The JET Programme and the Path It Opened

I didn’t know it at the time, but one application would quietly set the direction for the next decade of my life. I was in my early twenties, fresh out of university, and working as a waiter at Earls in downtown Vancouver. I felt restless and drawn toward something unfamiliar, even if I couldn’t fully articulate why yet.

Part of it was curiosity. Part of it was timing. And part of it was something more personal. I’m half Chinese, and I had always felt a pull toward Asia as a place that was both familiar and distant. I wanted to live somewhere that would challenge me, slow me down, and help me understand that pull more clearly.

Earlier this year, I was invited to reflect on that journey as part of a JET Programme alumni feature, tracing the path from teaching in rural Japan to working in international newsrooms in Canada, Turkey and Japan.

Read the full alumni feature here: From the Classroom to the NHK World Newsroom

Applying to the JET Programme

That journey began in 2009, when I applied to the JET Programme, a Japanese government initiative that places international participants in schools and communities across Japan as part of a cultural exchange and working program. The application process is extensive, often taking close to a year from submission to arrival, and includes interviews, essays, and multiple stages of review.

JET offered a rare balance: the structure of a government-supported role combined with the freedom to fully immerse yourself in local life. It wasn’t tourism. It was living and working inside a community.

An Unexpected Placement

Like many applicants, I imagined being placed in a major city like Tokyo. Instead, I was sent to Tamba-shi, a rural town in Hyōgo Prefecture surrounded by mountains and rice fields. What initially felt like a detour became the most formative experience of my life.

As an Assistant Language Teacher, my days extended far beyond the classroom. I joined community sports leagues, participated in local festivals, and spent time with people who had never met someone from outside Japan. Trust came not from getting things right, but from showing up consistently and without pretense.

That experience quietly shaped everything that followed. It led me to start writing, helped me find my voice, and eventually opened the door to a career in journalism that brought me back to Japan nearly a decade later.

The JET Programme didn’t just introduce me to Japan. It helped me understand how place, identity, and curiosity intersect. That perspective continues today through Pleasant Shimo, where we collaborate with artists to showcase iconic neighbourhoods, from the energy of Shibuya to the quiet expanse of Stanley Park.