Originally published on metropolis.co.jp on May 2014

EIKAI-WHA?

Regarding “Eikaiwa’s Calm Center” (The Last Word, May 2): The probable reason why society looks down on the eikawa teacher is not what they do at work, but how they behave outside work. It is not everyone, but the stereotype is the younger white guy with just enough money to hit the bars in Roppongi and work his way through the ladies there. I have met eikawa workers (I would say “workers” for a lot of these people because they are not licensed teachers) who are decent hard-working people, but have met many more in Roppongi who are actively scamming on the chicks. There is nothing wrong with that, but for some reason the eikaiwa workers (especially the dudes) are actually stuck with that stigma. Also it might be viewed by foreign society in Japan as the lowest rung since it is a job that pretty much anyone who speaks English and looks foreign can do. I have nothing against eikaiwa teachers, as I have meet many who are decent people, but as the author said, it is a job where you do not take a lot of responsibility, it is easy to do and their social reputation sucks. These might be reasons why other people look down upon them.—Maulinator

I agree that you can meet some really interesting people, that any job has its pluses and minuses on the balance, that an eikawa job can provide a certain amount of freedom for those who opt for it, and that in a retail-consumption-based society, deception is part of marketing. Eikaiwa is a business, and like Walmart, regularly exploits workers to improve the bottom line of stockholders. I too was a high school teacher and left for all the reasons that the author mentioned, but the difference is that eikawa is not about education (as a former boss put it), but about customer relations. We don’t grade students—we make them feel they have gotten what they paid for. Privatization of learning inevitably leads to PR rather than a PhD.—Keratomileusis

In what universe does eikaiwa allow you free time to do your own thing? The entire reason the job is so terrible is that it leaves you no time for life outside of work with its 12-hour work days, including weekends.—John

BREAKFAST BLIGHT

Regarding “Clinton Street Baking Company” (Dining Out, May 2): The general lack of Western breakfasts in Tokyo continues to mystify me—especially since the few that are around are always too crowded. Even those that exist don’t serve what I would call a real American breakfast. What I find is always too altered, too “prettified,” too upscale. You can’t even get scrambled eggs at McDonald’s.—Jaycasey