The big move to Osaka

So, this is the story of my 引っ越し(hikko-shi) or moving. Moving, like most everything else in Japan, is expensive. It requires a huge deposit; about 75% of the time this deposit is non-refundable, even though it may be about $3000 (that's not a typo!!!!). My current company isn’t the kind of company that helps you with finding a place to live when you are relocating for them (the employee centered kind of company). I, therefore, had to find my own place to live, all negotiations and consultation taking place in Japanese of course. My deposit (gift money, or “key money” as it is called here in English) was going to be the non-refundable $2,500 type, but because my sounding-sad-in-Japanese skills are getting better, I was able to whine it down to $1,500 (plus finders fee, plus two months rent).

So, then I had to leave my apartment in Tanabe abruptly. Not finishing the year contract means I had to pay for October as well, even though only my stench and stains remains there now. On top of the October ($430) rent, I had to pay the $230 cleaning fee that is standard throughout Japan. Now, there wasn't much I could do to fight back against any of these various moving-related fees, but I figure if I have to pay a cleaning fee I may as well make them work for it. What is the best way to punish someone for forcing you to cough up well over 200 bucks for cleaning you ask?

That's right. All I can say is that those cleaning people should be thankful I didn't have time to eat anything that morning.

With everything else adding up, I really couldn't afford to rent a truck, so, I begged my brother Dai to haul my crap to Osaka for me. He borrowed a company truck and helped me load all my stuff up on the morning of September 10th, my 21st birthday. First we came to a hardware store with a silly name (silly names are pretty much the norm for businesses here in Japan).

What next? King Toilet? Grandpa Shitter?
We came here to buy some more rope, cause I needed more to tie all my stuff down. When you look at this picture, keep in mind that I arrived in Japan just last November with only two suitcases and a violin.

AND, my bookshelves wouldn't fit in the truck, so I pawned them off on my neighbors!

On the way, not only did it cost money to gas up this gas thirsty monster (only about $4.24 a gallon), but it cost money to use the freeway, excuse me, I mean, expressway as well. And we ain't talking about $3.00 for a few hundred miles. We’re talking $30 dollars, one way.

I paid Dai for the gas and the highway fees for both ways, and I lent him my minidisk player for the way back cause the truck didn't have a radio of any kind.

After I moved in, I had to buy a ton of furniture: A fridge, a washer, a microwave, shelves, bookshelves and a rice cooker. I did find a used place just down my street for most of that to keep it around $500. Then I had to buy an AC/Heating unit for a little over $500. The design of the Japanese AC units is really different. It’s not just a window type unit that I could shove into a window (which wouldn't have helped anyway since I don't have windows aside from my balcony-sliding doors). I watched them install it and I’m realllly glad I didn't try to do it myself. There were all kinds of tubes and wires to cut and splice, something probly would have exploded when I tried to plug it in. Fortunately, the installation only cost $120, so I only felt half the urge to pee on anything.

So I guess the moral of the story is, not only is moving a pain in the ass in Japan, its HELLUH expensive compared to anything I have experienced in the US. I love my apartment, and my new furniture but damn. If you wanna know what the experience was like, swallow a wallet full of money, wait a few hours for the bills to dissolve, and then have a friend or doctor pull the empty wallet out through your back door. Not really fun. I updated my address in the address link, so make sure you click that cause donations are now being accepted.

I’ll be able to make some of it back from inside my house, cause my 60plus year old landlady and two of her friends want to study English for 惚け防止(boke-boshi), to “fight senility”. It’s cool, kinda like I adopted three grandmothers. The landlady was even talking about giving me a table to use (besides my kotatsu, or floor table with built in heater). I’ll also hang up some flyers for private lessons in two of the colleges that are in my local ton to try to make up for it, and pay for my ticket back home for Xmas. May have to become a famous musician/artist/TV personality as well to pay for everything else.

Look for pictures on the left and in the panoramics!!!
Right outside my front door is a golf driving range, so it's a strange view to see every morning, but it is actually starting to look fun. People are playing till 2am every night.

I have a convenience store just across the street, so I was debating on weather to buy a fridge or not, but I finally decided to get one.

I’m on the fifth floor (apartment 502, same number as my apartment in Denver that I lived in for three years) and on the first floor there is a (very expensive) hair salon and a karaoke bar. Also right outside, there is a little restaurant owned by the landlady, and I can get a great meal for about $6 when I’m too lazy to plug in the rice cooker.

Also, I live closer to work than I ever have before in my life. It's a four minute WALK under a highway bridge and I can see the school from my house.

When the kids ask where I live, I always tell them 沖縄(Okinawa!!!)!!! I don't want a bunch of middle school kids and their parents knocking on my door one evening asking me to come watch movies, go bowling play video games with them for free….
Heyyyy, on second thought…..

Ta ta
Erich von Meatleg