Our spot in Japan

We’re 99% sure that we’re going to take the rental condo that is the same building as Chiho’s parents. It’s a different floor plan than theirs and is slightly bigger. The apartment will be 100 square meters (or about 1,000 sq. ft.). That’s less than half the size of the Mukilteo house which is why we’re trying to sell so much of it. Here's the floor plan:

Standalone image: http://www.sbworks.com/images/apartment.jpg. I color coded and labeled the floor plan if you follow the link. The rooms that are "missing" doors actually have sliding doors.

It’s on the first floor of a fairly tall (14 story) building. It faces the ocean side of the complex but that’s not as good as it might sound. There’s a busy road right in front of the condo there. On the dining room & living room side of the house, there is a small yard, probably 30’ x 20’ that is fenced. Then there is a small berm with landscaping on it between our little yard and the street. The noise will probably be quite noticeable when the windows are open but we talked to the current renters and they say that the rooms are very quiet with the windows shut. Since the apartment has air conditioning, that will probably be workable. For the size of the apartment, there is a fair amount of storage. The kitchen is a little small (quite small in comparison to American kitchens) and that will take some real effort to get used to.

Right now, the company that owns and rents the condo is in the middle of refurbishing it after the previous renters moved out. I should be able to see the inside of it in a week or two and I’ll make sure to post pictures.