In Japan an "apartment" is an efficiency, and a "mansion" is a multi-room apartment. Cool, huh? I can now officially say that I live in a mansion!
Anyways, one of the great things about living in a rural area is that the "mansions" cost a lot less than they do in the city. The rent is about US$400 a month, but the Board of Education pays about US$300 of that. And it is the perfect size for one person. The first floor of my building is actually the parking lot. But it also has our mailboxes and the trash collection bin. My mansion is on the second floor. Each floor has 4 mansions.
The entrances, like all Japanese living spaces, are half a step below the rest of the space. That's where you leave your shoes, umbrellas, etc. Once you step up, you are in my kitchen. It's actually pretty roomy. To the right is a toilet room. With just the toilet. And luckily it is a western toilet and not a squat toilet. Unfortunately, I don't have a washlet, so my seat isn't heated. I've been wanting to get one, but they're kind of expensive.... On the left is my washroom (senmenjou) with the sink and washer, which leads into my shower/tub room. I really love the tub (it's so deep) but I rarely have time to use it. Actually, during the evening I can hear my upstairs neighbors emptying their tubs after bath time and I can smell the bath salts they use. Lovely!
My kitchen, like I said, is actually pretty roomy. I have a gas stove with only two burners, and counter space is limited, so I end up using my dining table for cooking. Most Japanese people won't have ovens (Japanese cooking just doesn't call for them, microwaves have oven settings, and they are huge energy guzzlers), but I mentioned once that I miss being able to cook in an oven and one of the Japanese teachers GAVE ME HIS OVEN. So now I have an oven, and I kind of use it a lot.
My kitchen hooks into my living room, which is separated by an accordian wall. This is very convenient for winter and summer when I can contain all of the bought air in the living room where I spend most of my time. My living room has a nice TV (thank you, Board of Education!) which also doubles as my computer screen. I also have a kotatsu, which is an amazing invention. It's basically a low coffee table that has a removable top and a heater attached underneath it. So in the winter you hook up the heater, drape a futon blanket over the table topped with the actual table top and sit under it all day feeling warm and cozy.
And, because of my lack of a dryer, my (narrow) balcony is basically just used for laundry.
Now most of my apartment is either linoleum or hardwood flooring. My bedroom, which is on the corner of the kitchen and living room, is a traditional Japanese room. It has tatami mats and sliding doors. I do have a bed, though I'd prefer to just sleep on a traditional futon since the frame is rather noisy.
One of the bad things about living in Japan is that most houses and apartments (and mansions) aren't built with insulation or central air conditioning/heating. So in the summer it's HOT and in the winter it's COLD. I do have a little wall unit in my living room, but it really adds up on my electric bill, so I try not to use it as often as possible. Lately it's been averaging in the upper 40s, lower 50s in my apartment, so getting in and out of the shower is kind of like torture. But I have a little space heater that I keep in my washroom so that it's not too unbearable.
When I get my apartment cleaned up I'll post picture and videos of what it actually looks like.
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