Hi everyone! So we’ve been in Tokyo just over a month now and despite the self-isolation, it has still has taken me this long to get around to writing the promised blog. I plan to now make this a weekly thing (as long as we have something worth sharing) so let’s do this thing!
Considering most of our time is being spent in the flat it makes sense to start the blog here. We have a 1DK apartment (1-room, Dining & Kitchen) located in the Nakano area, just a couple of stops away from Shinjuku! So very central and convenient.
There are pros and cons to our new Japanese style apartment compared with our London one.
Cons – Paper-thin walls (we can hear the neighbour snoring among other things), It’s a bit bare & umm ‘studenty’ looking with an ugly steel entrance door that BANGS when you close it or get post. The worst thing though, there is no oven! This is very common in Japan, partially to save space and also as Roasting (ロースト) is not part of the cooking culture (my plans to introduce Sunday roasts to Japan have hit a snag)
Pros – The sliding doors are cool, You manually turn the boiler on/off and it’s connected directly to the bath which means no loss of hot water, The little square bath made us laugh when we first saw it but it’s actually really cosy to be submerged in and as it’s connected to the boiler it cycles the water keeping it warm like a private mini onsen. Best of all there is lots of light and a balcony with a view!
I nearly forgot possibly my favourite thing about our flat. Every weekday at 5pm sharp they play the Hovis theme song (from the advert where the boy rides down the hill) it’s rather magical but always makes me miss bread from home.
On the whole, we are very happy with our little flat although honestly, it’s not that small compared to our last flat (if anything the layout is a bit better or we just have less stuff). It just needs a little love to make it feel homely. In the next blog, we will go over how to decorate a flat in Japan on a budget.
Until then さようなら “Sayonara”
