Moving In
December 9th, 2021 The flight from Tokyo to Akita City took just under an hour, and was largely uneventful. When we arrived I was greeted by the two supervisors and taken in a van back to the Board of Education building, where I met the big boss in charge of the education section. After going out for lunch, it was time to sign the contract for my apartment. It seemed to be straighforward, though it did have some interesting stipulations, for example, it specified that I am prohibited from joining the Yakuza. Following that, I was finally taken to my new apartment. Though a bit small by western standards, the apartment was certainly big enough for one person. The front door opened into the kitchen area, which contained a refrigerator, microwave, small washing machine, and hardly any counter space. I was quite happy to have a two-burner gas stove, though. The bathroom, containing the bathtub and shower, was separate from the toilet, located in its own small room beside the shower. Lastly was the living area, which was completely empty save for the futon which the supervisors had purchased for me ahead of time. The supervisors even helped me put the sheets onto the futon mattress and cover. Some time later a man came to perform the gas hookup. Once everything was done, it was time to go shopping for household necessities. I had arrived together with one other participant from Canada, who was placed in the apartment directly below mine. Two other people working in the same program who live nearby had offered to take us shopping on our first night, so once all the initial setup at our apartments was complete, they came to meet us. Together we walked up the main street to the city's major department store, Don Quihote (called "Donki" for short). After stopping for dinner in a Chinese restaurant at the entrance of the building, we proceeded into the store. It was enormous, taking up two levels of the building, and carrying all sorts of goods. We collected basic household items, cookware, and a few other things. But we didn't get too much; we new we'd be back soon. The following day I was helped to open an account at the local bank, into which my salary would be directly deposited. I also had my new address registered on my residence card, and then after lunch it was time for some more shopping, guided by another staff member of the board of education. This time, we had gotten lucky. The forecast had suggested rain that day, so a company car had been booked for us to use on our shopping trip. In the end, it didn't rain, but since the car had been booked, we were able to take it anyways. After another trip to Donki (this time picking up much heavier items such as a rice cooker), we proceeded to the well-known furniture store Nitori. There, I acquired a nice desk (the last of its kind that was in stock), a comfortable chair, a rug for my room, and several other items. Then, we loaded everything into the van and went back to our apartments. That night I set up my desk, and with various papers and personal items still strewn all over the floor, picked up a ready-made meal from the corner store for dinner. The next day was Saturday, but my weekend would be full of more shopping trips for other household goods and food items. After the weekend I was exhausted from all the shopping, crowded places, and mostly successful attempts to understand the fast-spoken words of store cashiers. Thankfully, most of my immediate shopping had been completed after that, though I would continue to purchase other household items slowly over time. Thus began my new life in Akita City. |