JET Update 8

Here is an excerpt from the e-mail from my predecessor (spelling errors are his):

"Congratulations

Greetings --,

Welcome from Kuroshio Town! Everyone is excited to have you come. You will find Kuroshio a warm and friendly town full of down to earth people. It is a fishing and farming community, surrounded by beautiful vistas and gorgeous mountains and beaches. As for work, you will be based at the town board of education (5 mins bike ride from your modern apartment). It’s a typical Japanese office, so everyone is very busy, but they are always willing to help you. You will be teaching at 5 schools: 4 elementary schools and 1 Junior high school and average about 16 lessons a week. Your role will be a mixture of teaching English, culture and getting involved in town events. Everyone is super friendly, so you will be greeted everywhere you go by the students, parents and locals who might have heard of you. I’m sure you will come to love Kuroshio Cho as much as I have.

...

You will be located in Kuroshio Cho (Town), Kochi Ken (Prefecture), which is in the island of Shikoku. Kuroshio, until 3 years ago, was two distinct towns called Saga and Ogata, but they were amalgamated to cut costs. While the official name is Kuroshio, everyone still uses Ogata and Saga. You will be living in an area called Irino, which is the ‘central hub’ of Ogata. There is another ALT who lives in Saga, --, who is really friendly and will be able to help you out all year long.

Kuroshio is a small beach town, famous for surfing, whale watching and its katsuo no tataki (a fish dish). It’s also really close to the Shimanto River, reputedly ‘the most beautiful river in Japan’. As it is right next to Shimanto City, the conveniences of a big city are close at hand, but you still get to experience small town community. Everyone in town is super friendly and laidback, the scenery is beautiful and the food is best (no where in Japan has fresher fish).

Kuroshio has a population of about 14,000, most of which falls into Ogata. Kuroshio actually covers a fairly large territory but it’s primarily on the coast, so it’s full of beaches. It has also has beautiful mountains, great for cycling. In the town there lots of Izakayas and other small restaurants, as well as one nice hotel called NEST that serves western food. There’s a supermarket, a convenience store and lots of little fruit and vegetable shops. There’s also a dollar store and a huge hardware store (near your apartment). There are lots of other stores, pharmacies and hair salons as well. In short, the bulk of your needs can be met in the town itself. The town is also home to Tosa-Irino, a major train stop on the Kuroshio-Line.

Nakamura (Shimanto City) is a 15 minute drive away. It’s the biggest city in western Kochi with a population of about 50,000. There are tons of bars, restaurants, stores and pretty much everything you will need. Any needs that can’t be met in Ogata, can easily be done there.　Its also the home the beautiful Shimanto river, which is great for walks, canoeing and other activities. Between Nakamura and Ogata, you can do just about any Japanese activity you want. You can do kendo, karate, pottery, calligraphy, tea ceremony, Japanese archery as well as outdoor pursuits: biking, kayaking, fishing, surfing, body boarding, running, tennis, soccer, swimming, walking. There is also a gym in Nakamura; it’s pretty run down, but very cheap at 50$ for 6 months.

Ogata is about 2-2.5 hours drive (or about 2 hours by train) from Kochi city. The closest airport is in Kochi, as well movie theatres (but you can rent tons of DVDs from Tsutaya, a 15 min drive from your apartment). The downside to Ogata is that it can be a bit quiet and you might find it a bit lonely at times. Additionally Kochi is one of the most remote prefectures in Japan so travel is a bit difficult. That being said, I never got lonely, in large part because the KOCHI JETS have a really close knit community, especially in and around Nakamura. Additionally because Ogata is the home of 7km stretch of white beach called Irino Beach, lots of jets come to visit..."

47 days left!