and we're back...

Yesterday, the phone guy came to install our phone/internet line.

It took me some time to figure out how to log-in to use the wifi, but am glad we are finally able to reconnect to the world.

Yesterday, the electric guy also came to attach an antenna to our lanai so that we can view satellite television.

Yesterday, the building management sent some guys to fix some areas in the apartment (this was actually a continuation of last Friday).

Also yesterday, a mover came to pick up all the empty cardboard boxes.

And the bags filled with the 5 boxes for the dishes.

If you follow us on Instagram, you saw this and that of the past couple of weeks…I’d like to share with you about our moving day(s).

4/15, Sunday, the weather was forecast for rain, but we were lucky to get some clouds and some sun...

the movers came at 12:30 and estimated that it would take about 5 to 6 hours...WT?

I had reserved a seat on the Shinkansen for 17:00, but accepted that I probably wouldn't make it...

An hour into the move, Satoshi had to return to Tokyo to pick up the key to the apartment from the RE agent.

Dunno why they couldn’t give him the key on Friday, oh wella...

The leader of the moving team mentioned that he thought I was “used” to moving because everything was packed up and ready to go when they came...um, well, when you say I need to pack up our stuff by 12:30, I pack up our stuff by 12:30.

He said he’s often gone to homes and the people moving haven’t even started packing…WT?

Since our Osaka apartment didn’t have a huge parking area, they had to make a couple of trips to load and unload our stuff onto a larger truck.

And guess what, we were done by 15:30!

The building manager came a little after and I thanked him for taking care of us when we needed help and gave him our keys.

I then made my way to try to catch the Shinkansen...

When I arrived in Umeda, I used the restroom and bought something to eat (because to try to do this at Shin-Osaka, the lines of the restroom might be krazy) then I made my way to the Shinkansen station (Shin-Osaka).

I arrived at Shin-Osaka and saw that my “flight” was ready to leave so I hauled my suitcase while running up the stairs to the platform.

I sat in my reserved seat and less than a minute later, the train pulled out of the station...whew!

When I arrived in Tokyo, I met Satoshi in Kamata where we would spend the night.

The movers were coming bright and early between 8:00-9:00.

It was a long day, but we were in Tokyo.

4/16, Monday, we checked out of the hotel and made our way to the apartment getting there a little before 8:00.

At 8:30, a huge truck drove up…this was filled with our belongings.

The teeny truck are what the movers rode in.

The first things to come out of the truck were the furniture that we brought with us.

Then ALL the boxes...I think we had over 100...

Afterwards, Satoshi had to go downstairs to see the empty truck and sign that they delivered everything.

It was a good thing we didn’t bring the sofa and dining set...it definitely wouldn’t have fit in this apartment.

AND, the closet space has been cut in half, so there are some things that we don’t know where to store.

BUT, my kitchen counter space has doubled to “two folder papers” AND there is lots of space under the kitchen sink (oh and the sink is longer too).

I did lose a drawer in the kitchen, so have to figure out where to put my gadgets...

The drawer that is there in the kitchen is too shallow, so we can’t put all the utensils that we once had in there.

AND I found out the hard way that while my fridge was made by the same maker, the fridge and freezer were not in the same areas as my old one...thank goodness I didn’t have ice cream in there, though I hope that the jams and pickles that got frozen will be okay.

There was one scary moment...the last items that the movers pack up are the shoes in the shoes at the entrance of your apartment, so of course, when they unpack, it is also the last items that they take out of the boxes.

I went to the shoe closet and wanted to take out my slippers...but they weren’t there!

In fact, half of my shoes were not there...

Instead, there was this pair of shoes that I have never seen in my life…

Talk about panic!

We called the movers in Osaka and told them about the unknown pair of shoes and asked them about the other missing shoes.

The Osaka team told us that they had put our shoes into a cardboard box and “thought” they had labeled it...luckily, we found the unlabeled box, BUT, we still don’t know who’s shoes these are and have a feeling it was left by the people who lived in the apartment before us...eep!

“Someone” got the huge flat screen tv that he’s been wanting...it literally takes up a whole wall of the apartment and I think we need to watch it from the apartment next door...

The building is rather old so it isn’t wired for BS TV, which I think is satellite television, which means we need to put up an antenna.

I got a new washer and it has a built-in dryer, I need to figure out how to get the dryer to dry things fully, but it will definitely come in handy for the rainy season.

Our weather has been summery, but our apartment has a nice cross wind.

Am hoping dreaming we’ll still have nice cross winds when summer actually starts.

It is the start of Golden Week and we plan to explore the surrounding areas.

Sorry this post was super long, but I wanted to get in as much as possible.

Thanks for being patient and sticking with us.

I look forward to sharing more with you...like what I've been eating and update you on my dental adventure...

Have a nice weekend.

Urvest Kamata (UPDATE:12/20 out of business)
5-12-12 Kamata
Ota, Tokyo
Phone: 03.3739.0002