I made the trip down to Shin-Osaka, which is the closest station to Kuniko’s new aparment. The Shin-Osaka station is a very large station that includes the regular Japan Rail lines, and also has the Shinkansen (Bullet Train). Kuniko was waiting for me at the gate, and she walked me to her new place. The neighborhood is pretty nice – very nice by American standards and so-so by Japanese standards. She lives in an apartment complex that is for college students, but her teacher status gets her in.
The place was small, much smaller than my place. Her living room/sleeping area is about the same size as one and a half of my rooms. The bathroom is a bit larger than mine, though. The kitchen area is tiny! She didn’t have any appliances yet – so we went out to dinner the first night. We grabbed some ramen down the street and we explored some back alleys and got to know the neighborhood a little better. Afterwards we got some dessert and watched Japanese TV for a little while, and I struggled to understand what the heck was going on during the programs. Saturday Kuniko is getting some appliances delivered so we’ll probably be hanging around near the apartment.
