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Teach English in Japan,
Getting A TEFL and Shared Housing

by Kate
(United States of America)

Hi
I want to teach English in Japan, but I still have some questions. I plan to get the TEFL certification and apply for JET program right after college. Currently I'm trying to teach myself some Japanese.

Regarding housing, would I be still be able to get my own apartment rather than the one they set you up in if I wanted to?

I'm very interested in share houses. Would I be able to afford living in one that is 63,000-110,000 yen with an English teachers salary? What's the likelihood of being near a city? Can you request it? Your website is very helpful and answered a majority of my questions.

Thanks

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Getting A TEFL and Shared Housing

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Apr 17, 2018
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by: John

Hi Kate,

It sounds like you pretty much have a handle on things. Yes a TEFL certification will help you. In fact, The Jet program openly state it gives a bit of an advantage to you. You can read that article here

Regarding housing, usually getting your own apartment is not mandated. But because you are talking about the Jet Program that is a bit of a different story. Each B.O.E. at the Jet Program runs things differently.

The Japan Exchange and Teaching (JET) Program has offices in the Embassy of Japan and Consulates General of Japan throughout the United States. So you would need to contact the one nearest your location. https://jetprogramusa.org/contact-us/

Yes, you can request up to 3 locations with the JET Program. They can't and won't guarantee the location you requested.

Regarding share houses or guest houses. Yes you could easily afford a guest house. Generally they run about 50,000 yen per month on average. Some nicer ones will hit around 60,000. Private apartments are considered more desirable and so are more expensive than guest houses.

About being near a city, one thing that you need to keep in mind is that size is a relative thing. A city that is considered small in Japan can actually be quite large in the U.S. Remember Japan's population is about one-half the size of the U.S., yet it's all crammed into a space the size of California.

So even if you are in a more rural area, usually a 20 minute train ride will get you into a considerably larger area because of the speed of trains and how developed their mass transit system is.

Regarding learning Japanese our site has deals for learning Japanese cheaply via Japenese Pod 101 They have just loads of absolutely free content.

About saving money we have a breakdown page that goes into it pretty deeply Can a teacher save any money in Japan?
Hope this helps,
John

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