立命館の大冒険

My room on the day I moved in. A mess now, but it was nice and clean.

 So while typhoon Jelawat rages outside and I am stuck inside I decided I should probably do that long-promised post about my apartment at Koraku Heights. I've lived here for about three or so weeks now, maybe more. Like I said before, Koraku was not my first choice, but having seen what it is like I am glad I got the chance to live here. It's a 3 or 4 floor high apartment block situated behind another apartment block in a generally sleepy/quiet residential area just off Nishioji-Dori, which means it is about 15 minutes away from Ritsumeikan by foot. I really like the area since I get to have my privacy and live in peace away from the bustle of the main roads. However, that doesn't mean that it's perfect--there is a daycare next to the building and if you are a late sleeper the kids are normally loud enough to wake you up, there is a walk to the nearest konbini (not really an issue sometimes, but this is coming from me who lived right next to a scotmid last year in my Edinburgh accommodation!), and some neighbours can be noisy. Of course, this depends on who you are living with when you move in, so that isn't a fault of Koraku really, it's just that the walls are very thin! If you move here, make sure you don't make too much noise...otherwise there are neighbours who do (and will) complain to the landlord. Just yeah, respect your neighbours and all that good stuff.

Anyway, the rooms at Koraku have more space than I expected (in the main room, anyway) and you have quite a lot of storage space for clothes and books or whatever.

My desk and shelving units

My room came with a desk, a chair (kinda tiny and uncomfortable--but every room has different chairs/beds/household items, so it really depends on which room you get), two shelving units, a large sliding door cupboard/wardrobe, balcony space for hanging clothes, a single bed, a hanging rack, bath, shower, microwave, fridge, freezer, air conditioner, gas hob, small cupboard for food, shelving for kitchen items, washing machine, a separate tank/tap for hot water and one for cold, etc. It was better equipped than I expected!

Beloved Aircon!

Some things I had to buy were an iron, a kettle, rice cooker, folding table as extra counter space (there is none), ironing board, wireless router, etc. Just be aware you might have to buy those things. A good place to get second-hand, cheap appliances is a recycle shop (there is one a few minutes' walk from the large Izumiya department store on Nishioji-Dori) so you should check out what they have there if you want to spend less.

My bed is a bit bigger than a single but it's pretty much the same. Really hard mattress though, I think the only thing softening it is the futon they left on top of it. I can still sleep on it fairly well, so I don't really have any complaints. If you prefer to sleep on softer things, you could always buy a futon/extra bedding from Izumiya. They provided me with bedding but I think I was one of the few people who were lucky enough to get it, so I wouldn't depend on it. That being said, bedding isn't too expensive from Izumiya and in summer you won't really need much to sleep with since it is boiling pretty much all day and night long. I don't think I've used my duvet very much since I came. If you want to travel light and bring bedding, I'd say just bring a thin sheet to sleep with for the first month or two if you need it.

Got free bedding which is always good

Since I'm used to having a small kitchen, I find Koraku's kitchen to be a suitable size. I don't really cook or anything so I can't really vouch for the cooking experience, hahaha. The only thing is that there is very little space to keep anything. There is a cupboard for food or whatever you want to keep in it, but no drawers for cutlery or a place for me to keep pots and pans. I just make-do with keeping plates and bowls with food. Lots of space in the fridge, freezer is small but I don't really mind. The washing machine was a bit of a mystery at first but once you learn the basic functions and kanji it's not so bad. I do a wash most days and hang it out on the balcony and everything dries quickly.

                                                   

Shower/bath and toilet are in separate rooms, which is useful if you are having people stay I guess. Shower head placement is a bit weird, but that's probably because they expect you to squat when you shower haha. The bath is really deep...feel like I'm gonna fall in it one day.

Hob, fridge, sink, cupboards in kitchen

Even though Rits say internet is not included with Koraku, they actually set it up for you (or mine was set up when I got there) which was awesome as I was worried about that. Our landlord is called Tsukada-san, and he is a nice guy (he lives out back of Koraku where he works on his construction site. Pretty cool!) You pay all your rent to him and if you have a problem you should tell him about it, I heard he is very quick to get things done. However, he only speaks Japanese so if you don't know what to say you might want to bring someone who can express it for you. You only pay him an extra 1000 yen (about £8) a month for internet, which is amazing considering it is incredibly fast and reliable.

Pretty much everything I was worried about in Koraku turned out to be fine, so in the end I think it may have even been a better choice than House 50, which is still more expensive per month. I'm really happy with my accommodation!

Labels: accommodation, koraku heights, living, ritsumeikan, study abroad