Leaving Survey

Recently we had to fill out a short survey about our time in Japan for the leaver's directory for JETs in Shizuoka. Thought I would share my answers with you!!


Name: Ashley Janssen

Placement: Fujinomiya Nishi High School

Years on JET: 2 years, 2008-2010

Where you’re headed next: Round Lake, MN -- my hometown…a place I never thought I would return!

What you’ll be doing: Teaching Spanish, English and ESL at the small high school I graduated from and coaching volleyball.

How people can best contact you (facebook, email, phone): facebook, email

Best memories from your time in Japan: Sapporo beer gardens, hanami at Iwamotoyama Park, onsen days with the girls, Oxfam Trailwalker, capsule hotel weekends with the girls in Tokyo, strawberry picking, fireworks, taking a seishun 18 kippu solo trip to Himeji, Miyajima, Nagasaki, Beppu and Kyoto – that’s a lot of train!!!

Favorite places you visited in Japan: Goza Beach in Mie-ken, Beppu, Hiroshima, Fushimi Inari and Zen gardens in Kyoto, Miyajima, Okayama Korakuen

Favorite places you visited in other countries you traveled to while living here (if applicable): I spent about 20 days in Thailand and a long weekend in South Korea. Highlights were elephant riding, cuddling with tigers, lighting lanterns on New Year’s in Ao Nang, biking to the Myanmar border from our volunteer base in Sangkhlaburi, and wandering the shops in Insadong in Seoul.

What you’ll miss the most after you leave (food, places, people etc.): Kappazushi, onsen, seeing Mt. Fuji (almost) every day, road trips on and to the Izu, purikura, my “crazy girl” fan club, the friends that I’ve made, seeing women in Kimono and crazy Japanese styles.

What you won’t miss after you leave (if applicable): the humidity and rainy season, air drying my clothes, having to rely on others to do things for me

What are you most proud of having accomplished while here? Oxfam Trailwalker, the daily overcoming of obstacles that present themselves when living in a foreign country

Do you have any regrets about leaving? (things you should have done, places you should have gone etc.): I wish I had studied Japanese more.

How would you sum up your time here in a single word? adventure