Apartment

As you approach a loud construction site, you realise that you should have drawn yourself a map. Obviously, you're not going to find a real estate agent where there's no building. Luckily, you've scrawled down an address, so you start walking around, trying to find a map of Nishi Shinjuku 1-Chome. In the end, it turns out that you were 500 meters off.

The place is in an area you'd walked past previously; back to back real estate agents. Oddly enough, you never make it to the actual place though. As you stop to glance at one of the boards advertising apartments, you're approached by a woman asking if you're looking for an apartment. You're a little surprised. Japanese real estate agents are notorious for not wanting to deal with foreigners. Going by your instincts, you follow her into her office, write down what you're looking for, and make an appointment to see her the following day.

Only one of the places she has found interests you. It's tiny, but has everything you might need. Best of all, it takes 20 minutes from the front door to your workplace. You decide to see it. A few phone calls, a battle with the photocopier and sticky tape to make a map, and you are on your way to Minami-Asagaya.

There's something endearing about Minami. She's 29, but you'd never guess it from the way she looks, or from the frequency of her giggles. She's clumsy with maps, has never ridden the Marunouchi and doesn't even know where the entrance is. Assuming the role of guide, you find out that she comes from Ibaraki and has been in Tokyo less than a year.

Minami-Asagaya is perfect. It has absolutely everything you'd hope for - quaint narrow streets, small cafes, temples and all sorts of cheap shops. The apartment is small and a little dark, but it feels strangely right. There's even parking space for a motorbike, should you save up enough money for one. You think. You think again. You ask to take a detour to the station. You decide.