MANSION ON THE HILL

In Shibuya we stayed six days in what the Japanese call a “weekly mansion.”

You and I would call it a one-bedroom apartment, but I submit that we'd suffer in the comparison.

Our place was on the 5th floor, and a small elevator with about a 600 lb capacity groaned as it shuttled us up and down.

The apartment itself-- excuse me, mansion-- was comfortable and sleek. There was a single full-size bed, and an appointment of futons for us to lay out on the floor each night. A 37” LCD was in the corner of the living room, and at the other end was a two-person leatherette couch.

The kitchen held a refrigerator the size of the kids, a range, a grill, and a microwave. The WC had a toilet with more buttons than I'm accustomed to seeing on a toilet-- the pictures made it pretty clear what the buttons did, but I was sufficiently happy just to flush.

Not to harp on toilets too much, but it is a common feature of Japanese toilets to have a small faucet on top of the tank that runs every time you flush. This is mainly because the WC is separate from the washroom.

Our washroom contained a small dual-use washer/dryer, and we put it through its paces every sweaty day.

Adjacent to the washroom was the shower room. I love Japanese shower rooms almost beyond reason. First, there is a deep tub for soaking; then, the remainder of the room is essentially a large shower. No concerns here about splashing water on the floor, and not a hint of claustrophobia.

My only disappointment was that Taeko and I could not steal the time to take a bath together...