A Guided Tour of the Monbetsu Party Palace

As I am having friends over tonight for a delightful dinner, I actually cleaned my apartment. This is something of a first. I took this opportunity to take some pictures to share with those who haven't experienced the glory. If you are a prospective JET, this represents something like what you might end up with but as always, ~every situation is different~

My apartment is up on the fifth floor of a building owned by an elderly couple who also run a store downstairs. When you ascend the stairs the interior looks like this:



Charming! The interiors, however, are much more serviceable. You come in through the "genkan", a feature of Japanese homes where the floor is raised shortly after entering the house, leaving a small sunken area to take off your shoes in. From here you go straight ahead into the main living room area (click for larger pictures):



On the right you can see my bedroom (and prized vuvuzela), which is attached to the living room directly. You could hang a curtain if you wanted to. Another shot:



The blue pillows are the bed are zabuton, or Japanese butt pillows for sitting on the floor. I'm having company over so I have them out and ready to go. Also in the bedroom, you can see the traditional Japanese rice-straw tatami mats on the floor.

The kitchen is attached to the living room next to the entrance area. Here's a picture from the living room looking back towards the door:



To the left is the doorway area and the sunken genkan. Off to the left is the bathroom and toilet (different rooms!). There's also a washing machine visible in the kitchen. Additionally, although you can't see them, there's about eight different trash cans in there. The Japanese have a thing for trash sorting.

Hope you've enjoyed your tour of my apartment! Please come again when its covered in papers and clothing.