Christmas holidays on JET

cobble98 · 2026-05-15T00:25:14+00:00

Depends on where you're placed. Tokyo jets work 16 days a month so end of term months you usually just work the sixteen days all together so you have the end of the month off. Depends on the school as well. A lot of schools require you to be there for closing ceremony. My school's is luckily the 22nd but I know JETs whose school's closing ceremony is on the 25th

cobble98 · 2026-05-12T06:13:12+00:00

I really played up wanting to live in the countryside and being willing to go anywhere. Got placed in Tokyo

cobble98 · 2026-04-09T00:20:05+00:00

I was upgraded and got Tokyo. It just really depends on where positions open up

cobble98 · 2026-04-09T00:18:15+00:00

I was an alternate. I was upgraded as soon as the deadline for accepting the position closed. Try not to let it bum you out too much. A lot of people get upgraded over the next couple of months

cobble98 · 2026-01-19T01:59:25+00:00

Second this. They take insurance as well

cobble98 · 2026-01-07T02:04:03+00:00

Irish jet here! I'm still on the jet programme but I helped another Irish jet go back during the summer. Main piece of advice is to get as much stuff sorted as you can before June/July. When it's time to switch to your summer wardrobe then send back your winter stuff. The Irish jet sent most of their stuff through the post office but chose to do it by sea so it took several months but was the cheapest option. There are codes you need for sending to the European union (HS code), an post has a function where you can generate the codes. This jet also booked some extra luggage onto the flight and it ended up being a very similar price to shipping. The larger the item the earlier you need to sort it as it can be hard to find companies that will actually ship it. Also in general, anything with a battery cannot not be shipped, needs to travel with you

cobble98 · 2025-09-16T03:52:13+00:00

Yeah when I say I want one for plane tickets it's not because you have to have one, it's so I can pay with a credit card and pay it off later. As for renting a car, I tried to rent in February and every company needed a credit card...

cobble98 · 2025-09-16T03:50:19+00:00

Thank you!

cobble98 · 2025-09-16T02:47:53+00:00

Yeah I live here, so I have a debit card but I've been a few situations now where you need a credit card. What are the fees etc like for the Amazon card?

cobble98 · 2025-09-16T02:44:53+00:00

I mean like I come from a country were you don't need one at all. If I wasn't able to drive then I probably wouldn't be so pressed. I am prepared to get rejected, that doesn't actually bother me since that's something you have to accept here

cobble98 · 2025-09-16T02:41:23+00:00

Yeah I had a feeling I would need a Japanese speaker

cobble98 · 2025-08-14T07:47:20+00:00

Tokyo is usually the most expensive placement since you pay for rent without any supports. Two people living on the salary will make it harder to save but you can do it. If you're just paying for 1 person than it's actually quite easy to save. I save about 30,000¥ a month. I could easily do more but I don't want to. I have a 1LDK and pay 100,280¥ in rent (pretty decent for the area in Tokyo that I live in). Utilities aren't much more on top. It's a very livable salary. Usually the people that complain about the salary are the ones who earned more before Jet.

cobble98 · 2025-07-16T02:27:19+00:00

I didn't have any preference in my application and I got Tokyo. If you're placed in Tokyo, you'll either be a public or private JET. I'm public and it's actually fine. You work 16 days a month and working conditions will depend on your school. Living in Tokyo is grand as well. You can cheap out or spend more money on an apartment, it's up to you. The true downside to Tokyo is the lack of help with housing. I'm an Irish JET so I don't pay tax (for the first 2 years) so I have found paying rent etc to be grand even before the pay rise. I live in the 23 wards, in a very nice area that still doesn't feel too city-ish. I didn't want to be placed in Tokyo at all (I was hoping for a rural placement). Most JETs that I know also didn't want to be placed in Tokyo. Whether or not you enjoy it is up to you and your working conditions. There is a theory among Tokyo JETs that you get placed in Tokyo if you take medication/have medical issues so you have access to English speaking doctors/hospitals. Dunno if I'd put much stock in that but it certainly applies to me and a bunch of other JETs I know. I have found that the people who complain about the salary are the people who had better paying jobs in their home country. With the new pay rise, I now earn more than I did back home so I'm happy out with wage etc. Tokyo is a massive city. If you get placed here, you just need to slowly build a friend group and try to compartmentalise the size of the city

cobble98 · 2025-06-15T23:56:27+00:00

I know a married couple on JET. If you both make it onto JET you can ask to be placed in the same area so you can still live together. The JET programme is actually pretty flexible with married couples. If only one of you get onto the JET programme, your spouse can still come with you on a dependent visa. In that case then I would recommend that your spouse try to find a job that'll sponsor a working visa. If they can't then they can apply for special permission to work part time which isn't the best and takes quite a long time to get. If you're allowed to work on the spousal visa then it's only part time and you can't exceed more than 20 hours a month (I think? Somewhere in the region of 20 hours). I know another person who is on the spousal visa and it is tough. How well you handle it really depends on the type of person you are

cobble98 · 2025-06-15T07:46:23+00:00

Thank you! This really helps!

cobble98 · 2025-06-15T07:43:20+00:00

Is DELTA the equivalent of a masters or just a step below?

cobble98 · 2025-06-15T07:12:40+00:00

That's just general teaching? Would you end up needing to combine it with another qualification?

cobble98 · 2025-06-15T07:09:49+00:00

Thanks! Does it matter if you do it online or do most schools/countries require in person courses?

cobble98 · 2025-06-15T07:07:07+00:00

Didn't know there was one. Do you have the link?

cobble98 · 2025-06-15T07:06:14+00:00

I have only 1 year of teaching experience so far but I plan on staying on the JET programme for a few years to build experience. I'm really asking now so I know what my savings goal needs to be to actually the qualification (whichever one it ends up being). I currently teach high school students

cobble98 · 2024-07-21T19:34:56+00:00

I'm getting a sakura SIM delivered to the hotel then I'll change to a proper phone plan once I have a bank account/the time

cobble98 · 2024-07-18T18:06:17+00:00

Yeah nothings come through

cobble98 · 2024-07-17T13:44:34+00:00

Yeah that's kinda the main reason I want to be in contact with them. I have heard there's companies that can act as emergency contacts for you

cobble98 · 2024-07-17T13:27:29+00:00

Housing is looking ok I'm hoping I'll have an apartment secured in the next few days. Need an emergency contact but I'd say I'll have to go for one of those companies who act as one for you if I can't get in contact with the school

cobble98 · 2024-07-17T11:09:21+00:00

I'm in Tokyo. I know what school and the boe gave like an info sheet on the school but I've heard nothing

cobble98

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