Lee and Stephanie Norsted moved to Azabu Gardens with their children after their original apartment building was sold. Stephanie was keen to stay in the neighborhood of Moto-Azabu and they couldn’t have been happier with Azabu Gardens.

A room with a beautiful view

As Lee said, the location of the apartment was “really as good as you can get.” He added that the “architecture and the design” were some of his favorite things about the luxury apartment complex. The family lived in the east building, in a unit with abundant natural light. Stephanie said the view from their apartment was “like a picture.” Living in a corner unit, they had picture windows that offered a view with greenery—a welcome sight in Tokyo. Lee recalled, “We never closed the curtains; we just left them open all the time because it was such a beautiful view.

As Stephanie explained, they were also happy with the community of parents who lived at Azabu Gardens—“a wonderful group of families live there from Nishimachi and various other schools”—which allowed the children to socialize with their peers outside of school hours and made it easier for Stephanie and Lee to be involved in school activities. They hosted some events in the building’s public spaces that are open for the residents to enjoy collectively. Stephanie explained, “We have used [the Club Lounge] for parties and, with my children’s schools [Nishimachi and Ohana] being very close, both have had things here that they are so appreciative of. We have had class coffees; we have had events through Nishimachi.

Another plus for the Norsteds was the English-speaking concierge service, which provided a wealth of information and knowledge, made arrangements of all kinds in Japanese, and assisted with building-related queries. As Stephanie pointed out, the concierges were a constant and friendly presence in the building: “They are always helpful. We have become great friends with all of them—particularly the ladies—and the kids have enjoyed their company. They go down and love to see them every day and even with the staff that have come and gone, we still maintain contact.”

Azabu Gardens also organized many events for the residents, which were perfect for adults and children alike. “It was always fun. They always plan to make it interesting for the kids … there was always something to do and they always had a very nice food selection,” Stephanie said. Lee explained that Azabu Gardens provided them with a special memento of their time in Japan: “Our daughter came and she put on a kimono and they took pictures.”

A stone’s throw away from Azabu Gardens are the neighborhoods of Roppongi and Azabu-juban, and the Norsteds were very happy with the variety of restaurants and shops to be found there. Places such as Manpuku, Blue Papaya, The Savoy, and Manriki-ya were a few of their favorite restaurants and National Azabu, Nissin and Lincos were the grocery stores where they shopped most often.

Making a comfortable home in a foreign country is important—and Azabu Gardens provided this family with just that. “I think that if we were to move back to Japan, we would look first to move back here, without a doubt. It has been a great building for us and for our family and for Stephanie in particular and I can’t really imagine living in any other place,” Lee said.