{"id":717,"date":"2004-04-12T23:00:44","date_gmt":"2004-04-12T14:00:44","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2004-04-12\/717"},"modified":"2004-04-12T23:00:44","modified_gmt":"2004-04-12T14:00:44","slug":"getting-settled-in-japan-buying-a-fridge-etc","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/2004-04-12\/717","title":{"rendered":"Getting Settled in Japan: Buying a Fridge, etc."},"content":{"rendered":"\n\n<style>\np.editorialf  { width:700px }\n.editorial    { color:#AFA  }\n.editorial a  { color:#CFC  }\n<\/style>\n\n\n<div style='padding:5px 40px; background-color:#444; border: solid 1px #666; margin:10px 30px 50px 10px'>\n\n<p>The text of this post was originally written in April, 2004 as part of\nan online diary I kept before I actually started my blog. I'd forgotten\nabout it until I ran across it in February 2008. I inserted it into my blog\nthen, assigning dates appropriate to the content instead of to the time I\nactually added it. Thus, these April 2004 posts show up as my &#8220;first\nposts&#8221; in my <a nocross='1' href='\/blog\/toc\/'\nclass='quiet'>list of posts<\/a>, even though I didn't actually start a blog\nuntil a year later with my first post about <a nocross='1' class='quiet'\nhref='\/blog\/2005-04-01\/1'>buying a car in Japan<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n<p>There's nothing here of interest to anyone but me; I insert it here so\nthat it's together with my other posts (which are also of little interest\nto anyone but me :-)) <span class='editorial'>Any comments I add while posting this to my blog in February 2008 appear like this.<\/span>\n\n<\/p>\n\n<p>This was originally written just after we moved from California to\nJapan, so our days were dominated by jet lag, and trying to set up our\nlife and newly-acquired apartment. Anthony was 18 months old.<\/p>\n\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>After waking up sporadically every few hours throughout the night, Anthony\nwoke up for good on his jetlag-induced 2:45 schedule. Around 8am, Fumie and\n<span class='nobr'>I took<\/span> Anthony for <span class='nobr'>a walk<\/span> about town (<a\nhref=\"http:\/\/map.yahoo.co.jp\/pl?nl=34.51.34.328&amp;el=135.41.11.304&amp;la=1&amp;fi=1&amp;sc=10\">Kuzuha<\/a>,\nwhere we're staying with her folks), keeping an eye out for cars that look\ninteresting.\n\n<\/p><p class='editorial'>\n\n(The next few paragraphs apparently formed the basis for my first blog\npost, <a href='\/blog\/2005-04-01\/1'>Choosing <span\nclass='nobr'>a car<\/span> to buy in Japan<\/a>, when <span class='nobr'>I\ncreated<\/span> <span class='nobr'>a blog<\/span> <span class='nobr'>a\nyear<\/span> later.)\n\n<\/p><p>\n\nWe'll be buying a car sooner or later, and it's <span class='nobr'>a\ndaunting<\/span> task just to come to grips with the sheer number of makes\nand models. There must be well over an order of magnitude more to choose\nfrom, relative to The States. Considering only domestic cars, there are\nnine major makers (Itsuzsu, Daihatsu, Honda, Suzui, Toyota, Mazda, Nissan,\nMitsubishi, and Subaru) representing an incredible 217 models (<span\nclass='nobr'>a stunning<\/span> 69 from Toyota alone). Then there are about\n15 major foreign makers, representing another 120 different makes.\n\n<\/p><p>\n\nTo go along with all those models are <span class='nobr'>a lot<\/span> of different classifications. <span class='nobr'>In addition<\/span> to the normal sedan, SUV, wagon, minivan, and sports\/specialty\nclassifications are super-mini and &#8220;2BOX&#8221;. <span class='nobr'>It turns<\/span> out that the cars we're\ninterested in are in the &#8220;2BOX&#8221; class (although <span class='nobr'>I have<\/span> no idea what \"2BOX'\nmeans).\n\n<\/p><p>\n\nWith so many models, names are, uh, &#8220;creative&#8221;. Some of the ones we're\nconsidering at the moment (after our one walk about town) include the <a\nhref='http:\/\/www.honda.co.jp\/auto-lineup\/fit\/photo-lib\/index.html'>Honda\n<b>FIT<\/b><\/a>, <a\nhref='http:\/\/www.toyota.co.jp\/Showroom\/All_toyota_lineup\/Spacio\/index.html'>Toyota\n<b>Corolla SPACiO<\/b><\/a>, <a\nhref='http:\/\/www.toyota.co.jp\/Showroom\/All_toyota_lineup\/raum\/index.html'>Toyota\n<b>RAUM<\/b><\/a>, and the <a\nhref='http:\/\/www.toyota.co.jp\/Showroom\/All_toyota_lineup\/Runx\/index.html'>Toyota\n<b>Corolla RUNX<\/b><\/a>. <span class='nobr'>I saw one<\/span> this evening that also bares\ninvestigation, the <a\nhref='http:\/\/www.mitsubishi-motors.co.jp\/COLT\/style.html'>Mitsubishi\n<b>Colt<\/b><\/a> (unrelated to the Dodge vehicle by the same name). Other\nnames <span class='nobr'>I see<\/span> on the <a\nhref='http:\/\/www.toyota.co.jp\/Showroom\/carlineup\/index.html'>Toyota web\nsite<\/a>, which <span class='nobr'>I happen<\/span> to be looking at now, include <span class='nobr'>a litany<\/span> of names\nthat would bring the best spell-checker to its knees, including the Toyota\n<b>ist<\/b>, Toyota <b>WISH<\/b>, Toyota <b>Opa<\/b>, Toyota <b>bB<\/b>, Toyota\n<b>Brevis<\/b>, Toyota <b>Crown Majesta<\/b>, Toyota <b>WiLL CYPHA<\/b>, and\nthe Toyota <b>Cami<\/b>. <span class='nobr'>The starting<\/span> price tag of these Toyota cars (before\noptions, etc.) range from under $9k (Toyota <b>Vitz<\/b>) to $100k (the\nToyota <b>Century<\/b>). <span class='nobr'>The ones we<\/span>'re thinking of at the moment are in the\n$17k-$21k range.\n\n<\/p><p>\n\nAt around 2pm Fumie and I left for <a\nhref='http:\/\/www.yamada-denki.jp\/'>Yamada-denki<\/a>, an electronics shop,\nwith the hope of making progress on <span class='nobr'>a refrigerator,<\/span> air conditioners (we\nneed four), <span class='nobr'>a microwave<\/span> oven, some light fixtures, <span class='nobr'>a phone,<\/span> and <span class='nobr'>a\nwasher<\/span>-dryer.\n\n<\/p><p>\n\nFumie didn't have a lot of energy, so it was decided that she'll wait in\nthe area that sells massage chairs while <span class='nobr'>I did<\/span> reconnaissance on the\nfridge, our primary target for the day. There were probably 45-50 different\nrefrigerators to choose from, but we were looking for <span class='nobr'>a rather<\/span> large and\nnice one, so that brought the selection down to (<span class='nobr'>a more<\/span> manageable?) 30-40.\n\n<\/p><p>\n\nOne maker's refrigerators are distinguished by their doors having two\nhandles, one on either side of the door. <span class='nobr'>You can open<\/span> from either. <span class='nobr'>The action<\/span> of opening from one side engages the hinge on the other, and\nvice-versa. <span class='nobr'>A very nice<\/span> feature. Unfortunately, all their models had very\nsmall freezers... <span class='nobr'>a trend<\/span> that all Japanese refrigerators seem to have,\nbut this particular company's were even smaller than normal. Fumie likes to\nfreeze leftovers, so we wanted something larger.\n\n<\/p><p>\n\nOne reason the freezers are so small is because they all have <span class='nobr'>a separate<\/span>\nsection for vegetables, which is slightly warmer than the refrigerator\n(about 40F rather than 34F). These sections are often larger than the\nfreezer, hence squeezing them out. Combine that with the other sections\n(there's usually <span class='nobr'>a separate<\/span> drawer that is the ice maker\/storage), and\nother separate drawers for other things, e.g. half of the refrigerator\nspace is accessed via normal side-opening doors, and half is via <span class='nobr'>a pull<\/span>-out\ndrawer.\n\n\n<\/p><p>\n\nAnyway, <span class='nobr'>I quickly<\/span> learned that just about any of them would be fine with\nme, but that they all had special features that Fumie would care about, so\n<span class='nobr'>I had<\/span> to pull her away from the massage chairs. <span class='nobr'>One had a<\/span> feature whereby\none of the smaller drawers could have its temperature set to as low as\n-30F. <span class='nobr'>One had a<\/span> feature where one of the drawers could have its temperature\nset so that it acted as <span class='nobr'>a freezer,<\/span> fridge, or veggie drawer. Convenient.\n\n<\/p><p>\n\nAfter some discussion among Fumie, me, and the sales man that was helping\nme, Fumie decided that the sales man and <span class='nobr'>I were<\/span> more of <span class='nobr'>a distraction<\/span> than\nanything else, so she sent us away to make her own decision. <span class='nobr'>I went to<\/span> look\nat some light fixtures and air conditioners.\n\n<\/p><p>\n\nEventually, she decided to get the <a\nhref='http:\/\/www.toshiba.co.jp\/webcata\/refrige\/gr_nf505ck.htm'>Toshiba\nGR-NF505CK<\/a>, <span class='nobr'>a 495<\/span> liter model (which happens to be the biggest Toshiba\nsells) for $1,800 or so. <span class='editorial'>(Having used it for almost\nfour years now, I'll note that it's an excellent fridge.)<\/span> Together,\nwe moved on to light fixtures.\n\n<\/p><p>\n\nWhen you buy\/rent a place in Japan, it generally does not come with light\nfixtures. Rather, there are brackets in the ceiling into which you can\neasily clip fixtures (all sold with the same universal mating collar). That\nway, you can bring them from place to place, <span class='nobr'>I suppose.<\/span> We didn't have any,\nand needed five. They can be expensive ($300 for <span class='nobr'>a nice<\/span> one), so we thought\nto get just one sort of cheap one, to give us some light. <span class='nobr'>It turned<\/span> out to\nbe <span class='nobr'>a bigger<\/span> deal than we expected, but after much hemming and hawing, she\npicked a $70 simple one, although one with <span class='nobr'>a remote<\/span> control. Home light\nfixtures in Japan almost universally have four modes: off, on full, on\nhalf, nightlight. <span class='nobr'>In the old<\/span> days, there was <span class='nobr'>a string<\/span> that one pulled to\ncycle among the modes, but they almost all now have <span class='nobr'>a remote<\/span> control. To\nme, that's just one more thing to get lost, and <span class='nobr'>I much<\/span> prefer the old\nvariety. But, one doesn't have much selection with those, so oh well.\n\n<\/p><p>\n\nHeater\/air conditioners are looking to be <span class='nobr'>a major<\/span> expense. <span class='nobr'>We need four<\/span>, and\nthey're looking to be upwards of $2k each. There's <span class='nobr'>a wide<\/span> variety of\nfeatures, most of which we probably don't care about, but we have to sort\nthrough them.\n\n<\/p><p>\n\nFumie then wanted to look at microwave ovens by herself, so <span class='nobr'>I went<\/span> off to\nlook at computers (we'll get <span class='nobr'>a Windows<\/span> box for Fumie). When <span class='nobr'>I got<\/span> back, she\nwas thinking to change the color of the fridge. You see, matching the\nfridge is the most important feature of the microwave oven (so that her\nkitchen has a &#8220;total coordinate&#8221; image), and there were no good microwaves\nthat matched. So, off to the massage chairs to think about it. <span class='nobr'>In the end<\/span>,\nshe decided to change the color &mdash; we placed our order, paid our $1,800 for\nthe fridge and the light, and went home.\n\n<\/p><p>\n\nIn the evening I went to the <a\nhref='\/blog\/2007-11-27\/646'>muscle\/joint specialist<\/a>\nwho had done such wonders for me during my last trip to Japan. <span class='nobr'>I'm not sure<\/span>\nwhy (perhaps the plane trip over), but my back is killing me again. (It's\nnot nearly as bad as last summer, but bad enough to want to go see him.).\nAfter waiting an hour and <span class='nobr'>a half<\/span> (there are no appointments &mdash; you\njust get in line), he worked on me for an hour. <span class='nobr'>It was painful<\/span>, but working\nout the knots helps in the long run. <span class='nobr'>The cost was<\/span> <span class='nobr'>a shockingly<\/span> low $30.\n(Would have been $3 had <span class='nobr'>I had<\/span> insurance, <span class='nobr'>I think.<\/span>)\n<\/p>\n\n<p><i><a href='\/blog\/2004-04-13\/718'>Continued here...<\/a><\/i><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>The text of this post was originally written in April, 2004 as part of an online diary I kept before I actually started my blog. I'd forgotten about it until I ran across it in February 2008. I inserted it into my blog then, assigning dates appropriate to the content instead of to the time I actually added it. Thus, these April 2004 posts show up as my \"first posts\" in my list of posts, even though I didn't actually start a blog until a year later with my first post about buying a car in Japan.<\/p> <p>There's nothing here [...]","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1,2],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/717"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=717"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/717\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=717"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=717"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/regex.info\/blog\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=717"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}