soba for housewarming

After going through few rounds of house hunting and narrowing my choices, and missing my earlier choice, I finally chose Castalia. It was my 2nd choice initially but after being here a few days realised it's not that bad.

In fact, it's a lot better in many ways than Puresir. I don't need the extra space because I don't have that much time to clean anyways, though I thought would be spacious enough to host. I also don't need a tv in the bathtub coz I might doze off and waste more water while being engrossed in a show, though I thought I can kill 2 birds with one stone!

So finally after a quick decision Yuri and Koresawa-san helped me move on a weekend. Yuri met the real estate agent to collect the key while Koresawa-san drove me to the new place with my luggage. Once we got there, we wasted no time but immediately I went out again to look for necessities. Yuri waited at home for the washing machine and fridge, while I searched for oven, tv and vacuum cleaner. In the meantime, she helped put the lace curtain and room lamp.

They're a really nice bunch and not just doing their job as HR people. Koresawa-san even brought us lunch while waiting, and so Yuri and I had a little "housewarming" meal of soba. Apparently the Japanese custom is to give soba to your neighbours when you move to your new place. Something like a sign of gratitude for them accepting you, and to show goodwill.

Even though it's a simple dish, I thought it was quite meaningful. At least I was not alone when I stepped into my new home. It would have been quite daunting having to negotiate details with the landlord, hunt for necessities for the house, deal with delivery staff who only speak Japanese while they set up appliances and cough out all those $ initially.

It's been more than a month since then, and I've started adding colours and shapes, bit by bit. I think it's going to be quite fun trying to design my own place. I'm definitely going to need more than a bed for furniture.