Our New Apartment (Out in the Styx)

It's been a while since our last post. Wha' happ'n? January came and went in a blur of classes and cold weather. Alas, no snow. We're not exactly sure how to account for February, which also seemed to vanish into thin air. It's the shortest month of the year over here, too, so that may help explain why it flew by so quickly. February ended with our move to a Hitachi company apartment in Itabashi, which is still part of Tokyo but which feels very different than our old place in Nishi-Waseda. The apartment itself is a definite upgrade: bigger, newer, and with lots of gadgets to master. (The toilet seat has a remote control, bidet, and is heated, and the bathtub is programmable, emits musical jingles, and updates us on its status in a strangely soothing voice.) Another nice feature: we have a clear view of Mt. Fuji from our front door on a clear day. (That's it between the buildings in the first picture on this page; it looks so much bigger in person.) The neighbors all work at Hitachi and have been extremely kind. Haven't yet met them all but we're gradually matching faces and names. We aren't generating lots of news of late, but that will all change soon. And in July, we'll be back in S.C. which we're both starting to look forward to. For now, here are some pictures from our new digs.