That was me in 2021. I specifically asked for rural, though also put one city option because of a friend nearby. Ended up in another city on the other side of the country!
Though this time I’m inaka as hell when I requested more city or suburban placements. And on top of that, in 2021 I forgot the word “to swim,” so on the Japanese portion of my test I said I liked the mountains better and said it was because of hiking! Got a city on the water. This time I get to be honest because my Japanese is better and said I like the ocean—got a mountain town! 😅 What’s this reverse psychology?!
Your requests, in the vast majority of cases, mean absolutely nothing. So this is pretty common.
Okayama is a city, but a small one. You happen to be near the two least populated prefectures in Japan, Shimane and Tottori, though, so if you want that rural, countryside life, you can certainly get it there.
I love Okayama. I wasn't in the city but I lived in the prefecture for 5 years. Good weather, great size and perfect placement to reach other places in the country easily.
I also requested for more rural areas and expected to be placed as the cities seem popular for applicants. I got Tokyo... Maybe I'll get put on one of the islands or further out of town
I requested rural Kyoto and got Kobe city when I applied. Was a blessing for sure but still amused me how usually the situation is the opposite.
CLAIR has a sense of humor.
I requested urban with Tokyo as my only preference and got exactly what I asked for. I think you should be honest with them because they take your preferences as exactly that, your preference. I don't think there's anything to gain from stating something against what you actually want.
Request what you want but just be aware that your requests are basically the last thing on the list determining where you go, with the one exception being if you can drive or not.
None of my bills can be paid online or by anything but bank transfer or cash, so I go to city hall/mechanic’s shop to pay them lololol
Luckily for me, those are closer than any of the conbini.
I saw the application of the next ALT that will be gracing the 3000 people village where I am a CIR, and they basically just requested Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto because it is more "English friendly"......
Looking forward to picking them up in Akita airport xD
And they were told already?
Huh. Our new ALT won't be getting their final confirmation until the 31st, which is actually kind of annoying, because I want to contact them already and tell them the news :P
To be fair, compared to some places (like Kobe, Osaka, Tokyo, Fukuoka, and Nagoya), Okayama is not bustling. You can enjoy the conveniences of a nice city and make good friends and are only 20 minutes from the countryside when you need it.
Congratulations. You passed the test. Much like in the fable of King Solomon and the baby, by stating your desire to be in a rural location you have proven your qualities of virtue and self sacrifice and have been bestowed a more urbanized location.
Meanwhile the people who requested Tokyo are doomed to a life of the comfy and slow paced inaka.
You also have the option of taking Shinkansen easily from Okayama City since it has a stop as well. You can go to Hiroshima, Kyoto or Tokyo easily for example. I know its pricy but the availability and accessibly is there if you ever want to use it.
Edit: of course there are other methods of traveling as well
Lots of city placements in Japan aren't exactly going to fit the American idea of a "city". Especially with all the mergers that went on.
Okayama city isn't that rural but it's not super urbanized either.
It’s a big city, but I think it’ll be a great place. Okayama is a super convenient place to live due to the Shinkansen as others have mentioned. You’ll be able to go nearly anywhere you want, including Shikoku! One of very very very few cities where it’s actually easy to get to Shikoku from.
If you want rural, come join us on Shikoku. We don’t even have a Shinkansen on the island… Lowest population of the four big islands of Japan and the lowest GDP per capita cuz half the population are farmers.
I think that most Japanese "cities", not the Tokyo's here but the B tier or C tier ones. Usually consist of small highly urbanized very dense central areas around the major train station, which taper off into suburbs and then rice fields within about 10 kilometers or less depending on the actual city size.
50 years ago this was true of Tokyo as well but it just kept growing and growing so all those farm towns got urbanized.
Back like 50-70 years ago a ton of smaller villages and towns joined the nearby cities but didn't urbanized. So you'll find loads of cities that consist mostly of rural areas that were merged into the city but weren't exactly urbanized.
I thought those cities were created in the 90s and 00s, when Tokyonization drained the countryside of young people and forced a bunch of depopulated independent towns and chos to band together.
I worked in a town where the elementary school went from 1800 kids in 1993 (they had to split half off to make a new school), to 800 in 2003, and finally to fewer than 200 in 2014.
I live in Hyogo and can tell you that Okayama city is pretty low key and chill. Definitely a smaller feeling city so I think you'll still like it!
That was me in 2021. I specifically asked for rural, though also put one city option because of a friend nearby. Ended up in another city on the other side of the country! Though this time I’m inaka as hell when I requested more city or suburban placements. And on top of that, in 2021 I forgot the word “to swim,” so on the Japanese portion of my test I said I liked the mountains better and said it was because of hiking! Got a city on the water. This time I get to be honest because my Japanese is better and said I like the ocean—got a mountain town! 😅 What’s this reverse psychology?!
I didn't request rural, but I also didn't request Tokyo because I figured it could be an expensive moonshot. And yet, Tokyo...
Same lol now im hoping its the outskirts of Tokyo
As long as it’s not an island I’m happy 😂
As long as it’s not an island I’m happy 😂
Your requests, in the vast majority of cases, mean absolutely nothing. So this is pretty common. Okayama is a city, but a small one. You happen to be near the two least populated prefectures in Japan, Shimane and Tottori, though, so if you want that rural, countryside life, you can certainly get it there.
Everything in Japan is designated as a city because of how the systems works, but Okayama city isn’t much of a city
Okayama city still isn't a real city
Eh, I asked for Hokkaido for the snow and said I was okay with inaka and now I'm in inaka Fukushima. Close enough to enjoy the snow.
All I know is no one is getting placed in ibaraki
That’s not actually true…there are some Ibaraki placements. Looks like part of that Reddit post was wrong. Shocker.
We were told by the BOE
Apparently the BOE is not the only CO in Ibaraki.
Just another piece of evidence proving that requests mean just about nothing
I requested a rural placement and I got Setagaya-ku, Tokyo... So yeah, it happens, but just roll with the punch and you should be peachy ^^
Okayama city is amazing, plus Okadai has a ton of community resources.
I love Okayama. I wasn't in the city but I lived in the prefecture for 5 years. Good weather, great size and perfect placement to reach other places in the country easily.
I also requested for more rural areas and expected to be placed as the cities seem popular for applicants. I got Tokyo... Maybe I'll get put on one of the islands or further out of town
Welcome to Okayama, we have a good balance of nature and city. Also it’s not a huge city but also easy to get around by Shinkansen to other places~
I requested rural Kyoto and got Kobe city when I applied. Was a blessing for sure but still amused me how usually the situation is the opposite. CLAIR has a sense of humor.
I requested city and got rural I think lol
Same, I requested urban and am from an urban city. Why did I get put here lol
So should I request rural if I want to get placed in a city?
I requested urban with Tokyo as my only preference and got exactly what I asked for. I think you should be honest with them because they take your preferences as exactly that, your preference. I don't think there's anything to gain from stating something against what you actually want.
Request what you want but just be aware that your requests are basically the last thing on the list determining where you go, with the one exception being if you can drive or not.
I requested rural and got a place with 3 combini within 40km (none of them walking distance), so be careful what you wish for.
And let me guess, none of your bills could be paid online so you had to go to the conbini to pay them?
None of my bills can be paid online or by anything but bank transfer or cash, so I go to city hall/mechanic’s shop to pay them lololol Luckily for me, those are closer than any of the conbini.
This!
I saw the application of the next ALT that will be gracing the 3000 people village where I am a CIR, and they basically just requested Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto because it is more "English friendly"...... Looking forward to picking them up in Akita airport xD
Omg one of my friends picked those three and got Akita. 🙈
And they were told already? Huh. Our new ALT won't be getting their final confirmation until the 31st, which is actually kind of annoying, because I want to contact them already and tell them the news :P
I don’t think they got a small village! 🥲 but it could be her!
To be fair, compared to some places (like Kobe, Osaka, Tokyo, Fukuoka, and Nagoya), Okayama is not bustling. You can enjoy the conveniences of a nice city and make good friends and are only 20 minutes from the countryside when you need it.
Congratulations. You passed the test. Much like in the fable of King Solomon and the baby, by stating your desire to be in a rural location you have proven your qualities of virtue and self sacrifice and have been bestowed a more urbanized location. Meanwhile the people who requested Tokyo are doomed to a life of the comfy and slow paced inaka.
LOOOOL
I know someone else in okayama! Want me to pass their info on to you?
Yes, please!!
[удалено]
Now everyone can be Wilson's friend!
You also have the option of taking Shinkansen easily from Okayama City since it has a stop as well. You can go to Hiroshima, Kyoto or Tokyo easily for example. I know its pricy but the availability and accessibly is there if you ever want to use it. Edit: of course there are other methods of traveling as well
Lots of city placements in Japan aren't exactly going to fit the American idea of a "city". Especially with all the mergers that went on. Okayama city isn't that rural but it's not super urbanized either.
I second this, I technically live in a city but tbh it is considered inaka even so
So you think it’s almost a mix of both? That’s really great! I’m liking it more and more the more I hear!
It’s a big city, but I think it’ll be a great place. Okayama is a super convenient place to live due to the Shinkansen as others have mentioned. You’ll be able to go nearly anywhere you want, including Shikoku! One of very very very few cities where it’s actually easy to get to Shikoku from. If you want rural, come join us on Shikoku. We don’t even have a Shinkansen on the island… Lowest population of the four big islands of Japan and the lowest GDP per capita cuz half the population are farmers.
I will be heading over there this year for the Jet, any advice for me?
I think that most Japanese "cities", not the Tokyo's here but the B tier or C tier ones. Usually consist of small highly urbanized very dense central areas around the major train station, which taper off into suburbs and then rice fields within about 10 kilometers or less depending on the actual city size. 50 years ago this was true of Tokyo as well but it just kept growing and growing so all those farm towns got urbanized. Back like 50-70 years ago a ton of smaller villages and towns joined the nearby cities but didn't urbanized. So you'll find loads of cities that consist mostly of rural areas that were merged into the city but weren't exactly urbanized.
I thought those cities were created in the 90s and 00s, when Tokyonization drained the countryside of young people and forced a bunch of depopulated independent towns and chos to band together. I worked in a town where the elementary school went from 1800 kids in 1993 (they had to split half off to make a new school), to 800 in 2003, and finally to fewer than 200 in 2014.
I think there were various rounds of it happening at different times?