After nearly a month since I moved to Chikusei, I figured I should write on my thoughts of living in Chikusei so far, and how it compares to life in Kamisu.
As I mentioned in a previous post, my apartment is in a surprisingly convenient location for the daily necessities. From my apartment, I can walk to the supermarket, convenience store, city hall, a 100 yen store, bank, and even a train station that can take me to Tokyo (in 2 hours, but しょうがない ). Unlike my apartment in Kamisu, which was actually a shed converted in to an apartment, my Chikusei apartment is well insulated, so I'm comfortably warm in the winter. In addition, my apartment in Chikusei is furnished. The downsides I've found are that the kitchen is smaller (making storing everything troublesome), and since I'm renting this apartment through the company, rent is more expensive.
In terms of daily goods, Chikusei is straight up more expensive. While it is possible to find cheap things around when it comes to food, I find I have to look a bit harder for cheaper things. For example, I'll go to one supermarket for cheaper meat, but I will go to another supermarket (that is not too far away) for most other things since they usually sell most other goods cheaper. I am also paying more attention to specials and anything in the bargain bin. Actually, I bought two bags of cereal for a cost that is actually cheaper than buying 1 big bag of brand name cereal. Oddly enough, I can't find cheap 5 pack yakisoba like I in Kamisu. Apparently, ramen is the thing around here, as no matter what supermarket I go to, they have plenty of packs of ramen, but hardly anything for yakisoba. As a result of the increase in costs, I'm cooking more often and finding ways to make my meals last longer - though it does give me the opportunity to try and cook new things. Just recently, I tried cooking Jamaican style chicken curry. Eating it with a small amount of rice, I can make it last for three meals - a feat that is tied with the curry rice I some times cook.
For the schools I go to, there are some aspects between Kamisu and Chikusei that I like over the other. For example, I like that the elementary school I go to in Chikusei provides me with my own classroom, with plenty of materials, a computer, and a TV connected to it to use with the text books, though the students (especially the 6th graders) are a bit slow to get things done. The JTE has told me that the 6th graders are constantly being scolded by teachers for this, but it seems to have no effect. Whereas in Kamisu, I had no such problems, though I was constantly having to come up with my own material for lessons (hurting my wallet in the process). In addition, it was a much more casual atmosphere, though it was probably due to most of the teachers in my Kamisu schools being younger than me. For the Junior High School I go to in Chikusei, I have no point of reference to compare in Kamisu, as I was working at elementary schools for those 6 months, so I can't really say which is better. However, I will say that it is nice to be slipping in to the support role and helping answer students' questions, checking their work and whatnot, rather than coming up with lesson plans - though their lessons are a lot more thorough, as they not only learn vocabulary, but also grammar, reading, listening and writing.
In terms of recreation, I have not done all that much admittedly. However, I have been able to find a community center gym that I go to twice a week. I have tried out what seem to be the only two community center gyms available in Chikusei, according to the city's official website anyway. The first one I went to in Shimodate (下館) costs 300 yen per session, but I can work out for up to three hours. However, before that, I had to make a booking for a mandatory orientation session, and those only happen a handful of days in the month. The gym was good, though the lack of free weight equipment left me a little disappointed. However, that gym seems to be really popular, so there aren't many opportunities to use certain pieces of equipment for an extended period, especially if you want to do super sets. However, I went to another gym just recently in Kyowanomori (協和の杜). It's a little bit further from the one in Shimodate, but the best part of this gym is that is free of charge. Yeah, you read that right. Free. I was expecting that the gym would be run down or small, considering I'm paying nothing for it, but to my surprise, it does have a lot of equipment on offer. The equipment seems a bit older compared to the first gym and what I've used in Kamisu, though I will admit that the equipment is at least well looked after. Again, no free weights available, but given that most of the time I have the gym to myself, using equipment for extended periods for super sets has not been a problem, and there is enough variety of equipment to make up for the lack of bar bells and dumbbells. The opening hours are a bit weird though, in that it is open from 9:30am - 4:30pm, and then 7:00 pm - 9:30 pm. It makes getting to the gym after school impossible, but on the other hand, it gives me something to do on the weekend.
Finally, would be the other ALTs. I've only met the other Chikusei ALTs twice, though I have started catching up with one of the ALTs once a week, and helping him out wherever I can with logistics stuff. However, I still I try to keep in touch with some of the Kamisu ALTs. I caught up with one just before school started, and I asked him to let me know whenever he's planning basketball, as I'm always up for it (after doing a few games with him and other friends in Kamisu, and I've surprisingly improved a lot during those games, but that's a story for another time).
So the overall verdict? In terms of accommodation - Chikusei is the winner. In terms of the cost of living, and the schools - Kamisu. It is a shame I had to leave Kamisu, but sometimes these things cannot be avoided. Hopefully, I can go back to Kamisu someday, even if only for brief visit.
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