So you got Tokyo?[]
"Wait!" you squeak, "I thought getting Tokyo was impossible on the JET Program!"
It's true! For the majority of the JET Program's nearly 40 year life, Tokyo has been largely considered off-limits. But in 2014, in preparation for the Tokyo Olympics in 2020, the JET Program saw a rapid expansion in Tokyo. Within the span of 2 years, the number of JET participants in the capital city increased from a mere 10 people to nearly 400!!
Grand sprawling cityscapes, iconic big city lights, impressive diverse modern crowds – in many ways, the Tokyo JET experience is unlike any other that you will find in Japan. Whereas some of your friends from Keio Plaza orientation will be shipped off to the isolated rural areas of the country where their living arrangements and pastimes are limited, Tokyo JETs have the unique ability to customize nearly everything about their new lives abroad.
You will have the luxury of choosing your own apartment or share house, which you can furnish and decorate to suit your personal taste. (No trashy futons leftover from 7 years ago!) Your options for spending your free time are endless – sports, arts, social clubs, shopping, nightlife, travel, hiking, Geocaching, drift races, onsen, snake cafes – you can find almost anything your heart desires. Excited yet?
Not to mention Tokyo JETs have the largest social groups in the entire JET program with nearly 600 JET participants living all over the Tokyo Metropolitan area!
Over the coming months, we’ll be helping new JETs settle in and find banks, cell phones, internet, furnishings, etc. Once the hectic move-ins are complete, we’ll be holding social events for new and current JETs to meet.
Using this Wiki, we hope to provide you with the tools and information to facilitate your smooth relocation to Japan. Please take your time in reviewing the materials and feel free to contact us if you have any questions.
Understanding Your Placement Announcement[]
Dear Ms./Mr./Etc. Awesome Coolperson,
Congratulations on your placement in the 20XX-XX JET Program!
- Name: Awesome Coolperson
- JET ID Number: ##########
- Placement: 〇〇〇 (〇〇〇), 東京都 (Tokyo-to)
So you've gotten your placement email or letter! That's why you're at this Wiki, right? It probably looks something like the above. The "〇〇〇" part of the email is going to tell you who your Contracting Organization is.
- if it says "Tokyo-to", you're a Public School JET with the Tokyo Board of Education
- if it says "Musashimurayama-shi", you're a Public School JET with the Musashimurayama Board of Education
- if it says anything else, it's your school name (Google Maps that, yo!) You're under Shigaku Zaidan (Metropolitan Foundation for Private Schools) as a Private School JET.
If you're a Public School JET, you will not have received your school yet. Unfortunately this takes time within the BOE, so a letter will be sent at a later date.
Important Contacts[]
While you are preparing to arrive, feel free to contact any of the following Tokyo JET volunteers who are ready to support your move!
- Social Media
- Join and follow social media to stay up-to-date and get connected with the Tokyo JET community! We have a very active discord and LINE chat that are currently invite only. Please message or email a PA or a TJET Committee Member. We also have Facebook groups for Tokyo JETs and Private School JETs so be sure to join!
This sounds exciting! But also I'm freaking out. Where do I begin?[]
Don't worry. It's a big change and it can absolutely be stressful but take comfort in the fact that several hundred JETs have made it through this process now -- you'll make it through, too! Next, please read the Entry Timeline page.
- READ FIRST
- Introduction
- Grand Tokyo Entry Timeline <<Read Next
- HOUSING
- SETTING UP
- WORK
- SUPPORT
Video Series[]
Also check out this Multi-part Video Panel from 2016-2017 JETs about the JET Program in Tokyo!
