Come on in, let me show you around our Kyoto house

I know that if I was you, I would want the nitty-gritty daily stuff, the details of the reality of what it is like to live on the road, so for those like me, please come on over. You are just in time, as tomorrow we are leaving.

What has it been like to live in the center of Kyoto for the last 2 weeks?  I managed to find this little gem, hidden in one of the off -shoots of the small alleys lined with townhouses.

See these bikes? Very handy for late night shop runs, for laundry carting or just for cruising the neighbourhood. Miss Fab has spent the majority of the last few days on one of them, my favorite being when she just jumped on her bike to go get some sushi.

Please come in through the sliding door. At night we enter in the dark and close it behind us before turning any of the lights on, as the mozzies seem to like us too much.

 

The kitchen – small fridge, microwave, rice maker, and a tiny toaster.

Lets have a closer look.

 

When in use, it tends to look like this:

 

Straight ahead of the front door and to the left of the kitchen area is the toilet.

 

If you turn left, you can enter the shower and bathroom.

Pressing just one button on the electronic controls over the bath, fills it automatically. The shower is one of the best we have had so far – strong pressure, constant warm water and sparkling clean. You can see Little B’s pink goggles to your right, she tends to see bath time as extra fun, wild time.

As we get out  of the toilet/bathroom to the right is the living room, lined with tatami mats and extraordinarily cozy for such a simple place.

In the little nook you can see the lens I abandoned for the wide angle to your right. A pile of papers and cards, as well as the kid’s bamboo foldable hats from Yangshuo in China. Usually this place houses a bunch of bananas, the only fruit we can afford in Japan, but we are fresh out.

Up the wooden stairs is the bedroom. Oh, hold on…horror..certain kids have tornadoed through it. Not mine of course! Mine are busy playing violin and doing their maths.

Give me a second…

This is a mistake, the house is always impecable (no coughing in the crowds!)…a fluke…hold on…

Ahhhhh, thats better.

Come on in.

Tatami mats are my new favorite feature for a living space. They are soft, but not squishy, warm and quiet.

Futons are the other. We have always enjoyed sleeping on the floor at home, but now we know its something that is absolutely us. It makes so much sense and avoids spending ridiculous amount of money for, well, being higher.

_

 

 

If you look down the window behind me, you will see our little decorative garden.

The one that brings that certain Japanese aesthetic to a full circle downstairs.

And this is the spot I am writing at the moment from.

Dont be fooled by the wide angle, the house is small by most standards, but surprisingly spacious and more than enough for our family. It has been a wonderful retreat for us and we will miss it and the city it is snuggled in.

For now, sit down and lets have some green tea. What parts do you like about your house?

September 13th, 2011, Japan
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