2 Bloggers share what life is like in a Japanese apartment

When we look at images of Japan, it is normal to imagine that the Japanese live in big old houses (especially in the countryside), in super modern apartments or in super cool lofts. But that’s not true. Most of the inhabitants of the Land of the Rising Sun rent apartments, usually very small. Dima Doroshenko and Dmitry Shamov, two Russians, have lived in Japan for a long time and show how common apartments are in the country and their strangeness with local customs.

Dima Doroshenko and Dmitry Shamov

O awesome.club has done some research and is ready to show you how different Japanese apartments are than most people imagine. In overcrowded and expensive Tokyo, renting space often means spending a lot to gain access to a few square meters.

It is difficult to rent an apartment in Japan without a guarantor. When this is possible, don’t expect very good conditions. Sometimes, only one person can live in the apartment, and the Japanese require that the conditions of the contract be respected – that is, even if there is space left, it is not possible for more than one person to live in the place, if this is not in the contract.

The apartment is almost always rented without furniture, with the exception of the kitchen and some furniture in the bathroom and a large closet. The minimum ceiling height in rooms is 2.05 meters. But at the same time, the door frames are much lower, and people who are slightly taller (generally over 1.70 meters) need to be careful not to bump their heads.

Rarely can people have pets; when this happens, the rental price increases a lot. The Japanese are afraid that when the person moves, the fur will be for the next tenants, who may suffer from an allergy and blame the owners for that. This is one of the reasons that have made cat cafes so popular in the country.

The rent, not counting the services and the Internet, are:

About $550 to Dima Doroshenko for a tiny one-bedroom kitnet without hallway, with separate kitchen and a bathroom. It also has a relatively large balcony by Japanese standards. Dmitry Shamov lives in Tokyo and pays around 800 dollars for a two-room apartment, a slightly larger kitchen, a hallway and a bathroom.

In general, in front of the building there is a place to leave a bicycle and a motorbike. Parking a car is often more complicated, they can only be left in paid parking lots. So in Japan, when you buy a car, you need to show proof that you have a place to park it. In large cities, large parking towers are built, so that this type of problem is alleviated.

Apartments often have two mailboxes. The first is at the entrance to the building, where people usually leave advertising leaflets. The main box is a space at the apartment door where all important letters are delivered.

Buildings with apartments for rent usually have the stairs and corridors outdoors, which is not very comfortable on rainy days.

The good part is the view you have when you go to and when you return from work.

Typically Japanese buildings have very thin walls. In general, it is very common to hear when the neighbor comes home and also to hear people talking. The walls seem to sway a lot on windy days. In fact, it looks like the whole building sways.

Immediately behind the front door of a Japanese apartment there is a small threshold where people are supposed to leave their shoes. In general, people leave their shoes looking towards the entrance. Then they enter the apartment barefoot or with slippers.

In cheaper apartments (like Dima’s), behind the threshold are the kitchen and the only bedroom with access to the balcony and bathroom. In more expensive apartments (like Dmitry’s), the rooms are separate from each other.

Every apartment has video equipment that, at night, turns on a lamp at the entrance. That way, people always know who is at their doorstep.

In Japan, even the biggest apartments try to save space. So in the kitchen everything is compact. A fridge, a sink, a small cooking space and an oven. Kitchens don’t always have tables. The ovens are usually gas, but there are also electric ones.

Sinks have lots of filters and drains, so that not even the smallest pieces of food get into the plumbing. Some kitchens have a garbage cupboard where everyone leaves everything neatly organized to throw away on the correct day.

Almost every house has a special pot for making rice. And microwaves always open from top to bottom, not right to left as we are used to.

The bathtub is usually very small (you can only sit in it), but it is quite deep. And don’t think that people have smart toilets at home; they are very expensive.

In general, separate bathrooms make renting much more expensive. In these apartments, the bathroom is airtight and the shower is placed directly on the floor, not over the bathtub, where the main drain is. In this way, the Japanese follow the ancient tradition of getting into the bathtub already clean, just to relax. In the past, bathtub water was used for other family members, or for other household needs.

The Japanese love sensors. In any apartment you can always find one. To take a hot shower or to wash the dishes, you need to set the desired temperature and wait for the water to heat up. This is because there is no central heating.

The main feature of washing machines is that everything is washed with cold water, something rare in countries where it is very cold.

In general, the living room is not separated from the kitchen, but also serves as a bedroom. To save space, the Japanese sleep on futons. They are used at night and during the day they are rolled up and stored in cupboards.

In modern apartments there is a special remote control for lighting. With it, you can turn off the light without getting out of bed.

If there is enough space, in the living room, a low sofa and a low table are placed in front of the television. The other bedroom ends up being used as a bedroom, with a large bed that takes up almost the entire room.

Often in Japan people use a kind of tempered glass in their windows because they are very close together. In this way, people prevent neighbors from watching what they are doing. The Japanese also reinforce the windows so that, in case of earthquakes, fragments do not fall inside the apartment.

In this photo we see a balcony considered large (yes, big!), something atypical for a Japanese apartment. Some people use this space to store things, but most take advantage of the space to hang their washed clothes, always being careful not to let them fly away.

If in a three-story apartment building there is no fixed emergency staircase, then each apartment must have a collapsible one.

What is the aspect that most impressed you about Japanese apartments? Do you think you could adapt to this lifestyle?