{"id":5657,"date":"2021-03-04T10:00:00","date_gmt":"2021-03-04T01:00:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vhbloglive.wpengine.com\/?p=5657"},"modified":"2021-03-02T10:46:53","modified_gmt":"2021-03-02T01:46:53","slug":"useful-household-appliances","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/japanese-apartment-life\/useful-household-appliances\/","title":{"rendered":"Useful Household Appliances"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

If you\u2019re moving into\nyour first apartment, you might be a bit lost when it comes to household\nappliances. Which ones do you need? Which ones can you do without? We\u2019re here\nto help with a guide to household appliances!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Most of us don\u2019t know\nwhat to buy when we\u2019re renting an apartment for the first time. We get confused\nand call out mothers, asking if we really need to buy a slow cooker. Even if\nyou\u2019ve rented apartments before, it can be harder to know what you need when\nyou\u2019re in a new country. If you\u2019re used to rented apartments and houses coming\nwith a refrigerator and washing machine, you\u2019re in for a surprise when you move\nto Japan. Furthermore, the kind of appliance that\u2019s typically used varies from\ncountry to country. In western countries, it\u2019s common for people to have an\noven in their homes. However, you shouldn\u2019t expect to have one in your Japanese\napartment. You\u2019ll probably be buying an appliance known as a \u201ctoaster oven\u201d\ninstead. Now that you understand that apartments in Japan are a bit different\nfrom the ones in your home country, you\u2019re probably wondering what exactly you\nshould be prepared to buy. Don\u2019t worry, we\u2019ve got you! Here\u2019s a guide to some\nuseful household appliances. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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You\u2019ll need to buy some\nbasics in Japan <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

As we mentioned earlier, you shouldn\u2019t expect your Japanese apartment to come with a refrigerator or washing machine. Some don\u2019t include air conditioners either. While it\u2019s uncommon to buy major appliances when moving into apartments in some countries, it\u2019s the norm in Japan. Make sure that you have \u00a5100,000 to \u00a5300,000 set aside for the appliances that you\u2019ll need to buy when moving into your new home. If you\u2019re on a budget, we recommend going to a recycle shop. You can often buy used appliances that cost much less than new ones at recycle shops. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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These stores are especially useful for people who plan to live in Japan for only a few years. Used appliances typically don\u2019t come with warranties, but this isn\u2019t much of a concern if you plan to be in Japan for a short amount of time. You should also expect to buy a microwave and\/or toaster oven. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Beyond the basics, it\u2019s\nnice to make cleaning easier <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

While you don\u2019t need<\/em>\na vacuum cleaner, having one will make your life easier. Sure, you can just buy\na floor sweeper or broom. However, having a vacuum is far more convenient. It\u2019s\nmuch faster and easier to clean up messes without one. If you buy one cleaning\nappliance for your home, make sure to get a vacuum. You\u2019ll thank us as soon as\nyou eat something messy or spill some ingredients in the kitchen. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Stay cool…and save on\nyour electricity bill too<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

You\nmight want to consider buying some other appliances for the summer. Running the\nair conditioner can make your electricity bill go up a lot. It\u2019s a good idea to\nbuy a fan for slightly cooler days. Fans require less electricity than the air\nconditioner and are fairly inexpensive. It\u2019s best to see if your fan can keep\nyou cool before you turn on your air conditioner in the summer. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The same logic applies\nto cold winters. Small space heaters are often more cost-effective than running\nthe heater. Try using one. If you live in a warmer part of the country, it may\nbe all you need. On the other hand, if you live in northern Japan, you might\nhave to run the air conditioner and<\/em> plug in a space heater just to stay\nwarm. Either way, you\u2019ll be glad you got one. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Kitchen appliances<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The kitchen is a space\nwhere you might be in for quite a bit of culture shock. You\u2019ll probably have to\nlearn to cook a bit differently than you did in your home country. If you\u2019re\nused to using a large oven, you\u2019ll have to learn to adjust to a toaster oven.\nYou can still bake cookies and roast meats, but you won’t be able to cook as\nmuch food at one time as you used to be able to. Furthermore, you will probably\nhave to learn how to use a fish roasting drawer, which comes built into most\noven ranges in Japan. There\u2019s a lot to get accustomed to, but you\u2019ll get the\nhang of it in no time. For more information on kitchen appliances, check out\nour article Essential Kitchen Appliances<\/a>. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Most Japanese homes have\na TV, but you might not need one <\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n

The vast majority of\nhomes in Japan have a television set. This is true even in this day and age,\nwhere you can stream most TV shows on your computer, tablet, or phone. While\nyou feel like you might need a TV because everyone in Japan has one, you\nprobably don\u2019t. If you want to watch TV from your home country, it\u2019s much\neasier to find it on Netflix or another streaming service than on Japanese TV.\nFurthermore, many Japanese networks are available through streaming services.\nInstead of spending your money on a television set (and the subsequent TV\nbills), we recommend subscribing to a streaming service. Additionally, if\nyou\u2019re subscribed to one in your home country, make sure to find out if you can\nuse it in Japan before canceling. Many have been updated so they can be used no\nmatter what country you\u2019re in. The days when Netflix stopped working if you\ntraveled abroad are long gone. <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re moving into your first apartment, you might be a bit lost when it comes to household appliances. Which ones do you need? Which ones can you do without? We\u2019re here to help with a guide to household appliances! Most of us don\u2019t know what to buy when we\u2019re renting an apartment for the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":5658,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5657","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-japanese-apartment-life"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5657","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\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=5657"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5657\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/5658"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=5657"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=5657"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=5657"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}