People keep asking why.
Why this? Why Japan? Why teaching? Why now?
I’ve been asking myself too. So here is an attempt of answers.
Why Higo (Kumamoto)? 🗾
I didn’t know what or even where Kumamoto (熊本県) was until I received my placement there, a few google searches later something stuck out to me.
Higo (肥州) – the historical name for Kumamoto. It’s a soft, ancient name, the kind that lingers. I could have just said “Kumamoto” for the name of this blog, but Higo felt right. Older. Rooted. A little quieter. Something that hold a memory. That’s the feeling I wanted for this blog.
Why JET? 📖
Because I didn’t want to just visit Japan. I wanted to live in it. Work in it. Be uncomfortable in it.
The JET Programme, from the stories of others, can be messy and beautiful and slow. A year (or more) that asks me to show up, not just pass through. A space to teach, connect, stumble, and grow into something I couldn’t have predicted.
JET isn’t the easy option, but it feels like the right one.
Why Japan? 🌸
I didn’t grow up obsessed with Japan. I didn’t know all the anime or the history. But over time, it kept showing up either in books, in conversations with friends, in quiet pulls I couldn’t quite explain.
It wasn’t fascination. It was something quieter. A curiosity that then grew into longing.
I want to know what it feels like to wake up there. To be a small part of something that isn’t mine and learn to respect it.
Why this Blog? 📝
Because I’ve always been the kind of person who writes things down. Not to teach or explain – just to feel like I’m not letting the moment pass without noticing it.
Because life moves fast, and memory is unreliable. I don’t want this year – this experience – to blur into a handful of Instagram posts and vague feelings.
This blog helps me slow down and say, Yes. That happened. I was there.
If you’re reading this and you have questions – about JET, teaching, Japan or what ever it might be – feel free to ask. I don’t have all the answers, but I’ll do my best to write as things unfold.
Until next time,
Ari
writing from the edge of something new.
Letters from Higo 📮🇯🇵 
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