Cameron Hart

Cameron Hart was a Shiga JET (2019-2024) (Koka City)

I'm currently finishing up my post-grad studies at the University of Bath, looking to get into a career in Marketing. The five years I spent in rural Japan have certainly given me confidence in trying new things and stepping out of my comfort zone. Playing full-contact rugby on a Japanese rugby team, with only conversational language ability, all while melting in the summer heat, certainly helped with that.

You never quite know what experiences might come your way while on JET! During COVID-19, I was riding the train when I got a long message from a friend. Those messages are usually pretty important so I quickly checked it. Turns out through a mutual friend, we'd both been invited to take part as extras in an NHK morning drama; Come Come Everybody (2021). Because of the travel restrictions at the time, there weren't many foreigners in Japan, meaning few foreign actors were available. Sometimes opportunities come up in Japan that you just can't say no to.

We were to play American baseball players in an exhibition match against Japanese players in a post-war flashback scene. I recruited some more JET ALTs to help us out and we turned up on set. Our 'American' baseball team was actually a bunch of Ex-pats NHK had pulled together, really whoever they could find. This included myself, a Brit, as well as a 6'5"" Polish beer brewer. Close enough I thought! The Director asked me if I'd played baseball before. Unfortunately not. Only of us had, meaning he played the batter. I was on the bench right in the background, then I was on second base, on screen for all of 2.5 seconds!

Nonetheless, my students and teachers were still quite surprised to see me on TV.

The advice I would give current JETs is to prepare for your life post-JET relatively early. I undertook a distance-learning University course as well as other online courses in order to build my CV. This helped me get into a Masters programme back home. The sad reality is that JET will end for everyone, as much as you wish it could last forever. It's better to have done the work early and set-up something after JET, leaving you the chance to enjoy the last few months in Japan and not have to worry about the next steps after you finish.

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