Japanへようこそ～

Its hot.
Its humid.
It is most definitely Japan.

I went from cool 65* September Seattle, to this 88*+ weather of Osaka.
I wouldn't have it any other way. Maybe a little less humidity... (しんどい・・)


The flight over was terrible. Asiana Airlines had some major delays, my flight being about an hour and a half. I flew from Seattle to Incheon, and originally had an hour long wait for my flight to Osaka, but with the original delay, the window shrunk to about 15 minutes. About an hour before we landed, the estimated arrival time was 5 minutes after the departure of my second flight. The stewardesses said that they would most likely hold the plane as there were around 20 people trying to make the transfer. When we arrived there was another stewardess waiting with a sign for Osaka transferees, and as we rushed through the airport, myself panting under the weight of my 40kg carry-ons, I thought we were safe. And then we arrived at a counter where they started taking our names, and giving us a voucher for a hotel stay for the night.

What. The. Pho.

It wasn't all bad as I made friends with two kind Japanese ladies. But the next morning as we were waiting in line for customs, they told me I wasn't allowed to take my carry-ons with me because they were too heavy. I was forced to go to the check-in area, wait in a line I shouldn't have had to, and then tell the lady that I had no money to pay to check my carry-ons. She finally let me check one for free, and it was fine from there. But.. I don't want to sound racist, but my first experience in Korea sucked. Everyone with whom I spoke to was rude and condescending, as though it was beneath them to treat me kindly. If I ever happen to go back, I hope I have a better experience. And I'm never buying a flight that has less than a two hour layover time again. Just too risky. I'd been fine wandering around the airport instead.

On the flight over to Osaka (finally), I watched Wonder Woman the animation. Let me tell you, it was hilarious. Upon first sight of real children, she sees three boys playing pirates and a little girl crying because the boys won't let her play as they need someone to rescue. Wonder Woman then teaches the little girl how to properly sword fight by teaching her how to gut them. She is very descriptive and the little girls face is somewhat distorted as she listens. I recommend it.

Despite the fact that I had 4 suitcases and 2 carry-ons, I had very little trouble with customs. The guy who was looking them over with an incredulous face asked me why I had so many and I told him my fiance had left some things behind and I was bringing them over. All that was inside, I said, was clothing, books and non-perishable food. The guy was probably 25-26 and was probably new, and let me continue on without even checking inside~ Very lucky!!

As I exited the door to the outside world, I spotted J. As he came over, I told him, "Don't you dare laugh" but he couldn't help it. I wish I had taken a picture of the car filled with suitcases. Two in the trunk, one on each back seat with another on top, and one of my carry-ons in my lap. And unfortunately, we went directly to the real estate shop from the airport. We looked at the one J had originally picked out, but that I was iffy about, and another which was absolutely adorable but was located 30 minutes walking distance from the nearest station and supermarket and right behind a giant truck stop... @.@

Despite having originally been iffy about the one J had picked, when I finally saw it, it was gorgeous and had an amazing view! It is right next door to a supermarket and a DOG CAFE!! There are not cats or dogs allowed so if i have the need to play with an animal I can go there! :D

Here are some pictures! And a link to the website~

This is the apartment from the outside~ Our apartment is on the top floor (3). The balcony on the left will be ours~ No one else lives on the top floor so it will be quiet~

Here is the floor plan! The doors to the balcony seem small but they actually take up most of the wall~ You can see this in later pictures~ The LDK part is the living room/dining room/kitchen, hence the L.D.K. Its very spacious despite the fact that the whole apartment is 50m*2. The balcony is amazing and when I buy some shelves to go outside, it will be amazing light for plants! Both a downside and a plus is that it gets very hot because it is so high up.. Reflection of the river that is LITERALLY just outside probably doesn't help either. We will just need to buy some good curtains~

These two pictures are the LDK part of the house~ It looks WAY more spacious than it actually is, but the room is definitely not small~ Enough room for a dining table, couch, book shelves, tv, fridge, pantry and a counter~

This is where the washing machine will go and also the sink. For some reason the sink and toilet are separate, with the toilet almost always having its own room. Its a somewhat smaller room than I was hoping for, but I can manage~ Hopefully I can install a shelf or something on top, because the washing machine we bough it front loading rather than top loading.

And this is the shower and bath. For those that don't know about Japanese baths, you shower and wash your body first, normally while sitting down. Once your body is clean, then you get into the giant tub of hot water to relax. J's family tends to leave the water as it is for a week before draining and refiling. This is because you are completely clean before getting in, and saves water~

 This is the main bedroom, the one located just off the balcony~ It has two closets, one small for the futon/bedding, and the other in this picture for clothes. I forgot to take measurements of the space in between for the possibility of a dresser or bookcase. We haven't decided if we are going to have a bed or a futon, but if we had a futon, we could fold it up and put it away and have room for a desk or something~ Or my garden~ :3

 This is the entrance, the picture taken from the door~ On the left is several cupboards and a shelf for shoes, umbrellas, and other such items. On the right you can see two doors, the closest being the bathroom and the one further away the entrance to the sink, washing machine, and bath. On the left, the door leads to the LDK.

And finally!! The Balcony!!~ It is about 3 ft. wide and a good 20 ft long. The sun, when it is around 3pm, reaches 2 feet off the ground on the back wall. It is south facing so it gets LOTS of sun! Which will be helpful in winter and summer~ Great for hanging laundry too~ :D





This apartment is $610 a month, with a parking space costing $84 a month, and the security deposit being $1200. The total we end up paying for both September and October and all the start up payments came out to a total of $2600. Junya's grandma is paying our security deposit for us though. So thats about... $1400 as start up until November~ Junya will be able to pay this~

Thats all for now. Its taken me 3 hours to write this and I've had a cat in heat yowling at me..

J used to have 6 cats. He had one 16 year old cat until he rescued a box of 5 kittens he found abandoned outside of a train station. He brought them all home, and has been raising them every since. I believe they had so bad water with something poisonous in it, because 4 of the 5 kittens got sick and 2 have died so far.. the other cat who isn't sick is, however, in heat. And yowling her head off because the male cat who had been helping, was one of the kittens who died.

Tomorrow I shall post about everything we've bought, and what we still need to buy~

Oyasumi~