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Although it may look small, our kitchen is fairly well equipped. Our microwave doubles as an oven, and our gas range has a tiny gas oven underneath it (about 3 inches high and 12 inches deep) with a roasting pan (we've heard it's meant for fish, but we mostly use it to make toast and heat hot dogs for Tommy). And we have plenty of room for storage (a good thing, since we brought about 18 boxes of cream of wheat, 12 jars of peanut butter, 18 cans of salsa, and lots of other American goodies with us!). Now if we only had a dishwasher. . .
Our dining room is surprisingly large, and the table will comfortably seat six when pulled away from the wall---plenty of room to accomodate any of you who feel inclined to visit (hint! hint!).
| Washitsu |
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| Luke reads to Tommy from his beloved "Thomas the Tank Engine: The Complete Collection" |
This is a traditional Japanese room with a tatami mat floor. Its best feature is the kotatsu, a foot warmer placed in the floor underneath the table. There is a pit for your feet in the floor under the table too, so you feel as though you're sitting on a chair even though you're really sitting on the floor.
| Bathroom |
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| Tommy poses next to his "Potty Progress Chart" |
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The Japanese love to fill every room of their homes with high tech toys, and the bathroom is no exception. Our toilet performs a variety of functions (wash, dry, warm seat, etc.). Tommy has already learned the hard way not to play with the buttons on the toilet! Conserving water is also important, as demonstrated by the spigot on top of the tank. After each flush, water comes out of the spigot so you can wash your hands with the fill water as it makes its way into the tank.
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Most Japanese homes have only one bathroom, which is split into four different areas: the toilet, the bath, the vanity, and the laundry. Our toilet has its own room. Our vanity and laundry occupy another room across the hall, through which the bath is accessible. We are fortunate to have a clothes dryer, something considered extravagant (and maybe a bit wasteful) in Japan, and feel grateful not to have to hang clothes on our balcony to dry as most people do.
As you look at the photos on the right you may notice a hose running from the bathtub to the laundry area. Since most Japanese people take a bath every day, many people (us included) conserve water by using a small pump to transfer bathwater from the tub to the washing machine. This process also enables us to wash our clothes with warm water, as our washing machine only has a cold water hook-up.
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