Huzzah! Contact. AEON called today with the good news. A position has been found for me in Tsukuba, which is in Ibaraki prefecture, in the Kanto region. If that’s jibberish to you, (it was to me) then just know that I’ll be about an hour north of Japan. Wikipedia describes Tsukuba city as “one of the world’s largest coordinated attempts to accelerate the rate and improve the quality of scientific discovery.” A veritable city of science forged in the wake of war and economic turmoil. Humanity’s last stand against a world of moral decadence, political strife, and genocide!

No, maybe it’s not as dramatic as all that, but it is a “planned city” whose “fusion of nature and technology” portraiture can’t help but invoke images of the world of tomorrow, ala Disney Land’s Utopian vision. The city plays host to JAXA, (Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency) dozens of research facilities, a premiere university, and hundreds of parks and modern shopping center.

There are two schools in Tsukuba, one of which is near the train station and very close to the university. The other is slightly further from the center, and is called the Tsukuba-Sakura Branch. It is there that I will whittle away the hours in small rooms with Japanese men, women, and children. There are two foreign teachers working there now, and I will be replacing one of them. It was emphasized that what the location lacks in city-centered bustle and all the modern accommodations associated with it, it makes up for it in the closely-knit relationships that are forged with its clientèle. But as I see it, it really is so close to the city center (a short bike ride) that I can have the best of both worlds. And speaking of the best of both worlds, Tokyo is so close that I’ll easily be able to spend my weekends marinating within its neon halls, then retreat satisfied and left to sober up in the tranquil bosom of its clean suburbs.

I would leave here on September 25th to Narita. Would because I need to call back on Friday to accept or pass on their offer. Seeing as how the next available position wouldn’t open up for me until November, it looks like this is going to be the one.