Although we have known about this temporary assignment in Tokyo for a couple of months now, we are still in the midst of working out all the details of moving a household halfway around the world. First and foremost… we are waiting for the visas to come through. Until that is done, there can be no specific move date, and until then, no firm plans for apartments, movers, etc. The documentation for the Certificate of Eligibility has all been submitted… now we are at the mercy of the Japanese government. Once we receive the COE, then (we are told) it is a fairly easy and straight-forward process to get the visas from the Japanese Consulate.
We have been looking at apartments online, and we are working with a relocation consultant provided by our Japanese company, to try to decide what part of Tokyo in which to live. Though Tokyo has a very extensive and efficient mass transit system, we still would like to live fairly close to the workplace in order to minimize travel time to and from. We also have to consider locations of grocery stores, and other shopping, restaurants, etc, since we will not have a car while we are living in Japan. All of our travel will be via public transportation, or on foot. Imagine… carrying groceries back to an apartment… I don’t want to be too far away!
All of this is very exciting, but nerve-wracking as well! I will continue to post as the details emerge, and once we have arrived at our destination in Tokyo, I plan to post daily photos and blog about our new adventure.
Four Years in Japan ... and now Three Years in London 