Would I find these in the countryside?

tada

変わってる

23 Jun 2008

594

3

• 2 Oct 2008

• #1

I'd prefer to live in an urban area if I did move to Japan, but say I were to join JET, and got assigned to a place in the countryside. I've never been to a rural area in Japan (or any truly rural area) in person. Some of these may seem like really trivial queries, but I really have no idea what to expect. Would I find many of following kinds of places without having to travel to a major city?

- Soba/udon shops
- Fast food places (e.g. McDonalds)
- Karaoke
- Pachinko
- Game centers
- Convenience stores
- Public transportation

edit: removed some confusion

 

Last edited: 2 Oct 2008

Ashikaga

もちもちした食感

19 Feb 2008

2,220

84

• 2 Oct 2008

• #2

It depends on just HOW rural the place is but I live in an area up among the mountains and I have all the things on your list within 15 min. drive distance.
One question. What exactly are "specialized soba/udon shops"?

 

tada

変わってる

23 Jun 2008

594

3

• 2 Oct 2008

• Thread starter
• #3

ASHIKAGA said:

It depends on just HOW rural the place is but I live in an area up among the mountains and I have all the things on your list within 15 min. drive distance.
One question. What exactly are "specialized soba/udon shops"?

Click to expand...

Well, I guess "specialized" is redundant. I was just wondering if you had to go to a general "Japanese food" restaurant like here. Just drop "specialized", or replace that item with "specialized restaurant".

 

Ashikaga

もちもちした食感

19 Feb 2008

2,220

84

• 2 Oct 2008

• #4

There are Udon/Soba noodle shops everywhere.

 

tada

変わってる

23 Jun 2008

594

3

• 3 Oct 2008

• Thread starter
• #5

I wasn't planning on owning a car. Maybe a bike. Would I still be able to get to those places in a reasonable amount of time?

 

Ashikaga

もちもちした食感

19 Feb 2008

2,220

84

• 3 Oct 2008

• #6

Unless you end up living in a REAL middle of nowhere, yes.

 

Glenski

Just me

Twenty-year veteran

20 Aug 2003

4,910

416

• 3 Oct 2008

• #7

Yes to all of the items on the list.

As mentioned, to what degree will depend on how small the rural town is. I live in a city of 180,000 and it has bus service but it's pretty sparse. Many/Most people have second cars if they are a family.

 

Chidoriashi

In imagination land

2 Feb 2007

824

63

• 3 Oct 2008

• #8

I live in a town of about 100,000 people and I got all those things in easy biking distance, of course, my town is one of the stops on a major train line.

 

B

bruno

先輩

29 Sep 2007

114

2

• 3 Oct 2008

• #9

Me, in town of about 50,000, all and more in walking, biking distance !!