The New Zealand Embassy

We were only able to book our last house for three weeks, figuring that we’d find something else once we got here.

As our week at the first place ended we scrambled to find somewhere new. It was going to have to be a compromise. In fact, with only a few days left in the house we hadn’t come up with anything workable.

Then we got an e-mail:

Hey guys,

So my friend linked me to your website.

Suffice to say, I saw that you and Todd are looking for accommodation
sometime soonish. And I understand the woes of trying to find a place
to stay in this damn city.

Let me give a quick introduction – My name is Elliot, I’m 24, I’m from
New Zealand, and I live in Tokyo.
Specifically, I live in Shibuya, Tokyo.
More specifically, I live in a BIG apartment in Shibuya, Tokyo.
And if you’d like me to get more specific, I live in a BIG apartment
with two spare beds in Shibuya, Tokyo.

He goes on to offer us the spare bedroom for free. What!? How perfect is that? It’s just a walk away from where we were already living.

We set up a time to meet him for dinner the next day. What kind of guy just offers up his place to two random strangers? He must be weird. People on the internet are usually weird.

He walks up to us in front of the 109 building in Shibuya. Looks normal. Over dinner we get to know him better and he turns out to be a really cool guy. We quickly agree to his generous offer to house us.

A few days later we meet him at his apartment. It’s not a regular apartment, though. It’s on the grounds of the New Zealand embassy. He wasn’t kidding – the apartment is huge, even by US standards. Today we went to the gym which is complete with a heated indoor pool and squash court.

Anyway, I’m starving and have groceries so it’s time to make some spaghetti. Life is good! A week from today we get our train passes and start exploring other areas of the country.