Where have you been?
So I've lived in Japan on and off for about 8 years. I've lived in Nagoya, Hokkaido and Chiba.
And I moved into this apartment about 8 months ago.
The location is really good. It's right at Chiba station, it's in the shopping district.
So attention stalkers now you know where to find me.
So in my 8 years living in Japan, I've lived in 10 different apartments.
And in those other 9 apartments I've had no problems. The buildings have been very nice and clean. Good repair, good order.
All the tenants are really friendly, the management, landlord.
If there is some kind of problem it gets dealt with really quickly.
So when I came to this apartment I expected to have no problems.
I went through a company, the biggest company in Japan for apartment rentals, Apaman shop.
I told them the budget I was looking for, the location I was looking for and I told them I had pets.
And they searched it out and made sure they found me an apartment
So the contract part was really easy. The owner was okay with everything, I was ok with everything. I paid all my deposits
I got all my signatures and you need a guarantor in Japan so I got that done.
And one thing about Japanese apartments is the walls are very thin so you can usually hear everything that's going on, on either side of you.
But my neighbors seemed pretty quiet so it was pretty cool. I think I slept really well until about 2am when I heard this.
Whatever. I've heard people cough before. It's no big deal.
Yah but this cough was a little bit extreme. I think the guy had a really bad cold.
So the next day I decided to take my dog for a walk because it was the weekend. When I returned the neighbor on the other side of me
the non cougher person, was and old lady and she was talking to the delivery man outside her door.
I rang the bell around 10am.
I was here the whole time waiting.
Sorry to trouble you maam, but here's your package.
Huh? Speak up! I can't hear you. One of my ears don't work.
If you just sign here.
I'm calling the company you work for and giving you a complaint ok.
Then she saw me.
And Maple.
and that's when the shit hit the fan.
Hello.
Who are you?
I moved in yesterday. I'm Oz. I'm from Canada and this is my dog Maple.
No pets allowed in the building.
I think this building is pets ok because that's what my real estate agent said.
Well, they're not so get out!
But I've signed my 2 year contract and paid all the deposits and everything it seems to be ok. The owner said it's ok.
Well I'm the superintendant of this building and I make all the decisions. So he goes.
And about an hour later I decided I wanted to take a shower but apparently the water had been turned off.
It was already late in the evening and the real estate company was closed and there was nobody I could contact so I had to go to 7-11
And I brushed my teeth, used the toilet and got some water for Maple and Kaede.
So the next day in the morning I checked but the water was still off so I called my agent and told him what happened. And he came over and figured out someone had turned the pipes off in the hallway.
The management company that managed this place decided they weren't making any money and left, abandoned the building.
so this lady that lives next door to me, volunteered to be the superintendant of the building
So after the real estate guy I left I went out to shop or walk Maple or something. I can't remember. When I got back, the water was off again.
The next morning I woke up again and the water was off again so I had to back outside and turn on the water again.
And this happened 3 or 4 times during the week. So I was getting annoyed and frustrated because this had nothing to do with me.
It wasn't my fault. It's not like I didn't inform people I had pets or anything
So I contacted one of my students who I do freelance English teaching with and she's a lawyer. this was her conversation with the old lady on the phone.
My name's Masako and I'm a lawyer representing Oz. It's come to my attention that you've been turning off the water pipes.
And I just wanted to let you know that tampering with public facilities and utilities is against the law. It is punishable by a fine and even jail time.
Because you are the owner of your specific unit but not the entire building, I'm sorry but each owner can decide whether to have a pet or not.
Also I've done some research and I've found that at least 10 units in that apartment building have pets.
And I believe you also have two cats, is that correct?
Yah, well cats are considering animals as well so they would be under the pet category
If you do require Oz to remove his dog, the building will have to have removed all pets including your 2 cats
Oh, ok. that's what I thought. Ok, thank you and have a nice day.
Then I ran into the lady the next day in the hallway and she was like "when I said no pets I meant no dogs,cats are ok"
So she didn't apologize or take any blame. But I was hoping this would be the end of the issue and there would be no problems.
Boy was I wrong.
So one day when I woke up and went to get my bike it was lying in the middle of the road.
I thought it was weird but I thought maybe was trying to steal it or something so I picked it up and put it back in the bike parking.
The next day it had been taken out of the parking and put on the street again but this time with a note saying "you can't park here, this is only for residents and you need a permit"
So I called the old lady and this is the conversation that happened.
Hi, this is Oz and I need a bike permit.
Oh, it's 1200 yen a year.
Ok, that's fine.
I'm sorry. I can't give you a permit. Spaces are limited.
But it's just a big space and there's not many bikes there.
the spaces have been assigned.
I'm sure one more bike can fit because more than half the lot is empty.
Those places have been designated 30 years ago to people. If you didn't live here 30 years ago you can't have a bike spot.
How is that possible because almost half the people in this building are in their 20's and there's some kids bikes there too so I'm sure all these people were not here 30 years ago.
I'm not sure about that but I will let you know when a space opens up ok.
Ok, how long will that take?
Maybe a few years.
Every couple of days she would knock on my door and tell me something really stupid or mundane that meant nothing to me
And at the same time, every single night from midnight to 6 am, the guy next to me was having a coughing fit.
I don't know if he was having seizures or whatever was going on but it was like 6 months, it's still going on it's been 8 months now.
And he's coughing every single night. It's like the cough that will never end.
You're from Canada right? It's beautiful there, you should go back.
don't your family miss you? you should go back to Canada.
Summer is very hot in this country. Japan is terrible. I'm sure Canada is much cooler.
You're not married are you? Japanese girls are terrible women. You can't trust them. You should find a nice Canadian girl.
Pick up your dog when you're in the elevator. This neighborhood is watching you so make sure you pick up your dog poop ok.
What's that sound? Don't you be drilling holes in the wall ok.
Don't leave your door unlocked. The lady from 803 steals.
I was actually considering moving out of my apartment. When one day a miracle happened.
And usually I leave my dog and cat in the living room area and there's a sliding door I close, but that day I'd forgot so they actually got out into the hallway and they were
right inside the entrance to my door called the genkan. they were both sitting there I could hear my dog and cat barking and meowing.
And guess who was right outside my door listening to them. Yah that crazy old lady.
She said "is that a cat I hear with your dog?"
So I didn't know what to do but I could really lie so I said "yah, that's my cat kaede." And I was expecting a tongue-lashing from her but instead she said this.
Can I see her?
Ok.
A calico cat. She looks like mine. So beautiful.
And her and Maple don't fight?
No they're actually best friends!
Maple is the best dog I've ever met.
All it took was a cat. And from then on this is how our interactions went.
This is for Maple. It's a treat and he will like it.
Remember, it's getting cold so make sure you keep a blanket out for your dog and cat
Maple is so quiet and well trained, how come he's so smart?
Oh look at Maple! He's so happy when he sees me. He thinks I'm his best friend doesn't he?
And then she never bothered me again about garbage or moving to Canada or whatever like leaving this apartment building or anything.
And all thanks to this little girl! Right?
We're living her because of you! What do you got to say?
She's speechless.
So I guess the moral of this story is that sometimes Japanese people, especially older people don't know how to interact or communicate properly with foreigners especially
So sometimes patience is required. Overtime with more interaction and once they get to see you're not some alien from another planet but a regular human being
Things start to work out, usually. And about the coughing guy...
He's still doing his thing but whatever, no place is perfect.
So that's the story of my terrible Japanese apartment which started off terrible but is actually pretty good.
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