We've been in our new Oki home for about 2 weeks now. Here's a tour of our place...empty, before we began receiving our shipments! In between Danno working late all week and me handling other logistics, unpacking and organizing, we've been quite productive each weekend running around getting some home essentials like curtains, rugs, etc. We moved in most of our things, though we still have lots of settling in to do and many major purchases to make (such as a dining table, nursery furniture, etc) so we hope to be back later with furnished tours when we have rooms more situated. So lets begin!
Our place is a brand new complex, 2 story unit with 3 bedrooms and 2.5 bathrooms. It's quite a comfortable mix of both Japanese and American style living. We love the modern feel and cool little details everywhere, as you will see below. Pictured: Front view; Front door (the porch light has a motion sensor so it brightens when you walk up to the door and dims when no one is around. The keyhole even glows in the dark!); Danno loving it already; Entryway (also an auto dimming light in there, there's a toilet room to the right end of the hall, and that door to the left opens into the living room); Nifty built-in shoe closet and storage to the right of the door (since of course its standard practice to remove shoes before entering).
...through the door we go into the living room...you look right and see the dining area and kitchen. The last two pics are viewing from the kitchen side.
...into the kitchen (which was the first and most important area we unpacked!). We are so happy to have ample counter space and cabinets! We have all Japanese appliances (minus the refrigerator provided by the military). Our electric stove works great and so easy to clean...though it's particular on what type of pot/pan you are using so we had to buy a few new ones. We also have a little broiler (still need to learn that)...a convection microwave (which I hear is very versatile and you can also bake with it, need to learn that)...and a compact dishwasher (as usual, its acting as our drying rack). We also have ample storage to be a pantry, and there's even extra storage that opens up in the floor!
Out the kitchen and to the left, theres another storage closet (can't have enough storage!), and the door to the left is the laundry/shower room (remember, Japanese style often has the toilet separate from the shower)...there's a nice sink (all 3 mirror panels open with shelved compartments); to the left theres a shower (thankfully not just the open area, shower head out of the wall kind, but it has a door to enclose it); and left of that is a Japanese washer and dryer (it's amazingly quiet!). Oh and in front of the washer, theres another floor storage compartment!
Up the stairs we go...the master bedroom is spacious with large his and her closets. The bathroom is nice and pretty much American style. The two toilet roll holders remind us of hotels haha.
...out the master bedroom, you pass another toilet room on the left. Pictured is room #2, the nursery; then a view from inside the nursery looking out to the door where you see that grid-like wall on the right...well its 4 sliding panels that can open up to room #3, which will be the office/guest room. We love that sliding wall, and we love the built in book shelves in the office! Both rooms have sliding doors out to a little balcony...which by the way, all the sliding doors here can open on either side, quite nifty!
And lastly some other misc. details around the house...The bathroom doors have easy color indicators so show if its locked or not; The 2 toilet rooms have water conserving toilets where the "sink" is that spout above the water tank...when you flush, water comes out for you to wash your hands, and drains down to fill up the tank below! Yes, strange for us Americans, but a smart idea! Even the flusher has 2 modes, one that uses less water, another that uses more; There's a video camera activated when someone rings the doorbell, so we can see the people and choose to speak over the intercom if we don't want to open the door; All the light switches are cool, with tiny lights...so never do we need to search the wall for a light switch when in the dark; The living room, dining room, and bedrooms have track lighting with dimming features, quite nice; The sink in the laundry room is very versatile with the pull-out spout, adjustable spraying...and the mirrors even have a "heater" switch to prevent it from fogging up during showers; Unlike most places off base, we actually have empty land around our complex. Usually areas are very congested, buildings are very close together, roads are very narrow, and parking very difficult to get in and out of due to space.
After all that house hunting, we are blessed to have found this place...easy to get to, easy parking right out our front door, the roads aren't narrow, no view of neighbors right outside our windows, super quiet, and only 4 miles from Danno's work. Danno actually hadn't even seen the place yet when we denied the offers on base, so I'm glad he's very pleased with our decision!
It's been quite a fun and unique experience already, trying to learn all the Japanese appliances (big thanks to my friend Ila for translating so many things!), trying to understand how to sort trash (trash and recycling is far from how we know it in the States!), let alone driving around, shopping and eating out in town (ordering by pointing at pictures)...Our adventures both in and out of the home continue...Stay tuned!
Emo has been a great dog for us. Since we were unable to bring him to Japan, my mom and grandma have been taking care of him in the meantime. However, time has come for us to reconsider what to do with him. Already my grandma takes care of Puma, so it's quite a handful for her to take care of 2 pit bulls at once! Although we have invested so much time, energy, and money to keep him alive and happy, Emo is pretty high maintenence which makes it difficult/nearly impossible to find him a new home and to be accepted into no-kill shelters. Since he has Addisons disease and hypothyroidism, he takes medication 2x daily and needs a monthly shot (which of course is not appealing to those looking to adopt a pet!) And he's not fit for the first-time dog owner since he definitely needs some good "pack leaders" to maintain his obedience training and keep him well disciplined. Nevertheless, he's such a loveable, silly and smart dog.
