I just spent an hour reading through this blog! Great find!
Also, I have an interview with the Gunma Kokusai Academy. If I get the job I'd love to hear about what life is like in the Ota, Gunma area (not sure if you're in Ota or near it but... :)
No problem! What is Ota like and what have you heard about the Kokusai? Anything about what there is to do...do you recommend it? What is the community reception to foreigners like, etc. :)
Ota is... interesting. It's a factory city, and kind of a grubby place downtown. Most famous for being Subaru headquarters and for a long street of hostess clubs near the station. Right now it's very lovely with everything in bloom, though.
Because it's a factory town (Subaru, Saiyo, etc.) there is a huge Brazilian and Peruvian population to work the grunt jobs. The Japanese prejudice against foreigners is in many cases very transparent, particularly where the Latino population is concerned. But it also means you don't get small children pointing and shouting "gaijin da!" in the middle of the street.
It's about 2 hours and 1000 yen from Ota to Tokyo. Ota itself has a large AEON, as well as centralized shopping. Gunma is the prefecture with the most cars per person, however, and public transportation is rather thin and irregular.
As for the Kokusai, most of what I hear is pure hearsay. I've read their fliers, but I haven't been inside the school. Most of their student body are from rich Tokyo families which have moved out to Ota so that their kids can attend. This ruffles native Gunma feelings. I've had mothers complain to me that the families can be snooty and won't let their kids play with kids who don't go to the school. *shrugs* Mothers love to gossip, though. I was curious why they'd need to leave Tokyo to get their kids into an international school, but apparently the Kokusai is licensed by the Japanese education bureaus so that the kids will actually be able to take Japanese university entrance exams, which most international schools are not.
I don't know any of the teachers at the Kokusai, so I'm afraid I can't give you any info there.
I... like Ota. It's not like the city I lived in as a JET, but it's definitely an interesting place. There's a nice city Sports Park, and some nice hiking trails on nearby Kanayama, along with some castle ruins. I haven't been doing much touristy stuff because I did the temple visits and things so much as a JET. I've mainly been going in to play in the theater districts in Tokyo. ;)
The local economy is hurting because of the recession. A lot of the South Americans are loosing their jobs and leaving the country.
I... guess that's it. Let me know if you have any other questions!
![[identity profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/openid.png){kind=small}
![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
carisma_sensei
no subject
Date: 2009-04-15 03:28 pm (UTC)Also, I have an interview with the Gunma Kokusai Academy. If I get the job I'd love to hear about what life is like in the Ota, Gunma area (not sure if you're in Ota or near it but... :)
no subject
Date: 2009-04-20 07:46 am (UTC)I love that map blog. The maintainer is a genius. *grin*
Ah, the Kokusai. Yeah, I actually live right in downtown Ota, so if you have any questions or want to know about it, be sure to let me know. :)
no subject
Date: 2009-04-20 04:25 pm (UTC)no subject
Date: 2009-04-30 07:39 am (UTC)Because it's a factory town (Subaru, Saiyo, etc.) there is a huge Brazilian and Peruvian population to work the grunt jobs. The Japanese prejudice against foreigners is in many cases very transparent, particularly where the Latino population is concerned. But it also means you don't get small children pointing and shouting "gaijin da!" in the middle of the street.
It's about 2 hours and 1000 yen from Ota to Tokyo. Ota itself has a large AEON, as well as centralized shopping. Gunma is the prefecture with the most cars per person, however, and public transportation is rather thin and irregular.
As for the Kokusai, most of what I hear is pure hearsay. I've read their fliers, but I haven't been inside the school. Most of their student body are from rich Tokyo families which have moved out to Ota so that their kids can attend. This ruffles native Gunma feelings. I've had mothers complain to me that the families can be snooty and won't let their kids play with kids who don't go to the school. *shrugs* Mothers love to gossip, though. I was curious why they'd need to leave Tokyo to get their kids into an international school, but apparently the Kokusai is licensed by the Japanese education bureaus so that the kids will actually be able to take Japanese university entrance exams, which most international schools are not.
I don't know any of the teachers at the Kokusai, so I'm afraid I can't give you any info there.
I... like Ota. It's not like the city I lived in as a JET, but it's definitely an interesting place. There's a nice city Sports Park, and some nice hiking trails on nearby Kanayama, along with some castle ruins. I haven't been doing much touristy stuff because I did the temple visits and things so much as a JET. I've mainly been going in to play in the theater districts in Tokyo. ;)
The local economy is hurting because of the recession. A lot of the South Americans are loosing their jobs and leaving the country.
I... guess that's it. Let me know if you have any other questions!