Job Discussion Forums

[Rezz]

Just wondering if anyone had any pictures of what the apartments are like with any of the big eikaiwas? I have been offered a position with AEON and they have a basic layout on their website of what I should expect but I can't really get my head around how everything will fit in.

Thanks!

[Glenski]

What "everything" are you planning to fit into an apartment?

Here are some links to pics. Don't know how many are still live links. Let me know.

www.markinjapan.ca/features/apartment/index.htm
http://vocaro.com/trevor/japan/home/index.html
http://ekhardt.com/tokyo/myapartment/Iapartment.html
http://www.tiger-marmalade.com/gallery/apartment
http://www.collin.org/travel/japan/apartment/apartment.html
http://www.globalcompassion.com/home.htm
http://www.greggman.com/japan/apts/tokyo%20apts.htm
http://daveahlman.com/arch/arch_apt.htm
http://chaninjapan.utopiades.com/Information/Apartment.htm

[Rezz]

Thanks for the links Glenski, I shall check those out now

This is the picture AEON use on their website of what I should expect: http://www.aeonet.com/japan/image/apartment01.gif

In the interview they said I would need to buy a sofa (if I want one), the TV and a futon. Obviously space is quite limited so it's sort of hard to visualise how they would fit in with all the other belongings. Was just hoping to see some actual examples really. Thanks!

[iverin]

I had a larger apartment by standards and mine came with a double sized western style bed, leather couch (old and uncomfortable but it made a good clothes dryer), tv, vcr, dvd player etc. Mine came with the works. I didn't have to buy anything but food and even there I was lucky that my outgoing teacher left me oil, ramen, rice, coffee, toilet paper, paper towels etc.

[Apsara]

Futons are supposed to be folded up and put away during the day- some people actually push the folded futon towards the wall and use theirs as a sofa if they have a one room apartment. With an apartment that size (very typical here) you don't really want to leave the futon out all day if you are going to be spending much time there.

Very small, low sofas are available here- the furniture might all be a lot smaller than you are imagining, in fact.

[Glenski]

AEON's picture is one thing. Dimensions are another. The picture makes the room look spacious, but it is probably just a standard 6-tatami 1DK if that.

Description of Housing Terms
http://jafnet.co.jp/manual/e.chintai/migigawa/epoint.htm
http://www.himeji-iec.or.jp/life/b_08/index_en.html
http://www.pref.nara.jp/silk/icd/h_english/2_04_e.html
http://www.geocities.com/indiansinjapan/living-in-japan/life-3.html
http://www.jobmonkey.com/teaching/asia/html/long_stay.html
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2207.html
http://jafnet.co.jp/manual/chintai/migigawa/apart.htm

[jerkytheturkey]

Rezz I remember them talking about this in the interview. It depends on your choice of location I guess. If you asked to be near a big city then space will be at a minimum. I don't think having a TV is going to be a priority for me

[iverin]

having a tv can be useful for those slow nights. I watched a lot of movies on weekends when I didn't go out.

I was in a smaller city of approx. 300,000 people and my apartment was 14 or so tatami mats. It was pretty large in comparison to the sizes of the apartments from the other trainees in my group

[SoulCal]

I had a Leopalace apartment, and it was a standard issue place for my company. Here is a link to good examples of what to expect if you live in the Tokyo area.

http://www.flickr.com/photos/41467665@N02/sets/72157621914151085/

Of course, if youre out in the countryside, then you can expect to have a much roomier space.

[Rezz]

Great pictures SoulCal! Very tidy apartment you have there

Doesn't look as small as I would have thought either, thanks!

[SoulCal]

Hey Rezz, your welcome for the photos, hopefully they come in useful for more people on this board.

I thought my place was pretty tidy as well, this was the condition it was in when I ended my employment with GEOS and left Japan. But, can you believe that they actually ended up giving me a very poor mark of 4/10 for the general condition of my old place and 2/5 for cleanliness!? Of course, this drastically reduced a portion of my severance pay, and the marks I received for the remaining categories of the severance package were even more ridiculous and unjustified.

I dont know if AEON is going to be more honest with you, so take as many photos as you can to document the condition of your new place, before and after you live there. In my opinion, the big eikaiwas are always setting you up for disaster, and they will take advantage of it when the time comes.

[Dipso]

Aeon teachers often live in Leo Palace apartments - mine was absolutely tiny. I recall being given a box of biscuits by a student and having nowhere to store it so I had to leave the box on the floor until I had polished the biccies off!

When my brother came to visit he said it was like being in a sarcophagus...

[seklarwia]

Dipso,

Tiny by your standards, or tiny even for a leopalace place? Welcome to Japan: where any space comes at a premium.

I live in a standard new build leopalace place now. It's not huge by any means but to call it a sarcophagus would be a slight exaggeration. I was able to easily fit four futons on my bedroom floor when some friends stayed over for a gaming session.

I saw another new build block in my area that had loft beds instead of the raised bed like in mine. It had a little less floor space but it was still livable. And I'm pretty sure that despite having a floor full of people and them turning my place into a wired death trap, I could have found a surface or shelf to house a box of biscuits.

Granted location makes a difference, but if your place was comparable to or larger than SoulCals and you lived in a city, then you should consider yourself lucky. I was watching some youtube apartment guides by ALTs and eikawa workers. Some of the ones who didn't get BOE places since they weren't JETs but didn't get leopalace either were in some real shoeboxes. One girl had her stove only a metre from the head of her bed. And I got to visit a company dorm once... My dorm room at uni was way bigger!

[Rezz]

@SoulCal - that sounds highly unfair, your apartment looks spotless in the pictures. Thanks for the warning

@seklarwia - gaming sessions ftw! Most likely get myself a Japanese 360 when I get over there (despite not being able to understand any of it)

[Dipso]