Welcome to Japan! (Almost)

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Hello hello, and welcome to my blog, JellyInJapan! I’m writing this as much for me as I am for you - For me, this will serve as a place to keep pictures, video, and stories, all together electronically; For you, this is either a) a way to follow my travels, if you are friend or family, or b) a guide to the JET Program, from application through my trip home, my adventures in school as well as my travels across Japan and east Asia (hopefully).

Earlier this week I was informed that I will be in Okayama-shi (岡山市), also known as Okayama City, the capital of Okayama-ken, or Okayama Prefecture. It's set on the Inland Sea, near Hiroshima, Osaka, and the island of Shikoku.
Okayama on Wikipedia
Japanese prefectures are roughly the equivalent of American states, or counties: self-governing areas that control smaller cities or municipalities, that themselves report to the national government. Okayama City itself is a Designated City, meaning that as a city of more than 500,000 residents, it acts for itself, rather than waiting for total governance from the Prefecture. It also contains wards, or smaller districts, instead of cities. There are currently only 19 Designated Cities within Japan, and JET sends around 300 ALTs to only 18 of these- That’s only about 7%!o(MISSING)f all ALTs! So I seem to be in a rare situation, one that I intend to make the most of, and share with all of you.

ALTs, for those of you who don’t know or have forgotten, are Assistant Language Teachers, in the JET, or Japanese Exchange and Teaching, Program. I’ll be sent to a school (could be any age level, public or private, could even be multiple schools), where I will assist a JTE (Japanese Teacher of English) in the classroom, doing everything from making lesson plans and playing games, to being the native tape recorder, working on pronunciation.

I leave July 31st, arrive in Tokyo August 1st, and then spend the first 3 days at Tokyo Orientation, before heading to the Land of Peaches and Grapes, Okayama. Okayama is not only famous for its produce, but also lays claim to Okayama Castle (Ujō, the ‘Crow Castle’), and Kōraku-en, one for the three most beautiful gardens in Japan. The fable of Momotaro also comes from Okayama: An elderly couple found a boy, Momotaro, in a peach floating down the river, who grew up to defend the village from demons. Okayama City also has a Shinkansen, or Bullet Train, stop, as well as an airport that flies to Seoul, Korea, and Shanghai and Beijing! Okayama itself is famous for pottery as well. Needless to say, I’m definitely psyched to begin exploring!

I’ll call this it for my first entry. I’ll dedicate the next one to the application process, and everything I’ve done up to now, the middle of May. Thank you for reading, and partaking in my adventures! よろしく～ (Yoroshiku, used to ask someone’s favor, to express pleasure in meeting them and hoping that they will work well together).

**Pictures aren't mine, I took them from Google (:

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Photos

Great Seto-Ohashi Bridge!
Connects the main island to Shikoku