I never thought we’d live in Japan much less experience two different housing situations in the span of our time here (our four year “Japanniversary” is October 19th, 2020!!). To say we adored our former, gorgeous little apartment is an understatement. (Detailed in a previous blog post if you are interested.) We did not adore the thin walls between our unit and the neighbors who had three children under 5 and the insomniac neighbors above us who frequently woke us up at 1 and 2 am dropping very heavy objects on the floor above our bedroom. We loved that apartment so much I spent the better part of an entire year going crazy before we decided to pull the trigger and move again, as we were certain we’d not find any improvement on our open layout, south-facing, brand new construction apartment in an ideal location (on two subway lines in an area we loved) . It was most important to be able to leave Japan when we felt done with our adventures here, and we did not.