Friday 11 March 2011, Japan was struck by an earthquake which triggered an extremely destructive tsunami. Due to the force of nature, Japan also faced a nuclear catastrophe.
Almost six months later and Japan is still recovering. However it is going to take a long time before Japan is fully rebuilt. Naturally, tourism isn’t as high as in previous years but the growth is faster than expected.
The Japan National Tourism Organization says that everything is safe now and that they are monitoring everything carefully. It is very important for the recovery of Japan that tourists and TEFLers continue to travel and spend their money; it’s good for the tourism industry but also for the economy. It seems that the people feel safe enough to visit Japan again.
The future is bright and there are a lot of people who are still planning their trip to Japan, mainly to Tokyo. One of our fabulous Irish TEFL tutors Helen Tuffy, recently visited Japan on an i-to-i TEFL mission. She can confirm that Japan is still a hot destination to visit ‘In Tokyo, normal daily life has returned for the most part. To conserve energy, some of the iconic bright city lights aren’t in use though so it feels a little darker. People will still talk about the disaster and there’s also TV coverage, so the events from March remain a topic for conversation. However, Japan is a country that I’ve been planning to visit for many years and it certainly lived up to expectations – Tokyo is such a fun city and I’d recommend it to anyone to visit or apply for a teaching job.’
The prices of flights to Japan are lower than previous years, which attracts some people who always wanted to visit Japan but thought it was too expensive. Helen secured a great return flight price for under €700 and flew through Copenhagen, with great connection times. SAS and Air France were offering flights at super value prices, especially when you price air fares to neighbouring countries.
I have read a lot of stories of people who live in Japan, they were very positive and I was impressed. They wrote that everything is getting better and the tourism is blossoming again. Everyday they still think about the disaster, but they know that they need to move on.
There are still a lot of TEFLers who want to go to Japan; it is one of the most popular countries to go to. And I totally understand it; I think it’s a beautiful country with a very interesting culture. They still need many English teachers over there, so if you want some more information about teaching in Japan, you can take a look in the Teaching Guide or on Chalkboard’s Japan Group.
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I have been in Japan for a year now. It is by far one of the best places I have ever been in my life. And I can't imainge my life with out the Japanese people! I live 20 miles from Tokyo the catastrophic events of that day I will never forget. (Like so many others.) But the people of Japan are some of the most humble, loving people I have met. I'm working on going to volunteer in the Sendai region. It's crazy that 6 months have passed. PDixon my thoughts and prayers are with you. I can't imagine the loss that you have gone through and I hope that you can continue to work and live in Japan and slowly but surely begin the healing process.
Thanks a lot for the comments!
I read both of your blogs about Japan, and it really inspired me. PDixon, I read your blog about the moving out and stuff, I really got goosebumps all over my body, what a terrible experience it must have been! But good to hear that everything is getting better. How was it to move back to the original school?
I'm one of the 'Lucky ones' (as some of us call ourselves). I'm certainly not a flygin (as we call the foreigners who abandoned japan at a time of need.
I came to Japan in April 2010, lived in Yamada town before moving to miyako city (which is where i still live)...both places have appeared on the news, both places hit very bad (especially yamada). I lost my car with stuff i was moving, had to delay moving house by over a month, lost friends, students, and was unable to recognise the neighbourhood i lived in for 8months.
6months on and things are getting there. Tomorrow, one of my school moves back to its original school (we've be using spare classrooms at 2 other schools), many temporary homes have been built and most people are now rehoused, some businesses have rebuilt and opened already - others will take time...
Remember that japan is a big place, theres still the west coast, hokkaido, kansai area, the south and even tokyo that is all fine
Totally agree with you here, Japan is a fantastic place to visit and really needs the tourism to aid its recovery.
I would recommend it to anyone. :)
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