Frequently Asked Questions

This is the Mie Guidebook FAQ.

As it is an ever-expanding word in progress, please edit in your own questions. In the cases where questions can be answered by information from other pages, such as regional questions or questions about lesson planning, please feel free to link to those pages within the FAQ.

Incoming JETs

What's Mie like, in general?

Being composed of many, older provinces, each area of Mie has a distint character, but the character of Mie in general is very average for a Japanese prefecture. Mie is neither as urban as Tokyo or Osaka, nor is it as rural as the prefectures of Honshu's north coast or some of the prefectures of Kyushu and Shikoku. In population rankings and area, it falls in the middle of the list. The economy is not dominated by the service industry, manufacturing, or agriculture. The accents of Mie are not as strong as those found in nothern Honshu or southern Kyushu, but are still noticably different from Standard Japanese.

However, even as this is said, exceptions exist: deep south Mie is easily as rural as Tottori, but from Nagoya to Ise runs an almost continual band of urban development; Yokkaichi, Tsu, the general Chuubu area, and the deep south are economically dominated by manufacturing, service, agriclture, and fishing, respectively; and elderly citizens and those of rural areas can have at times almost indecipherable accents, wheras their more urbane, city counterparts speak everyday Standard Japanese in their public dealings.

Mie is an all-but-forgettable place to most Japanese, and you will often find yourself saying that you leave "near Osaka" or "near Nagoya" when talking to people about your new home. However, it provides an unrivalled opportunity to see into everyday, normal Japanese life, and how truly unquotidian and strange this life can be.

What's the weather like?

Summers are hot and disgustingly humid, and winters are cold but not freezing: the temperature generally stays above zero degrees and thus there is no snow. However, schools and houses are thiny-insulated, winds can be very strong, and windows are always single-pane, so temperatures inside can be very chilly during the coldest months. Additionally, there is not as much climate-control indoors as you may be accustomed to, and it can feel awfully cold or terribly warm, even in your home or school.

That said, spring and autumn are very beautiful and temperate, with often little rain and many days of consecutive sun. These months are very popular times for in-country travelling.

Should I bring my winter coat?

If at all possible, have your winter clothes sent to you and don't waste space in your suitcase with bulky things like winter coats. However, winter clothing will be a necessity for three to five months of the year. Offices are not always heated, and schools rarely are heated, so layered winter clothing can be a boon for moving to differently-heated spaces.

Do I need to bring an umbrella? I heard there's a rainy season

Absolutely not. You can buy them everywhere.

Life in Mie

How do I furikomi money?

See Bank Transfer

How do I get my mail re-delivered?

See Mail Redelivery

How do I get a Japanese driver's license?

See Getting a Driver's License

How do I renew my license?

See Renewing a Driver's License

Where can I get the schedule for my local movie theater?

See Movie Theaters

How do I type in Japanese?

For Windows XP, see this blog entry