Final!

THis is the last Blog post for a while. We'll leave you with a final group shot from the summer camping trip. We enjoyed you watching us!

Undokai!

The beach by the Social Apartment camp sight was amazing! There was surfing, sand fights, and a reenactment of Undokai. Undokai is a kind of sports practice that kids do in school. Our three story human pyramid failed miserably. . . but was fun!

Camp Fireworks

The camping trip last weekend was at a beach in Chiba. After dinner the first night there were fireworks. We packed up four cars with people and went out to see them.

Beach Camping!

There was another camping trip that involved 14 members of Social Apartment. Like any Japanese outing there was a ton of food involved. This picture is of the first night's dinner, including yakisoba, grilled veggies, and plenty of booze.

Summer Camping 2!

A week after camping in the mountains, 14 people from Social Apartment got together and went camping at the beach! It was amazing. We had a ton of fun, and all feel much closer now!

The setting

The river we camped at last weekend was surrounded by mountainous cliffs. The setting was amazing. It's the kind of place a foreigner isn't likely to find, so having Japanese friends through the apartment really came in handy!

More camping!

This is the man who's birthday inspired last weeks camping trip. As I said before it wasn't a Social Apartment exclusive, but had several people form the apartment and many others. It was a great chance to really connect with the people we live with and make new friends from other parts of Japan!

Summer camping 1

So not an official Social Apartment event, but six of us form the apartment went camping with a group from Shinjuku. It was by a river, and a ton of fun! We heard about it through someone at the apartment.

Hanabi!

So obviously there was also fireworks at the Social Apartment Happy Birthday America party. We found them in Ueno and they were well worth the money. It livened things up quite a bit at the wee hours of the morning!

Once more time!

One more shot from Flipcup at the Social Apartment 4th of July party. Man the Japanese are so psyched every time we request this game. Just goes to show that drinking games are an international language!

America Bday2!

A few weeks old, but here is another photo from the 4th of July party. Like many of our parties flipcup was a popular game. Everyone had a really great time!

Chinese!

There asre many free language classes that residents exchange at Social Apartment. Last night was the first Chinese class we`ve had. Many people came, there were three teachers, and it was a lot of fun!

Nagashi Somen

So every year around this time Japanese people eat a kind of noodle called somen. it`s usually done in a hollowed out bamboo tree, but for home use you use a machine like this that spins the noodles around in water while everyone tries to pick them out. A large group of us made it happen last night in the common room.

Keita-san

This is Keita, the manager of Social Apartment Matsubari-Danchi. He is seriously one of the nicest people I`ve ever met. We couldn`t ask for a nicer, more professional manager!

connections

Just an example of one of the benefits being around so many people at Social Apartment. I am very into Kakutougi, so one of the residents who indirectly works with Dream (the largest Kakutougi circuit in Japan) scored us free tickets! It pays to be connected!

lock boxes

Outside the front door there are lock boxes. This where anything too big to fit in your personal mailbox is placed. It`s actually really nice, because your items are, and it saves you a walk to the post office.

mailbox

These are the mailboxes for all the tenants at Social Apartment. They are combo locked for security. They er also large enough to fit small packages.

round chair

This is another seating area in the front of the building. Between this and the plush chairs (earlier post) there is room for about ten people. Usually there aren`t that many people waiting in the front, bu`s nice to know we could accommodate if need be.

comlink

There is an intercom system outside of the Social Apartment front door. Although I have not personally used it, I think it would come in handy if someone you don`t recognize happens to be knocking at the front door. Japan is really safe, but it`s always good to be careful!

Free Food and Beer!

At the party this weekend there was plenty to eat and drink. The Staff at Social Apartment provided us with plenty of food and drinks! As these began to disappear all the residents contributed food and drinks of our own.

Welcome Party!. . . number3

It had been a couple months since we had a welcome party at Social Apartment, so we had one last weekend. About 40 people came. All the new residents seemed to have a good time, and it was a lot of fun!

Book Off!

This is one of a few bookshelves at Social Apartment. Residents have filled them with all kinds of reading material. There`s always the latest issue of various manga or Japanese magazines for everyone to read!

hmmm. . .

The other night I asked one of the Japanese tenants at Social Apartment for a back rub. Next we knew there was eight or so of us in on it. What can we say, we`re that close I guess. . . lol

July Wishes

It`s July and in Japan that means wishes. They take the form of a note hung from a ceiling light. Last night we all got together and hung some wishes!

Mentai. . .

Every once in a while when nothing is going on someone decides to break the silence. In this case one of the residents, Mentai, came in dressed as Asuka from Shin Seiki Evangelion. Cross-dressing is not that common here, but it does happen once in a while. . .

The final Result

A bit ghetto, but the window fix held the night. Social Apartment has someone to fix it, but it is nice to know that even in the middle of the night someone will be there to help you if anything breaks. Ichiban kind people!

Team Asia to the rescue!

Late last night the hallway window broke, everything is brand new here, so we are still wondering how. Not to worry tho, at Social Apartment we are a team, seven of us assembled and were able to repair it. One of the tenants was a construction worker, and the other happen to have a stash of power tools.

4th of July Party

The 4th July Party at Social apartment was very fun. Almost everyone from the house came as well as many outsiders. There were fireworks, 30000 yen worth of American booze and food, drinking games, singing, and even a Japanese businessman doing back flips. (Everyone who had cameras is recovering today, so hopefully a better soon ;p)

America!

Today is preparation day for Social Apartment's`s 4th of July party. The coalition of the willing consisted of two Americans and a Japanese wearing a towel. The trip home from Costco was rough, but should be worth it! More on this tomorrow.

. . . and Toilet Paper!

Same deal as the soap. Social Apartment provides TP for all the residents. Between this and the tissues they hand out at train stations you'll be set forever!

Soap!

This is soap that comes complimentary in all the the bathrooms and kitchen at Social Apartment. Yeah, it doesn't sound that exciting, but think about it, free soap forever? I've never had to buy any since I've been in Japan, lol.

Late night on the train

Continuing the theme of late nights, there are enough of us at thee Social Apartment that more than likely someone you know is in the same district at the same time as you. This time after missing the train we were able to find other people in Shibuya in the same situation so there was no need to wait and catch the first train alone. Good deal!

Late night shopping

Ever leave the bar in the wee hours of the morning and need to run to the grocery store to resupply? We never go it alone at social apartment. There`s always someone up and willing to adventure no matter how late.

Nippon!

As you probably know the world cup has been occurring the last few weeks. This is a big deal at social apartment. Whether you`re Japanese or not, you`re Japanese when Japan plays.

vanity

This is again in the downstairs bathroom. It is one of the two sinks located in the room. Because there are few rooms on the first floor, there is always space in this room, even in the morning when everyone is getting ready.

shower power

As said before there are showers on each floor at Social Apartment. This is one of the first floor showers. They are located in the same room as the baths.

tubby time

This is one of the bathtubs at Social Apartment. The showers on each floor are very convenient, but sometimes it's nice to relax in a bath. The baths are located on the first floor.

another chill area

This is right next to the soto area at Social Apartment. It is a good place to wait for guests coming so you can be bear the front door. It's also a good quiet place to pass out if you can't make it all the way to the common room after a long night out. . .

Information station

In an earlier post we showed the white board in one of the common areas, this is another information station. Here things can be posted such as posters and the like. There is now a posting about a movie one of the residents is working on!

Kasa

There is a place for every one's umbrellas in the soto area at Social Apartment. It's a small thing but it keeps you fro having to bring a wet umbrella into your room. It's also convenient if you're prone to forgetting to grab an umbrella until you see the rain.

Soto

In Japan there is Soto and Uchi (outside and inside). At social apartment this is where soto ends and uchi begins. It's inside, warm, and safe from rain, so I am more than happy to take my shoes off here.

Plantlife

There are many plants on display at Social Apartment. They add a very nice atmosphere. The plants are one of the many things are that make the building feel more like home.

Apache

There`s always a lot to do in Japan, but every once in a while you find yourself at home without plans. At Social Apartment this is when you simply go into the common and rally for a bar trip. It always results in a long night of fun!

Where your shoes live

Being that this is Japan, there are no outdoor shoes worn in the common areas at Social Apartment. This is where people are able to store their shoes after coming home. It may sound odd, but shoe changing in the front area has become a good way to mingle with people at the start and end of the day!

DVD PLAYER!

This is the DVD player in the workout room at Social Apartment. Having just a TV would be a bit useless, so we're all glad that it's here. It is mounted on the wall to there is no need to worry about hurting it while you workout.

TV while you work (or play)

This is a flat panel tv in the workout room. It's handy for playing dvds while you do yoga, etc. Also on party nights people play music while using the pingpong table for drinking games.

Yoga

The exercise room at Social Apartment has yoga mats, dvds, and balls for anyone to use. As you can see there is also a large mirrored wall. There are also a few people living willing to be your practice partner!

Cleaning Suppries!

Every floor at Social Apartment has a stock of cleaning supplies. There are vacuums, mops, swiffer, etc. Having all this stuff available really helps cut down on start up costs in Japan!

Cosco ahoy!

Today`s Social Apartment adventure was to Costco. Organizing eleven or so people was not easy, buut it was very fun! We spent over 40000 en!!

Social Apartment Field Trip!

Often times Social Apartment tenants meet up hang out outside of the apartment. This day some of us went to a museum in Tokyo. When just arriving to a country it can be difficult to find people to do things with. Social Apartment makes it easy to find willing companions!