An exclusive interview to tenants: Ichigao

Hello!

We had an interview to tenants in Firsthouse Ichigao, located just 4 minutes away from Ichigao Station on Tokyu-Den-entoshi Line.

Today, let me report the interview, as well as the area around Ichigao.

The residents who kindly accepted our offer this time are Natasha (left on picture above) and Beth (right).

The two came over to Japan from the U.K. two months ago for work.

It has been the first experience for both of them to have a long-term sharehouse life.

So, I started the interview in the living room with asking how their lives are going so far!

For Natasha, this is her 2nd visit to Japan. Last time she was here, she joined an exchange program as a student and stayed in Tohoku-area for 2 weeks. For Beth, it is the 1st visit to Japan. Both of them had been a student before they came to Japan.

They started their 1st full-time job in a foreign country. In spite of this challenge, the girls looked really composed.

First, as an interviewer, I asked how their lives in Japan are going.

They answered and agreed on this point; “Japan is really clean and safe. And what amazed us at a cafe is that people leave the table with their mobile phones on it. Seeing this scene, we realized we were in Japan.”

Next, I asked them about the lives in Ichigao.

Q: What do you think of the area around Ichigao.

Nathasha (N): Things around the area are really nice. Ichigao Station has good transportation. Using trains, it’s close to big cities like Yokohama, Shibuya and Machida, but there are no high buildings standing that those big cities have. That really makes us feel relaxed. My favorite is CURRY HOUSE CoCo Ichibanya, and I often go there!

Beth (B): The area is really quiet and comfortable to live in. There are many, nice stores and restaurants. My favorite are a variety store named BlueBleuet, a bakery callled SAINT-GERMAIN in the station building!

Q: You two said it’s your first experience to live in a share house, but how is the life at Firsthouse Ichigao?

N: Yes, lifestyle in a share house is new to me. I had worries before coming here, but I was surprised that the residents were following house rules. What I like best is a shower room. It has strong water pressure, unlike shower in the U.K. lol

B: The common-use area is clean. Everybody here is friendly, but lives quietly. It is really comfortable to stay in. Having a late start at work, I usually came back home late. So, I do not use the kitchen so much, but on holidays I cook a meal like pasta in there.

I am happy to hear the two are satisfied with Ichigao and a life in share house.

Now, I am reporting their daily lives around Ichigao.

Let’s go!!

But in less than 1 minute, we arrived at a destination, a supermarket named SEIYU. lol

The 24-hour open SEIYU is a place like a big refrigerator, a super-convenient supermarket for residents in Ichigao. It is located within 1 minute, and you can get what you forgot to buy.

The floor level 1 and basement level 1 are for supermarket, and the level 2 for 100-yen shop named Seria.

Entering the supermarket, they showed me a bag of muffin that they often purchase.

The name is… English muffin!! lol For the ladies, the taste of bread sold in Japan is a bit too sweet. This English muffin has the same taste as what they eat in their hometowns.

And, we went up to the 2nd floor, Seria, which they often stop by.

The two girls really like animals. Finding ornaments and letter-writing sets with animals on them, they looked happy!!

Natasha often buys a letter-writing set and sends a letter to her family in England… Oh, sweet!!

Getting out of SEIYU, we can see Ichigao Station. So close!

From Ichigao Station, it takes 27 minutes to Shibuya Station and 23 minutes to Machida Station without transfer, respectively.

On the 4-minute way from the station to the house, there are a flower shop and a convenient store, LAWSON, a Japanese-style confectionery store and a pharmacy.

The left-hand picture of the station shows how close the SEIYU is. Can you see that?

The station building named “etomo” has lots of shops. We stopped by Beth’s favorite variety store, “BlueBleuet”!

The variety store is right in front of the ticket gates at the station. Items like miscellaneous goods, clothes and accessories are lined up. Beth was looking for a birthday present for her family member.

It seems like their hometowns are surrounded with green nature, and they were thinking of putting a plant somewhere in their rooms.

So, we moved to a flower shop which is just in front of the variety store. Next to the flower shop, there are a bakery and a cafe as well, although you cannot see them on the pictures below.

The pictures below are the opposite entrance to the staion (west side). As you can see, there are many stores like a bookstore and a fitness club, a pasta restaurant, and a phermacy, etc.

We passed through TSUTAYA, a famous rental CD&DVD shop nationweide. Knowing we can rent not only CDs & DVDs, but also comic books, they were interested.

They often watch Japanese animated cartoons. I was surprised that they knew Japanese comics more than our staff does.

Beth’s favorite movie is “Beauty and the Beast”, and Natasha likes going to the movies. She sometimes goes to a cinema at Futakotamagawa Station on Tokyu-Den-entoshi Line, several stops away from Ichigao.

We walking around Ichigao station and realized it was already lunch time. We had a lunch together at Lazeez, which serves authentic Indian foods.

The dish they chose is a ladies’ set, which comes with salad, a kind of curry, Nan bread or rice, and a drink. The price is 850 yen. The menu says Nan bread is small, but is it small??

While having lunch, we were talking a lot about their hometowns and work. I felt that they were having fun at work and leading a profitable life!

This time, we featured Ichigao and reported an interview of the residents. Express trains on Den-entoshi Line do not stop at Ichigao, but the area around the station has everything we need. Also, it’s convenient, having good access to principal stations. I started this project just because I wanted to show you how good Ichigao is. But what made me happy is I realized that each of the two guests is having a fun life here!!

They went home kindly saying like, “We had a good time!”, giving me a big hug with a smile.

I replied to them, promising, “Let’s have a Japanese-curry party next time at Firsthouse Ichigao!” lol

Please come to this cozy area, Ichigao, and Firsthouse Ichigao. Highly recommended from the bottom of my heart!!