Keys in hand, it’s time to move in. I have been in Japan for almost 5 months now but have been leery about buying too many things for my apartment.
Luckily, I had a friend who had offered to store a few things for me until I found a long-term stay. I quickly got online and started ordering a few necessities from Amazon, like a foam mattress for a bed, Japanese Style, on the floor.
My apartment is basically unfurnished except for a Refrigerator, Microwave, Clothes Washer, TV and vacuum, so I need just about everything.
My plan was to have my classic furniture, which I have collected over the years and currently stored, shipped over from the States so that I did not have to worry about the larger items. I will go over the shipping process in another blog. My main focus was to get the necessities, such as towels, cookware, etc.
For the first two to three months, my rent and utilities were paid with cash at the local convenience stores. It took me a while to translate most of my documents with Google Translate; however, recently, I was able to figure out how to pay these by either a bank transfer or credit card. This is where knowing how to read, write, and speak Japanese is a real plus.
My daughter came for a little over a month, anticipating my furniture arriving, to help me get settled in. She helped me organize and gave me her thoughts on what looked best.