The Apartment (Sumida-ku)

I must have looked at more than 200 short-term rental apartments online in preparation for my stay.  There were many factors to consider:

price (I'm an unemployed student, you know), 

size (some are tiny, even for a tiny person like me; think 13sqm...which includes a bathroom, toilet, kitchen and bed), 

location (within 10 mins' walk of a train station, preferably with several lines for more connectivity options), 

cleanliness (but then again, this is Japan after all, so it can't be *too* bad)

furniture (rickety, disposable college styles depresses me... ok, ok so I'm a high-class student)

size of windows (the sun cheers me up)

whether a TV is included (even though I don't understand 90% of what is said, but I believe in learning by osmosis :) )

whether a double bed is included (it's for Sis when she visits; what did you think it was for??)

The cheaper options are targeted at Japanese language students - mainly college-age kids - but they tend to take bookings only 1 month before move-in date.  I still retained some of that anal planner streak, so I wanted to make sure I had the accommodation secured as soon as possible, and so that did not work for me.

Rental procedures in Japan are also frighteningly complicated.  (Kinda like in France.  The two countries are quite similar to each other in terms of how traditional they are while leading the way in high-technology.  Enigmatic.)

Basically, you have to pay an exorbitant amount of money to rent, including deposits and "key money" which is a type of courtesy money (tip?) to the landlord.  So selecting apartments that do not require deposits, key money and etc narrowed down my choices.

After a lot of back & forth with various agents, I finally settled on this:

Galicia Ryogoku.  I'm on the top floor (7th) :)

Please excuse the garbage in front of the entrance; it was garbage collection day when I took this.

Immediately upon entering the front door is the kitchen - economical, yet adequate for a single person who hasn't cooked in YEARS (except for instant noodles, and even that, erhem...shall not be mentioned any further) and intends on savouring all that the dining scene in Tokyo has to offer

It comes with a fish grill - a standard feature of Japanese kitchens - instead of an oven.  I tested it out today, and even with my non-existent cooking skills, I made a set of perfectly grilled salmon...woohoo!

Just diagonally opposite the kitchen is the bathroom/sink/toilet.  The bath room doubles up as a drying room for laundry.  The panel just outside the room allows you set the duration for the drying time and other fancy features which I haven't figured out.  On rainy days or sunless days, or if your balcony is not equipped with drying racks like mine, this is how you dry your laundry.

And I have my own high-tech Japanese toilet...woohoo!

View of the room from the end of the corridor

View from the balcony

The best thing about the room is the view of the Tokyo Skytree.  It reminds me everyday that I'm in Tokyo :)

And here's a closer look, taken on my balcony on a clear early autumn day