Where to Work
What should I take into account in my request?
As far as the selection of where to work, there a number of factors that you should take into account. Are you looking for a metropolitan or countryside area? The city offers much of the luxuries that you enjoy in your home country but usually offers little scenery. The countryside is rather beautiful, but it is not rare to be relatively dislocated from other JETs. Another factor is your level of Japanese and your desire to learn the language. There is very little need to speak Japanese in the city and many people finish the program with very little (or no) language ability. If placed in the country, you will likely have no choice but to study the language. Another factor is finances. It goes without saying that the city is much more expensive. It is not unheard of for JETs in the countryside to live in houses, be given cars and return home after the program with a ton of cash. The city is quite the opposite, as party-animals can expect to see their funds drained rather quickly and much of their time spent in crowded trains and small apartments. Just for reference, I worked for three years in Yokohama in a 23 square meter place paying 85,000 yen a month in rent and utilities and managed to save about $15,000. This is about half of the amount that people I have spoken to in the country have been able to save. For me, being in the city was my priority. What's yours?
What should I make my top 3 requests?
For starters, you will have to rank your top 3 choices of where you would like to be placed in Japan. This is where most applicants mess up. If you are like I was before coming to Japan, your knowledge of Japanese geography may be restricted to Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto. That's very common. One problem, though. If those become your choices, you will be up against thousands of people doing the same.
A little known fact about the JET Program is that there are almost no Tokyo JETs. At last count, there are about 10 of them. If you really like Tokyo, you are better off requesting a city in the Tokyo area, as opposed to Tokyo itself. I was in Yokohama, from where you can get into central Tokyo in just around 30-40 minutes. Other possibilities include Kawasaki City, Kanagawa, Chiba and Saitama (you can get into Tokyo in less than an hour from many places in these areas). The same logic applies for Osaka and Kyoto. You may want to think about such places as Kobe, Nagoya and Okayama. Other cities of interest include Fukuoka, Sendai and Sapporo, which are conveniently located within coutryside areas but are a considerable distance away from Tokyo and Osaka.
Another recommendation is to be very specific about where you want to be placed. This applies in particular to individuals who have either been to Japan before or would like to pretend that they have. Be specific about reasons why you feel that the place that you have requested has what you need to have a happy and productive JET life. The administration of the program is most concerned about placing you in an area where you will be able to fulfill the full life of your contract in a dapper mood. Give them every reason to believe that your selections are based not on random folly, but on a deeper knowledge of the area.
If you would rather be placed in the countryside, I would recommend doing some research and being selctive about what part of the country you would rather be placed. Keep in mind that the closer you are to Tokyo, the easier and cheaper it is for international travel. For example, It costs me only about 2000 yen to get to Narita Airport, so a 40,000 yen round trip to Thailand is rather attractive (I've made the trip 3 times). It becomes less appealing if you throw in a 15,000 yen Shinkansen bullet train ride or flight to Tokyo or Osaka (both have major airports).
Let the dice roll
In the end, I have found (and in discussions with hundreds of other JETs have confirmed) that there is little logic in the final decision of where to place you. They are dealing with thousands of applications and it wouldn't surprise me if the final dicisions were based on an eeny-meeny-miny-mo mentality (boy, would I love to record this process with a hidden camera). The best that you can do is make your selections stand out above the rest as being based on information that other applicants don't have. Don't stress. Just do a little research, keep your fingers crossed and good luck!