This is the view from the balcony of my first apartment in Japan. The balcony was huge!
This is my bedroom. One of the first things that surprised me about Japan was that the sun rose very early - 4am! As you can see there are no curtains or blinds on the window. When the sun came up, I woke up!
This is the living room. We had a kotatsu (炬燵). Sitting at the kotatsu in winter was great. This apartment was very very cold in the winter.
This is the kitchen. There was a small table there. We used the table for writing mostly. We usually ate our meals in the livingroom.
This is the bathroom. This bathroom was very troublesome because the water was heated by a gas heater. Also, as you can see, the wall has tiles. Tiles get very dirty and are difficult to clean. However, I learned some Japanese culture from the experience of cleaning this bathroom. I learned about Tawashi (たわし) and Kabi Kiraa (カビキラー). "Kabi Kiraa" means mold killer. Japanese bathrooms can get very moldy,
i think i replaced you at your mizuhodai apartment. i arrived there in april '98 and stayed for over 1yr. there was a fussy older canadian lady there - loretta?
ReplyDeleteanyway, i enjoyed seeing pictures of that place - the last thin i would have expected to find in a google search for "mizuhodai". cheers!
Hi Rod,
ReplyDeleteThanx 4 the comment. Were you the guy who put the planters up on the ledge, leading to a near braining of the sushi chef below? I laughed when I heard that story. As for the older Canadian lady, well she wasn't that old, in her 40's I think, but anyway, man, could I tell you stories. Thnx again!
well, i was still (barely) in my 20s then, so see seemed so much older - possibly because she was so devoted to NOVA while most of the rest of us were just there on a lark.
ReplyDeleteyes, i was the one who caused a near-death experience of the sushi man - THAT one at least. actually, it was the wind ...
anyway, i lived there about a year, then in kawagoe a few more. NOVA ended after 1yr, but i quite liked the next gig i had - with the fujimi school board for about 4yrs - good money, easy work. and evening classes in factories were a good change from the kids.
i hope you won't mind that i downloaded your snaps of that apartment - if i find some similar old prints of my own, i'll try and remember to send them your way.
it's nice to know BIG is still around - gives me one more thing to seek out when/if i ever make it back for a visit.
Hi again Rod,
ReplyDeleteThnx 4 the quick response, and I'm delighted that you downloaded the snaps.
Really glad to connect with someone who experienced the Folute Building. Do you belong to any social networks? I'd like to connect on Facebook, if you're interested, my e-mail is mickjap62 at yahoo dot ca.
Cheers!