{"id":1021,"date":"2019-11-06T15:24:57","date_gmt":"2019-11-06T06:24:57","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/villagehouse.rainbow.co.jp\/?p=1021"},"modified":"2020-04-06T11:48:39","modified_gmt":"2020-04-06T02:48:39","slug":"affordable-items-for-your-new-apartment","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/interior-design\/affordable-items-for-your-new-apartment\/","title":{"rendered":"Top Affordable Items for Your New Apartment"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

You\u2019ve just got the keys for your new apartment and excitement is\nbuilding for the place that you\u2019ll be calling home, but there are still a few\nthings left to do before the empty rooms become uniquely your own. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether you\u2019ve carted a whole load of furnishings and belongings from\nyour previous place or are starting anew, there\u2019s a couple of items that should\ndefinitely be on the new apartment checklist.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

We\u2019re not talking about the expensive beds, couches, fridges, and washing\nmachines but more the cheaper and occasionally overlooked items that help turn\na house into a home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Some of these are universal to most nations on earth but there are\nalso several that are specific to Japan and which foreign residents can\nsometimes overlook. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Land space is indeed at a premium in the major Japanese cities\ncompared to many other countries but that doesn\u2019t mean you can\u2019t have all the\nconveniences that you would back home.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Generally speaking, there is a difference in the way that many Japanese\napartments are viewed to those in other nations and that starts with the home\nbeing more a place for quiet entertainment rather than the occasional group\nparty that your new neighbors might not really appreciate!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

With that in mind, most people want to find an easy way to relax at\nhome after a long day at work or out and about seeing the sights of your new\ncity, and what better way to make that smooth and easy than with one of the\nmany \u2018smart devices\u2019 that come very cheap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Whether it\u2019s Google Home<\/em><\/strong> to help get things done\nwhile you\u2019re moving about the apartment, an Amazon Fire Stick<\/em><\/strong> to give\nyou high-speed access to Netflix, or the sports streaming app DAZN that\nlaunched in Japan three years ago, there\u2019s a range of cheap products that give\nyou a world of entertainment on command. \n<\/p>\n\n\n\n

It\u2019s all well and good to just think about relaxing but there are many\npractical issues with the smaller size of Japanese apartments that can make\nstorage a major challenge.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Online marketplaces such as Amazon or the old bricks-and-mortar options in Daiso and Nitori could soon become your best friend in looking for cheap yet highly practical items that can make even the biggest hoarder look like a minimalist. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Many Japanese apartments make great use of tension rods<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 expandable\nshelving items (tsuppari-bo in Japanese) – that can be great to string up for\nextra storage space in closets, bathrooms, or kitchens.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They\u2019re lightweight, can hold a decent load, and if placed correctly\nwon\u2019t leave any scratches or marks on the walls. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Similarly, maximizing storage space in both the kitchen and bathroom\nareas should be a priority and a stainless-steel shower caddy<\/em><\/strong> will\nkeep all your soaps, shampoos and creams clean and neatly organized whilst\ncheap plastic storage containers<\/em><\/strong> can be a godsend for making the most\nof any limited storage space for cooking and dining. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Speaking of cooking \u2013 and cleaning \u2013 a cheap rice cooker<\/em><\/strong> is an\nabsolute must for those in a Japanese apartment to help you prepare the staple\nfood of the nation in barely half an hour, whilst a rechargeable vacuum cleaner<\/em><\/strong>\nremoves the tangle and hassle of cords in whipping around the apartment to keep\nthe floors spotlessly clean. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Clothes too can naturally present a real challenge with the four\ndistinct seasons in Japan, necessitating a frequent rotation of items and\nthat\u2019s where fabric storage boxes,<\/em><\/strong> that can simply be pushed under any\navailable bed space, are a lifesaver.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Just two or three of the cheap boxes can store a whole different season\u2019s worth of clothing that can then be rotated depending on the climate. It\u2019s just as easy to economize space for all those shoes that you\u2019ve collected for every occasion \u2013 formal, casual, exercise, and work \u2013 with a set of hanging shoe shelves<\/em><\/strong> available cheaply online that can either be stacked up in a cupboard or slung over a door. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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(https:\/\/www.wayfair.com\/storage-organization\/pdx\/rebrilliant-30-pair-hanging-shoe-organizer-rebr3725.html<\/a> ) <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

One thing that\u2019s often overlooked in city apartments is the need to\ntry and reconnect with nature even amid the concrete jungle and for those\nfortunate to have a balcony \u2013 regardless of size \u2013 it shouldn\u2019t be viewed as\njust a place to hang your laundry.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A quick trip to the local department store can get you stocked up with\na range\nof planters<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 both hanging and ground-based \u2013 and with the right soil\nand a few cheap packets of seeds,<\/em><\/strong> you can soon be running your own\nmini-vegetable patch. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Numerous kinds of herbs <\/em><\/strong>plus a range of vegetables<\/em><\/strong> to keep you eating healthy \u2013 and cheap \u2013 can be planted and grown with minimal effort. When you have cucumbers, broccoli, tomatoes, celery, and mint<\/em><\/strong> overflowing in your own apartment it gives a great sense of satisfaction. There\u2019s no need to stop with just edible items either, as a range of plants can be placed either inside or on the balcony \u2013 including the likes of cactus and succulents<\/em><\/strong> \u2013 to help bring you closer to nature and give the whole apartment a calming feel. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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(https:\/\/images.pexels.com\/photos\/707194\/pexels-photo-707194.jpeg?auto=compress&cs=tinysrgb&dpr=2&h=750&w=1260<\/a> ) <\/figcaption><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n

One thing that\u2019s unique to Japan, but not so calming, is the\never-present threat of earthquakes.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Not wanting to end on too much of a worrying note \u2013 the chance of\nmajor quakes is still remote – but it is important that all apartment dwellers\nhave a list of things in their place to make sure that they\u2019re okay in the\nevent of a major tremor.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You\u2019ll notice that most apartments have a\nmini\nstorage space<\/em><\/strong> that\u2019s often located under the kitchen floor and you\nshould make sure to place enough water and dried foods<\/em><\/strong> there to last\nfor three days \u2013 just in case!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

So, there you have it \u2013 enough supplies to last in a disaster, enough\nvegetables to last a year from your own balcony, the devices you need to\nunwind, and the storage items to help maximize your space.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now it\u2019s time to sit back and enjoy your neatly arranged and calming\nnew Japanese apartment. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

You\u2019ve just got the keys for your new apartment and excitement is building for the place that you\u2019ll be calling home, but there are still a few things left to do before the empty rooms become uniquely your own. Whether you\u2019ve carted a whole load of furnishings and belongings from your previous place or are […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":1022,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[18,18],"tags":[95,96,94,97],"class_list":{"0":"post-1021","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","6":"hentry","7":"category-interior-design","9":"tag-japan-life","10":"tag-japan-tips","11":"tag-life-in-japan","12":"tag-living-in-japan"},"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1021","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1021"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1021\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1022"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1021"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1021"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1021"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}