We're back!

After 2.5 years, we've made it back to Osaka, Japan!

Through much planning and much saving, I finally managed to work out a master plan allowing us to come back, but only for 2 months this time. Now that I have a mortgage and friends' weddings popping up, it seems like every month has something that I don't want to miss. I originally wanted to come in the spring, but the window kept moving farther away. Soon it was obvious that later summer was the only option. I had heard about the awful heat and humidity but it was really the only time.

Officially, we left on August 1st and arrived on August 2nd. This time we took an airport bus from the Itami Airport, instead of the subway. That would have saved us a lot of stress if we'd done that last time! We arrived at Namba station and took the subway to Daikokucho station, which is only 2 block from our place. We brought less stuff this time, so we didn't knock any bikes over with our bags!  Even at 8pm, it was so hot and humid I was drenched with sweat by the time we reached the place.

Last time, we stayed at the Melon House apartment (see my previous entry and photos here), part of Guest House Osaka. While it was totally awesome, I read about a new guest house that they opened, called Apple House. Here comes the pic spam!

Apple House from the outside

View on the street

#602 on the 6th floor

Entry way

The kitchen!

It fits into 1 picture really

Check out our 10 dishes and mini mini fridge

The wardrobe mass

Our bedroom/living room

Just to give you an idea of scale. 

Giant Scott!

TV and everything else table

Bathroom door, unfortunately it opens right into Scott's pillow

The bathroom! Its like being on an airplane.

Washing machine on the patio/balcony+ tankless water heater !

The laundry is drying

What a view!

My overall comparison between Melon House and Apple House would be that Apple House is more modern, but way smaller. And I'm not ignorant about the smallness of Japanese apartments. For those of you who have been to my house in Prescott, this entire apartment could fit into my office. It is no bigger than 8ftx10ft. Also I have to issue a disclaimer here and remind you all that our apartment isn't luxurious or top of the line. Yes they have super modern apartments with 245th floor views- but none that I can afford. Plus there is no such thing as a 2 month lease AND you have to supply all of your own appliances- even a stove- when renting. So, there are probably nicer places out there for the price, but we are paying for convenience. Our rent is ¥63000 which is about $800 USD per month.

The main draw was the promise of a Western-style toilet. Sure, we got used to the Eastern-style one we had last time, and it wasn't so bad, but having that one comfort makes a big difference. Another big bonus of Apple is the hot water!! At Melon, the only hot water was in the shower room. So washing your hands, face and dishes didn't really work, and that was in the middle of winter! At Apple we have hot water in both the kitchen sink and the bathroom sink! The bathroom even has a mirror, which Melon didn't have at all.

Our view didn't improve this trip, even though we are on the 6th floor. But we do have a patio with a washing machine which is very fast. The dumb part is that it drains onto the patio and just sits there... so its kinda gross and if you drop any freshly cleaned clothes in that mess, you better just put it back in the machine for next time. As for drying, theres a bar and a few hangers. My clothes dry in about a day, and when I take them down, they are as hot as if they came from a dyer! Not bad at all.

We have an awesome air-conditioning unit that keeps me sane, but naturally its not central so the bathroom is like a nasty sauna. I don't mind the plastic, compactness that makes it feels like an airplane bathroom because the shower kicks ass.

The part of town we're in is very close to where we were last time, maybe a 15 minute walk. So all the shopping, arcades and nightlife are still very accessible. Plus the subway is right there too. On the same block as us there is a 24 hour supermarket, which is awesome. Going out to eat is very expensive so we frequent that place a lot, since they have prepared foods.

Now for the whining. This place is a lot smaller than Melon. Actually the frustrating part isn't the smallness, its that the space is not maximized or utilized. Just some hanging shelves would be amazing. What really blows my mind is that there is no closet- whereas last time we had a huge closet where the futons would be stored. So in theory, we could roll up our beds in the daytime and actually have a sitting area. But when I arrived at Apple, the beds were folded but still taking up half of the room. So theres no storage space which means we have a vacuum that takes up 1/50th of the room. At Melon we had a kitchen and a bedroom. Now we only have 1 room, which makes the kitchen kind of non-existent. I'm not going to act like I was planning on cooking all that much, but its pretty must impossible in this place. The fridge doesn't fit much and theres no rice cooker or kettle. Apple house has common room on the main floor with a big kitchen and big TV, so thats where you are supposed to do your cooking and hanging out... but if I'm home, its because I'm working and need to be in my own room, ya know? Living in this tiny space by myself would be fun, but sharing with another person... even a person whom I love and have already lived with... well... if this isn't the ultimate test, I don't know what is!! ;)

Regardless of all my complaints and frustrations, its all just part of the adventure and we love it!!!
I've got lots more to write about already, so look forward to it!