I lived in Shakujii for 8 years. It started because of my job at Sunrise, which pretty much required me to live nearby. Then I switched jobs, but moving closer to the office wasn’t really an option, since it’s absolute downtown Tokyo and I’m not willing to pay that much. Then the rona hit and we don’t even have to go to the office anymore (in my case, at all). Furthermore, the small room I rented in Shakujii grew pretty tight since I started climbing mountains. Those sleeping bags and backpacks really take up a lot of space…

That and having to take trains for over 2 hours to get to my usual training trailhead led me to seriously consider moving further to the west, somewhere around Haijima, west of Tachikawa. In the end I found a really comfy (and almost twice as big) flat. Really nice location, costs only marginally more and I can get to my trailhead in about 30 minutes. Which means more sleep, which means happier me.

I’ve got a lengthy checklist of all the stuff to get sorted, most of which is either getting new furniture (since I got rid of everything but my IKEA chair) or going konmari on all the Stuff that accumulated over the years. Sadly I inherited the “oh it’s gonna be good for something” and “there’s some sort of mild emotional attachment” reasons for not throwing trash out from my family, so it takes some steeling of the heart to pull it off (but the relief once it’s done is quite the reward).

First of all, I built myself a new workstation. The monitor and notebook arms stayed, but I got a new electric standing desk (so I can switch from sitting to standing with a button if I get drowsy). I also got a steel rack for my desktop PC and some peripherals (hikari modem, router, Scarlett etc) and new desktop speakers (because I was getting tired of the questionable sound quality). I also installed some protection for the wall behind the desk and the floor. The photo above is the end result (during work hours the beer is replaced by coffee).

I’m also quite satisfied by how my new bookshelf turned out. I just barely managed to fit everything in a stylish manner, with only the DnD Player’s Handbook and my few Lonely Planet guidebooks having no place to go for now. It’s extensible too, so I’ll probably stitch on a few more shelves. I’m also considering adding a wall-mounted TV to the setup, but that will have to wait a while due to financial (and priority) reasons.

There are still a few things remaining, but I’m having trouble taking it easy, so it’s probably all gonna get sorted in the coming week or two. First, I’m making myself a reading corner, so I’ll finally have a comfy spot for reading other than my bed. I also need to fix the lighting for my figurine case, since the connectors for the led strips I have are all falling apart all the time and it’s extremely frustrating. Then last and foremost I need to sort out the storage for my climbing gear, which is currently a huge heap in my bedroom.