Apartment

Entryway with three built in shelves for shoes. The slippers were here when I moved in, but I mostly just go around in socks. The Japanese are very big on this--for instance, I have special school shoes that I change into when I go to work, and I believe you remove your shoes at the doctor's office, gym, and many other places too.

Suspiciously normal looking TV room.

Ah yes, now THIS looks excitingly foreign. The mats are called "tatami", and they're fantastically comfortable, made out of rice straw and soft rush straw.

It's pretty spare, but very calming. Haven't need a blanket yet. My blanket consists of turning off the fan....

My mondo kitchen. There's about half of it still behind me in this picture. Over to the left you can just see some of my several trash cans, as I have to separate my trash into bottles, recycling, non-combustible, and combustible. Some places in Japan have more than 20 trash categories.

Shower doors don't ever touch the floor here. I'm sure you're riveted. Next time on COG, I take measurements of my cabinet doors and see just how DIFFERENT they are from American cabinet doors!!!

I know, I know. But this is actually cool. When you flush, the water to refill the tank comes out of the faucet first so you can wash your hands first. America's green initiatives are shamed by some of the simple stuff they do here.

This problem is pretty much standard everywhere I've been. I think they're six feet even, so I don't fit by an inch, but the country is definitely not Creighton-sized.
(This picture made possible by my Gorilla Pod. Thanks Susan!)

(Also, I believe it's a faux pas (literally) to step on the bottom of the door frame here, so I won't keep doing that.)