming JETs based on my five years in the program from 2018 to 2023. My placement was incredibly rural, with less than 40,000 people at the time I came over. The closest cities were an hour or two away by car, and the local dialect is so far away from what most people associate with Japanese that it is often joked about by locals as a language all on its own. Despite these and other minor complaints, I had an amazing 5 years with lots of good friendships made, unique experiences had, and amazing food eaten. No matter how inaka your placements may be, there will be something worth experiencing if you only allow yourself to try living there.

A lot of the DON’Ts can be summarized as “don’t be That Person.” For long-time users in this sub, you may remember a certain eccentric individual (hereby referred to as That Person) whose username was based on a (in)famous yellow Pokémon.

edit: Formatting is hard. Maybe it looks better now?

DO's

• Be able to learn the garbage sorting rules as quickly as possible. Some neighbors can be a bit picky about how you do it the first few times, but they just want to make sure the neighborhood’s garbage is not skipped over/there are no rotting food smells permeating from a leftover garbage bag.
• Always be ready to try and experience what your area has to offer without judgement. Save your thoughts for after you try the food and drink, for example. A lot of these areas have ancient traditions that have been passed down for over 1000 years or more, and that has so much value you could experience first-hand.
• Really be open to criticism, even about yourself. Nobody is perfect, so take any criticisms on the chin, cry off the sadness if you need to, then take some time to consider from as an objective a position as you can why you were given that criticism. Growth is only possible if you be honest with yourself about yourself. It is difficult to do on your own after moving to a foreign country, yes. I am not saying you will do it immediately; however, I know that it is possible to get out of any ruts if you give yourself the emotional leeway to see your mistakes with an open mind and find a new method to approaching life.
• Be aware of your choice of clothing. If you struggle to find what is “appropriate,” copy what other teachers are wearing. Some teachers wear slacks and a tie, while others may opt for sweats and a t-shirt. No matter what they choose, it’s likely been given the okay by the principal and vice principal, so copy them. If only one teacher is wearing certain articles of clothing (slightly revealing top, stilettos, heavy make-up, etc.) and others don’t, maybe mark that as an outlier to what is acceptable.
• Any time you have a chance, join students in their club activities if you share their passion for sports or the arts. Boys will love having the foreigner from the 外国 to test their basketball skills on. The girls may want to show you how to write your name in kanji in their calligraphy club. No matter the case, just by being there and showing genuine interest in the activity, students will want to interact with you more. A personal anecdote: I was invited by a student to play tennis with him at his club in the evenings because I said I played tennis in my self-intro. That led to 5 years in the city tennis club, making friends and just keeping myself active with people in and out of my city. You can find something to share with the students and community if you are honest about your hobbies.
• Ride a bike or take the time to explore your town on foot. Not all roads are necessarily safe to walk on, but drivers are typically going to give you plenty of space as they go around you. Walking your neighborhood will clear a lot of the mystery in your first few months, so a lot of fear as to what is or isn’t there will disappear. It’s also a great way to see how locals live, and you might even run into some of your students on their day off. You’ll get to show your face to the town while you get to know the layout and the people. It’s like killing two birds with one stone!

DON'Ts

• As something that should be obvious, don’t treat your placement like crap. I mean this sincerely. If you are given an opportunity to go on the local radio station to introduce yourself to the town and to give your thoughts on the area, don’t start comparing it to Tokyo. No matter how rural your placement may be, that environment is a chance for you to grow as a person. There may be some serious medical reasons for not being able to tolerate life on a smaller island in Kyushu, for example. Barring such extreme circumstances, you should give the area a fair shot. This brings me to my next point:
• Seriously, don’t complain about the local food without trying any of it. That Person was known for complaining about food in the area not tasting as good as the food in Tokyo. When pressed for what they have eaten in the town, their answer was always, “nothing because I’m sure it wouldn’t hold a candle to what you can get in Tokyo.” They then continued to say they’ve had terrible food in Tokyo before, so there’s no way the food in their area could top that bad food. Sure, Karen. Whatever you say.
• Unfortunately, this needs to be said. Don’t message inappropriate stuff to your co-workers or even bring up anything inappropriate. It is sad that this even had to be sent out as an email to all of the JETs in their prefecture, but That Person has sent countless images with text alluding to male genitalia over 50 times to their co-JET, despite being asked to stop. On top of this, they made similar remarks / “jokes” about the same stuff during the yearly conference for JETs in their prefecture. Nobody felt comfortable being around That Person. Be professional, especially in a group chat.
• Cannot emphasize this enough, but don’t interact with students on social media. It is just a lot cleaner if you lock down your social media accounts so students can’t find them easily. That Person kept their Instagram open for anyone to message and exchanged some messages with a student. There are also students who just follow That Person’s accounts to make fun of them. There’s a deeper story there, but I’ll keep that out of this already long post.
• Know that you should absolutely not be *glued to your phone, ESPECIALLY AT WORK. If you’re at a meeting on your FIRST DAY with your BOE supervisor, and they have to tell you to get off your phone because you decided to pull it out during said meeting with sound ON, you need to reconsider a few things about your screen time. That Person did exactly this, and they made someone who is almost never visibly angry go red in the face from the disrespect. Yes, you’ll find some teachers on their phone during break at school but notice how they put it down and out of sight when they work. Also, trying to hide that you are on your phone by standing a book up on your desk is elementary school level effort.
• Slamming books or shouting at students, especially in elementary school is NOT something you should EVER do. You are an ALT, not the T1 (hopefully), and as such, it is not your job to scold students or scare them into participating in your activities. That Person was known for doing this to the point that the 5^th and 6^th grade female students would hide in the toilet during the short break before classes, trying to reduce the amount of time they have to interact with That Person. It got THAT bad, and the BOE was forced to find out the truth behind it, leading to That Person being let go.
• At any workplace, you shouldn’t half-ass your work, especially when all you’ve been asked to do is lead a 10-minute warm-up session. It shouldn’t be stressful, even if you’ve never taught children before. You can even make it fun for yourself by including your hobbies in the activity, but don’t make it a PowerPoint presentation on your last vacation abroad. The kids are only with you for 10 minutes. Make it more interesting for them.
• Spending no time to read the documents your contracting organization sends you before you fly out is a horrible idea. There may be a lot to go through, but gosh darn it, you must have graduated from university to get this position. You’re reading comprehension should be good enough to parse through some simple documentation on your placement. This can include: upfront costs, what to bring, how much cash to have ready for the first month, what to expect in the first few months as you get acclimated to the job and area, etc. Taking at least a quick glance at the bullet points would prevent a situation like not having the cash to pay for the initial moving-in costs for your apartment. Yeah, that happened. That Person cried. Things worked out (somehow).
• Splurging when you get your paychecks and not saving anything is a great way to be broke by the end of your time on JET. Come on, you need to be a self-sustaining adult. That means you’ll have to pay bills on your own, go shopping, cook, clean, etc. Just because you think you can get a good deal on the latest gaming device, if you won’t have enough money to pay for a bill after buying the device, maybe don’t buy it? You can find another good deal later after you’ve saved up a bit more. You’ll also need some savings to cover the moving out/moving in costs for when you leave your area. Adulting is hard, but it’s worth learning while on JET as it is a lot more financially safe to make mistakes.

TL;DR

Learn how to be an adult that can take care of themselves at a basic level. If this job is your first time living alone, take that as your opportunity to really experience life from a different angle and grow as a person from there. There are so many opportunities to be had in a new environment, especially, in a country as unique as Japan™︎. There are many stories from current and previous JETs in this sub that talk about how much fun they have in their rural placements, something That Person could never learn to do no matter what they say online. May all the new and aspiring JETs find something worth sharing in their placements and remember: Don’t be like That Person!

Hello, does anyone have experience with the online visa renewal process?

A while ago, I did the online visa renewal application and today I just received the email about sending the payment and other documents. I'm a bit confused on what documents I should be sending. Honestly, I kind of regret choosing to mail the payment instead of just going to the office to pay, but oh well, that's in the past.

I know about the online fee of 5500 yen, but the email also states a fee for the certificate of eligibility too which is 1600 yen. The wording of the email is a bit weird, do I need a stamp for this too? For background info, I am renewing my 3 year Instructor visa. So I will attach a total of 7100 yen in revenue stamps? I just want to make sure, so I'm not making any mistakes.

Also, it says to send in my current residence card, and certificate of designation currently held by the applicant. Might be a silly question, but what is the certificate of designation? Is it the page in my passport from when I first arrived? The email says not to send in my passport so how do I go about sending this page?

Any advice from those who have done the online application would be greatly appreciated! Thank you so much!

I'm a highschool JET, but for one hour a week I've been asked to do an eikaiwa with some local elementary schoolers on a voluntary basis (I get a stipend of 1k per lesson to cover supplies). I'm not inexperienced with this age range, but it's definitely not my strong suite so the first few months I was still trying to get my footing and also trying to figure out what the organizer actually wanted from me. I still don't quite know exactly what they want or what the previous ALTs did, the only thing I've conjured out of them is that they played Go Fish and Simon Says a few times.

The group is incredibly mixed and I think that in the past, it was actually more focused on the adults involved in the group. Most of the adults bring their kids and the only one who didn't has stopped coming (my bad, I thought it was for kids). The kids range from 5 (not yet in ES) to 13 (just started JHS) and there's about 5-8 of them at any given day. There are huge gaps of knowledge between the kids which don't always correspond to their ages. Sometimes their little siblings also tag along and wander around the classroom throughout the lesson.

My lessons normal consist of reading a picture book and then doing an activity based on the book. For example, recently we read "Hey Buddy, Which One?" and then we played a variation on "Would you rather..." My problem is that two of the older kids, who are friends, won't stop talking and one of them will even mock what I've said to them all throughout the lesson. I can understand that they don't enjoy the class but I'm really struggling to make lessons that everyone can engage with. I've tried different classroom management styles, for example calling on them to give examples to give them something to engage with or giving them the silent stare. The problem is that there are a ton of other adults present and particularly with the silent stare, I feel like they destroy my authority by telling them off in Japanese, but still to no avail. They other kids want to engage with the lesson but it feels like either we waste time wrangling these two or we just ignore them, and neither option feels good. Recently, the organizer also said that I have to make the students repeat what I'm reading from the picture book, which I think has brought on the mocking from the one student (he repeats from the book in a mocking voice). I don't agree with this because I think listening to a book should be about understanding the book and having fun with it. I can't do funny voices or do proper inflections because they have to be able to copy what I say. Very annoyed about this one (kind of off topic).

What I've tried so far:

• the silent stare (but get interrupted by other adults)
• tempting them with a game they really like but only if they are engaged for the first part of the lesson (I did follow through when they weren't engaged, but then the parents said that it'll make the other kids sad if they're expecting a game and they don't get one)
• doing a very active game (this one works ok-ish because they'll actually do the game properly, but they will still talk through the instructions and I've had a hard time getting there to be much speaking involved)
• telling them to be quiet or putting my finger to my lips (they ignore me)
• involving them in the instructions by having them do an example (I don't love this one because it feels like one of those evil teacher things where when they know you haven't been paying attention, they call on you. At the very least, I still guide them through the motions of the game and I try not to be exasperated.)
• talking to the grandfather of the mocking kid (he just tells them to be quiet, and they are for maybe 20 seconds or so and then they're back to talking)

Recently I thought maybe I should try to go out of my way to praise them more, to help give them an identity other than trouble maker, but other than that I'd really like to hear what other people think would be good next steps to regain control of the classroom.

My spouse got assigned to Saga and I was wondering if anyone has any information about the Prefecture? Anything from the last 3-4 year or more recent would be great!

Thank you!

Don't really know how else to start off this post other than by saying I am interested in being apart of the JET program. I am an undergraduate student pursuing a business bachelors and am graduating this December. My major is not really something I chose out of passion and I don't really have anything lined up post graduation. Some background is that I have been trying to teach myself Japanese whenever I find spare time but have only really gotten as far as learning hiragana and katakana and getting through the first 3 lessons of Genki N5. Ive been to Japan twice for two week short term trips with my college at a sister university and have greatly enjoyed those experiences. I find that after these trips my passion to learn the Japanese language and understand the culture grows significantly. I was recommended by my professor to check out the JET program and so now I am just looking for resources. I also don't have much tying me down in the US so taking a step towards applying for this opportunity just feels like the most clear path for me at the moment. My main reasons for wanting to apply are because I really enjoy the language exchange and by the end id like to be conversationally fluent in Japanese and maybe even see a bit more of Japan when I can. I guess I am mostly looking for people to talk to about the program with and get some semblance of mentorship. So with that being said is there any type of discord for applicants? Id appreciate any input!

I'm really sorry if this isn't the correct sub for this, I just figured that it made sense to ask here since I could get more testimonials from previous ALTs. Thanks for reading!

Hi! I'm sort of at a crossroads about what to do with my life and I'd appreciate any inputs I can get from people in this sub who may have been in a similar situation.

For background, I'm a 22 year old and I graduated last year with a bachelor's degree in Computer Science. Because of the current tech landscape, I've been utterly unsuccessful in finding a job and I fear it will only get worse over time, so I'm considering applying to the JET program or being an ALT for the 2027 school intake.

Even though I would consider myself a native English speaker, I'm from India which limits my possibilities quite a bit. I did get my bachelor's from the US though, and I'm currently learning Japanese (I hope to reach N4 by the end of the year). I'm worried that I might not easily get a teaching job because of my nationality, so I would appreciate any advice or testimonials I can get from non-American ALTs :>

Assuming I get the teaching job, I plan to do an online masters alongside it - I'm currently enrolled in a degree for finance as I want more in my background besides tech.

Anyway, my real issue is - I'd like to stay in Japan long term. I wouldn't want to teach English or go into teaching as my main job, and I'd like to treat this 1-2 years of teaching English as a "gap year" of sorts to help me stay productive and give me something to do.

Is it possible/feasible to get into internships during the summer when I'm not teaching so I can gain experience?
Furthermore, how difficult is it to transition from teaching to a different role/industry overall? I've heard that ALTing can be a black mark on my resume, so I plan to work on personal projects and my masters' degree so I can keep myself in touch with my skills.
Another common point I hear is that to get a job in Japan, I need to be at least N2 level in Japanese, which I hope I can achieve by staying there and learning the language.

Thank you so much for your time!

Hello! UK JET flying from LDN here. I selected the option to have my passport posted back to me and I was wondering if anyone knows around what date we receive our passports back. Purely curiosity (and anxiety of it being lost but that is my intrusive thoughts lol).

Do they send a general email once it’s been posted? I have the tracking number. I’m assuming it’s next week but just wanted to see if anyone had any input or if they get in contact. Thank you :)