David @ Tokyo

After my letdown from last weekend, my apartment hunting fortunes went better yesterday.

I went to a small real estate office in Shimokitazawa after my wonderful buddy Chie refered me to them, and was treated wonderfully.
Eventually I saw two places, both which were good.

The first (and my eventual selection) was a 1LDK in a pretty new building 8 minutes walk from Shimokitazawa station. 1LDK is the Japanese real estate terminology for an apartment with a Living / Dining / Kitchen room, plus 1 more room. Both rooms have western style flooring, so I'll be saying bye bye to the tatami mats. At any rate, this is enough space for me.

The second place I saw was also an interesting find - only 2 minutes from Shimokitazawa station on foot, and it also had a large veranda with one side modified to become a "sun room"! However, the bathroom was an old style Japanese one which kind of put me off (although I'm sure I could get used to it), and also it was a 2K, but the Kitchen was in between the other two rooms. I'd rather the rooms be connected, so I can have the option of using it as one large space (like where I am now). Also, 2 minutes from the station is ultra convenient, but I like being far from the station to
a) get some exercise or I'll become a fat bastard.
b) see some stuff!! Part of the reason for wanting to move is to avoid a dull walk through a suburban area on the way home (aka, status quo)
c) avoid hearing the trains going past :-( Not sure though! I didn't hear any while I was looking around the room.
The sun room would have been cool, but then I thought about it, and I'm not really into growing orchards just yet.

So, tomorrow I'll submit an application to my HR department, and hopefully this time the lease will go through smoothly.

I'll probably look at moving in sometime around the end of this month, or early next month. I notified my current landlord of my intention to move out yesterday, so I've at the latest I'll be gone from here by the 11th of July.

Should be a busy couple of weeks, but looking forward to the change of scene.