House Work

I was first driven towards finding a new place to call home when I had more and more trouble sleeping at the dorm I was placed in. Yes, it was the commuter train coming by every few minutes, but it was also the noise of the other people staying there. My room was not a few feet from the bathroom, and the Japanese youth seem to have a habit of clearing their throats so loudly that for a while I was afraid they had accidentally swallowed something alive that was trying very hard to get back out. This was a problem because the amount of time and energy spent simply getting to school should have been enough to knock me out come dusk.

So it was that I was introduced to the army of women working at Pitatto House, a real estate company with bright green offices all over western Tokyo. I went in originally just to look at a few places, and one of the ladies (who spoke no English) showed me around two apartment buildings, both of which were a short walk from school. I immediately liked one of them (the rooms), and told them such the next week.

Thus I entered a process that I'd really prefer not to go through again. Japan is bureaucratic enough as it is (I had to register my bike with the city after I bought it), but the process of finding a place to live was quite remarkable in the amount of paperwork and trips to government offices I made. The following is an abridged list:

Approximately 35 trips to the Citibank ATM to take out enough to pay all the fees in advance (they wanted it in cash!)

Mitaka city office to change the address on my alien registration ID (I'm an alien) and to apply for National Health Insurance in Mitaka

2 Trips to the post office for two different kinds of insurance

5 trips to the student affairs office because they're concerned with my affairs

3 trips to the Japanese bank to open an account (the first I didn't have the correct paperwork, the second they were closed [The lady told me they would be open that day. Alas.], and the third to finally open an account) through which I would pay rent, despite the fact that the first months' rent was in cash. (Don't ask. I don't know.)

Of course, I still had all my stuff at the dorm, which is about a 45 minute journey, so I made a bunch of those as well.

Was it worth it? Absolutely. My Japanese improved significantly, I think, as most of this process was not in English. Vocabulary involving rent, delivering of appliances, bank accounts and furniture have been stored pretty tightly in my head. So if you're ever in the market for a place in Tokyo...

Of course, this left me with an empty apartment. Japanese apartments generally come unfurnished, and when they say unfurnished, they mean no stove, no fridge, no nothing. Totally bare, save the necessary facilities which would have been very difficult to buy (shower, etc).

This then required numerous NUMEROUS trips to local warehouses such as the ironically named J-Mart, and another store that is very popular called "Don Quixote." Again, I don't know why. I also learned that it's a very very bad idea to try to carry a box containing a bookshelf on a bike for more than a mile. On the first day I had my bike. Of course, I repeated this mistake another two times carrying similarly heavy and bulky items, and although I was concentrating on not falling over, I could swear I heard onlookers expressing their confusion as to why an American was on a bike carrying large items that would be much more easily transported on a bus. I guess I'm wondering that now, too.

In any case, after two weeks of organizing, purchasing, and re-organizing, and with absolutely no background in interior design, here's what I came up with:




Sleeping on the floor (not ON the floor but close enough to the floor [on a futon] that it's correct to say on the floor) definitely took (is taking) some getting used to, but in general I love it here. It's also an item in my contract that I cannot wear my shoes inside, so I get this little area for my shoes.



I realize this is probably the most boring picture I've ever taken, but in terms of cultural comparison I think it's necessary. Thanks for bearing with me.

Of course, one of the nicest things (they're all nice, really) about living here is the proximity to school. To give you a visual picture of what I mean, let's have a look at what I had to look at on my way to school before the move and after the move.

Before:



After:




That's the entryway to ICU. Not bad, not bad.