After some research, I found a place owned by the same landlord that seemed good. I was not sure if the landlord would let me switch since I had already reserved this apartment, but I decided to give it a shot. I told her why I was worried about living here, and asked if she could show me the other place. Luckily, she agreed! The other apartment was cleaner, quieter, closer to the university, and had other people living in the same house, each with our own bedroom. It can be difficult to ask a stranger for something. But I've learned that people are usually nice and understanding, and they will go out of their way to help you. This is true wherever you are, whether Japan, America or anywhere else in the world.
The first decision I had to make in my new house was to choose which room I wanted. There were two options, a Western-style room with a carpet and a regular bed, and a Japanese-style room with a bamboo floor and futon bed. The Western-style room was what I had in my home in California, so it was familiar. However, the Japanese-style room looked new and interesting, although it would require my making adjustments. For example, a futon bed means you sleep on the floor. It is a thin mattress that is folded up every morning and stored in the closet and then folded out every night to sleep on. Plus, the Japanese room was very small, about nine feet by nine feet. Therefore, if I was messy, there would be no space to move around.
I decided on the Japanese room for two reasons. First, I was in Japan to have new experiences, so I should try new things even if they were different or unfamiliar. Second, living in the Japanese room would force me to have better habits.
