This is the view out our front door (on the 4th floor)--taken in the first few days after we got here when the cherry trees were in full bloom. All those blossoms have already fallen now. The small dome with a cross on it that you see just next to the big apartment building on the left is Nanzan University, where Caitlin will be going in the fall.
Here is a shot of our little kitchen with it's two burner gas stove and fully automatic clothes washer--the front door is left of the washer. The clothes washer sits in its own little floor sink with drain (lower left corner). When the water drains, it fills up the floor sink almost to overflowing as it slowly goes down that drain. The cabinet with knobs on it that the stove sets on is the gas water heater--you have to turn on the flame whenever you want hot water (its works most of the time) and remember to turn it off when your done. The floor and cabinets are about three shades lighter than they were when we moved in, thanks to scrubbing with magic white eraser sponges.
Looking from the front door through the apartment to the balconey.
Looking back into the kitchen from the main room. The little table is really cool--it slides into the cupboard so you can pull it out and fit in two more chairs. There is a vinyl curtain thing that can close off the kitchen there (on the left).
Desk, bookshelves and balconey. The coat hanging up is covering a big red "emergency button" that calls the office staff in case there's an earthquake or something.
Looking out the balconey to the wooded area behind. You can see the spiral staircase on the end of the building and also our little clothesline.
Standing on the balconey looking down the left side of the building.
Looking back in from the balconey at the hide-a-bed and the wardrobe/closets. The whole bed actually flips up and the bottom is wood panelling just like the closets. It really opens up the floor space, but we usually just leave it down. The comforter was one of our first big purchases. We actually got too small of a size first and had to go back and exchange it--which was a real test of our Japanese language skills.
Standing in the kitchen you can see the bed, our little fridge, the rice cooker and the bathroom.
Here's a shot from standing up on the edge of the tub so you can see how the sink and the bath share the same faucet. The shower nozel is on the black hose. There is an open drain in the middle of the floor that the sink and tub drain into--so you have to watch where you stand. The tub is small but deep so you can easily hunker down and soak your whole body--the bath is probably my favorite feature of the whole place!
