Plan of the apartment in Kashiwa. The bedroom is covered by 6 tatami mats (roku-jo), that is about 9m2, and the whole apartment is somewhat more than 30m2

The apartment as seen from outside. 2nd floor, in the corner. Definitely, the external appearence is not the best quality of it.

The neighborhood is extremely quiet and clean. And pretty crowded with electric cables...

Just a couple of days after my arrival it was snowing... and I assure you that those walls are really thin! It was normal to have 12oC in the morning near the kitchen

My apartment in Kashiwa City (Chiba prefecture) is provided by the University of Tokyo. This saved me a lot of worries in finding the place and signing contracts (with my almost-null skill in Japanese reading). Even for the elementary application forms for gas, water and electricity, I had to ask Kuroda-san for help in traslation. After the first few days, when I was basically camping inside my own apartment, now things are much better, and I'm feeling at home when coming back in the evening.

The apartment is large and comfortable, if you think it's for only one person. But, of course, it's a different matter with five or more guests for dinner.

My little nice tatami room, after cleaning it (when I'm inspired), and in its normal low-level state just after wake-up.

Can you imagine a house without a table? Well, actually I lived without a table for the first ten days of my staying in Kashiwa. Now I couldn't live without my new Vietnamese table!

The rest of the house is almost empty, except for a refrigerator, some kitchenware, and the bathroom/toilet.

When I settled in my new apartment, even the curtains were missing. With the indigo tie-dye fabric which I bought in Cina, the tatami room has now not just a different look, but two different looks: in the evening and in the morning...