Help! Advice on where to work in Japan

January 5th, 2009
  • Okay, so I'm going to work for Nova. I've read all the opinions online,the bad, the ugly, uglier, and the reasonable people like Brooker who I thank for their fair assesments. I think I have a very realistic idea of what to expect, and I've decided to go for it. So don't bother trying to talk me out of it haters :)

    Now I've got a week to fill out the paperwork and send it in along with my preference of where I want to work. Problem is, I really have no specific idea about where to put down, and I don't want to leave it totally up to them.

    I've heard that I should avoid branches in the big cities, where you're more likely to run into tight-assed administrators. But I don't want to live out in the boonies either. Ideally I'd like to work at a laid-back branch that is within easy travel distance to one of the big cities so I could go during my midweek weekend.

    I've never been to Japan, nor do I speak Japanese, so I'm pretty clueless about the geography, but I want to experience as much as I can during my stay while being able to enjoy the work (as much as is possible) and I know a lot of that depends on where I'm at. So if anybody could suggest specific locations that might fit my criteria, I'd really appreciate it. Also, if there are any current or ex-Nova employees that could recommend or warn me about specific branches, that would be awesome. Thanks so much to anyone who can share their experience with me!


  • I'm not familiar with how Nova places you, but I'm assuming this is a preference not a choice, otherwise everyone would choose Shibuya...

    If you are paying for lodging etc, etc, you might choose an area like Chiba, which is close enough to Tokyo, about an hour a way, but by far not as expensive and close enough to other Nova locations like Yukari Gaoka, & Sakura City (I think).... Chiba City itself is not a bad place, and has a bit of a nightlife.

    Are you choosing by city or by prefecture?


  • Kobe area, city with 1.5million people, close to Osaka and kyoto..


  • Dutch_Baka, how expensive is Kobe as compared to Osaka, which I think is rated the second most expensive place to live in both Japan and the world?


  • Thanks for your suggestions ArmandV and yukio_michael! Sendai sounds nice, and somewhere in Chiba sounds like a good option too. Are there any other notable cities in Chiba besides Chiba City? Having a decent nightlife is definitely a big plus.Keep in mind, Chiba is not perfect, people from Tokyo will never go there, its just too far away and anything (fun) you can find in Chiba, you can find 10x better in Tokyo. That said, it is cheaper.

    Here is a Wiki on Chiba prefecture, and all of it's cities:
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Chiba%2C_Japan

    Shibuya sounds like a really cool place to visit, but is it somewhere you would want to live? I might risk getting assigned to a branch with annoying managers if I knew the place I was living in was going to be a lot of fun. Thanks again for your advice!I love Shibuya, you are in the heart of Tokyo really... remember the opening sequence of Lost in Translation, that's Shibuya...

    However, with living in a place like Shibuya does come with all the expenses you might expect as well, I don't know what your budget is.

    Chiba sometimes seems like a happy medium to me, had I stayed in Japan a bit longer I would have moved there as it is somewhat close to the airport, and about an hour or so from Tokyo, but please do take as many people's suggestions as you can and decide based on your own preferences.

    Have fun, I'm sure you will.

    (ed:)I hope I spelled everything again, because I do not want to edit this again :(


  • Thanks for your suggestions ArmandV and yukio_michael! Sendai sounds nice, and somewhere in Chiba sounds like a good option too. Are there any other notable cities in Chiba besides Chiba City? Having a decent nightlife is definitely a big plus.

    Nova doesn't say how vague or specific the location preference should be, just that they'll TRY to accomdate it. But I've heard of people telling them "I only want to work in Tokyo" and getting it. But I want to give them several specific cities so I have a good chance at getting one of my choices.

    Shibuya sounds like a really cool place to visit, but is it somewhere you would want to live? I might risk getting assigned to a branch with annoying managers if I knew the place I was living in was going to be a lot of fun. Thanks again for your advice!


  • I just visited Sendai for the first time last week and I liked the city. It is big enough for things to do and plenty of stores, but it is not so big that you feel crowded. Plus, there's a lot of open areas around town and you can take day trips to places like Matsushima. Sendai has a lot of trees and the people I met there are friendly. If Nova has openings in or near Sendai, I would look into it.


  • I really liked Shizuoka city. Although even there, the "big city" bosses are a little more uptight. I worked in a smaller town outside of the city and liked it very much. My AT was one of my best friends there, hell of a guy, I got lucky. If you have a specific reason why you want to go to a certain city, they might work with you, otherwise you probably won't have a whole lot of say in where you go. I'd suggest asking for a mid-sized city. If you end up at one of the flag-ship branches where all the bosses are, stick it out for a while, and then ask around about smaller schools in the area to see if there's somewhere nearby you might want to transfer to. Nova teachers talk a lot and they'll know where the good spots are. I think, the smaller the school, the better. Even big cities have small schools.

    After living and working in the small town, I moved to the big city and I don't regret it because it did give me the chance to see two sides of Japan, but I really preferred the smaller town (it wasn't rural). I think you get a feel for real-life Japan in a mid-sized town. It's kind of like visiting America and only seeing New York city if you only stay in Tokyo. New York, for example, is very different from the rest of America, because it's the BIGGEST. Hell, New York, London, Tokyo, etc. probably have more in common with each other than they do to the rest of their own countries.


  • I'd go for the boonies. With Japan's train system you can get to the large towns anytime.


  • I've never been to New York, though, I've been to London, Seuol, & Tokyo... I think they are all quite different in their own way. In Seuol, I remember all of the hills and mountains, and all the roads being very steep--- the shops were rarely very tall in the shopping district and there were a lot of non-Korean shops. In the underground stations there were always flower salesmen, and lots of shops...

    London, it seems like everything has it's seperate place, from Camden, to Kennsington Highstreet, to Victoria Station, all linked by underground.

    And last but not least, Tokyo, I remember when I first walked out of the station at Shibuya, and saw all the people milling around, looking bored, smoking their cigarettes, I thought it was one of the most vibrant places on earth. And as for the shops, absolutely all of them were Japanese.

    Aaaaa memories.


  • OSAKA!!!!

    Is the best.


  • Osaka and kobe are second together after tokyo yes! so when you think about money expensise don´t go there haha


  • You should definately go for Osaka. It's in the Kansai area which is the heart of Japanese culture (in my opinion). You'll be no more than 20mins by train to Kyoto, Kobe and Nara. The people here are also friendlier and more laid back.







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