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Day 02 – Describe your neighborhood in Japan.
I live in Funabashi, Chiba, which is pretty much a suburb in the Greater Tokyo Area… it’s only a few kilometers outside Tokyo Metropolis, and it takes me less than an hour by train to reach all the hub-bub within the central wards. Around my own apartment however, it’s comparatively much more quiet and detached, which was the idea when we moved in. I don’t do much exploring in my own neighborhood (not when big shiny Tokyo is so close by!) but there’s still some interesting stuff within walking distance.
First off, directly in front of my apartment is a plot of land in which rice is raised every year. I have no clue who owns the field or why it’s there of all places, but I like it because in spring in summer, we’re treated to the sounds of crickets and frogs living there, as well as the sweet smell of maturing rice plants. It’s like having the best of both city and country! Also right next to my apartment, there’s a small American style cafe, which often hosts karaoke nights or live bands. I’m not sure if the owners are related to our apartment building or not, but they will often say hello when I walk past. Some other notable “neighbors” of ours are a pachinko parlor, a keio gas company building, a volvo car dealership-turned softbank mobile store-turned used car dealership, a small hospital, and even a police station!
We live on a busy street, right on the edge of car dealership land. Lots of cars are always passing through, but luckily we can’t really hear them much from inside our apartment. Ambulances dispatched from the nearby hospital are annoying though, especially when it’s in the middle of the night >_o On the other hand, the train station is only a short 8-minute walk away! And if we follow the yellow brick road busy street toward the central part of Funabashi, we pass by some good stuff: a drug store, a convenience store (in addition to at least 3 others nearby), a Book Off (a used book/dvd/video game store), Yoshinoya restaurant, and even a park (where the GREAT SAKURA STORM OF 2010 happened… NEVAR FORGET.) There’s also a post office, a bakery, 9074309724065734 dry cleaning shops, not to mention lots of houses and other apartment complexes nearby. The only thing we don’t have within ten steps of our home is a supermarket, in which we have to go through to the other side of the train tracks to access. Not SO bad really, but even still, in terms of convenience it’s quicker to make a last-minute evening run for a Lexus hybrid than for a carton milk or eggs. lulz! All in all though, a pretty okay place to live.
Tags: 30 day meme, apartment, at home, funabashi
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Oh & don`t forget me. I am in your neighbourhood too :-)
Where is the bakery you are talking about? Towards the Ichiba? I use the post office in the Ichiba most times…Oh and we were at Book Off on the weekend!
oh of course, how could i forget! :D you’re an important part of my neighborhood too, lol.
yes, the bakery is really near my station… like maybe about 100 meters from the north exit. or if you know where the Ichiba post office is, you turn left on that road with the Lawson on the corner and it’s a couple blocks down. i think it’s called Bekkarai Rei or something like that. I can show it to you sometime, if you want! :)