If you’re reading this with about two weeks before your flight to Japan, congratulations! You’ve reached one of the strangest periods of the entire JET journey. You’re no longer simply “someone who applied.” You’re not quite “someone living in Japan” either. You’re existing in a bizarre limbo where every conversation somehow ends with, “Well… I’m moving to Japan.”

The funny thing is that, despite everyone having wildly different placements, countries, and circumstances, we all seem to go through the same sequence of increasingly chaotic events.

So, in the spirit of public service, here’s the unofficial checklist.

1. Tell yourself you’re “basically packed.”

You are not basically packed. You’ve simply looked at your suitcase several times.

Actual packing doesn’t begin until the night before you absolutely need to leave for the airport. Don’t forget to cry about the ukulele you have to leave behind.

2. Develop an unhealthy relationship with the weather app.

“What if it’s 38°C?”

“How do I convert Celsius to Fareihakjdhfkjsndnheit?”

“What if it rains every day?”

“What if my prefecture has weather?”

You’ll check forecasts for cities you’ve never heard of, compare humidity percentages between continents, and somehow convince yourself that Japan exists in a completely different atmosphere.

People live there. You’ll survive.

Probably.

3. Begin saying goodbye.

This sounds sentimental, but it’s surprisingly exhausting.

You’ll have dinners, lunches, coffee meetups, family gatherings, farewell parties, and at least three people who suddenly remember they “meant to hang out before you left.” Your social calendar will become busier than it has been in years.

You’ll also answer the same questions approximately 600 times.

“Where in Japan?”

“Can you speak Japanese?”

“How long are you staying?”

“Will you eat at 7-11?”

Prepare your answers now. Give increasingly strange and concerning answers to amuse yourself.

4. Become convinced you’ve forgotten something incredibly important.

Passport? Check.

Visa? Check.

Certificate of Eligibility? Check.

Plane ticket? Check.

Yet somehow you’ll wake up at 2:00 a.m. convinced you’ve forgotten… something. You won’t know what it is because it doesn’t exist.

Or it does. You’ll just have to burn that bridge when you get to it.

5. Wonder if you’re bringing too much.

Two suitcases suddenly feels excessive.

Then it feels impossible.

Then you try to fit your entire life into one bag.

Then you remember shoes exist.

Packing for JET is an exercise in accepting that no matter what you choose, you’ll spend the first month saying either: “I wish I’d brought that” or “I can’t believe I packed this.” Both are perfectly normal.

6. Google your placement… repeatedly.

Population. Average snowfall. Nearest supermarket. Average annual rainfall. Number of convenience stores. Mascot. Distance to Tokyo. Distance to literally anything. You’ll become an expert before you even get there.

You still won’t know what living there is actually like.

7. Promise yourself you’ll study Japanese every day before departure.

You have excellent intentions. You download three apps. Buy a textbook. Watch two YouTube videos. Learn seventeen words.

Forget fourteen of them.

That’s okay. The important thing is building the habit, not becoming fluent before your flight.

8. Discover that everyone has advice.

Konnichiwhatsup. Welcome to my blog.

“Bring peanut butter.”

“Don’t bring peanut butter.”

“Pack spices.”

“Japan has everything.”

“Bring deodorant.”

“Don’t waste luggage space.”

Some advice will be invaluable. Some advice will be strangely specific. Someone, somewhere, will insist that one particular snack is absolutely essential for survival. Smile, thank them, and remember that millions of people successfully move to Japan without carrying an emergency supply of their favorite breakfast cereal.

9. Have at least one small panic.

This one is essential.

Maybe it’s because you can’t find an important document. Maybe it’s because someone asks if you’re nervous. Maybe it’s because moving across the world suddenly feels very real.

This is normal.

You’re not making a mistake. You’re simply doing something big. Big things tend to come with butterflies.

10. Clean your room.

Seriously.

Future You, the one who eventually comes home to visit, will appreciate it.

11. Spend time with the people who matter.

This is probably the only item on the list that’s genuinely important. The paperwork will get done. The packing will happen. The suitcase will close… eventually.

But these last conversations are worth slowing down for. Take photos. Eat your favorite meal. Walk around places that have been ordinary for years.

Soon they’ll become memories of “home.”

12. Accept that you’ll never feel completely ready.

This might be the biggest surprise.

You assume that, eventually, there will be a magical moment where everything is packed, every question is answered, every document is organized, and you feel 100% prepared. That moment never arrives. Instead, departure day shows up anyway. You’ll board the plane carrying excitement, uncertainty, anticipation, and probably one bag that’s a little heavier than the airline would prefer.

And that’s okay. Moving to another country isn’t something you prepare to perfection. It’s something you prepare for as best you can. The rest, you’ll learn after you land.

See you in Japan.