Our move in date is less than a week away, so we headed out to the big appliance store, Yodobashi. This store has everything that you will plug into your home. We started with washing machines. Whenever I see a Japanese washing machine, I immediately have 2 thoughts:
1) it's so tiny and cute!
2) holy camoly, that's a lot of buttons!
Dryers are still not found in most Japanese homes. They dry their clothes outside or in the bathroom (when it's raining). Some washers have dryer functions as well, but I have never seen a separate dryer in a Japanese home. We saw a few today at Yodobashi, so they are here, just not common.
After a whole lot of talking we realized we didn't have enough measurements and information in order to select our washing machine. However, we did walk away with a lot of information and things to consider, so it wasn't wasted time.
Up next was refrigerators. I was probably a little too excited to pick out our fridge. When I lived here 15 years ago, my fridge was tiny. The fridge I had in my college dorm room was actually bigger than the one I had in my apartment in Osaka! Standard "large" fridges have 5 doors/compartments. There is the fridge, ice drawer, flash freeze drawer, freezer drawer, and veggie bin drawer. There were other systems (no veggie drawer, and French doors vs 1 door), but I wanted the typical 5 door version. The thing about shopping every day means you don't store as much food, so I am up for the challenge of a large Japanese size fridge. I learned today, the difference in capacity is in the depth, as the standard width is 60 cm (23.6 inches). I think I can manage with the fridge. We'll see how long I last before I buy a second freezer.
I found a fridge that I love, but we ran into a snag - measurements again! We didn't measure the distance from the wall to the front of the counter or the width of the door frame to the kitchen. Ugh. Another appliance we will have to wait to order. Luckily, as long as they have the item in stock they can deliver the very next day.
I picked out my vacuum in record time because I already knew what I wanted. They don't have upright vacuums in Japan, and I didn't want a canister that I had to haul up and down the stairs all the time. So I got a cordless Dyson that just makes me want to vacuum. I can't wait to use it!
Next we wandered over to the rice cooker department. This little gadget, the lifeblood of all Japanese homes, has its own department. Seriously. I stood there in amazement as I looked at all the contraptions to cook rice. Nothing else. Just rice. There they were - over 80 of them to choose from! My husband and I have debated the necessity of rice over the years. Don't get me wrong, I'm not opposed to eating rice. I just don't crave it like he does. While I reach for chocolate after a bad day, he reaches for a bowl of rice. It is just something that we will never see eye to eye on. We've always had a nice rice cooker, as (we joke) it was part of our marriage contract. Now, he's ready for a really fancy one. I am not in agreement. However, I am also of the opinion that if this is what makes him happy, I will not stand in his way. Unless of course he decides he wants the ¥138,240 ($1,229) model. That is, frankly, insane. (Luckily he doesn't, so we avoid this conversation.)
You'd think we were done, but there is more. Picking out an electric tea kettle is quick and painless. For people who drink as much tea as we do, the only thing that mattered was speed. We quickly found a model that boils a cup of water in 45 seconds. Sold!
Stove is next! I'm surprised to see that there is only 1 aisle of stovetops to choose from (opposed to the whole 5 aisles of rice cookers!). So making a decision there isn't that tough. The only options we had were brand, 2 burners for the fish broiler or 1, and button ignition or dial for the burners. There were a few built in models that had lots of choices including induction cooktops instead of gas, but we can't have a built in. So, we picked 1 burner for the fish broiler since I don't think I'll be using it that often, which cut the price in half and continued on our way.
After the stoves came light fixtures. However, we were getting really tired by this point, so we headed up to the 8th floor for lunch. We found a Korean place and enjoyed bee bim bap, naengmyeon, and a lot of yummy sides. Just what we needed to recharge our batteries.
Back to light fixtures, and after asking a few questions, we found the lights we wanted in all the sizes we needed.
We then paid for our couple items (tea kettle and vacuum) and ordered our lights. The rest would have to wait for more measurements or when we're ready for the big purchasing day. When we paid for our stuff, they asked if we wanted a handle on our vacuum box. Since we were taking the train, we said yes and they quickly slapped three straps, plus a handle, on the box.
On our way home, we wandered through more of the Roppongi Art Walk and enjoyed some pieces that we didn't see last night.
Once we got home, we were all a little out of steam. As I was making chicken and vegetable soup for dinner, the door bell rang. This was a bit strange because we weren't expecting anyone. It was the postman (on a SUNDAY evening!) delivering a package. Oh, my goodness! What a wonderful surprise! We delighted in opening the care package filled with happiness and good tidings. It was the most wonderful way to end the weekend. This was our first piece of mail from home (besides an envelope with bills that we had a friend forward to us) and it made us all feel so happy. My son actually started jumping up and down when he saw a drawing in the box from his friend, as well as other goodies.
***I'm not trying to shame anyone about the lack of mail. In today's society, mailed correspondence is few and far between. But when you live so far from home, a taste of it (via soup and package contents) is so revitalizing and wonderful.***
Now we start the countdown to our upcoming move to our new home - 6 days until we get the keys and 11 days until we are totally out of temporary housing. Luckily we have picked out most of our furniture and appliances - which takes a big load off our shoulders - and we have treats from home to help us get through the waiting.
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