![Teach Sakura season in Saijo, Ehime](https://byahassan.com/wp-content/uploads/ORG__DSC4357-scaled.jpg)
“Inaka” is the Japanese word for countryside and refers to the rural areas of Japan. …
![Teach Koi fish pond in Saijo, Ehime](https://byahassan.com/wp-content/uploads/DSC5184-scaled.jpg)
Out of my current desk warming boredom, I’ve been reading some of the concerns of incoming 2020 JETs, along with the mostly negative comments from current JETs. They do also raise a few valid points. So the question is to go or not to go?
![Teach Teach - A Hassan.- teach](https://byahassan.com/wp-content/uploads/DSC4071-scaled.jpg)
I feel for the people in the rest of the world, and even the rest of the bigger cities in Japan. Living through COVID in rural Japan has been like living in a little anti-pandemic bubble. Most likely the virus is here, but being in one of the most rural cities, in one of the most rural prefectures, on the least populated island of Japan, means that it's progression has been exponentially slower than elsewhere in Japan and the world. Despite all this, I can't help but be braced for bad news.