Apartment Life In Japan

    So I've realized that apartment hunting in the United States is FAR easier than what we've experienced in Japan!  As I recall from my apartment days in the US, I only had to pay a deposit (that would be refunded at the end of my lease if I took care of the place) plus the current month's rent.  Not so easy in Japan!

    First, it's helpful if you're not Gaijin!  As you know by now, we looked at at least 1o apartments and chose the one we really liked.  When Kumi, our fabulous assistant from FIS, tried to get an application for us, the company wanted to meet us first because they had never rented to foreigners.  We went and bowed and bowed and sat down and stood up and bowed and bowed and bowed and sat down and stood up and bowed and sat down and drank tea and listened to a Japanese conversation regarding us, I'm sure, and stood up and bowed and left.  We were going to have to get a second security deposit.  Even if we did that, it wasn't guaranteed that it would work out.

    Max, our awesome real estate agent (and now neighbor), and Tim started from scratch while I worked.  After looking at several apartments, Tim narrowed it to two.  They picked me up after school and showed me the apartment closest to school first.  I was sold on it even though it was ground level and had a purple bathroom with blue floor!  Thank goodness that first apartment didn't work out, because this one was just renovated and has LOTS more storage and more room!  Everything happens for a reason!

    This apartment is considered a 3LDK and is quite spacious comparatively speaking.  A 3 LDK means that it has 3 rooms that you can live/sleep in and then a Living space, Dining space, and Kitchen, usually all in a row.  I think the Dining area is in the kitchen here so we just eat Japanese style, on the floor.  It's actually quite comfy with the cushions we bought.  One of the rooms is a 6 Tatami room (they measure rooms with how many Tatami mats will fit).  We are using it for storage but I would like to use it as a traditional Japanese room and eat in there.  Tatami mats are made of rice straw and have an awful odor when they are new!

    Here's how the process works...Kumi helped us fill out the application.  This company had never rented to foreigners either but accepted us right away because they knew Max (plus we're really great--ha!).  FIS put down the "Key Money," basically a deposit that you don't get back.  It's around 6 months rent up front!!!!!!!!!!!!  INSANE!!!  We got the keys a week later.

    Let me explain how the key money works.  Each time someone moves out, the apartment company uses the key money to strip ALL of the wallpaper (yes, wallpaper...no paint), put all new wallpaper up, rip up the old Tatami mats, replace with new Tatami mats, and have the place cleaned.  This time I guess they also used the key money from the previous tenants (plus some extra money) to renovate the place.  We have all new fake light wood floors (I don't think they know what real wood floors are!), new sink in the bathroom area, new tub, new kitchen cabinets, and new western closet in the bedroom.

    Apartments also come bare!  When someone moves out, they must take EVERYTHING!  Most people sell their appliances and furniture to second hand stores because there is no place to take it and pitch it.  This meant that we had to go out and buy EVERYTHING for the apartment.  It did come with one overhead fluorescent light but that's about it (and that HAS to go)!

    We decided to use all of our time at the hotel and start our lease at the beginning of the month of September.  During this time I worked while Tim spent the days out with Kumi and Max at second hand and 100 yen stores.  We bought a washer/drier all-in-one, AC/heater, microwave, refrigerator, 2 fake leather chairs, dresser for me, and tiny silverware.  All of that was delivered!

    We bought a cheap bed and added a pillow topper, kutatsu table (heated table), bedding, curtains, trash cans, and other essentials from Nitori, a cheap version of Ikea that's a little dated, but it works!  Nitori also delivers for free so we chose that option meaning that we had no bed for the first 4 nights!  We borrowed a friend's futon and somehow both managed to sleep on it.  Though I was grateful to have something to sleep on, my neck and back ached for days!

    Our 16 boxes from the US have been in held up in customs for over a week.  We sent the customs declaration card so they should be here in less than 10 days.  I'm looking forward to seeing what's in the boxes since I was so delirious when packing but not looking forward to the unpacking part!!!  Anyone want to place bets on how long it'll take us to unpack?!

    Looking forward to going to flea markets and bargain shopping to decorate our place and make it ours!

    Now that we have an apartment and a BED, I feel at home!  I don't know what it is about a bed that makes it homey, but they sure are a necessity!      

    Home, sweet, home...in Fukuoka, Japan!  Crazy, huh?!