That’s Where We Want to Go…Way Down in Kagoshima?

Well, I guess I could have waited one more day before publishing my last blog post about the JET Program.

I just found out today that my new home come August will be…

Kagoshima Prefecture!

I will be located on Kyushu– the most southwestern of the four main islands in Japan– and in Kagoshima Prefecture, I’ll be just about as south as I can go on Kyushu. Practically closer to Taiwan than I am Tokyo.

So JET is sending me to the subtropics of Japan!

Important things I know so far about Kagoshima Prefecture:

1) It’s often referred to as “The Naples of Japan” because it’s right on the water, super warm, and has a volcano named Sakurjima! (That’s right, I’ll be neighbors with a volcano.)

2) I’ve read that the people of Kagoshima are super friendly and have a colorful culture.

3) There is a place in Kagoshima called Dolphin Port! I’m pretty sure it’s just a shopping center, but it SOUNDS like a place I’d like to go.

So in my current situation, I’m pretty much Jon Snow and I know nothing other than those facts I pulled from Wikipedia. I don’t know if I’ll be in Kagoshima City, or if I’ll be placed in a rural area on the peninsula, or on a tiny island.

Now that I know what part of Japan I’ll be living in, my dark unknown just got a little bit brighter…but I’ve still got a ways to go before the details of my awfully-big-adventure unveils itself.

But isn’t that what makes this experience so magical? I think so.

You can’t see my Kagoshima sign in this picture…

…but my purple tights look AWESOME.