Today is the day for apartment shopping! It’s been a few weeks since we moved into our first apartment in Japan, and we’ve identified some essential items that we need to make our place feel more like home. We decided to venture out to the neighboring city of Nakatsu (ä¸æ´¥å¸‚), which is about 30 minutes away, as it offers a wider variety of shopping options, particularly big box furniture stores.
Our first stop in Nakatsu is Nitori, which is often described as the Japanese equivalent of IKEA. Nitori boasts an extensive range of furniture, beds, kitchen supplies, lamps, futons, and storage solutions. We managed to pick out a low table and two swivel chairs, but unfortunately, they were out of stock. However, we were able to place an order for delivery and continued our shopping spree.
Next on our list was Tecc Land (テックランド), an electronics store. This place is a paradise for tech enthusiasts, with its dazzling array of electronics displayed under bright, white lights. After a brief browse, we swiftly selected a TV and proceeded to the next destination.
Our final stop was NAFCO, often likened to the Home Depot of Japan. Although we initially only intended to purchase a tape measure, we ended up taking our time exploring the store. Jesse was particularly thrilled with the discovery of this store, taking time browsing through the wonder of Japanese carpentry tools.
Once we got home, I was eager to set up the TV. I had read online that when setting up a new TV, one can access a few free local channels. However, despite our efforts, we couldn’t seem to figure it out, so no TV watching for us that night. It turns out, a few days later, that there was something called a B-S Card included with our TV, which needed to be installed in the back to receive the free channels.
It was rather amusing how straightforward it was to set it up after spending a considerable amount of time attempting every setting and pressing every button I could find. I definitely need to brush up on my Japanese skills!
We taught you well our little ? chan. After our first shopping foray Kaasan and I came back with a pot. For the first week in Japan we ate boiled vegetables. Yum!