My Apartment ...

I'm living in the new apartment that was rented for me by the BOE. I have to say that it is a really nice apartment, and it is so much more spacious than I thought it would be! At first I thought that I would be moving into the same apartment building as Sean, but actually I live about a three minute bike ride away. And just between me and you ... I got the most awesome apartment ever!!!

Let me give you a virtual tour of my home (see basic map below):

Legend
Purple = walls
Blue = doors / sliding doors
Yellow = sliding windows
Pink = stuff

We start off in the Genkan, or entry hallway. As you can see, I have a door, and a sturdy one at that! Anyway, it comes equipped with a handy mail box, so I can get my mail (bills) without it being stolen. There is also a shoe rack, which is actually just some shelves, but whatever. Watch out for the step up into the apartment ...

The immediate view from my Genkan is into my living room and out to my balcony. I have very nice hardwood floors - they dent very easily, though ...

To you right, you will find my kitchen. My BOE was nice enough to equip me with a very powerful microwave, a two-eye cook top with a pull out grill, a refrigerator, a rice cooker, a vacuum cleaner, and a shelving system to put lots of random things in. You can't see it in this picture, but there is a sink there, I promise, and it's huge!

My huge sink ... and my pathetic attempt at recycling. In Japan, they recycle just about everything, but luckily, everything you buy has a nice recycling emblem that tells you what to recycle that item as.

The view from my kitchen is pretty nice. It makes me wish that my apartment was facing the other way ...

One thing that I need to point out, I LOVE RICE COOKERS!!! Although, I still somehow manage to burn my rice ever so slightly ...

This is my "Washing-up Room," as I have deemed it. There is another sink, a washing machine, and my wonderful bath and shower. Note to self: Get a bath mat.

My fabulous toilet room. Yes, it is pink, and yes, that is a seat warmer. Also, your right, that's a sink on top of the tank. My only complaint is that it is too narrow, but hey, at least I have one!?

My living room is airy and spacious. The BOE provided me with a desk, a 26 inch flat-screen TV, and an air conditioner, which I'm trying my best not to use. Also in this room, you will find my snow tire closet to the left of this picture - now being used as a luggage holder. Rather than sit at my desk, I'm currently enjoying the floor because of ...

The best purchase I have ever made in my entire life! This cute little box fan, while costing 2,480 yen, is a life saver. I was burning up in my apartment; literally, I was stepping out of the shower sweating. However, this little guy changed all of that. It goes with me into every room that I stay in for a period of time. I absolutely love it! The plate on the front moves, so it is like an osculating fan, and you can pivot it up and down. I hope it doesn't die, ever ...

Next to the living room is my bedroom, which is 6 tatami mats. It's empty except for my stuffed cow, a torch light, and my old cell phone that I use for an alarm clock. Every night I take my futon out of the futon closet, and in the morning I put it back. I also have the dream catcher that Kim made for me. It's either working thus far, or I've been too hot to dream!

The last stop on the tour of my apartment is the balcony. It's not as exciting as it sounds because unfortunately I don't have much of a view. That's okay, though, because at least I have somewhere to hang my clothes to dry - that's what those brown hook things are for ...

And that's all there is to my little 202! Lots of spiders live here ...

But down the stairs is the lovely city of Murakami!

Just down the street, not even a minute away, is the Jusco. Yes, I live near a Jusco - it's kind of like a Japanese Wal-Mart. I go there just about every day for food, but the jingles they play in the produce and meat departments get stuck in my head.

Haha, I didn't even notice the Elephant truck!

Just in front of the Jusco parking lot is the Book Off / Hard Off / Off House! This is the best place to get cheap books, electronics, and other random things.

While everything is conveniently located around me, I will still need to get a car. Two of my schools are quite far away, and not to mention that it might be hard to ride my bicycle around in heavy snow. For now, however, I'm doing just fine on my nifty bicycle.

--> Bicycle Picture <-- (coming soon) Bonus Story! In desperate times ... my first morning in my apartment, I got up and made some toast on the stove. The previous day I had picked up some Shoku Pan (white bread, so very tasty) and strawberry jam, but when I sat down to eat, I noticed something was missing. A knife! At this point I didn't have silverware yet, so instead, I used a large cutting knife ...

I also used that same knife to cut into my rice bag, as I didn't have any scissors yet.