Moving Apartments

This last week was outrageously busy as I tried to juggle classwork with prepping my resume/applications for the Boston Career Forum (flying back to the states for a week in November) AND simultaneously setting the gears in motion to move apartments.

Moving apartments... being an adult is hard. But I think I got it right this time.

I never really bothered to share photos or descriptions of the current place because its not much to share. From my 8th view window, I can see... car parts factories. At night, the sounds of motorcycle gangs on the adjacent highway serenades me to sleep. On my route to school, I have a lovely tour of used car dealers, and car part stores, and car repair shops. It's a private, functional space, but that's about it. I selected it without understanding much of the area, or even what I was looking for, only that it balanced far enough away from school to be cheap but still close enough to commute by bike.

I also hardly ever encountered the neighbors. It's a monthly apartment, pre-furnished and with an easily adjustable contract, so it caters to working adults whose companies transfer them to work in Tokyo for a few months. Most neighborhoods are meticulously guarded by the local neighborhood watch organization--most of my friends have been scolded by the vigilant grannies for taking out their trash too early. This might be obnoxious, but the presence of trash-guard-grannies evidences the strong bonds of community, which is something my neighborhood/apartment just doesn't have.

I have a weird guilty complex about hanging out with foreigners outside of class and speaking English. But my current situation allowed me hardly any opportunity to meet Japanese people my age. So then I would retreat to my apartment and be bored, and feel guilty that I wasn't better utilizing my time.

But, with the magical powers of the internet, I found a company "Social Apartment" that's basically college dorms but for big people. I'm moving to Shinkawasaki, which is still only a 12 minute train ride (1 transfer) to my school in Minatomirai. Individual bedrooms, but actually really nice shared facilities. There's a lounge with a PS3 and Wii, nearly the largest kitchen I've ever seen in a Japanese house, outdoor wood deck, and a rooftop deck with a pretty view looking towards Tokyo and Shinjuku.

The bedroom is small, but the difference in rent and all means I'll be saving close to $300 a month. And honestly I think the lifestyle change of having Japanese friends to hang out with at night will be a major change in my happiness, in addition to being an invaluable language/cultural learning tool.

I was kinda anxious about the possibility of moving in with creepers / otherwise unpleasant roommates, but having met the landlord I feel way better now. I had been exchanging emails with the landlord for a couple days (incredibly relevant timing because we're working on formal correspondence in class, particularly emails chock full of keigo) before I came to visit and from the business-like tone of the emails I assumed he would be 50 or so. Turns out he's actually my age, and a super-chill bro, and we're gonna play soccer tomorrow. Nevermind that I don't like soccer very much and will probably embarrass myself because I haven't actually played since I was 6.

He vouched very strongly for the other residents being interesting people (I think there will be a total of 18 once I move in, 3 foreigners and otherwise mainly Japanese) and swore by the warm and welcoming environment of the apartment set-up. He insists that partly because it's a more narrow space, everyone gets more cuddly. I like cuddly. :p


Unrelated: went to a Japanese baseball game last week, sitting on the side of the diehard Hanshin Tigers fans. American fans are downright pathetic when compared to the vigor that Japanese fans pour into their constant organized cheering. I was also creepin' hardcore on the trumpeters.