Round 2 JR & Ikea!

As some of you know the last time I tried to casually enter the JR train station at Minami Funabashi with an excessively large Ikea package in hand it didn't turn out so well. Ed, Kyle, and I tried carrying my sofa home one Sunday afternoon back in September and got horribly rejected upon being spotted by the JR station master. This time around Ed and I entered with a slightly smaller box and succesfully got through the train station gates. Take that Japan!


This time around we had a solid gameplan. Yuki was able to run some interference and ask the station master on duty for random directions whilst Ed and I stealthed through the gates with our large box. I'd say it flawlessly worked. The actual package contained four chairs and the table itself so you can imagine how large it was.


About 4 hours from the purchase, this is the end result! Not to shabby if I can say so myself. Assembly was more or less simple as Ikea instructions and technology are for the most part very user friendly. My arms and hands are sore as hell, but it was nevertheless another crazy fun day in Chiba/Tokyo!

Fothult!

Alhtough my apartment is more than I could have asked for there was something missing that would put the finishing touches on a perfect resting environment. While a hot tub would be nice, I was thinking more along the lines of a sofa. The second tatami room I had was just way too empty and now that the couch is in place, home feels much more cozy!

Happy Hour at Ikea?!

There is an Ikea located about 30 minutes away from be my train in Chiba prefecture. While it isn't as large as the one I'm fond of in Toronto, it's just as grand and brought on a downpour of memories as I wandered through the similar interior setup of the store. My original intentions of going to Ikea was to buy a sofa for my apartment. Even though I'll likely be leaving Japan in the next year or so, I'd really prefer to have a comfortable piece of furniture just to chill out in. Ikea has decent prices and I thought the compactness or "assemble-yourself" properties would definitely be to my advantage.


I decided on the Fothult sofa as it was extremely cushiony and luxurious, with a colour that would match the rest of my interior design at my apartment. Another positive is that until September 30th 2008 it is ¥14,900 down from the original ¥24,900. Everything was going according to plan until Kyle and I got to the marketplace checkout and the Fothult was just too big to carry home. It was already assembled and just had a plastic covering and cardboard protecting it. I considered shipping as an option but unfortunately it isn't really worth the cost if I am just shipping one item. Dammit. For the first time since I got to Japan, I missed having a car.

Kyle testing out his potential purchase. Look how happy he is.

Kyle on the otherhand is going to con one of this bosses into driving him to Ikea and driving his sofa back to his apartment. Japanese people are too nice to say "no", but Kyle is balls out taking advantage of him! In any case Kyle likely needs a sofa more, especially since the one he has in mind (Solsta) folds out into a bed. I however do have a bed to sleep on since the previous teacher working here left me her old one.


On another note, here's more proof that Japan adds their own magic touch to things to make a great thing even better. A trip to Ikea isn't complete without eating something at the restaurant/cafe. While we weren't in time for $1 breakfast, we still had a great lunch. As we were sitting and eating I noticed this ridiculously awesome ad on the table. Happy Hour at Ikea?! ¥100 yen per bottle ($1 Canadian). Nooo way! The Japanese touch definitely wins.