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Finding an Apartment in Tokyo: A Mafia Story
So kiddo, you say you want to live in Japan? Maybe you like the food, the culture, the people? Or maybe you just watched way too much anime? Don’t worry, I’m not going to judge you. Those days are behind me.
Before you make up your mind, I just want to tell you a little story. A cautionary tale of something that happened to me while back. It’s a tale much like life itself: full of deceit, deception and disillusionment.
Don’t read this expecting justice, honor or romance-you’re not going to find any of that here. This is a mafia story. The true story of what it’s like to find a place to live out in Wild Wild Tokyo.
It was time
My story begins during what the locals call tsuyu (梅雨), the rainy season that marks the beginning of the sweltering Japanese summer. The literal translation has a romantic ring to it: “plum rain,” as if the season reminds one of the sweet taste of summer fruit.
It doesn’t. If anything, tsuyu reminds one not of the plum itself, but of what happens to your bowels after one too many slices of plum tart. Days on end of drizzle, dampness and dreary gray skies, coupled with an oppressive, suffocating heat. Not a great time to enjoy the city. But the perfect setting for this story.
