Where I live and work

For those who are curious, I thought I'd show you my apartment...I live in a 7 storey building beside the railway line. I'm on level 4 so the sound from the trains and the crossing isn't too bad.
When I first arrived, I did find the noise pretty irritating. Now, however, I barely notice it. This sense of becoming accustomed to new surroundings reminds me of my old high school under the flight path. When new students would turn up, they'd all turn their heads toward the sky, and watch as the jumbo-jets flew in low for landing. However, within a week or so of attending this school, they, like the rest of us, would become virtually oblivious to the noise. A sizable pause, mid discussion, to allow for a plane to pass, became totally natural. Actually, it provided a rather good opportunity to seriously consider the topic at hand and truly ponder which spice girl was the hottest...



My apartment building is conveniently located behind “Keibunsha” (a video and book store) and also a Sega World. I have a membership at the video store but have yet to venture inside Sega World. I also have a “Lawson” Convenience store 2 minutes walk away. Convenience stores or “konbinis” as they are known here are actually quite awesome. You can buy sushi, sandwiches, beer, tacoyaki (octopus balls), onigiri (like a rice triangle) and a whole lot more, 24 hours a day. Also, you get concert tickets or just about anything you can purchase online and you pay for it at your konbini. I'm certain the konbinis holds many more mystical secrets that I am yet to discover...

I have south facing windows so I get pretty good light during the day. Perhaps too good. When I first got here it was nearly impossible to sleep in past 7am because the light was so intense. I am slowly getting used to it though and last weekend I managed a 10am sleep in... still incredibly early by my usual standards. Out my windows I can see a little bit of water through the buildings and occasionally I see pretty big ships floating by.

The apartment isn't very big but it's fine for one person. I don't mind... If it was bigger, I'd have more to clean.

The Japanese are really big on sorting out there rubbish... there are different days for different types of rubbish. Burnables, non-burnables, PET bottles, aluminium cans, other metal cans, batteries... the list goes on and on and everything has it's place and it's specific day for collection...


When I'm not teaching, I am supposed to be at the the Board of Education (BOE) between 8:30am and 4:30pm. At the BOE, you can study and prepare for future lessons... or you can surf the net, like Gil... who didn't appreciate the last photo of him I posted on this blog...
When at the BOE, you have the option of ordering a "Bento". Actually not a bad little lunch for 400 yen.

When we have 6 or 8 people at our ALT "desks", it sux a little bit. The desks really drove me crazy when I first arrived because they had some kind of bar underneath with a grill to allow you to store things. Storage space is great but when it prevents you from fitting your legs under the desk, it loses it's appeal. A screwdriver fixed this problem.

Yes, sometimes, 8 people sit here...