Or any other kind of English teaching job for that matter.
I live in Tsukuba, Ibaraki and all the part time teaching jobs i look for online are based in tokyo.
I would have applied for them if the train from tsukuba to tokyo wasn’t that expensive…
What chance do i have in my own area and what do you guys suggest? Thanks in advance
8 comments
I’d kind of like to know as well. I know at least 3-4 cram schools in my area that include English and a Yaruki switch in the area but I don’t know where to look for a part time gig in my area
Do a Google search and get in touch with them with a short, professional email or their contact form.
>Or any other kind of English teaching job for that matter.
so, why are you looking at customer service jobs in malls?
​
If you want an English teaching job, get qualified to be an English teacher and get a teaching job.
I found my side gig on Gaijinpot.
First let me say that I sympathize with you for having to live in one of the most boring places in all of Japan. I hated Tsukuba. When I asked the locals what was good about Tsukuba, they all said it was close to Tokyo. Imagine, the best thing about your city is that… you can go somewhere else!
​
For your question: Most jobs will reimburse you for any train fare. I don’t think any part-time or entry-level jobs will want to, though. If you want a job in Tokyo, might as well move to Tokyo.
​
One eikaiwa in the area abruptly went out of business last year and all their teachers were thrown out. Some other schools are slowly dying, bleeding students without getting many new ones.
The school I was at used to have about 25 classes per teacher each with 5-6 students. By the time I left, they had about 20 classes per teacher with 2-3 students. Most people who you would be teaching in Tsukuba work in Tokyo and would rather just go to an eikaiwa in Tokyo — something many of the students at my eikaiwa ended up doing. Tsukuba is connected to Tokyo by Tsukuba Express, meaning any coronavirus wave is going to scare all your students away (hope you like online and hybrids).
​
I don’t think many places in the area are aggressively hiring right now, unfortunately. When I was over there, there was a new application every week or so under a stack of papers. Nobody ever read them because we already had more teachers than we needed with the current amount of students.
If you’re still interesting in trying to get your foot in the door, a few English schools in Tsukuba have websites where you can apply. I agree with others here that you could also try emailing them.
Sorry, I know this isn’t the answer you wanted to hear.
Tsukuba and its surrounds are big enough? Just walk around and see what school ms they have. Also, apply for some of the big eikaiwas / ALT supply companies if you’re in Japan with a visa but jobless.
Once you know your neighbourhood, you’ll be turning down job offers all over the place when they pop up.
Yes there’s the express to Tokyo but you wanna minimise travel/costs, right? I wouldn’t focus on that, although you might find places nearby if that’s where the jobs happen to be.
Even if you have to leave Tsukuba you might not have to take the train all the way to Tokyo. Knew an English teacher there who worked in Northern Chiba on the Tsukuba Express line. Thier school paid for the train anyways.
Ohayo Sensei does either a monthly or bimonthly (sorry, I forgot which) classifieds list for teaching positions around Japan. You could always give that a look.