New Apartment!

Last Thursday, I officially moved into my new apartment.  Well, really, it's SMS and mine but I don't want to seem like I refer to myself with the royal "we!"  The apartment is gorgeous and satisfies all of the "Would be nice to haves..." that SMS gave me since he couldn't go apartment hunting with me.  It's 2 bedrooms, one bathroom (but with separate toilet room from the sink/shower room) with a covered parking spot, a nice view and close to base.  I lucked out!

The apartment is 2 miles south of base.  At first, I was averse to living South of base b/c I thought, "Why would I want to live farther from Tokyo?!"  Well, it's only two miles and the nearest train stop is a 7 minute walk and is an express stop on the Keikyu line.  It's right on the seawall and to the north and south, the seawall extends with a promenade that's great for running and biking.  It's good for exercise and commuting to work!

It's a 5 story building with a few other people from base, as evidenced by the car stickers and "Y" license plates.  We're on the second floor, facing the ocean.  There's a sort of infinity pool effect from the inside since it seems like the sea comes right to the base although there's actually a small utility road between the building and the seawall.

So, without further ado, here are some pictures!

In the above photo sequence, the top left shows the entrance way where one takes off his/her shoes.  The mid-top photo shows the vantage point if you were standing in the entrance way.  The sink/shower room is straight ahead and the main room to the right.  The toilet room is off to the left but not visible in the picture.  The top right photo is what you would see if you were standing in the main room doorway in the mid-top picture.  A bedroom is straight ahead and the kitchen slightly to the right.  The bottom left photo is from the corner of the main room showing the balcony and tatami room.  This shot shows some of the violent churning of the ocean from Typhoon Wipha that just came through.  The mid-bottom shows the tatami room and the bottom right is the kitchen (kind of self-explanatory).

Oh, the tub room!  This might be my favorite room.  The tub heats itself by recirculating the water and self-fills to the perfect depth.  Also, there's a small built-in bench opposite the window so you can sit in the tub and look out the water and meditate on the horizon.  Although there are fisherman below, no one can see into the second story level unless you smooshed yourself against the glass, which isn't my thing but I won't judge you, potential visitors.  (Well, maybe a little.  I don't want to get evicted!).  I'm not exactly sure why the water is light blue.  It's sort of disconcerting but doesn't smell like chemicals so I'm just going to go with it.

These are not the best photos but this just shows there are two bedrooms, one of which is a mess since I have no dresser yet.  I am a little concerned about the size of the bed we're bringing over but I think it should work.

So, there's a little tour for the three readers of my blog.  You're welcome!