So, after much much (and then some more) searching and deliberating, we FINALLY chose a house. Western and warm or Japanese and cold? We decided to honor the spirit of our experience in Japan and forgo some of the physical comforts. It feels right, the house is becoming a home, and when I look around, I am constantly reminded that this is a cultural adventure, not just a place we decided to move.
Just today, the kids were saying, as we walked down the road, "I really like our house here." That's all I needed. Though, I must admit, they both commented over and over again while we were looking and discussing houses that this was the "smelly house." It did have a strong fresh hay smell from the tatami at first (that they insisted smelled like fish), but that seems to be long forgotten.
An aside: most homes in Tokyo don't have central heat, but many of the newer homes have radiant heat or at least built-in heaters /air conditioners in most of the rooms. Someone told us that it's often colder inside Japanese homes than it is outside. I didn't believe them - how is that even possible, I thought? But after 3 weeks in the house, let me assure you that it is indeed true. Our living room and the kids' room has heat (and we have since installed a heater in our room) so we spend 90% of our waking hours in the living room. I could even see my breath while fixing dinner in our unheated kitchen... it's kind of like camping - only we're in the middle of Tokyo. Details...
And to top it off, Tokyo had a snowstorm on our move-in day. So, there we were, decked out in our rainboots and umbrellas - the best snow gear we had - trudging 1 km from the train station through the snow with roller bags and duffel bags. We were a sight to behold...
Our new home is a traditional Japanese house and in fact, it is the ONLY traditional house that we could find. Every other house we looked at was as Western as could be - I mean, we might as well have been living in Fremont. And apparently, most Japanese prefer Western-style homes...
Just today, the kids were saying, as we walked down the road, "I really like our house here." That's all I needed. Though, I must admit, they both commented over and over again while we were looking and discussing houses that this was the "smelly house." It did have a strong fresh hay smell from the tatami at first (that they insisted smelled like fish), but that seems to be long forgotten.
An aside: most homes in Tokyo don't have central heat, but many of the newer homes have radiant heat or at least built-in heaters /air conditioners in most of the rooms. Someone told us that it's often colder inside Japanese homes than it is outside. I didn't believe them - how is that even possible, I thought? But after 3 weeks in the house, let me assure you that it is indeed true. Our living room and the kids' room has heat (and we have since installed a heater in our room) so we spend 90% of our waking hours in the living room. I could even see my breath while fixing dinner in our unheated kitchen... it's kind of like camping - only we're in the middle of Tokyo. Details...
And to top it off, Tokyo had a snowstorm on our move-in day. So, there we were, decked out in our rainboots and umbrellas - the best snow gear we had - trudging 1 km from the train station through the snow with roller bags and duffel bags. We were a sight to behold...
Our new home is a traditional Japanese house and in fact, it is the ONLY traditional house that we could find. Every other house we looked at was as Western as could be - I mean, we might as well have been living in Fremont. And apparently, most Japanese prefer Western-style homes...
Here is R showing off his new bike and also shows the entrance to our house - we are literally behind a big orange house, affectionately termed the "dreamsicle house" by Kevin. All the bedrooms have grass (tatami) floors and rice paper window screens. We even have a guest room so you're all welcome! First visitor wins a prize...
Kids share a room and have a "ninja" bed - you gotta love Craigslist. We went to someone's house to buy 4 Kung Fu Panda books and the woman sooo loved the kids that she gave us the "ninja bed" set (loft bed, dresser, desk, bookshelf) for free - SCORE!
A few other random pics - our room (sleeping on a futon - all of our new Japanese friends are very surprised by this), the kids play and study room, and the guest room (currently empty, but we're getting a double futon tomorrow so it will be all ready for visitors).
The other great thing about the house is that it has a small bit of outdoor space - which has already been a godsend for the kids. It's not big and not much at all compared to what we left behind, but it also feeds the soul in a very important way. We can look outside and see some green and even have 2 beautiful trees that are just starting to bloom. We originally thought they were cherry blossom trees, but that may have been wishful thinking. We even have grand plans to plant a small garden - as vegetables are craaazy expensive. Any gardening experts who want to share their knowledge? I'm a novice, I'm afraid to admit.
A few other random pics - our room (sleeping on a futon - all of our new Japanese friends are very surprised by this), the kids play and study room, and the guest room (currently empty, but we're getting a double futon tomorrow so it will be all ready for visitors).
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| Guest room, awaiting its first visitor |
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| Kids' play room and study room |
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| Our room |
The other great thing about the house is that it has a small bit of outdoor space - which has already been a godsend for the kids. It's not big and not much at all compared to what we left behind, but it also feeds the soul in a very important way. We can look outside and see some green and even have 2 beautiful trees that are just starting to bloom. We originally thought they were cherry blossom trees, but that may have been wishful thinking. We even have grand plans to plant a small garden - as vegetables are craaazy expensive. Any gardening experts who want to share their knowledge? I'm a novice, I'm afraid to admit.
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| Our backyard on move-in day. No snow since then - but the kids had a great time having a snowball fight while we spent the day unpacking. |
Oh, so glad to read the newest edition of Konnichiwa Adventures. Just last night I was wishing there was a new entry (just to see pictures if nothing else). Wishing must have made it so because this morning there it was! What a great way to start the morning.
ReplyDeleteMom
Just what we wanted to see! The house looks wonderful and very typical of other houses we have been to. Of course, Kei's family was an older generation so they were in old family homes. However, they never let us stay with them (also something the older generation had issues with) so we never experienced living in those homes.
ReplyDeleteLove to all!
Jean