Neighborhood Church

What are the odds that I move to Japan, a country where most people are Buddhist or Shinto, and end up living next to a Church?

Central Heat

Did I get lucky and leave MI during an exceptionally cold Winter? Or have I forgotten how much complaining it takes to make it though MI Winter? I get messages from people in MI about how cold it is and how much snow is on the ground more than once a week. My response: it may be a whole lot colder there than it is in Nagoya, but at least you have central heat. In my apartment I have two boxes on the wall, one in the bedroom and one in the living area, that function as air conditioners in the summer and heaters in the winter. The problem with the boxes is that they only adjust the temperature in a small area and do so at an outrageously high electricity cost. This means that my bathroom never gets warm. A few days this week it has been cold enough that I could see my breath while brushing my teeth before bed.

Trash Complication

After being woken up early this morning by water pipe construction happening on the road below my balcony I then had the unfortunate experience of finding a dead bird when I stepped outside to see what all the noise was about. First I felt sorry for the bird, but my next thought was, 'now, what type of trash classification does a dead bird fall into?' In my condo complex at home I don't even have curbside recycling, but here I've got an annoyingly large number of categories that trash must be sorted into. Burnable, Non-Burnable, Paper containers, Plastic packaging, PET bottles, glass, metal containers...I am pretty confident that the bird is Burnable. In 6 months this extensive level of sorting trash still hasn't become second nature and I often end up with daily piles of trash needing to be sorted.

Very Important Apartment Paperwork

Since I started paying neighborhood association dues this month I have started receiving neighborhood announcements. The announcements show up in this binder placed in my doorway. After reading the contents I am expected to apply my Inkan (name stamp signature) and then place the binder in the doorway of my neighbor. You'd think that if I have to sign my name to the contents it would be important information right? Turns out my assumption was wrong, this particular paperwork was announcing an upcoming party for the 65 and older crowd.

Balcony Garden Progress

With some success my balcony garden has progressed.

Strawberries: Moderate success - Healthy foliage, but the berries keep molding before getting ripe.Orchid: Approaching success - A new leaf and two flower stems on the way.Broccoli: Near failure - Green caterpillars turned the leaves into Swiss cheese.Herbs: Success - The basil looks a little bare after being used for pesto. Cilantro is coming soon, the herbs in the grocery store are sold with the roots attached, my Mom managed to get a shoot growing.
Lettuce: Moderate success - After being stunted by the hot weather last summer the lettuce looks pretty but is tough and a little bitter. Attempt two is in progress.Lime: Success - Loaded with sweet smelling flowers giving way to lime babies. I am a little concerned that this small tree has taken on more fruit than it will be able to handle.Peas: Success - The delicious pea pods have already made it into several stir fry dishes and the plants are growing with no end in sight.Hibiscus: Split success - These plants started out the same size, while one has grown large and healthy the other is healthy but has become miniature. The flowers of the plant in the foreground are twice the size of the other.Kiwi: Failure - I guess it shouldn't be a surprise that a miniature fruit tree is a touchy thing to grow. This one doesn't have much time left.

Newly Discovered Smart Apartment Feature

When I first moved into my apartment, there were several convenient features that I found pretty cool. Since the weather has become cooler, I discovered another feature that I love. The bathroom mirror has a switch for くもり止め - in English stop the cloud, this switch activates a heating coil behind the center portion of the mirror that clears away the fog that remains on the mirror after a shower.

Garbgage day

Every week there are four garbage days.

Monday recycling
Tuesday burnable
Thursday non-burnable/non-recyclable
Friday burnable again.

In addition to these days, some items, such as milk cartons and plastic food trays, are returned to grocery store for recycling. I've heard rumors about people having their trash thrown back on their doorstep if they fail to properly sort it out for the particular collection types. Thus far I've had good luck.
I've been here over two months and still haven't had to put out non-burnable trash, which feels pretty environmentally responsible.

It's Raining Inside my Garage

I'm starting to feel lame for the number of posts involving my garage, but I need to vent. I was frustrated this morning to find that, despite being stored in the garage, my car got not only wet, but also muddy from last night's rain. The structure is situated such that roof is slightly lower than the level of the ground on two sides and in a heavy rain the mud can flow right through the gaps between the corrugated roof and and walls. Thank you Tropical Storm Sinlaku (Turned Typhoon Sinlaku) for all your rain and gray skies.

48 Days Later

My boat shipment just arrived. I was told it would arrive within 50days, and that it did, but just barley, and not a moment too soon as I needed my Winter coat to climb Mt Fuji this past Friday.

Kiwi update

When I visited the garden center I had hopped to pick up a miniature citrus tree, but was informed that they were not available until next month. As a temporary fill in, I chose a kiwi plant, I'm not sure if the fruit is yellow or green, but I don't want to eat it because it is too cute.
I need to do some more research on how to care for this plant. I'm most perplexed by the pot it has an inner and outer layer, the inner layer is shorter with the roots of the plant reaching down into the outer pot which has a hole in the side.

Combating High Produce Costs

My strategy for dealing with the high price of produce is to try growing some things myself. At home I was able to grow tomatoes and sometimes lettuce in pots on my deck.

On my balcony I am attempting to grow broccoli, lettuce, and sweet peas. In just 4 days two out of the three have sprouted, sticking the pots in the refrigerator for 2 days seams to have accelerated the germination process.
I'm still searching for a plant nursery were I can potentially find s potted citrus tree or grape vine to further enhance my balcony garden.

Happy Birthday Dad!

Greeting Dog

Each time I enter my apartment building I am greeted by this wooden dog and his snail friend. Why are they in the lobby? Don't ask me, neither is heavy enough to serve as a doorstop.

Small Car, Smaller Garage

The monthly cost of my garage amazes me, it's roughly 1/8th the price of my whole apartment. When my lease car (The oh so cool Ractis, with a glass roof) was delivered the delivery person insisted on parking the car in the garage himself as opposed to letting my risk scratching the car, with 6km on the odometer, because the garage is just that small.



The mirrors on the car must be folded in, a feature on (all?) cars here, halfway through the process of backing the car into the garage to make it fit. The first time I attempted to put the car in, I decided that I was going to stick with my American training and go in front first, as opposed to backing in. Lesson learned, the next day when I went to back the car out of the garage onto the one way street and found that my neighbor had parked a car on the street making in nearly impossible for me to get the car out. In a process of inching in one direction or another and then getting out of the car to check on my progress I managed to get out, but not without causing several of my elderly neighbors walking by to laugh at me.

Laundry Day

I've been told that in Japan a balcony is a utilitarian space rather than a place for relaxation. All the balconies are equipped with collapsible brackets to hold poles for drying laundry. My understanding is that most homes don't have clothes dryers and the dryers available are not designed to be vented outside like what I am accustomed to. During my Summer vacation I have enjoyed hanging my clothes to dry, it is a surprisingly quick process with the only downside being that my things end up a little bit stiff. I did rent a dryer, I tried it once, but I wont be using it again until it cools off around here. After a three hour drying time the most noticeable result was an already hot apartment turned into a sauna.

Smart Apartment Features

My apartment has a bit of an outdated look, but there are some, decidedly modern, features that I find genius and would love to have in my condo back home.

Yes, the toilet is navy blue, but the tank is filled using the water leftover when you wash your hands.
When I enter my front door, the entry light automatically turns on. This light also turns off approximately 30 seconds after I have stopped moving, all thanks to a little motion sensor. I cant even express how great it is to come in the front door, at night, with hands full and not need to fumble around for a light switch.