our place

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We chose Japanese style furniture, for convenience. Our apartment is small but everything seems to fit in perfectly. Our dining and living room area are combined, we sat on the floor for eating, working on our laptops, talking ….. practically everything, for we don’t have any chairs in our house at all. Look at the picture, you will see that our dining, study, tea, center, all-in-one table is placed on top a very thin cushion and covered with a very thick blanket (only during winter). The table is a “kotatsu”; it has a built-in heater so the blanket traps the heat inside to keep our legs warm while eating. It’s kind’a cool, or warm for that matter. The only contrast to this Japanese setting is that we just have to hang our alpaca carpet, Rinka bought on our trip to Lake Tahoe.

What could be more relaxing on a cold winter night, other than soaking yourself in a hot “ofuro” (bath tub)? Although, our bathroom is so tiny and the floor and walls are covered with what it seemed like hard plastic material, it feels like it was modeled from a space ship bathroom.

We sleep on a futon, a kind of cushion we roll out onto our bedroom to sleep in and put back in the closet after use. So our bedroom becomes an empty space in the morning. We hang the cushion after a few days, dry it under a sun, and give it a good spankin’, to what it looks like a fly swatter, to take off dust and prevent dust mites.

My body was hurting during our first month in Japan, not used to long hours sitting and sleeping on the floor and walking barefoot on hard wood and tatami (woven straw mats flooring). But now I feel so comfy and lovin’ our Japanese style apartment. It’s easier to clean, very neat; no bacteria filled carpet on the floor to worry about, and no dust creeping beneath heavy-to-move furniture.

As a final note to my relatives and friends who visited and stayed in our New York apartment, if you think our NYC apartment is small, think again! I want you guys to visit us but don’t be stingy and go book yourself in a hotel, heheheheh. Culture note-- most Filipinos don’t need a hotel when they travel; we opt to stay in a friend or kin’s place. I being guilty of that and Rinka lovin’ the moolah we save in doing so, hahahaha! More than being a cheapskate, we enjoyed the warmth and cozy feel of having friends and family stay over though. It gave us a lot of opportunity to catch up on endless stuff, but not when you are living in an Osaka shoe box/ apartment. That being said--- do visit us and we still love you guys.

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Photos

kotatsu
our all-in-one dining/ study/center table, living and dining room combined

living/ dining
minimal design to save space

a gift for akira
im sure it means something, a gift to akira from his grandparents

just us
just want to include akira and wifey's picture in this entry

bedroom
empty without the futons, you can also see our small terrace where we do our laundry and hang our clothes and futon

Comments

[anonymous]

ehheheheh welcome to the world of japanese culture.. okei nga eh u dont have much stuff to clean.. mas gusto ko ata un.. hehehe