News from my pred

Just got back from 2 weeks of visiting family and I finally receive news from my predecessor! So as it turns out, I won't be in the city "proper" of Takyama, I will be living in Ichinomiya-cho, “Miya”, a village of about 1000 people about a seven minute drive south from Takayama on the main Highway. Apparently Takyama annexed the surrounding villages a couple of years ago, making it the largest city in Japan by area, and I am in one of the villages that was annexed. According to my pred, Miya is a quiet community and very quaint. The village is famous for Minashi Shrine, which is the premier shrine of Hida area. It is also famous for an 1100 year old cherry tree called Garyuzakura (sleeping dragon), and there are various festivals in Miya throughout the year.

I will be living in a 3 room apartment (kitchen, tatami room, spare room, and bath), and my landlord is apparently a very nice retired post office manager. Currently, there is no one living in the apartment next door and the people below my apartment are frequently gone, so I am in a bit of an "island". The apartment is relatively new, esp when compared with what many people in the JET program end up in. Apparently my predecessor was the first JET in the town; prior to her the foreign english teachers were affiliated with private companies.

I will be working at four schools: Miya Junior High, Miya Elementary School, Kuguno Junior High, and Kuguno Elementary School. Miya JHS and Kuguno JHS will be my “base schools”. Miya Junior High and Elementary School are located in Miya. Kuguno Junior High and Kuguno Elementary are located in Kuguno, the next town south of Miya along the highway, ten minutes by car or train.

I really lucked out with my placement and my predecessor, I think. In addition to the awesome location and great apartment, my pred is leaving behind a bunch of stuff for free - including a regular-sized refrigerator/freezer she got for free from a friend, towels, a collection of videos, a stereo and speaker system she also got for free, telephone table, some books on Japanese culture, and a crap-ton of resources for teaching. Seriously. Like flashcards and lesson plans and stuff. She's also asked if I would like to purchase a bunch of things from her for ~ half cost (I'm assuming she's genuine, from the email I got and the other people I have heard from, I think she is) which I will probably get. Things like a coffee table and curtains and various household items.

She also sent a bunch of pics, some of which I'll share here: