Welcome to Saga Prefecture!

We want to celebrate the things that make living and working in Saga a fantastic and fulfilling experience for JETs and visitors alike. We don’t buy into the New York Times’ description of Saga as “an obscure southern prefecture” and a “bucolic corner of southern Japan“. Even though many Japanese people couldn’t point to Saga on a map, we all happily call Saga home!

Where are we?

Saga is located in the northwest of Kyushu neighbouring Fukuoka, Nagasaki, and Oita Prefectures. It covers 2500 square kilometres and has a population of around 810,000. It’s what the Japanese call 田舎 (inaka), a sprawl of mountains and beautiful rice fields interspersed with cities and towns. It has also been a major trading port throughout Japanese history.

Saga is well connected to major transport hubs like Fukuoka Airport, the Kyushu shinkansen, and many trains and buses allowing us to travel widely and freely. Saga is a beautiful prefecture and everyone who visits falls in love with it!

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Saga is divided into three districts: Kito, Sajo, and Karamatsu. In each district, there are JETs who act as District Representatives and assist other JETs living in the area.

Saga is a rather small (but tight-knit!) community of JETs. There are many private ALTs in Saga, but not every city or town hosts JET Programme participants.

Check out each district page for detailed information on our cities and towns, JET placements, and local recommendations!