Always stuck to my advice, finally have an opportunity. I’m being offered a position out in Okinawa and it’s definitely a difficult but decent position. Fully paid relocation fees, but the job will be very demanding in terms of workload.
However, I’ve been looking for mainland Japan instead and that is my preferred location. How is Okinawa compared to mainland? Is it difficult to travel to the mainland and explore?
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It’s not bad. I remember about a decade ago when my dad was stationed there and we had a pretty good time even without going to the Mainland, which was a relatively short flight. It does have a very touristy feel in the more heavily populated areas, but it’s still pretty nice even in the more suburban/urban areas.
Party and sex in cemetries
I worked in Okinawa for a few years and from my experience “demanding in terms of workload” may mean you’re not going to see the beach often. If so, being in Okinawa or in Tokyo doesn’t change anything: you’re probably going to be in an office with white walls and neons and don’t enjoy daylight much.
Also, Okinawa (at least the main island) is definitely less enjoyable without a car.
Okinawa is a nice place. The climate is warm and winters are rarely cold. In summer, there are many typhoons.
Also, people are very open-minded in Japan. Also, because of the U.S. military bases, there may be a high demand for foreigners.
The bad thing about Okinawa is that the crime rate is higher than in Japan.
However, it is much safer than other countries. Japan has the 142nd highest murder rate in the world, and almost none occur.
I love it, in fact, I’m in the process of entering a school there at the moment. Fingers crossed that I’ll be able to get there on time!
As far as why I like it, it seems to have a slower pace of life, and is objectively much less crowded than the cities that people would usually be working in. Personally, I hate living in a huge city, so this is more suitable for me. The weather is also generally warm year-round, at least relative to where I’m from, and I prefer this, since I hate cold weather. I also like how you’re always very close to the beach. People seem to be more social/outgoing in general, and are less uncomfortable around foreigners, likely due to the fact that there is a large presence from US military and foreign (typically Korean, Taiwanese, and Chinese) tourism. The one major drawback is that public transportation sucks, so unless your job and house/apt are close to the one monorail line, you’ll want to get a car/motorcycle/etc.
Cost of living is a bit lower so you could get a larger apartment for the same price as a small studio apartment in a major city. Traveling to the mainland is not difficult, maybe just getting to airport from where you live. If you end up living in Naha or the southern part of Urasoe, you could catch the monorail there but if you don’t, you’d need to be dropped off or catch the bus or a taxi. Airport parking can get quite expensive. As for flights, they’re cheaper for people traveling from Okinawa to mainland instead of the mainlanders coming to Okinawa.