Japan

"I ended up teaching English at a language school in Tokyo, which was a lot of fun. Also in Japan they have community centers that offer free Japanese classes so I went to a few of those every week. I met a lot of great people through the school, the community center and through my host family, and I'm already planning on returning to Tokyo next summer. I got a chance to climb Mt. Fuji, which is something that was pretty cool. I really enjoyed the amount of free time that the program gave me." - Steve, Japan OET

Programs Available: Overseas English Tutor

We currently have immediate needs for OET's in the following cities: Kawasaki, Mie-ken, Nishinomiya, and Tokyo.

Overview | Culture | Sightseeing | History | Getting Around | Money Matters | Support | Map

Overview:

Japan is situated in northeastern Asia between the North Pacific and the Sea of Japan. The area of Japan is nearly the same size as California, but is home to 4 times as many people. Today Japan consists of a chain of islands (four major ones and some 3900 small ones) riding a 1860-mile arc of mountains, the tallest of which is the perfectly symmetrical Mt. Fuji (12,385ft). Many of these mountains are volcanic, blessing the islands with numerous hot springs and spectacular scenery, but at the same time bringing the danger of earthquakes and tsunami. Japan has the dubious distinction of being one of the most seismically active regions of the world. It is calculated that the country gets around 1000 earthquakes a year, most of them too small to notice.

Japan is a land of contrasts and not easily understood on a short visit. First impressions may be of huge, neon cities and crowded trains. While this exists, there is a subtle tranquil quality of Japanese life that can only be discovered through the experience of a longer stay. The city streets and subway floors are clean and safe. The people are polite and friendly. And most things are efficient and accessible.

If the city is too overwhelming, a short train ride delivers you to the serenity of the countryside and the treasures of mountains, temples, and farmland. Life slows down and you feel worlds away from the busy city. In the countryside one experiences the simplicity of farming life, traditional arts and crafts, and natural beauty. No matter where you travel in Japan you are sure to experience warm and generous hospitality, an amazing transportation network, and something special and different from what you expect.

Winters are cool and sunny in the south, cold and sunny around Tokyo (which occasionally has snow), and very cold around Hokkaido, which is covered in snow for up to four months a year. Summer, between June and September, ranges from warm to very hot, while spring and autumn are generally mild throughout the country. Rain falls throughout the year but June and early July is the main rainy season. Hokkaido, however, is much drier than the Tokyo area. Rainfall is intermittent with sunshine. Typhoons are only likely to occur in September or October but rarely last more than a day. Average temperatures range from the low 30s-40s in the winter, to the upper 70s-80s in the summertime.

Population: 127 million.
Capital City: Tokyo.
People: Japanese (including indigenous Ainu & Okinawans), Korean.
Language: Japanese.
Religion: Shinto, Buddhism, Christianity.

Culture:

Until the 19th century, the main influences on Japanese art came from China and Korea, but a distinct Japanese aesthetic was present from early on. There is a fascination with the ephemeral (such as in ikebana, the art of flower arrangement), with the unadorned, and with forms that echo the randomness of nature. A gift for caricature is also present, from early Zen ink paintings right up to the manga (comics) of contemporary Japan.

The Japanese aesthetic is writ large in its architecture, from graceful Shinto shrines and Buddhist temples, to elaborate castles and practical gossamer-thin houses (built to keep cool in summer and to crumple lightly in earthquakes). Precise physical composition is also evident in Japanese gardens, meticulously planned no matter how haphazard they may look.

Eating is half the fun of being in Japan, and the adventurous eater will be delighted to know that Japanese food is far more than the sushi, tempura and sukiyaki for which it is best known in other countries. With the exception of shokudō (all-round eateries) and izakaya (the equivalent of a pub with meals), most Japanese restaurants specialize in one type of cuisine. In a cook-it-yourself okonomiyaki restaurant, diners choose a mixture of meat, seafood and vegetables to fry up in a cabbage and vegetable batter; a robatayaki is a rustic drinking restaurant specializing in charcoal grills. There are a variety of cook-at-your-table restaurants where you'll end up eating sukiyaki (thinly sliced beef, vegetables and tofu cooked in broth), shabu-shabu (beef and veggies cooked by swirling them in broth and then dipped in sauces) or nabemono (a participatory soup, with each diner dipping ingredients from trays of prepared raw food). It's possible to eat relatively cheaply by sticking to humble shokudō, or eating bentōs (boxed lunches) or teishoku (set meals) from cheaper restaurants or cafeteria-style places.

Drinking is the glue that holds Japanese society together. It is practiced by almost every adult, male or female, and a good number of teenagers. Beer is the favorite tipple of the Japanese and it's dispensed everywhere from vending machines to temple lodgings. Sake (rice wine) is served warm or cold, with the warm stuff especially likely to go straight to your head. Sake hangovers are memorable, so drink carefully. Japanese green tea contains a lot of vitamin C and caffeine. It's very healthy and refreshing and is said by some to prevent cancer.

Pop music is massive in Japan: indigenous groups usually feature a gorgeous lead singer of irrelevant talents. Girl punk groups have recently been getting a good airing in the hungry world of indie music.

The two most famous Japanese performance traditions are kabuki (melodramatic, spectacular theatre) and nō (formal, masked theatre), both of which can be seen in Tokyo, Kyoto and Osaka. Ancient Japanese gagaku uses drums and Japanese instruments resembling the lute, plucked zither, oboe and flute.

Sightseeing:

Daisetsuzan National Park

Japan's largest national park is in central Hokkaido, the northernmost and second largest of Japan's islands. The park, which consists of several mountain groups, volcanoes, lakes and forests, is spectacular hiking and skiing territory.

Kirishima National Park

Kirishima is known for its superb mountain scenery, hot springs, the impressive Senriga-taki waterfall and spring wildflowers. The day walk from Ebino-kōgen village to the summits of a string of volcanoes is one of the finest volcanic hikes in Japan.

Shorter walks include a stroll around a series of volcanic lakes - Rokkannon Mi-ike has the most intense deep blue-green color. The southern view from the summit of Karakuni-dake is superb: on a clear day you can see Kagoshima, the nearest large city, and the smoking cone of Sakurajima Volcano.

Kyoto

Kyoto, with its hundreds of temples and gardens, was the imperial capital between 794 and 1868, and remains the cultural centre of Japan. Its raked pebble gardens, sensuously contoured temple roofs and latter-day geishas fulfill the Japanese fantasy of every Western cliché hunter.

Mt. Fuji

Japan's highest mountain (12,385 feet) is a perfectly symmetrical volcanic cone which last blew its top in 1707, covering the streets of Tokyo (62 miles away) with volcanic ash. It's sometimes visible from Tokyo but is more often shrouded by cloud or, in winter, capped off by snow.

While you can climb Mt Fuji at any time of year, a midwinter ascent is strictly for veteran mountaineers. The climbing season is in July and August. It's a serious climb, just high enough for altitude sickness and the weather can be viciously changeable.

Nagasaki

Nagasaki is a busy and colorful city, but its unfortunate fate as the second atomic bomb target obscures its fascinating early history of contact with the Portuguese and Dutch. The chilling A-Bomb Museum and Hypocentre Park are evocative reminders of the horror of nuclear destruction.

As a solemn anniversary, a bell in the turtle-shaped Fukusai-ji, a Zen temple, tolls at 11:02am daily, the time of the explosion. One of the world's biggest Foucault pendulums (a device which demonstrates the rotation of the earth) hangs inside the temple.

Noto-Hanto Peninsula

For an enjoyable combination of rugged seascapes, traditional rural life and a light diet of cultural sights, this peninsula is highly recommended. The wild, unsheltered western side of the peninsula is of most interest, as it is less developed than the indented eastern coastline.

History:

Early History

Japan's earliest settlers were fishers, hunters and gatherers who traversed the land bridges from Korea to the west and Siberia to the north. By AD 300, the sun-worshipping Yamato kingdom had loosely unified the nation through conquest and alliance. Buddhism was introduced to Japan in the year 538 or 552 and was promoted by the ruling class. Rivalry between Buddhism and Shinto, the traditional religion of Japan, was diffused by presenting Shinto deities as manifestations of Buddha.

The feudal centuries can be split into five main periods. The Kamakura Period (1185-1333) saw repeated invasions by Kublai Khan's Mongol armies. Japan managed to stave off the Mongols, but a weakened leadership lost the support of the samurai. Emperor Go-Daigo presided over the beginning of the Muromachi Period (1333-1576), until a revolt masterminded by the disgruntled warrior Ashikaga Takauji saw him flee to the hills. Ashikaga and his descendants ruled with gradually diminishing efficiency and Japan slipped into civil war and chaos. The various factions were pacified and unified during the Momoyama Period (1576-1600) by Oda Nobunaga and his successor Toyotomi Hideyoshi. The quick spread of Christianity during the Christian Century (1543-1640) was tolerated at first, then ferociously quashed as the interloping religion came to be seen as a threat. During the Tokugawa Period (1600-1867), Tokugawa Ieyasu defeated Hideyoshi's young heir and set up his headquarters at Edo (now Tokyo). The emperor continued to exercise purely nominal authority in Kyoto while the Tokugawa family led Japan into a period of national seclusion. Japanese were forbidden to travel overseas or to trade abroad and foreigners were placed under strict supervision.

19th century

By the turn of the 19th century, the Tokugawa government was stagnant and corrupt. Foreign ships started to probe Japan's isolation with increasing insistence, and famine and poverty weakened support for the government. In 1868 the ruling shōgun, Tokugawa Yoshinobu, resigned and Emperor Meiji resumed control of state affairs, seeing Japan through a crash course in Westernization and industrialization. In 1889 Japan created a Western-style constitution, the tenets of which seeped into national consciousness along with a swing back to traditional values. Conflicts of interests in Korea between China and Japan led to the Sino-Japanese War in 1894-95. Japan defeated China, received Taiwan, but was forced by Russia, France and Germany to return other territories. The so called Triple Intervention caused the Japanese army and navy to intensify their rearmament.

WWI - WWII

In the First World War, Japan joined the Allied powers, but played only a minor role in fighting German colonial forces in East Asia. At the following Paris Peace Conference of 1919, Japan's proposal of amending a "racial equality clause" to the covenant of the League of Nations was rejected by the United States, Britain and Australia. Arrogance and racial discrimination towards the Japanese had plagued Japanese-Western relations since the forced opening of the country in the 1800s, and were again a major factor for the deterioration of relations in the decades preceding World War 2. In 1924, for example, the US Congress passed the Exclusion Act that prohibited further immigration from Japan.

In July 1937, the second Sino-Japanese War broke out. A small incident was soon made into a full scale war by the Kwantung army which acted rather independently from a more moderate government. The Japanese forces succeeded in occupying almost the whole coast of China and committed severe war atrocities on the Chinese population, especially during the fall of the capital Nanking. However, the Chinese government never surrendered completely, and the war continued on a lower scale until 1945. In 1940, Japan occupied French Indochina (Vietnam) upon agreement with the French Vichy government, and joined the Axis powers Germany and Italy. These actions intensified Japan's conflict with the United States and Great Britain which reacted with an oil boycott. The resulting oil shortage and failures to solve the conflict diplomatically made Japan decide to capture the oil rich Dutch East Indies (Indonesia) and to start a war with the US and Great Britain. In December 1941, Japan attacked the Allied powers at Pearl Harbor and several other points throughout the Pacific. Japan was able to expand her control over a large territory that expanded to the border of India in the West and New Guinea in the South within the following six months. The turning point in the Pacific War was the battle of Midway in June 1942. From then on, the Allied forces slowly won back the territories occupied by Japan. In 1944, intensive air raids started over Japan. In spring 1945, US forces invaded Okinawa in one of the war's bloodiest battles. On July 27, 1945, the Allied powers requested Japan in the Potsdam Declaration to surrender unconditionally, or destruction would continue. However, the military did not consider surrendering under such terms, partially even after US military forces dropped two atomic bombs on Hiroshima and Nagasaki on August 6 and 9, and the Soviet Union entered the war against Japan on August 8. On August 14, however, Emperor Showa finally decided to surrender unconditionally.

Post-WWII

After World War II had ended, Japan was devastated. All the large cities (with the exception of Kyoto), the industries and the transportation networks were severely damaged. A severe shortage of food continued for several years. The occupation of Japan by the Allied Powers started in August 1945 and ended in April 1952. General MacArthur was its first Supreme Commander. The whole operation was mainly carried out by the United States.

Japan basically lost all the territory acquired after 1894. In addition, the Kurile islands were occupied by the Soviet Union, and the Ryukyu Islands, including Okinawa, were controlled by the USA. Okinawa was returned to Japan in 1972, however a territorial dispute with Russia concerning the Kurile Islands has not been resolved yet.

With the arrival of the 1990s, the old certainties seemed to vanish: Japan's legendary economic growth slowed to a virtual standstill; the conservative Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) was swept out of power and then back in again the next year; a massive earthquake in 1995 brought Kobe to its knees (a disaster made worse by a government that was slow to react); and to top it off, a millennial cult with doomsday ambitions engineered a poison gas attack on the Tokyo subway system.

Things began to look up with the appointment of Keizo Obuchi, who took over after Prime Minister Hashimoto was ousted by a voter backlash over the shrinking economy. Obuchi ushered in a few brief years of economic vitality, but the job took its toll and he died while still in office from a massive stroke. His successor, LDP stalwart Yoshiro Mori, held the dubious honor of possessing the lowest approval rating of any leader in recent Japanese history, until he announced his resignation in early April 2001. Mori's successor was the eccentric Junichiro Koizumi, who brought a beguiling mix of nationalism and reform to Japan's top job. His energies seem to be paying off: Japan's economy is ever-so-slowly climbing out of its deflationary hole in the ground.

Getting Around:

Flying is an efficient way to travel from the main islands to any of the small islands, and is often not much more expensive than going by rail. Check whether you qualify for discounts - there are some weird and wonderful ones (for example JAL offers discounts for three or more women traveling together). Train is the way to travel in Japan. The trains are fast, frequent, clean, comfortable and often very expensive. Services range from small local lines to the shinkansen super-expresses, or 'bullet trains', which have become a symbol of modern Japan. Shinkansen reach speeds of up to 300km/h (186mi/h), are spookily efficient and can be traveled on with one of Japan's few travel bargains, the Japan Rail Pass. Japan Rail Passes must be pre-purchased overseas and are valid for almost all Japan Rail services. Intercity buses are generally slower than trains, but they are markedly cheaper.

Driving in Japan is much more feasible than it's normally made out to be. Driving in Tokyo isn't recommended for visitors, but in other urban centers the roads are fairly well signposted in English. Gas, while expensive, is not prohibitively so, and parking is not as difficult to find as popular mythology suggests. Traffic in Japan moves on the left.

Exploring Japan by bicycle is perfectly feasible. The secret of enjoyable touring is to get off the busy main highways and onto the minor routes. Ferries are an excellent way of seeing parts of Japan you might otherwise miss. The most dense network of ferry routes connects Kyūshū, Shikoku and the southern coast of western Honshū, across the waters of the Inland Sea. Ferries also connect the mainland islands with the many smaller islands off the coast and those dotted down to Okinawa and beyond to Taiwan.

Local transport is generally efficient. The largest cities have subway systems, which are the fastest and most convenient way to get around. Almost every Japanese city will have a bus service, but many foreigners find buses difficult to use. Trams, which operate in a number of cities, are easier to negotiate. Taxis are convenient but expensive.

Money Matters:

Japan has a strong cash culture, and it is usual to see people carrying large amounts of cash with them because of the low crime rate. Most major credits are accepted just about everywhere.

Japan is probably the most expensive country in the world for travel, but there are ways of keeping the outlays to a just-about bearable level. Long-distance travel is a real budget buster in Japan - if you intend to travel around to different places, it's well worth investing in a Japan Rail Pass. A cheap meal will still cost you roughly $5-7 and an average meal could set you back as much as $25. There is little tipping or bargaining in Japan.

Support During Your Placement:

We will be available to give you any support, advice, or guidance you may need with any issues. There will always be an emergency number for you to contact. Our aim is to ensure that you have a happy and successful experience during your stay in Japan.