Mama22beas commented that Japan is nice for traveling if not for its high costs.
True, true... for living as well...
Here, I consider myself extremely lucky in that both my missus and I are not spendthrifts.
Simplicity is our guideline...
We don’t play golf...
We don’t go to the races...
We don't puff...
But we drink... bit-bit only lah for 'kampai' and for health...
After living here for a while, we have learned to live within our means.
For example, we can enjoy sea bream fish head curries at extremely low prices.
Home cooked, of course...
The supermarkets slice off the meaty parts of the fish for sashimi, and sell off the fish heads and bony parts for cheap.
Cooked with Cap Tarbus Kari Ikan powder, they are one of our all time favorite dishes.
Received a notice the other day to vacate the government-owned forty-year old 'apato' (apartment) that we have been occupying for the last 9 years.
The reason... the government needs to tear down these old barrack-like buildings to build new ones.
We have one and half years to look for our next home.
When we first moved in, my missus sat on a chair...
Blank-faced, she shook her head slowly... disbelieving...
I am not sure if I want to stay here, she said...
We have a dear friend at Damansara Jaya.
Their linked two-story terrace house has a lounge the size of our whole apartment.
Imagine, that lounge space sliced into three multi-purpose rooms, a kitchen, toilet and bath, plus a narrow verandah to hang the clothes.
'Multi-purpose' as in bedroom, dining hall, exercise room, study room...
A friend lives in a 500-year-old cottage in UK...
He asked to visit us some time ago.
I tried to find excuses to dissuade him.
But I could not make a devil out of myself even if I tried to.
So he came...
He must have been surprised to no end...
The kitchen and dining area is in the same location as the toilet...
Imagine having your meals and someone goes into the toilet... puuurraraaaaatttt...
See here for Part 2...
Gardening, photography, food, fishing, traveling, scuba diving, life in Japan, plus of course, news and views of being away from home...
They said the cost of living also depends on the place. Out of 8 nights in Japan, we stayed 3 nights at a Japanese friend's 'apato' in Osaka. Quite decent, got 2 bedrooms, 1 study, a small living, a small kitchen and very small bath (just next to kitchen, but they eat in the living). My friend (a young lecturer) said he paid 1/3 of his salary. We got to stay in 6-tatami room, on futon....nice!
ReplyDeleteAiyah, what the fuss.The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. My strong beleive.
ReplyDeleteLrong, Two of you only, so romantic mah. Turn left, knock into each other, muak, turn right, knock into each other, muak again. Somemore when the missus merajuk time, you can't be kicked downstairs. LOL! But you are living in such nice environment, so can't complain, right?
ReplyDeleteIts me again...:P Japan is such a nice place despite the high cost of living.:)I tend to like Japanese apartments bcoz its small & cosy....romantic wat :P
ReplyDeleteMama22Beas... yeap, it does depends... there are some prefectures that offer remote land for almost nothing... only condition is, you have to stay there continuously... think your Osaka friend lives in a 'mansion' becos he's paying about 1/3 of his salary for rent... that's just about the market rental rate... futons on tatami mats is quite heavenly... especially after the futon has been hanged out in the sun in the daytime... the 'smell' of the sun from the futon is soooo good...
ReplyDeletethquah... 'The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything they just make the most of everything that comes along their way'... this is one very good 'philosophy'... don't necessary have the best but make the best of what we have... hmmm.. will permanently plant this into my otak-otak...
5xmom... let us say that's one 'advantage' of having no kids... (more of this in later blogs...) everyday is play-play and 'romantic' one... will try out the turn-left-muak-turn-right-muak antic tonight on my charbor... true that the environment is super nice... so quiet and peaceful... somemore, this morning ah, so excited to see a green baby mantis about one centimeter long, resting on the sunflower leaf... so cute...
Mystic... thanks again... Japan is indeed a nice place... comparable to my kampong in Kedah... **joking joking**... yes, despite the high cost of living... which is not really a problem if you are earning yen... the tiny apartment may be romantic, but if your partner snores like yours truly here, you'd be wishing that the facility is bigger...
Mr Lim,
ReplyDeleteI think Japan is a great country but I do not think its a great place to live; you need to have lotsa self dicipline to live there in such a cramped place. As for me its okay since I am a bachelor and i live in a small shoebox. But I think. It would be best to live in malaysia where land is much much more abundant and also cheaper. Life is more relaxed in malaysia but yet there are the disadvantages. Japan has quality but you need to sacrifice alot. Malaysia has not much quality more personal space...anyways its your life....choose...I just wanted to give my fingers the daily exercise...LOL
Mark From Seiko Gakuen, Tokushima
mark... yeap, living in Japan has its 'space' constraints... think the Japanese have developed a skill to 'peacefully' live so closeby one another... I have neighbors with three or four kids living in a similar matchbox apato within the 16 blocks in this huge complex...
ReplyDelete