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Photos: Alaska grads JET to Japan

The group raised their glasses of Alaska-brewed beer in celebration on Friday at Tokyo Garden, a restaurant in Midtown Anchorage with decor inspired by the country that the recent college graduates would leave for on a 5:45 a.m. flight the next day.

After traveling thousands of miles for positions they applied for nearly a year ago, the seven graduates, all in their early to mid-20s, would land in Tokyo, where they will spend a quick few days crammed with workshops about the next year of their lives teaching in a country that some had visited before and some had not.

Then they'll disperse across the Japanese archipelago to work as assistant English language teachers for the Japan Exchange and Teaching Program, or JET, sponsored by the Japanese government.

Read more: College grads bound for teaching jobs in Japan say 'sayonara' to Alaska

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