our apartment

So, we spent some time trying to make a little guided video tour of the apartment, explaining all of the quirks and details of a Japanese apartment.... but it turned out to be a silent film when we uploaded it for some reason. Brett through a music track on there to keep you entertained.

It's a three room apartment (bed, living room, dining/kitchen). You'll noticed I'm taking off my slippers quite a bit because two of the rooms have tatami bamboo floors, so no shoes allowed.

 Also, we have sliding doors, which I'm excited about. :)

Our bedroom, with tatami mat floors and the warmest comforter I've ever had :). And yes, its as tiny as it looks.

Though we were pretty happy about the Japanese-ness of our place, there are some quirks to get used to. Such as having only two burners to cook on every day.

Two burners and a mini grill/oven/broiler, but I still plan on cooking like a fiend. Also, we have some German chocolate stocked up from our layover in Frankfurt. Mmmm.

The kitchen is a fun sort of challenge to figure out, but the bathroom not so much. The heating, burners, and hot water are all gas. Even the space heater is hooked up the gas line behind the 'stove'. 

So the same goes for the bathroom. Our tub has a little crank on the side, so you sort of wind it up to ignite the flame the get the hot water. Brett and I spent our first shower each alternatively scalding or freezing ourselves with the shower head until we figured it out. Aside from that, its pretty neat. The whole room is covered in tile, so you close the door and the entire room fills up with steam like a little sauna.