Have you guys heard anything on your end about placements?

While we wait..maybe we should learn some ビジネス体操
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Def hold on, the gag order is still in effect for another week. Us current CIRs will get our successors' contact info so don't worry about your pred finding you.

Still waiting in Australia

Hopefully not too much longer, though!

Don't worry shanshan310, I'm in the same boat! Two state here have got their placements, and the rest of us are stuck waiting until who knows when ;~;

Aaaah it came

I'm in Iyama-shi, Nagano. Super happy with this! I've never been North of Tokyo before. Very excited despite how weak I am to cold weather.

Recently received a placement as a CIR for Kushima in southern Kyushu. But my placement has me very worried. I was not expecting something so small and so isolated. I unfortunately did not understand they would send a person so far away from their hopeful areas (Gifu - Ken was my first choice)

Any words of wisdom that could be shared to help with my decision to cancel my application or go?

It's the isolation of southern Kyushu that has me most worried.

I'm an avid enthusiast of contemporary Japanese culture, not much of an outdoor person. I'm not sure if I could really enjoy this placement or if I may just regret going.

Is there anyone here that could share their experiences in similar areas?

I was under the impression that ALTS worked the rural areas and CIRs ended up in the Capitol cities for prefectures. That's where the bulk of my surprise comes from.

I was also so hopeful of doing translating work, but I'm afraid that working as a CIR in a small city like this, I may end up with mostly English teaching. Is this a valid concern?

Anyway! Very unsure right now! Any comments would be appreciated!

I think there's a poster here who's in the city next door to Kushima (mdrs). They may know your predecessor (if you have one) and can give you an idea of what your job will entail.

My city is on the opposite side of Kyushu, and is a similar population to Kushima. It is also about 2 hours from any cities (Kagoshima to the south and Bear Origin to the north). I do complain about being inaka but at the same time I really do love it here. I really believe that the inaka, wherever I've encountered it in the country, is incredible. People are super nice, life is slow paced and relaxing. Please don't give up on the position just because it's in southern Kyushu. People don't visit Kyushu much because it is kind of out of the way, but it is by far my favorite part of Japan.

There is no distinction between ALTs and CIRs that way. People are sent to places that request them, that's it. Lots of ALTs are in urban areas (literally hundreds of new placements in Tokyo over the past few years) and lots of CIRs (like me and several other posters on here) are in rural areas. And what makes you think that you can't experience contemporary culture in rural areas?

The job responsibilities of CIRs varies greatly, so it's impossible for us to say what you'll be doing. But I can tell you that, even though I'm in a city just as small as Kushima, teaching is not my primary job responsibility. I do some, yes. But maybe 10% of my time is spent with that. There's no rule that says that small town = English teaching. And I do a decent amount of translation, although my workload there comes and goes greatly.

It's possible you don't have a predecessor. Maybe you could try getting in touch with one of the Miyazaki-ken PAs. I found the Miyazaki AJET page which has the contact info for the AJET reps, who I'm sure could put you in touch with the PAs. Be up front about your concerns. I really want to encourage you not to drop just because your placement isn't what you wanted it to be, but if you truly feel you will be miserable (after getting as much information as you can!) better to let an alternate who will enjoy it have it. Don't make yourself miserable just for the chance to be a CIR.

Once you get in contact with your CO, that will help too. Ask them for all the information they have as to what your job duties will be. Find out what's the reason they hired you.

As for busyness, it really does depend. Some people are crazy busy and work overtime, some people are quite bored. For me it comes and goes - spring is very busy but fall is very much not and I could easily take time off to travel then.

Speaking as one of the few resident small and isolated town CIRs on these boards (pop. less than 10,000, no train station except for a drive that is 20 minutes away and I had to live the first two months without a car so I couldn't even get medicinal or even butter supplies for a while), I am going to go through some things:

If you are having a strong reaction against a small town, it can be understandable in some ways (since the JET video does make it seem like all CIRs work in nice government offices and plan events and fancy-schmancy), but if the placement is something that you aren't happy with then that is something to consider.

I will be frank: Most small town CIR positions aren't heavily translation jobs (unless if there is a huge connection to abroad in some historical or international context). The only translation I do is for e-mails between the sister cities. I have gotten work from the kencho because I made a connection with them, but those are usually native checks. I have also translated a sign with historical information. But these translation jobs do not fill up my days...Translation is not the only way for grassroots international relations and JET is big on GRASSROOTS.

If the idea of going and teaching English or about your culture to people of all ages (from little babies - yes - to preschool kids to high school kids to old grandpas) is something that you think you would not fit well with, then that is another thing to consider.

As a former alternate, if you really feel like this job isn't a match or you think you would be unhappy in your placement (and/or if you aren't desperate for a job), then give it up for someone who really would be happy to have it. I cried when I got upgraded and found out later when I came to my placement that the previously chosen person turned it down because of it being a small town. I am thankful that I came here and I believe as being an alternate, it has helped me be more positive about any of the frustrations and inconveniences of living in an isolated, rural town.

I hope this message does not come across as being mean, but I am serious that if you truly think it's gonna be awful just because you're not in a more metropolis/kencho city and if the job requirements are less than fabulous then give the position to someone else who is probably anxiously trying to figure out how to pay their rent.

I agree with all this and also quail.

Just as an insight on placement requests. 

CIR from Gifu City here.  You requested Geefs and we have three English speaking CIR spots here this year. 

The three replacement candidates we received from gyomu Gyomu did not have Geefs on their request lists at all which you may think is crazy BUT these three people were perfectly placed for the three positions we have and I think gyomu Gyomu did a really good job placing them based on skills and experiences so maybe there was a reason they thought you would do well in your placement. 

not to be purposefully contrary but i think its mostly to do with the bit I bolded^^^.

They for sure take into account when a CO requests a certain nationality (for a reason such as sister city or whatever) and generally try and get people from that country/city. This is the first and main thing they take into account. In my case, I was the only irish CIR last year. My current office requested an irish person as did one other place (i only found this out after i got here). I was originally sent by CLAIR to the other place but when my current office got told they were getting  a New Zealand person they rang CLAIR up and complained until they got me instead (dunno what happened to the poor other placement). Either way, those two CO's requests were taken into account and my preferences/experiences were not taken into account at all (not that i really care anymore). 

Generally they try and place people from sister city/countries (or particular country for another reason) because is an integral part of the job, being able to communicate and having  a personal connection with the place you are communicating with a lot. We also requested a person from new orleans for our new american CIR this year, we didn't get one (cos there was none i presume?) but we got an american from the south, which i guess is better than nothing. (i can tell you as well his experiences/skills don't necessarily match with here, I have seen the application).

Basically what I'm saying is that I feel CLAIR tries to respect CO's country/city request and that propbably makes it complicated enough so after that its mostly just a lottery. If you feel you suit a place, that is probably just GUUZEN and confirmation bias, imo.

Originally I tagged you in the post to say that you also thought Kyushu was one of the best places in Japan but then I deleted the tag because I couldn't remember if you had actually said that or if I was just mis-remembering ;_; I'm sorry!

And yeah, Kyushu! <3 Also, something that I forgot to say is that, further down south in Kyushu doesn't necessarily mean more 田舎 anyway. All the times I've visited Kagoshima and Bear Origin recently, I remember thinking about how 賑やか they seemed compared to Oita City. Plus they've both got the shinkansen.

I still haven't visited the beaches in Miyazaki ;_; I keep meaning to!