Living "Off Base" in Japan

Ok, so I said I was going to only do a blog about Josh's birthday party, but I thought that I would also include my most recent excursion last week to Costco. Yes, they have a Costco in Japan. In fact there are many in Japan and our readers may be pleasantly surprised that about 70-80% of the products sold are the same things that can be found in the States. One of my most important purchases? The Kirkland brand men's size medium undershirts. Mike has been pining for these ever since we left San Diego. In fact, has asked for these on holidays or birthdays. Kirkland brand is the generic Costco brand. However, these undershirts are extremely high quality and and can be purchased at a very fair price. They are thicker and softer than any undershirt that we've come across (for the price). They wash beautifully and hold up well with everyday "wear and tear". Although Mike likes to used lighter shirts during the humid summer, these are perfect for fall and winter. Along with the shirts, I also bought some garbage bags & produce. I know I'm not a very big spender. Lucky for me I have full access to the commissary, so the prices weren't that competitive with what I was paying already. Plus, in my kitchen I really don't have space for mass quantities of things.

To get to Costco, I took a tour bus from base. This actually worked out well for the first time. I brought an ice chest with me, and I didn't have to deal with trying to sing "twinkle twinkle little star" while at the same time trying to navigate/drive to Costco for the first time. When Josh and I boarded the bus, I was suddenly met with a cheer. "Oh Yay, it's Nicki from the webpage!! I'm so glad your on this tour." I was pretty stunned. Wow, I thought, I'm famous. What a kick in the pants. It turns out that Caroline, her husband, and her son were here visiting Japan partly to decide whether or not her husband would accept a job and if they would consider living in Japan. During the trip, we chatted a lot and I was asked a lot of questions. She said that she found our site while searching about information on Yokosuka. Anyway, it got me thinking about how many other folks out there might find our site while searching for information about living in/PCS'ing to Yokosuka and after hearing some of her questions, I thought I would put up a little more information about living off base and some things that I've learned in the almost year that we've been here.

We absolutely enjoy living off base. However, it wasn't all roses I might add. There were definitely some things that I would change/look out for if I could go back in time. Such as:

1. I would suggest taking a little more time to look for a house. If you know or meet folks who have homes off base, ask if you can check them out. Also, asked who their realtor is. All realtors here compete with one another, so go see as many houses with as many realtors as possible. When we were fresh off the plane, we had no idea what to expect on living conditions. Everyone kept on saying how small all of the homes were. We didn't run into a size problem at all. In fact, this place is a mansion (an American mansion, not what Japanese call "mansion") compared to what we were living in back in San Diego. However, we were used to San Diego weather and the high quality of homes. Japanese homes do not age gracefully. We scooped up one of the first homes we saw, which is a big no no. Realtors here will show the shopper some cruddy houses at first, or maybe I should be more "PC", they will show homes that have been on the market for a while. Things to look for in a home might include:

-hook-ups for a washer and dryer
-is there a space for an American style stove? (Some only have room for a fish cooker)
-Japanese or Western style bath tub? Which would you prefer?
-How old is the place?
-Can a Western style refrigerator fit in the kitchen?
-Are the floors hard wood or carpet? Rugs are a costly investment.....
-Check on base to see if any past tenants have given reviews of the place and landlord.
-How close is the market, your work, the park, schools, and for many the most important....how close is the train station?

Again, these are things that were most important to me. Some people moving to Japan may not have these luxuries to consider. We love our place. Readers may notice that I mentioned twice to check on the age of the home. This is because, as I noted earlier, Japanese homes to not age gracefully. The Japanese are famous around the world for their demand for high quality and efficiency in their products. Unfortunately, this standard is not extended into their homes. While an American home at 30 years old would maybe be outdated, is usually is just being broken in. However a Japanese home at 30 years is typically on it's last leg, if it even is up at all. Many times, Japanese people will demolish and rebuild their home after 7-10 years, just to keep it new.

The Japanese do not add insulation to their homes. On some of the newer models they are starting to, but it's still not very common. Some believe that it's for spiritual/religious reasons, some believe it's to cut costs. Whatever the reason, it makes for very cold winters. One thing that I learned from a friend of mine is to invest in curtains. It will help insulate the windows a bit and cut cost on the heating bill. Remember, because the home is not insulated it means that whatever temperature it is outside, it's about that temp inside, too. We woke up many a morning to see 5 degrees Celsius on the thermometer. Also, one of the first investments that should be made after renting is to get a kerosene heater or two depending on how big a house it is. While most homes include wall units with heaters, these are inefficient for the entire winter and the electric bills get costly. Also, check and see if there is an outlet to hook up a gas heater. While these are expensive, they may be a great investment if you're planning on an extended stay. Some other investments may be worth considering for the winter time:

-electric heated mattress pad
-electric heated blankets
-kotatsu (tables with heater units attached on the underside)
-electric heated rugs

Hope that this helps. I'm no expert, but this is what I've learned along the way. This may be the first of many installations.