Home Sweet Home

This is the front and back of my apartment block out in the suburbs of Shizuoka. It's quite nice having the mountains so close. It's a quiet neighbourhood, although there is a yappy dog across the street and a wailing dog out the back. They don't have a yard to run around in, so I don't blame them really, though if it gets bad I may have to hire a ninja to sedate them.

The apartments are only a few months old, and as you can see, they are shoebox shaped with a door at one end and a window at the other. Outside the window are brackets for poles that are used to hang washing on. Shirts and pants are put on hangers along the pole which makes efficient use of the space. Underwear and socks are put on peg-chandeliers that hang off the pole too. It's so different to the massive hill-hoist clotheslines back in oz. My apartment also has a drying fan built into the bathroom ceiling though, so I can dry my clothes there in just 3 hours!

From my front door, you can see all the way past my garage and kitchen into my living/dining/bed-room. Chihiro's aunt has lent me this great mountain bike, though it's a bit small and I really need a basket for going shopping, so I might get my own japanese-style bike. There's a little closet on the left for putting shoes in, though I'm storing food in there at the moment, because of a lack of cupboard space.

I'm really happy with the apartment. It's nice to live in and comes fully furnished with washer, fridge, microwave, chairs, and even a futon matress with a duvet. It's also kept nice and warm with a heater/air-con unit. The rent isn't as bad as I thought it would be either. It's about AU$210 per week, including electricity, water, and the internet. It's small, but theres enough room for me living by myself. The lack of space is only really apparent in the kitchen, where there's no benches for preparing food or drying dishes. I've got a chopping board that fits nicely over the sink, and I've bought some hooks to hang up pans, utensils, and a spice rack, but I still have to juggle things around when cooking or washing up. I probably won't be hosting many dinner-parties at my place.