Alex Quinn's Japan Journal

Apartment

I live in a special 5-story apartment building for teachers (both Japanese and foreigners).  I have a bedroom, an office, a living room, two balconies (north and south), a bathroom, and a bigger long central room that functions as a kitchen and an entry hallway.  The building is run down and the bathroom and kitchen show this clearly.  However, the bedroom and living room have brand new tatami mats (Japanese substitute for carpet).  In the bedroom, I've got a nice big, comfortable double bed, a newish dresser, a shelf, and a fairly big closet.  In the office, I've got a desk, and some bookshelves.  In the living room, there's just a little low (18" high) table for socializing.  The kitchen features a gas range, a Japanese-style rice cooker, an air pot (dispenser of boiling water), a fairly large refrigerator, a kitchen table, and a sink.  There is no oven, but the gas range has a peculiar drawer for cooking a fish.  There is no running hot water like you ordinarily think of.  The bathtub/shower in the bathroom has a built-in gas-powered device for heating the water.  It's totally bizarre.

A 40 second silent walking tour of my apartment.  This is a 10 MB MOV file.  It might take a few minutes to download.

The kitchen.

The gas range.

The toilet.

The washing machine.

The dryer.

The sink.

The bathtub/shower.

The bathtup/shower controls. (How do you work this fricken' thing?)

The bed.

The cell phone on the tatami mat in the bedroom.

The air conditioner control.

From the balcony.

From the balcony.