In this article I'll talk about the major differences, besides size, between Japanese and American apartments. I'll also give you some tips on how to furnish your apartment.
My First Apartment in Japan
As you already know, I moved to Japan from the United States. When I first moved to Japan, my job already had my apartment set up. The company I worked for had their own company apartments near each school. They rented these apartments, and when a new employee came, they could move in without a lot of hassle. It had its good points and its bad points.
The good points were that it was already completed furnished. It also came equipped with Wi-Fi, but I was told not to tell anyone because not every company apartment had Wi-Fi. So, I had kitchen ware, a laundry machine, a laundry pole, a chair, a toilet brush cleaner, a futon, sheets, a blanket, towels, a vacuum, and they even bought me shampoo. I also had a microwave/ oven aka an oven range, oh and a real refrigerator. What I mean by real is that it had a functioning freezer, which I loved.
The Bad Points
I was very fortunate to have my apartment that had its location AND its size. It was quite big considering. My apartment was also equipped with everything I needed. But it was also equipped with things that the other foreign teachers before me accumulated. That's not really a bad thing I would say. But there was one problem. My apartment had been one that had been rented the longest. In Japan this is not good. Usually, in Japan, after someone moves out of an apartment, they will clean and update the apartment. They are supposed to do a thorough cleaning. They clean the walls, the floor, and they may even update the floors and walls. They also clean the bathroom because Japanese bathrooms get moldy easily. I didn't have much mold, but everything else.... The walls were filthy!! Filthy. The floor had scratches everywhere. I looked at my coworker’s apartments and was shocked at how new and clean they looked. Plus, everything in their apartment was new, my apartment had SOME new items, but they were mostly old, and I had clutter from the teachers before. And my microwave... My microwave was disgusting. I already said in another article that I complained about that before I left. My old manager had my co-worker and I clean it since I said they should get a new one. It DID clean nicely after we scrubbed it. My question is, why hadn't she checked that before. If it could be cleaned and look like new, why hadn't the previous teachers tried to clean it. I guess those are questions I'll never get the answer to LOL.
My Second Apartment in Japan
First let me say that my second apartment was like a closet LOL. When I moved to my second apartment, I was in shock. Literal shock. My apartment was BARE. It had nothing! It didn't have a washing machine, at the time I thought all Japanese apartments had them, that's my stupid mistake lol. Okay, so it didn't have a washing machine, but it didn't stop there. It also didn't have a fridge, and not even a light for the main room!! I was living in darkness for a while. And don't forget about your balcony blinds, because it doesn't have that either. In the United States, we at least get a fridge, oven, LIGHTS, and our balconies have their own blinds. You need to buy these things.
Where to Buy Furniture in Japan
I bought a used fridge and washing machine set from Rakuten. I got my microwave from BIC Camera in Shinjuku. First, I ordered it online, then I picked it up. I also bought my light from BIC, that was a WHOLE other issue on its own. I bought my balcony blinds from Don Quijote, but it was expensive. I should have bought it from Nitori. I loooove Nitori now, but back then I didn't know about it well. I bought my TV from Rakuten as well. You can go to Hard Off to find used items but getting them back to your home may be a challenge. I'm not sure if they offer delivery or now, but Nitori does. There's also IKEA here. I'm not sure if you can order from the website, but you can definitely order from Nitori's website, it's all in Japanese, just an FYI.
Good luck on furniture hunting while in Japan. Getting it is easy, getting rid of it…that’s a whole different story on its own.
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