Tsukuba-shi

When Dustin and I explain to people where we're about to go and what we're about to do, the most common question we get is, "Where will you be living in Japan?"  The truth is, though, that simply saying the prefecture and city name of our new hometown has little real-life impact.  Let's be honest.  When you ask a Japanese person where in Japan they are from and they respond with something like Yamaguchi or Kanagawa, can you actually picture where that is?  Most Americans probably can't.  

In the same turn, most Japanese people won't know where Tennessee is, much less Mt. Juliet.  However, we might have some luck explaining that we're from Nashville.  Famous city name recognition is much easier to get by with.  (Most everyone in the world knows where New York and Hong Kong are.  At the least, they recognize the name and can make some kind of connection.)  Like many of the Japanese people I've met, when faced with the question of where in Japan I will be living, I resort to saying something like, "Near Tokyo."

But this is a terrible generalization.

Tsukuba city is located in the prefecture of Ibaraki. (Think of prefectures as states or provinces.) The Tokyo prefecture is one prefecture down and to the left of Ibaraki. The capital of Ibaraki is Mito. The prefecture is mountainous in the northernmost part, but otherwise flat and covered with many lakes.

There are 32 cities in the Ibaraki prefecture.  One of these cities will be our home in just a couple weeks.

Tsukuba.

Tuskuba is the location of Tsukuba Science City - a planned city developed in the 60s for scientific research. It is the home of the Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (a.k.a. Japanese NASA), as well as Tsukuba University.  The Tsukuba Express can take us directly from our train station to the station in Akihabara - an area of Tokyo - within 45 minutes.  This is perfect for Dustin and I, being the geeks that we are.

If you don't know much about Akihabara, you were probably more popular in high school than we were.  Also referred to as "Electric Town," Akihabara is commonly considered the geek capital of the world.  From maid cafes to personal robotics stores, it is the ever-beating heart of the planet for all things dealing with video games, anime, comics, and technology.  Obviously, we will be making frequent trips.

Tsukuba itself is a pretty high-tech town.  Because of all the scientific research taking place in the city, we will be surrounded by some of the smartest people in the world and will get to see some of the most up-to-date technology out there. Want to see the first models of those crazy A.I. robots that will eventually take over our planet? Come visit us!

Amazingly, though, as technologically savvy as Tsukuba is, it is also a beautiful - if not even somewhat rural - city.  Set below the majestic Mt. Tsukuba, there are many opportunities for hiking and biking through the attractive scenery.  While living in Tsukuba, we should be able to happily enjoy a mixture of both country and city life.  Also, there is a higher-than-average number of foreigners living in Tsukuba. What this means to us is that Western products that we are used to having in America will be more readily available than in other Japanese cities.  This should make for a much easier transition.  

Overall, I think Tsukuba is going to be the perfect place to start our new lives.