Internet again!
Woohoo! I am online again! Today was an interesting day, full of important people who did not speak any English: the AC guy and the internet guy. Macky had to come bail me out again.
There's a lot to tell, but I'm pretty tired from the thunderstorm-induced lack of sleep. It was a doozy at 4 am, both kids, terrified, in my bed (J is in Sasebo for work), watching the show. It was better than a Cleveland summer storm, and the kids had never seen its like in Seattle. I'm told such storms are common here, and I am thrilled. Even M was sold on the coolness of nature's fireworks by the end.
Anyway, our house. It's cool (especially now that we have AC upstairs, too). Much bigger than I expected we would have, and full of exciting novelties (for me). Let me share some of them with you:
The toilet, separate from the shower room, has a heated seat, a bidet, AND a dryer.
The shower/bath (o-furo). In Japan, everyone shares the bath water, which is for soaking (nice and hot and deep), not washing. Hence, the washing is done with the showerhead prior to entering the tub. You can do it sitting down, too, which is great for shaving. The coolest thing is, the whole room is the shower, so you can spray everywhere and completely overfill the tub, and it won't matter. AND you can reheat the tub. It's a dream.
The kitchen has a tiny dishwasher, and a combination oven/microwave, with a little broiler above it (great for fish).
We had to buy this (Japanese apartments don't usually come with anything). It washes AND dries. Put a load of clothes in at night, and you have clean and dry clothes in the morning.
My walk-in closet. Not a novelty for some, but I've always wanted one. It has a light and a fan, too. No more squashed clothes.
All these pictures were taken pre-furniture. We have a little now.
That's all I have to say about my house right now.
I also have some pictures of a cool festival we went to a couple weeks ago, called a matsuri. It has something to do with this small shrine a bunch of guys carry around, and the little girls dress in kimonos. There are a bunch of them all summer long, in different neighborhoods. They also have way cooler food than US carnivals. So much more interesting than funnel cakes. The kids, of course, ate hot dogs, and J had a big baked potato thing completely slathered with mounds of butter. I had yakisoba, with an egg. Here's some pictures:
Beautiful chocolate-covered bananas
Dog-feeding action shot
Pokemon fishing game. Easy to win (yea).
Okasan with a gun.
Pretty little girls in kimonos.
Mmmm, okonomiyaki, made to order.
You can sort of see the little shrine thingy. A bunch of guys pick it up and bounce around with it, with everyone claps. Someday I'll figure out why.
A shrine thingy on wheels.
Barbecued squid. Yum.
Anyway, that's all I have time for at the moment. Next post maybe: the giant bugs and other interesting fauna.
There's a lot to tell, but I'm pretty tired from the thunderstorm-induced lack of sleep. It was a doozy at 4 am, both kids, terrified, in my bed (J is in Sasebo for work), watching the show. It was better than a Cleveland summer storm, and the kids had never seen its like in Seattle. I'm told such storms are common here, and I am thrilled. Even M was sold on the coolness of nature's fireworks by the end.
Anyway, our house. It's cool (especially now that we have AC upstairs, too). Much bigger than I expected we would have, and full of exciting novelties (for me). Let me share some of them with you:
The toilet, separate from the shower room, has a heated seat, a bidet, AND a dryer.
The shower/bath (o-furo). In Japan, everyone shares the bath water, which is for soaking (nice and hot and deep), not washing. Hence, the washing is done with the showerhead prior to entering the tub. You can do it sitting down, too, which is great for shaving. The coolest thing is, the whole room is the shower, so you can spray everywhere and completely overfill the tub, and it won't matter. AND you can reheat the tub. It's a dream.
The kitchen has a tiny dishwasher, and a combination oven/microwave, with a little broiler above it (great for fish).
We had to buy this (Japanese apartments don't usually come with anything). It washes AND dries. Put a load of clothes in at night, and you have clean and dry clothes in the morning.
My walk-in closet. Not a novelty for some, but I've always wanted one. It has a light and a fan, too. No more squashed clothes.
All these pictures were taken pre-furniture. We have a little now.
That's all I have to say about my house right now.
I also have some pictures of a cool festival we went to a couple weeks ago, called a matsuri. It has something to do with this small shrine a bunch of guys carry around, and the little girls dress in kimonos. There are a bunch of them all summer long, in different neighborhoods. They also have way cooler food than US carnivals. So much more interesting than funnel cakes. The kids, of course, ate hot dogs, and J had a big baked potato thing completely slathered with mounds of butter. I had yakisoba, with an egg. Here's some pictures:
Beautiful chocolate-covered bananas
Dog-feeding action shot
Pokemon fishing game. Easy to win (yea).
Okasan with a gun.
Pretty little girls in kimonos.
Mmmm, okonomiyaki, made to order.
You can sort of see the little shrine thingy. A bunch of guys pick it up and bounce around with it, with everyone claps. Someday I'll figure out why.
A shrine thingy on wheels.
Barbecued squid. Yum.
Anyway, that's all I have time for at the moment. Next post maybe: the giant bugs and other interesting fauna.
posted by Sandi at 8:08 PM
5 Comments:
Hey there guys! WOW, looks like you are getting settled in nicely. I need one of those washer/dryers...trips to the LMat get old around here. I miss you guys. Big hugs...and hope to see you soon. The Alibi room can't live long without a visit from Jeff...actually, Jeff can't live long without a visit to the Alibi room. Much love, Stephanie
Actually, Joce, 75% of the toilets are ultra-civilized (some come with 'extra-strong deodorant' and 'flushing sounds' to cover up those embarassing smells and sounds), and the other 25% are squat toilets. Yup. Holes in the floor you squat over. I'll have to post examples of both.
Yes, cool toilet. Love the shower room. Not like Italy where it is essentially a (unintended) shower room with all the other bathroom stuff. And that washer dryer deal kicks ass.
But - BBQ Squid - ack ack and ack! I am bringing lots of snacks.
Yes, Agudelo, there is a guest room. It's also the office/music room/art studio. Futons are awesome, because you can roll them out for sleeping, or roll them up and stick them in the closet and use the room for something else.
And, Peilan, I don't think you can use the washer/dryer in the US. We got ours cheap because this couple is moving back onto the Navy base and they can't use it there.
Great pictures! I just found your blog today and started reading from the beginning. What an exciting opportunity. I wish you all the best.
Paul
Los Angeles
Post a Comment
<< Home