TwoStyle Architects

     After considering various architectural firms to design our home, we finally settled for TwoStyle Architects.  Their office is located in Musashino-shi, near JR Mitaka station.  This firm was introduced to us by our realtor, Mr. Fujimori from Landmark.

Not knowing anything about the process of building a home in Japan (or anywhere else for that matter) a lot of investigating was needed just to understand who would do what and at what cost.  There was also the major communication barrier to cross and we needed our architect to speak English.  A lot of firms could not meet this requirement.

We were immediately taken by the charismatic Director of TwoStyle, Shioda-san, and Architect Yakushiji-san.  They were by no means fluent in English but together they were able to respond to our initial questions and concerns by mixing languages a bit and using drawings and charts to explain away the complicated details.  We left the office feeling that they were a conscientious team, eager to help us build a quality home, knowledgeable about the building business, and on the same page as us regarding cost containment.

Shioda-san explained that he had created TwoStyle a few years back, after leaving a large House Maker firm where he felt the clients' interests were not being met adequately.  He felt the need to provide a service that would satisfy his work ethics: offer unique, quality home designs at controled pricing. Adding to our peace of mind, Shioda-san is also one of two architects in Western Tokyo with a JIO license to inspect construction quality.   I'll be posting more about TwoStyle Architects as we proceed further along with our design plans.

Financial Matters

     The price tag attached to our dream piece of land had us plunge into all kinds of calculations and financial projections.  Buying property in Tokyo is costly!  Most banks are reluctant to loan past a certain amount, but they are willing to consider it if you can provide a sizeable downpayment, in our case, 20% of the cost of the land and house. After submitting our request for preapproval last week, we got good news today!  Our formal loan application was successful!  So now, there is no way to back out of this...

     What makes this purchase financially plausible and emotionally manageable is that the location of the land is outstanding and so is the reputation of the neighborhood.  And that's not even considering the fact that it's located only 8 minutes walk from Kichijoji station.  So, if at some point we were to decide to move to some other place, like say Bolivia (a bit unlikely), we could easily sell!  Here's  a photo of the beautiful stairway leading from Inokashira Park to our street.

     Now we need to start designing our home!  One of the conditions of our bank loan is that we start builiding 6 months from the signing of the contract and finish building within a year. A fun but slightly overwhelming project, considering all the ground we need to cover.  Let's now  focus on finidng a good architect and builder that will not default midway through the construction...

Perfect Place

       Our decision to stay in Japan prompted us to visit a couple of Real Estate Agents to view their land listings in our area. The second agent we saw showed us the land of our dreams, even though we didn't realise it at first. We were used to living on the northerns side of Kichijoji Station, near all the shops and services, in the city of Musashino-shi. We hadn't really considered moving 'all the way' to the other side of the station, a whole 8 minutes south of the Park exit, in the city of Mitaka!

       We went to see the land thinking we'd never be able to settle in such a quiet residential area, but we were very surprised to discover that this place is located right next to the beautiful Inokashira park, literally steps away from one of the park's entrances near the pond. We all agreed: the place was idyllic! We already pictured ourselves living there, enjoying evening strolls in the park or morning energy walks around the pond, and late afternoon barbecues. Our kids envisioned pets. The Jewelry Atelier I was hoping to open could become a reality, my husband could perhaps finally get a soundroom...

But enough dreaming! What does this piece of heaven cost and can we afford to build a house on it? That would be for us to discover over the next few days....

Settling in Japan...

     After nearly 20 years in Japan, we've finally made up our mind! We're settling in!

     Over the years, we've considered so many alternatives - returning to Canada, moving to Bolivia, settling elsewhere in Asia, going to Europe - but in the back of our minds, we always knew that it would be difficult to leave Japan, to say goodbye forever to Tokyo, especially Kichijoji, where we've resided for the past 11 years.

     We met and got married here, we found stable employment, we live close to relatives, our kids were born here and call it home, we've made wonderful friends and had so many enriching experiences... And along the way, we've met people in Japan that literally changed our lives, that helped us in so many ways. Where else could we settle?

     In this blog, we look forward to sharing our thoughts about what makes this city such a good place to live, to raise a family, and to grow individually and as members of our community. We hope you'll enjoy reading our posts!