Tag Archives: Shinshu University International Hous

Jappanese Living

Where I live

A few people have asked about my living arrangements here in Japan so I thought I would give you a quick tour.  I have been spending my time spent between Matusmoto and Norikura.

Matusmoto – International Student Housing

In Matsumoto I live in the International Student House (I’ll get a photo of the building and add it when I have a chance).  My room is one of the single rooms in the building which is 16 square meters or about 170 square feet.  Thus not that big, considering this it is impressive that I have a kitchen and a bathroom in this small space.

Kitchen: sink, cupboards, two burner stove/ toaster, refrigerator (in main room).  Interestingly, hot water heaters don’t seem to be the same here as in the US or Sweden for that matter.  The little box in this image to the right of the dish soap turns on the water heater.  It is only when this is turned on that hot water is available.  I am not sure exactly how it is heated (electricity or gas).  Also you can set the temperature on the heater.

Kitchen

Study Area: desk, closet/shelves.  Just enough space to work on my computer, sand cores if necessary and store my clothing and few books.

DeskCloset

Bed and Refrigerator

Don’t let my sleeping bag on the bed fool you, it is hot in Matsumoto, though apparently not as hot as other places.  Thus, beds are made specifically for the season.  The stripped ‘sheet’ you see here is actually a towel that is used as a sheet but is absorbs sweat better than a cotton sheet.  Under that is a bed cover or bed pad that we use in the US under sheets, here it is the bottom sheet.  It is quite thick again to absorb sweat and keep the mattress clean.  The brown pillow is a bit hard but does the job.  I am not sure what it is filled with, possibly buckwheat chaff, I am not sure.

Bed

Bathroom: toilet, sink, shower/tub (more tub than shower).  I have apparently not taken a picture of it. But the most interesting aspects are that you have to take a step up into the bathroom and that there is a lever on the sink that if you flip it water then flows to the shower head.

View from my window/door/balcony.  The view is of the Delicia 2 (grocery store) parking lot.  I have a laundry line and pole to dry my clothes on.  Unless it has been raining close dry fairly quickly.

Room View

Norikura – Kuraigahara Hiker’s Cabin

http://www.kuraigahara.jp/ – Google translate does an ok job with this website if you want to check it out.

The cabin is located on the side of Mt. Norikura.  To access the cabin, takes three buses and one train ride from where I live, but if I make all of my transfers promptly takes only about 3 hours.  After taking the bus to Matsumoto station, I get onto the Kamikochi line train and take it to it’s terminus at the Shimashimas station.  On the way the train passes through an agricultural district full of rice, apples and watermelons.  The town of Hata is famous for it’s watermelons.  From Shimashimas station a bus is taken up into the mountains, past a series of three (or more) dams and through a number of long tunnels.  The bus keeps on going up to Norikura kugen (Norikura Heights) and to Kanko Centre Mae.  Kanko Centre is a large parking area with some gift shops, onsens (hot springs) and access to skiing during the winter.  Soon after Kanko Centre public vehicles are restricted and buses, taxis, hiking and bicycles are the only way to get up the mountain.

 

Cabin
My room.  I think it is bigger than my place in Matsumoto.
This room has a ‘consento’ in it.  I was very confused on the meaning of ‘consento’ at first, for I thought I was being asked if I wanted to consent to stay in the room.  Which of course I did.  However, ‘consento’ means electrical plug and they gave me a room with a plug so that I can charge batteries and my computer while staying up at the cabin.

Gear in RoomI keep all of my stuff in this corner, for no particular reason.

BeddingHere are my bed linens.  One of the great things about the cabin is that it is cool enough at night that I can sleep on down bedding with a thick fleece like blanket.  The pillow is a bag of beans or something of the sort which takes getting used to but works well.
Every night I lay out my bed and the first thing I do in the morning is fold it back up.  I do this mainly because I am not sure if I am suppose to but feel like I should so I do.

Heated Tables
Out side of my room is a common area.  The sitting area portion is raised on a tadamia mate.  On it are these tables (sometimes just one, depends on the number of guests).  When it is cold the tables are turned on.  For there is a little electrical heater under them, the table top is placed over a blanket and cushions are placed around the table.  When it is cold out you sit at these tables with your legs underneath and the blanket on you keeping the warm air trapped with in.  It is quite nice.

Slippers.  In the cabin you need slippers, as you do in many places and parts of life in Japan.  Here are 3 of the 4 pairs of slippers that I wear on a daily basis while at the cabin.

House SlippersHouse slippers.  These slippers are worn from entrance to the interior of the wooden portion of the cabin.  A different pair is worn around the outside of the cabin and in the dinning hall but I don’t have a picture of that pair.  The house slippers are worn from the door of my room, but not in my room, to the toilet, sink, and to the dinning hall.

Bathroom Slippers

Bathroom Slippers.  Yeap, there are special slippers for the bathroom.  These are probably the most uncomfortable of the slippers, but that is mainly for they feel too small.  You take your house slippers off either at the door on the outside or just inside on this piece of plywood.  The bathroom is a collection of pit toilets, to the right is a line of urinals and to the left are three toilets (1 western that is warmed, and two Japanese style toilets).

Wet Room Slippers

Drying Room Slippers.  These slippers are only worn in this small room that is used for drying clothing and anything that is wet.  I store some of my field gear in this room as well as hang up my rain gear and gaitors.

I am realizing that I am missing many pictures of the cabin, which I will get this coming week.  For instance, the dinning room is a big room with long tables and a heating stove in the middle.  I have no pictures of the owner of the cabin or his staff, which will also be remedied.   And I will write more about them too.