Okazaki Japan - Job Contract

I've accepted a job contract with the Aeon Corporation in Japan so now I know where I'll be heading next year. I leave for Okazaki on March 5th 2011.

Okazaki is in the Aichi Prefecture in Central Honshu (main Island) about 40 mins by train from Nagoya which is Japan's 3rd largest city apparently. It will be coming out of winter when I arrive and Okazaki gets snows two or three times a year.

Central Honshu is where those wild monkeys relax in the hot springs in the middle of winter. I definitely want to see that.

I will have my own single accommodation apartment which will be subsidised by Aeon and is apparently only a 15 min walk to work, which is located in the largest of Okazaki's train stations. Also nearby are cafes, restaurants, gyms, cinema and very large shopping mall which, funnily enough, is also called Aeon .

My English school has 180 students ranging in age from 20-50's plus 3 children . The breakdown is:
30% businessmen
20% bsinesnesswomen
20% homemakers (women)
17% senior high school students
12% uni students
1% other (retirees etc)

There are six classes daily and teachers start at either 12noon or 1pm and work through to 9pm.  I will be one of only 2 Foreign teachers. Other extra social activities outside teaching include parties for Christmas, New Years, Summer BBQ's, Cherry Blossom season and welcome and farewell parties.

Okazaki has a population of approx 360,000 over 227 square kilometres and is famous for its fireworks festival and fireworks manufacturing and traditional candle making.. There is also a castle in Okazaki which was built by a warrior called Saigo Tsugiyori in 1455, a temple founded in 701 by a priest called Gyoki plus much more,

Apparently there is a lot of industry in Okazaki and as a result the unemployment rate is low. There is a large foreign population living there with many of those being people being from Brazil, Peru, and China. The percentage of foreign population in Okazaki is actually more than double the national average in Japan.

This should give you a good indication of what I can expect when I arrive in Okazaki.

Stay tuned for more postings chronicling my adventures and life in Japan once I get there.

Cheers,

Nae...