Moving into Tokyo Part 2

Saturday -

Share house in Higashi-Shinjuku. The owner was nice enough to meet me at the station and walk me to the building. The first thing he mentions is that the house is located right on the edge of Kabukicho...well that explains the cheap price ($640/mth for 6 mats/18 sq. feet). For those who might not know, Kabukicho is the number one red light district in Tokyo. Known for its wild sex clubs, over 300 sex shops, and over 80 love hotels...doesn't exactly sound like my idea of a good place to live. But, I had nothing better to do, so I decided to go ahead and check it out anyways...oh gosh.

Nothing like a nice diarrhea color to make a building really make you feel like you're coming home.

Each "apartment" has 5 smaller apartments within.  This is the shared space for the rooms.  The carpet is spotted and in some places cut into squares.  I asked if it was move-in ready and was told I could move in next week..."Is anything else going to be replaced?" "No, it's totally move-in ready."

The kitchen to be shared by 5 people...Maybe he's just assuming people won't ever eat in?

The toilet...I don't remember if there was even a light in this storage closet and cement floors.

One of the finished rooms.  The desk and bed were built by the owner out of wood.  Yes, that's a bed...or a plank.  The floors were also laid by the owner...I'm assuming it's SUPPOSED to be flat.  However, every room had the same problem...again I asked if everything was finished and was told, yes...it's move in ready.  And right after that I was told that almost all of the rooms had been reserved...WHAT!?!?!  650-690 a month (not including utilities) to live in a closet, pee in the dark, share one stove with 5 people, and sleep on a block of wood.  Where can I sign up!?

This room's 30 bucks cheaper a month...I think everyone can tell why.  That space near the window isn't more than 1/2 a foot wide.  This doesn't beat the room that's the cheapest, 630 a month...unfortunately the room is only about 5x5 and doesn't have a window.  I swear it must have been a walk-in closet at one point.
The kicker...with all these cramped rooms and luxury amenities, you get to walk from the 4th floor to the 6th floor to take a shower and use the sink! OH JOY!  Nothing like walking up two flights of stairs, in the middle of the winter to take a shower.  God forbid you then try and share one of the four sinks to blow dry your hair before walking back downstairs.

Here are the only 3 bathroom sinks on 2 floors for about 30 people.  I'm not sure what's really going on in this space.  To the left is what's "going to be" a shared kitchen space (maybe 14x14ft).  I say going to be, because right now it's two rooms.  Which then makes me wondering, if that's going to be a shared kitchen, then what the heck is going to happen to the little kitchenette to the right?

Directly across from the soon to be "shared" kitchen are the shared shower stalls....you might notice the curtain to the left...yes 30 people sharing 4 stalls with nothing but a thin curtain separating them.








With all the possible places to live, I think I'd live in a hostel before living in this place.  Unbelievable!  The owner was a Belgium guy and it's clear that he's trying to create a quick buck.  After politely parting ways, I practically ran back to the station.  Gosh, why do people move to Tokyo?  Why am I moving to Tokyo?

Moving into Tokyo

Somewhere in the last two weeks, I've gone to work...but aside from watching a 2nd year student grab another 2nd year student's penis and squeeze as hard as he can. And...hmm, watching a 1st year student crash through a door.  Oh and teaching in an unheated building with windows wide open while it's snowing outside...not much has been going on.  Well, at least it seems that way, since most my time is consumed with apartment hunting in Tokyo.  What I'm hoping for:

1) Sharehouse, Roommate, or Apartment
2) A shared room that is AT LEAST 6tatami (about 98 sq.ft.) / or apartment that's 20sq.m (about 217.8 sq.ft.)
3) Relatively clean (i.e. no mold, no bugs, and nothing falling down)
4) Under $800/month (yeah, seriously I'm actually going to pay $800 bucks for 217 sq. ft apartment)
5) Somewhere within a 25min train ride from my new job


What I've found:

Share House 1-
Found this through a website called sharese.com. The rent is about 680/month, plus around 70/month for utilities  (the utilities really are that cheap...water, gas, and electric).  Maybe it's because they feel sorry about the landowners sucking the very souls from their tenants.  The house has 6 rooms/roommates.  2 Germans, 2 Japanese, and 2 empty rooms (1/2 men, 1/2 women).

About 10 minute walk from the station (about 20min train ride to work).  Very nice neighborhood, but the house is very small.  Only one bathroom and shower for 6 people....OH MY!

So...not that I was expecting much, but this definitely leaves something to be desired...do I really want to feel more dirty coming out than going in?







Kitchen is very spacious for a Japanese house.  Very nice.  A tad messy, but what can you expect with 6 people.  I'd say the place was rather nice seeing that 6 people lived there.

Dining room...not much going on here.






Living room with the German girl that comes with it. 






First bedroom...probably 98sq. ft.  Large closet...at least I think so.  It comes furnished...with...hopefully everything but the clutter.

Second bedroom...probably about 8 mats...again, somewhere in there.

Oh and I forgot to mention the 5 plants in the room.  I'm not sure what the person is hoping to accomplish...increasing the oxygen count of the room?  Or... it is a guy's room, possibly trying to air-out the room.

Hmm, I wouldn't mind keeping this...although most of the books are hard core science fiction.

Hmm, the hallsways are cramped and the thought of trying to share one bathroom with 6 people is well, mind blowing.  While the price is certainly right, the place feels like a cave...or more like a dorm.  I'd like to think that I'm kind of past that phase in my life.