Who is Nagano AJET

Jonathan has spent time across various parts of Japan from the giant city of Nagoya during his university days, to the isolated fishing port of Hamada, where he served 5 years on the JET program. After JET he moved on to teaching high school in Nagano Prefecture. It’s pretty fitting, really. The Takeda Clan was always his main in Total War’s Shogun series of historical simulations, and the Shinano Valley is where many of their battles and sieges took place. Not so much Godzilla though, and that’s a shame. Nagano’s only real giant monster problem came from the original visit of King Ghidorah way back in ‘64, and all he did was shave a couple of roof tiles off of Matsumoto Castle. There was a perfectly vulnerable Kurobe Dam, right there, for him to demolish, but he just had to hurry off to Mt. F…

I’m being told I’m off topic.

Anyway, Jonathan knows an awful lot about Japanese history and giant monsters. A shameful amount. He also enjoys all forms of gaming both digital and traditional, although he’s getting on in the years and is more likely to break out an old classic than jump onto a session of Fortcraft or Minenight or whatever it is the kids are playing these days. He’ll complain to you about Star Wars and Star Trek, too, if you give him the chance. Back in the day Boba Fett was a bad dude you wouldn’t trust with your worst enemy, not some honor-bound space kingpin, and don’t even get me started on The Rise of Skywal…

Sorry, sorry, introductions.

Living in Nagano is another blessing as Jonathan grew up an avid skier. As avid as one could be in the relatively flat state of Ohio. Years of ski club could never prepare him for the massive Japanese Alps and ski courses that dwarf anything you can find in Appalachia. In the warmer seasons, he’ll set out on Slash, his black and green Ninja (yes, that is a Ninja Turtle reference) to go touring around Nagano and its surrounding neighbors, in a never ending quest to consume as much pizza as legally allowed.

Details coming soon.

My name is Nate and I’ve been living in Southern Nagano since 2012. During my time in Japan, I’ve taught English at a cram school, Eikawa(English Tutoring) School, and as a direct hire ALT for the Ina Board of Education. Although I have enjoyed teaching all the different ages and in various teaching environments, I now work with my wife at her company brewing beer and hard ciders in Ina. In addition to teaching, my professional background has been in digital marketing and web development. It is my goal to combine my love for teaching, Nagano, and my web expertise to develop, maintain, and expand the teaching tools and resources for Nagano AJET and the English teachers in our collective.

Originally I’m from Cincinnati, Ohio which has a strong German heritage and culture. So in 2015 I started hosting an Oktoberfest event in Ina, and in 2019 my wife and I gathered local craft breweries, bakeries, and other companies together to join our festival for the first, open to the public, Ina Oktoberfest. Unfortunately during Covid, we’ve had to suspend hosting that event. Although Ina Oktoberfest is not an AJET event, many AJET members have helped to staff the events in the past and with our most recent event, we raised over ¥60,000 to support a local non-profit that helps disabled children in Ina.

When I have time, I enjoy being active in nature. Whether that’s caving/camping, canoeing, or mountain climbing I love the fresh air and mountain view that surrounds Nagano. More often, you’ll find me sitting in the beer garden with a pint taking in the view of the southern alps, or in our hop yard behind the brewery.

Hello, everyone! I’m Zach. I’m living in Shiojiri, and have been for about 5 years. I was on the JET Program from 2017 to 2020 as a Junior High School and Elementary school ALT. Before JET, I was a humble graduate student out of Arkansas, USA, working on my Masters in World History.

Nagano is a big place, so I try to maintain a good inside/outside balance to keep a healthy personal and social life. When I’m with friends we’re often going to local restaurants, playing board games, having a small party at home or exploring a hidden gem in the Nagano countryside. When I am at home, I like to read, listen to podcasts, play games and watch Netflix and YouTube. I also like to cook! I want to make sanzokuyaki one day, a Chushin specialty. When I am out in the world, I like to go hiking, camping and swimming in the summer and skiing in the winter. More than anything, however, I love to travel. I have been to 35 prefectures and 3 countries while on the JET program and I’m always keen to add to that list.

I love living in Chushin. The central location makes it easy for me to take the train or car to the different parts of the prefecture and beyond to Tokyo and the outlying prefectures. Suwa, Shiojiri and Matsumoto are lovely cities with great local communities, events and festivals to explore. I love that Shiojiri is an agricultural area; if you are a cook, you can get lots of fresh veggies, especially lettuce. It’s also a wine country, so I’ve learned a lot about wine and enjoyed the many varieties available here. I hope I can help you enjoy Chushin as much as I have!

Hi! I’m Brian and I am the Nagano AJET Collective Hokushin Representative for 2022-2023. I’ve been in Japan since April 2022 after delaying moving to Japan for 2 years due to covid and I am currently working as a private hire ALT working out of Nagano City. I teach Senior High School, spreading my time across 2 different schools in Nagano and 1 up in Togakushi.

I come from the mighty land down under, Australia. I’ve spent the last 6 years in the capital city (Canberra) studying a Bachelor of Asian studies focusing on Chinese and Japanese language (but my Chinese is awful) and working in HR. This is my second time living in Japan as I studied at Chuo University in Tokyo for 6 months during uni, and it’s great to be back. My weekends are usually spent outside the house, exploring different onsens around Nagano, camping in the mountains, and visiting the surrounding prefectures. I’m always keen to go to new places and try new things as I try to enjoy as much of Japan while I’m here.

Hokushin is a fantastic part of Nagano, filled with abundant ski fields and onsens in every town, it’s a great place to be based to explore Nagano. It is also a fantastic place for heading west to the sea, only a short drive from both Niigata and Toyama prefectures. We have the best of both worlds in Hokushin. Surrounded by farmland as well, you have access to locally grown fresh produce that is second to none in Japan.

I hope you enjoy your time in Hokushin and I can’t wait to meet you!

Hello! My name is Beccie and I’m the Nanshin representative on the AJET Committee! Actually I’ve never lived in Nanshin! Ha! However, I’m there almost every weekend exploring Ina and the surrounding area. There are a lot of great dessert and cake shops in Ina and Komagane, so if you’d like any recommendations then let me know!

I’ve been living in Japan for nearly four years now. I came to Japan on the JET Programme in 2018 and was a JET for three years in a High School in Shiojiri. After JET, I decided to attend Japanese Language School in Matsumoto, where I am Monday to Friday. I’m also teaching part time at an Eikaiwa school in Matsumoto.

I grew up in a little town in Devon called Tavistock, in South West EngIand, although I’m also very proud of being half Scottish! In fact, I love Scotland so much I decided to go to University there. I studied Film, Media and Psychology at the University of Stirling, so I love a good psychological film analysis. Before JET, I worked as a TV Production Assistant in the UK, I used to work on a lot of different cooking shows, including The Great British Bake Off!

In Japan, I love practicing Kimono, going hiking, playing guitar, taking photos, baking, shopping for cute things including anything with Pikachu, Moomins or Stitch on it. I also love sitting in a good cafe with a coffee and watching the World go by. My main love is traveling which is why I ended up in Japan. I’ve been to over 35 countries so far and I’m hoping to go to more someday!

I’m looking forward to meeting you all! Let's grab a coffee or a nice cup of tea sometime!

This position is open

Hello! My name is Sarah (or SJ or Sid) and my pronouns are they/them or she/her. I’ll be your JET Rep for the 2022-2023 year. I’m looking forward to getting to know you all!

I’ve been in Japan for about a year now! I came to Japan through the JET Program in September 2021 (and had a lovely 2 week quarantine/orientation in Tokyo due to the COVID restrictions at the time). I’ve been placed in Ogawa Village, which is a small village between Nagano City and Hakuba. I love Ogawa, the birthplace of oyaki, and I enjoy teaching at my junior high school.

I was born in Chicago, Illinois and moved to Las Vegas, Nevada when I was about 13 years old. After living in two famous cities my entire life, I really enjoy living in Japan’s countryside! While there is not much to do here after the sun sets, village life has been quite fun. The people who live in Ogawa have been very welcoming and it has been fun finding all of the hidden gems the village has to offer. Now that the weather is warmer, I’ve been exploring more parts of Nagano.

Before coming to Japan, I was a graduate student at University of Nevada, Las Vegas. There, I was working in UNLV’s Writing Center and teaching first year composition courses. I received my Masters in English Literature December 2021, a few months after arriving here! The focus of my Master’s thesis was the TV show She-Ra and the Princesses of Power and the influence of children’s cartoons. As you can probably tell, I love reading and television, so if you have any good book or TV recommendations, send them my way!

When I’m not working, you can usually find me at home. I like reading, playing video games (mainly Sims 4), and making art. When I’m not at home, I love visiting my friends around the prefecture. I enjoy trying new restaurants and cafes, as well as camping and hiking. I also love a good museum!

I’m very excited to meet you all! Let’s meet up sometime and you can show me around where you live in Nagano!

This position is open

Introduction: Hello! I’m Tedra, Secretary of AJET this year. I live in Ueda with my two cats and sometimes a roommate. I’ve been living in the Ueda area for around a decade, so I know lots of shops, cafes, and events. Hit me up if you’d like to go anywhere in the area, I’d love to introduce you to some of the places I know.

I started out teaching at a local conversation school, then I was freelance for several years and recently joined a small local company. I get to wear a lot of hats at the company, so that’s pretty fun. I bought an akiya (abandoned house) a couple years ago and am gradually cleaning it up and making it nice to live in. I enjoy traveling around, going to little cafes and restaurants, joining local events and groups, and generally being a person about town. For hobbies, I like collecting temple and shrine stamps, reading, listening to podcasts, playing video games, drawing, and taking pictures. I also host a monthly board game event at my place, which everyone is welcome to come to.

I’m originally from Edmonton, Canada, where I grew up also with two cats, and I went to the local University of Alberta studying East Asia. I didn’t have distinct plans of coming to Japan in particular nor staying here for ten years, but I came to Nagano and fell in love with the air and the mountains and made many great friends here, so I think I’m probably here for life.

My work schedule is kind of odd so I tend to be hard to link up with except on national holidays or the occasional evening off, but I hope I can participate in more events this year. Hope to meet all of you when I can!