Our Japanese House

June 6, 2008

We moved into our new home on May 30, 2008 (Friday). The house is incredibly cute, in a great neighborhood that is filled with children, and is only 3 km from the front gate of the base (then another km or so to Ric's office). The only downside to the house is its size -- it is small and has virtually no storage space (we each have a clothes closet that is approximately 3 ft. wide). Its stated square footage is 1,140; however, I think something was lost in the conversion from metres to yards; I have also been told that areas such as balcony space is included when measuring. So I sincerely doubt that we have 1,140 sq. ft. of usable space. We have a traditional Japanese house: this means we have a Japanese bathing room, a Japanese kitchen, and a tatami (straw mat) room with shoji doors. The house is 2-storeys with the first floor containing a kitchen, bathroom, toilet, living/dining area, and tatami room. The second floor has 3 bedrooms and a toilet.

As noted, our bathing room is traditional Japanese. This means that the tub is for relaxation not for cleansing. Instead, one scrubs (from head to toe) in the shower (located next to the tub) prior to entering the tub. The tub has a separate heating system so the water can be at the precise temperature that the person using it enjoys. There is a system to recirculate and reheat the water so the temperature remains hot (this system also allows you to retain the water for reuse by other family members -- remember, you always enter the tub clean and no soap or other products are used in the tub so the water can be shared). You can also turn on the tub using separate controls in the kitchen (there's also an intercom between the two rooms so that Ric can request a cold beer while soaking in a hot tub).

We are fortunate in that we have a fancy Japanese toilet downstairs. While not the "deluxe" version (no music to hide "unpleasant noises" and no blow dryer, etc.) it has a pre-warmed seat and built-in bidet (we affectionately refer to it as the "bottom washer"). You can see the controls in the photo below. It also has a faucet that automatically turns on when the toilet is flushed (see above the tank). You'll also note the slippers in the toilet room -- in Japan there are always special slippers kept in the toilet room for use only in that room.

Our kitchen has a traditional Japanese stove. This means that I have no oven! Instead, I have a tiny broiler about 7"x10"x3" (see the open "drawer" in the photo below). This is designed to broil a small piece of fish. The Navy has loaned us a microwave/convection oven that can be used for

baking.

The tatami room is the loveliest room in the house. It is open and airy and has deep closets (for storing futons) and shoji door (Japanese paper) window coverings that allow a soft muted light into the room(there are glass windows outside along with typhoon barriers). We have actually been sleeping here and find it quite comfortable (we lay a quilt and a blanket down on the tatami mats to use as "padding'). When we wake up, we fold everything up and put it away in the closet. (This looks neater but also allows the room to air -- if you cover tatami mats, they will get moldy).

Our "household goods" (furniture and other household items) have not yet arrived. Our "unaccompanied baggage" (kitchen items and linens) arrived on Saturday, June 1 and have already filled the house! The Navy loaned us a bit of furniture (sofa, chair, computer desk, bed, lamps, etc.) to use until our things arrive. Frankly, I do not think that our furniture will fit in the house. We are considering scrapping our living room furniture and using pillows and our bean bag chair in the tatami room and setting up the living room as an "office." We'll see how things go.