My New Home, Misato
On the same day we traveled from Tokyo to Sendai, we continued our journey by car to our new home in Misato. This quaint town is renowned for its rice and soybean cultivation, with the pink rose as its city flower and the dogwood tree—just like in Virginia—as its city tree. As we drove from Sendai to Misato, it quickly became apparent that we were leaving behind the hustle and bustle of the big city and entering the serene countryside. The roads narrowed, and the landscape was soon filled with sprawling rice fields and picturesque country farms. The map of Misato reveals that it is nestled among mountains, some looming close and others gently fading into the distance.
Misato Town Hall
The first thing we needed to do when we arrived in Misato was to finalize the lease for my new apartment and pick up the keys. So we headed to Misato Town Hall. The office staff greeted us with warm smiles and polite bows. A few of them even bravely attempted to speak in English. We were each given a Hanko, a traditional stamp used for signing official documents. Any errors I made while writing my address in Japanese—four mistakes in total—had to be marked with this stamp.
My apartment building
Next, it was time for the in-person visit to the apartment. While my predecessor had provided a virtual tour via Zoom, nothing compares to seeing the space firsthand. My apartment is located on the 2nd floor, and my parking space is conveniently situated next to the fence, not far from the entrance. Although I have a car for traveling to the Board of Education and to community events, I will most likely walk to my schools, which are just a 5 and 12-minute walk away.
Interestingly, there are two other Americans living in the building. One is directly below me and hails from Florida, while the other is on the 3rd floor and comes from Haymarket, Virginia. I’ve shared pictures of my apartment’s interior in a previous post. The neighborhood is remarkably quiet, though I've had to adapt to the daily musical announcements at 7:00 am, noon, and 5:00 pm. Notice the size of the cars in the parking lot. That is what I will be driving soon.
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