Thursday, September 30, 2010

we've jumped right into apartment search the minute we touch down in tokyo. we were both extremely fatigued from the relocation but desperate to find our next home cos the prospect of having to stay another month in our serviced apartment is pretty scary. we were pretty specific in areas we wanted to stay in, floor space expected and flexibility in small pets. at the same time, we were very fixed (and limiting) on our budget so we were quite surprised when we had 14 viewings secured.  *score!!!*

i reckon we're the only two people who find this fun but i ran my fingers over stovetops, flooring, fabric & daniel tinkled away on his compass and calculator. we did our due dilligence and shortlisted our top three. unsurprisingly, the most luxurious one snuck in by our ambitious agent, made it to the top three. it was marble lobby, 24 hour concierge, oh-too-chic gym with massage chair and floor to ceiling mirrors for yoga & dance. and when we stepped in the level 27 apartment, it was beautiful furnishings, designer fridge, washer & dryer, bidet (classic japanese features..) and a nice fresh breeze. a classic satc moment. it was pure "wow"! did i mention the walk in wardrobe carrie would have been proud of? and ample shoe storage? and the pristine white carpeting? i felt like i should be wearing a cocktail dress and serve tea a-la-steford wife style in our own home. the office was a matter of minutes away. we even suspected we could see if from our balcony.

and oh! and classical music piped in every single room was unbeilevable!

care to drop in for some high tea?


and velvet chaise lounges, maybe?

{pictures from here}

it was completely out of the question initially but when she saw that we were keen, she dropped the price precariously close to the higher end of our budget which made it possible again! she even added that it was our last chance to live in a place like that cos children & white carpets don't go together. (thank you very much, lady, wasn't aware promoting grandkids for my mum was also part of your job scope..)

i was silently hoping there was a major flaw somewhere but everything was almost perfect. excellent location, fits snugly in our budget, great view, 2 bedrooms and plenty of storage. so after the gruellng session, we sat over some sushi (but of course..) and pour over our notes. and even though everything pointed towards this larger than life, chic apartment, neither of us wanted to bump it to our top choice. instead, it lost out to something more low key, further from the office, somewhere with cute ramen in funny corners, and random bars sticking out into the street. something completely smaller, costing almost the same but without the 24-hr concierge, marble hallway and whizzbang..

i really wonder why it doesn't appeal to us. in theory it should.

maybe... we're not as pretentious as we seem!!! huzzah!!!! :)

 maybe we're little country munchkins in our hearts, destined to move into the french countryside and grow lavender in our yard.. maybe! :) 

23 comments:

  1. Aww... Cos u guys followed your hearts! :) loved the French interiors though. Can't help thinking of a French bulldog when I saw the pics! :)

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  2. Because you don't want to live in a museum!
    That neighborhood of the place you went with sounds awesome! and so much fun!

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  3. Reminds me of Carrie's apt in SATC2

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  4. You actuallly found that in Japan?! Thought the apartments there are tiny?

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  5. nono.. this is a picture from another website. cos the apartment we're looking at is unfurnished!
    but it was something like that.. tall ceiling and huge!! :) also quite ex...

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  6. yeah!!! i felt exactly like that walking in.. but it didn't feel like home, unfortunately!!!

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  7. hope we get it!!! we're in the middle of bidding for it..
    if not then i guess museum it is then! we can serve tea with scones and listen to classical music. and act all classy! hahaha..

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  8. hahaha!!! :)
    i guess when it comes to picking a home, you really gotta love it. you'll be spending so much time in it, it needs to be cosy! and homey! :)
    hows your place coming along? did you manage to get much decoration done?

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  9. You won't believe this but we actually rented it out! :( now it's back to the drawing board for us cos we have to move to somewhere close to the school we want to enrol the boys in. Sighs... P1 registration is a pain.

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  10. WOW, the apartment is REAL?!?!?!?!

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  11. hahaha yes it does!!! insanity isn't it?
    p.s. i ganked the picture off the internet from {this is glamourous} to illustrate my point!!

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  12. oh really!!!?! yikes!! P1 registration is fierce!!!

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  13. it's absolutely beautiful but it's hard to imagine this as a home... home shld come complete with lovely tea sets, buttery leather sofa sets and also dirty sneakers, the men messing up the apartment with their mags and newspapers, in our case even our bikes until we get the racks set up... that's not a pretty sight but that's what a proper house shld look in innit? :)

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  14. can i ask how much is its monthly rental?

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  15. we're looking at between 300,000 - 400,000 yen.. but its already the lower end of the expat market..

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  16. too pretty it hurts. and so atas i can't imagine wearing slippers in the lobby! and carry plastic bags form 100yen in. i'll get judged.
    let you know when we're all set up! :) xx

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  17. omg, you like totally read daniel's mind. his first violent reaction to the white carpet was "where is my bike gonna go..!" haha... then "oh man, im gonna be the resident vacumn man.." came shortly after.

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  18. that place is absolutely gorgeous but... i can't imagine living there, kids or no kids. haha. i would feel so out of place after half an hour. like i need to host something or other.
    already i think people with showroom kind of housing don't really live there. :P
    hope the house hunt is coming along nicely!

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  19. i know. thats my reaction too!!
    but boh pian. we really both need to be near town/office! so have to suck it up!

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  20. hahaha!!! :) exactly! but it was so perfect in so many ways, just that the overall feel didn't click! oh well! :)
    hopefully we can secure our nugget next week!!! :)

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  21. haha ya know, you can take a girl out of singapore but you can never take the singaporean outta her! ;)
    S$6-8k rental is madness!

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