My House:
(outdoor pic of house) My house is a very accommodating little place. It has two 6 tatami mat rooms that each could be bedrooms. This means that the rooms are about 10 X 10, which is a good size. It has a large kitchen with table, fridge, microwave, and some good storage space in the cupboards. Save for the tatami mat rooms, the whole house has wood floors. The living room has a small futon couch that has seen better days that I’m thinking about replacing and it also has a TV, desk, lamp, and a large bookshelf. Every house in this part of Japan most likely has what is called a kotatsu table. These look like your basic coffee table, but they have an electric heater built in to the bottom that you plug in. The table has a heavy top surface area that can be lifted off. Next, you put a big, heavy kotatsu blanket over the top, and then replace the cover. Imagine big blanket sandwich! What you’ve essentially created is a shelter that traps the heat in. In the winter, you sleep with your legs under this sheltered part of the table and supposedly, you stay nice and toasty warm! Many ALT’s in the area have stated that the winter gets so cold, they move all their necessities into one or two rooms of the house, seal or close off the other parts of the house and conserve heat in two rooms. The house is very drafty so I do see myself performing such a procedure this winter. I’m anxious to see just how cold it gets this season. Supposedly last winter was one of the coldest in a while and at times there was up to 4 feet of snow! I’ll keep you posted… As far as other areas of the house that’s about it. Of course there is a bathroom with separate little room for the toilet, and same for the shower. My only complaint about the house is that there seems to be a musty smell in the front area of the house that I just can’t seem to get rid of. During my first two weeks of living in the house there was a rotten part of the floor in the 2 ft area in front of the bathroom. The floor was squishy and wet, and had holes that could be enlarged with my finger. My supervisor told my landlord who built the houses, actually and is a skilled carpenter. He fixed the floor while I was away at work one day, but my theory is that the rot spread to the walls and underneath the house and this is where the smell is coming from. The wall near the repaired area is a bit squishy and can be moved an inch or two so I’m sure that without further gutting and replacing of the rotten areas, the integrity of the house will continue to decline, and the smell will continue to be present. All in all, however, I am very grateful for what I have. This is a spacious place by Japanese standards and the price is fantastic! It has all of the amenities and with a little more cleaning and decorating, I know I will be very happy living there.