The Dorm

Here are a few pictures of my dorm.  It is like a little studio apartment, with a balcony and everything!  There are 4 floors, and about 75 people live here. 

It is 45 minutes to 1 hour commute to the research center.  To commute I need to get to Hodogaya station by taking the bus or walking.  I think they take about the same amount of time.  From Hodogaya station I take the train 3-4 stops to Ofuna station.  From there I can take another bus or walk to the research center.  The bus takes about 15-20 minutes, and walking is about 30 minutes.

First and most importantly, the gnomes made it to Japan safe and sound.  They are hanging out in my kitchen right now.

 This is a view of my main room/bedroom.  My boxes have not arrived yet, so it is pretty bare.

 Here is a view looking the other way.  There is a bed (I need to buy a pillow!) and a desk.  Also, you can see the balcony - it is a pretty good size.

Here is another view of the "kitchen".  It is one burner and a sink with two cupboards.  Across from the sink is a fridge and a microwave.

 Here is the fridge and microwave.  So far in the fridge there is only a bottle of lemon soda!

Here is the hallway from the main room to the door.  Right behind the wall is the stove/sink on the right and the fridge on the left.  After that is the toilet on the left and the sink and bathroom on the right.

The toilet gets it's own room in Japan.  On the wall next to the toilet paper holder is the control panel for the toilet.  Toilet technology in Japan is leaps and bounds ahead of the US apparently.  They have heated seats!

 Across the hall from the toilet is the sink, and then past that is the shower/bath room.  There is a door that closes and then the whole room is the shower.  I haven't tried the bathtub yet.  It is short, but quite deep, so you could sit up in it and soak.  Taking a bath seems to be a big thing in Japan.

 If you are standing at the sink and turn around there is a washing machine.  I haven't used it yet.  All of the buttons are in Japanese, so it could be quite the adventure!

 Next to the door there is a coat/shoe cupboard.

Here are a few pictures I took from my balcony this morning.  I think from the roof it is possible to see Mt. Fuji, so I will have to go up there and look on a day that is more clear.

 The area I live in is very crowded, and this looks to be the typical yard.  Very tiny!

 Some more views looking the other way.

 There is a little garden/yard set up outside the dorm.  It is small, but nicely done!

That's about it for dorm pictures.  If anyone wants to see anything else, let me know and I will take pictures of it for you!