Well, finally…here is the second to last update from my previous trip. I’ll get it done before my next trip….I swear….maybe…
So, this time, I’d like to give you all a tour of my parent’s apartment. It’s small. The conveniences just aren’t there…. And living here after living in a 2 story relatively large 3 bedroom townhouse for 20 years….yeah…it’s an adjustment. A big adjustment….
So click on the link and take a look :)
So, as I may have written before, my parents have now moved to Japan and have moved into a danchi. Basically a giant apartment complex. It’s a bit out of the way and it’s about a 10 minute bus ride from the train station (Murakami Eki…not that you need to know this….). It’s about US$800+ I think. But yeah..it’s pretty damn small. Fine for 2 people but if I go there to spend the night, and I think I am when I go visit them next month, I don’t really know where I’m going to sleep. Ah well.
Anyway, on with the tour.
Two views of the living room. Yup, those are tatami mats. Those woven grass mats that you may see in some restaurants around here. Each room is really defined by the number of mats that it consists of as each mat is a standard size everywhere. This room is 6 mats is size. Which…is not big. But you have room for a small couch, a little TV, and a coffee table that will get folded up and moved against the wall at night to make room for the futon as this is also where my dad sleeps. Mom has another room down the hall that’s the same size.
Air conditioner is the one up on the wall up there. Thankfully with all the windows in the apartment, there’s a good breeze going through…but still…it can be pretty hot so I guess they got that thing installed soon after they moved in.
A view of the kitchen there. It’s the kitching/dining room…but really…it’s a kitchen. The stove is only 2 burners and no oven. There’s that little cart that my mom has the microwave on that also has the rice cooker and the small toaster oven. I really have no idea how she does it without any counter space. Oh, and I don’t know if she actually gets any hot water either as I doubt the apartment has a hot water heater. Fun!
…it gets better and better doesn’t it?
Oh, and a shot of the cute little fridge.
Here’s a shot of the mini washing machine. No dryer though. And the machine can only handle so much in terms of load so my mom will do laundry almost every other day, especially since clothes will have to be hang dried outside. This is pretty common in Japan, especially around Tokyo and south as the weather is not as wet or cold. Even when it’s raining, depending on the wind, you will see plenty of houses with clothes hanging to dry. Everywhere you look, you see clothes being hung up to dry because dryers just aren’t as common. It takes up room and eats alot of electricity AND there really isn’t anywhere to put the vent, especially in an apartment. Even this washing machine, when you want to use it, you have to roll it close to the door and put the hose directly into the drain in the shower room.
Speaking of the shower room, the second shot is of the shower room. They did a pretty crappy job with the grout and such but it’s clean, despite the looks.
Anyway, this is a shot of a traditional bath-room (not to be confused with a bathroom with a toilet). You stand outside of the tub and wash your body and shampoo your hair. Once you are clean, then and ONLY then do you step into the tub. Mainly because everyone in the family will sit in the same water. Needless to say, traditionally the head of the household gets to use the tub first….
Back in the day, you had to fill the tub up with water and THEN you heat it up so you had to wait a bit before even taking a bath. I’m not sure of the setup they have here…the shower looks like it’s hooked up to the faucet as opposed to the tub itself so maybe they get hot water after all.
Now…this is an old apartment. The newer ones have better amenities and such but…really…in the end, it’s not too different. Sure, there are plenty of houses and such now with western style kitchens and bathrooms and such. But in the end, this type of residence is still very common.
These apartment complexes are also causing some social issues too…. Unfortunately, even in Japan, there is an immigration problem. This apartment complex that my parents have moved into has a very large Brazillian and Peruvian population. I guess it’s easier to move into Japan than the US these days and many of them are hard working and just trying to make a better name for themselves. The problem is, just outside of my parents building is a small shopping center and there is a liquor store on the corner. The store actually has a beer vending machine outside. You don’t see it much anymore but what happens is a few of the South American workers will gather there and get drunk from the beer in the vending machines as it’s cheaper than going to a bar. This ends up with them passing out literally in the middle of the street…..almost every night.
Are they all like this? No. Are there Japanese people that do similar things? Yes. But in the end, they are the immigrants and a few of them causes everyone else to be seen in a negative way too. Unfortunately.
Ah well. Before this becomes something political, I will end it here. Soon after my these pictures were taken, my parents stuff arrived from the US via frieght so next time I go, it’ll look a bit different. In all honesty I have no idea where they put everything….it’ll be interesting.
Anyway, next up will be the more typical update involving maids, retro games, and electronics. Wooo!
Soon. It’ll be up soon. Realy…
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