Our new home-Leyton House-Yokohama..

Finally we have moved into our long term apartment in Yokohama!! It had been secured within a day of our arrival in Japan but due to an extraordinary amount of red tape and scrutiny required by the company there was a long delay. In a move co-ordinated by our Expatriate Advisors, we took up residence in our 16th floor apartment at Leyton House in Yamashita on July 16th. In actual fact we are in Chinatown but the address is Yamashita.

Below are a few shots of our new apartment (kitchen, lounge room, main bedroom)before any furniture went in. It is large, spacious and very bright with views from every single window.

 The day began early with a final inspection of our apartment in Shinagawa, test passed!! After 2 months in Shinagawa, and Tokyo, it was farewell and off to a new start in Yokohama. I know I will miss this busy outlook, a much narrower view but always busy with trains, people and cars.

Everything was packed, including the air freight cartons which had arrived a few weeks earlier.
With everything stacked in the lobby and Bek and Paul left waiting for the taxi van, Soph and I caught a train to Ichikawacho Station in Yokohama, where the real estate agent had been organised to meet me. Moving into a new rental property 'Japanese style' then began. The first official meeting began at 9-30am with the expatriate advisor, the real estate agent, the Leyton House concierge and manager, and me. The entire apartment was inspected from ceiling to floor by all personnel. Every pinhole, scratch, chip, minuscule carpet stain, semi faulty doorknob and scuff on the floor was meticulously recorded. The thoroughness of the inspection was unbelievable.

The day was a busy one, with up to 3 people at any one time attending to the move in. Lots of 'lost in translation' situations and lots of instructions and directions for all electrical equipment, including TV channels/programs, DVD operation, air cons, alarm systems, cleaning filters, wireless connections, Internet, telephones etc etc,  all given in very broken English , if any. Oh my God, I didn't have a chance because at the same time Sophie's running around screaming and yelling with excitement. Unfortunately, one of the visiting aliens wasn't here during some of the initial instruction time, and being a bit of a button pusher, inadvertently pushed the button we had been told not to touch. The end result, a little man dressed in uniform was instantly on our doorstep in a real flap muttering away in Japanese. The emergency button for the building had been pushed. YIKES!! that's one way to cure button pushing! (maybe)

Outline of move-in day-Friday, 16th July
9:20-Omi-san of Ken Corp. will pick up Jennifer-san at JR Ishikawacho Station Chinatown Exit
9:30-Move-in Inspection with Jennifer-san, the landlord, concierge, Ken Corporation & TGA coordinator
- the condition of the property to be checked and listed
- keys hand over
- appliance usages to be explained
- utilities (electricity & water) activated
10:00-Rental furniture delivery by Tokyo Lease

 15:00 - 17:00-Optic Fiber Internet Installation work by NTT
15:00 - 16:00-SkyperfecTV installation& set-up by Tom Service

 19:00 - 21:00-Internet PC set-up support by Nagawa of Assist Solutions

The good thing about the Internet man was that he was able to help cook the rice (we couldn't read the buttons) and he also helped with other difficulties we were having around the house. Try reading instruction manuals written in Kanji....impossible....they are bad enough normally.When you find someone who can speak English and read Kanji you can't afford to waste the opportunity. By the end of the day we felt quite at home. Unfortunately I had to sleep on the floor for a week awaiting the arrival of our sea freight (which included the dreaded bed!!!).

The pace of living, crowds and general surroundings are so different to Tokyo. Where in Tokyo it was usual to see thousands of people rushing off to work, catching trains and eating out in the multitude of food venues this is not quite so obvious in the area around our apartment. It is more like living in the suburbs rather than a CBD. As soon as we arrived we could feel it was more relaxed. It's still hot though, very hot. We have 5 air conditioners pumping away 24/7. We certainly don't have any issues getting the washing dry.

The apartment is quite large, about 25 squares, and very comfortable. Plenty of room for the guests who will be visiting over the next 18 months or so.

The views from every window in the apartment are fabulous. On our floor there are only two apartments. We face Yokohama Bay on one side, Yamate/Motomachi on another and Yokohama City and Tokyo on the other side. It is on this side that we see the big ferris wheel and the Landmark Building, Japan's tallest building. At night time the ferris wheel is lit up with constantly changing bright lights, very pretty.

Chinatown, the largest in Japan, and possibly in the world outside of China, surrounds us. It has ten ornate gates, four main and and six others, and within these gates there is reported to be over six hundred shops. I believe we could eat out every night for a year and still not have eaten in all the eating places. It's good fun riding the bike up and down the streets, but on the weekends it is very crowded. Motomachi Street, on the other side of a canal on our south side, is a very stylish and attractive brick paved street. It is here that you can find a wide assortment of stores and a little more of a European influence. This is also a nice area to cruise around on the bike. The Motomachi Pool is a great place to have a swim and is quite reasonably priced. There are beautiful parks and plenty of things to see.

Most of our grocery shopping is done at Motomachi Supermarket at the Ishikawachō Station, the station we use to commute from. Ishikawachō Station is located 3.8kms or three train stops away from Yokohama Station. Steve is actually about 3 minutes closer to Tsurumi, the place where he works, as it is only a couple of stops past Yokohama Station. There is also a small supermarket just around the corner and I have found a place in Motomachi that sells 500gram blocks of cheese. Nearly all foods come in small quantities and are individually wrapped. It's about a 5 minute walk to the foreshore and Yamashita Park. It is wide and open, quite a contrast to Tokyo, with pretty, tree lined streets. It's the perfect place to walk or cycle and there are many things to see the whole way along the foreshore to Minato Mirai, which is north of us.

In some of my next blog posts I will take a tour of Chinatown and Minato Mirai. There are so many things to share......it's impossible to cover everything. Hopefully though, through this blog, many of my family and friends will get to experience just a little of Japan.

I certainly have been converted; the place and its people are quite addictive!! A country so steeped in traditions, customs and culture.........so individual and resistant to the influences of others.