February 13th, 2008Six Months!
Time flies when you’re having fun, and it’s certainly been a quick six months.
It was six months ago today that Reiko and I were officially married at the Kakamigahara City Hall and, in that time, we’ve both seen some pretty drastic changes in our lives.
No longer do we need to communicate through the internet, and we sure as heck don’t have to plan the next time we get to see each other. We get to enjoy dinner together on a nightly basis, and we can even work together to solve problems or laugh at something silly.
For the most part, both of us have been pretty busy with work as well as planning our upcoming wedding ceremony. But I’ll admit that Reiko has done far more work on the wedding than I have. I’d like to help out more, but I’m often uncertain of what needs to be done or how something should look when I’m finished. It’s a lame excuse, I know, and this confusion has resulted in a few discussions about my role in the preparations, but hopefully my future endeavours will work out better 
One nice piece of news that I’d like to share is that we think we might have found a decent place to call our first home. It’s just outside of Kakamigahara in a place called Haba. Moving would mean that Nick Ramsay and I would no longer be neighbours, but I’m sure we’ll keep in touch 
So, on that note, I thought I’d just write a quick little post about this happy day. I can’t really say much more about the wedding or our potential home (since we haven’t signed any papers for it, yet), but I’ll be sure to write the occasional happy post now and then to keep everyone up to date.
So what kind of wedding are you having? Will it be a big “wedding hall” one, or a small restaurant wedding? I was pretty useless with wedding arrangements, too, but maybe there are some things you could make on the computer - plans, schedules, speeches, invites, “now and then” photos, table arrangements, music CDs, etc.
If you mean Haba in Seki, then you’re still pretty close, and Starbucks isn’t that far away either!
I’ve been sworn to secrecy on most of the wedding plans (which is why I haven’t really written anything about them), but I can tell you it’ll be at a wedding hall and we’ll have about 30-odd guests. It should be fun.
As for the things I can do, I have helped out with most of the things you’ve listed. Anything that can be done on a computer, I’ve jumped on. Although it could have probably been done a bit faster. For some of the projects I had a bit of a learning curve as I was trying to complete the tasks in Ubuntu, and I needed to learn how to use new programs before actually starting on the work.
By Haba, I mean on the Meitetsu line between Meiden Kakamigahara and Shin Unuma. If there’s a Starbucks in Haba, I’ll be tempted to make the trek on my days off just to unwind and relax while watching the world go by.
Whether I can actually do such a thing or not is another matter ….
Congratulations on your six months! Hey I know a place in Kani-City Gifu that’s for sale if you are interested. It’s a really nice house and the area is a good location as well. Let me know if you are interested! It’s definitely worth a look.
Mike, is that place for sale or rent? Unfortunately, I’m not a permanent resident (yet), so I can’t get a mortgage under my name
Guess what! I’m not a permanent resident either, and I bought this house under my name with no money upfront besides real estate fees.
But anyway, if you’re in an apartment building in that Haba, do you have a view of the castle?
It’s for sale. If you like I can e-mail you my friend’s e-mail address. He’s an Australian, but has been in Japan for quite some time, and he’s definitely taken care of the place. Just let me know.
@Nick - We wouldn’t have a view of the castle, but we will get to see some nice mountains. It’s really close to Haba station on the Meitetsu line, sandwiched between both the Meitetsu and JR tracks. It’s nice and quiet, though. I really hope that Reiko and I can get it.
That said, I’ve spoken to a few people who work for banks, and at the moment I’m not going to be eligible for any loans. I have no Japanese credit, which means that I’d be a huge risk in these uncertain times. Perhaps in a year or two
@Mike - As I was saying to Nick, I don’t think I’d be able to get a mortgage in Japan quite yet. There have been a few mortgage specialists that I’ve had the opportunity to speak English with, and I always try to sandwich my own personal questions in there as though they’re part of the lesson
That said, I’ll do a bit more digging and discuss it with Reiko. If she’s interested in trying the more permanent route first, then that’ll open up a whole new ballpark of options.
FYI the only bank that would give me a mortgage was Mitsubishi UFJ. Even then, I had to provide proof of earnings from the last three years.
Hmm … I’ll keep that in mind. I didn’t think I could get a mortgage so soon in this country, but three years isn’t that far away. It would also give Reiko and I plenty of time to settle into our new lifestyles and budgets
cute cute cute cute cute cute picture!!!
congrats on making it half way to your very first anniversary. i hope you two can find the perfect first home too!
Thanks, Danielle. I hope we can find the perfect place, too