Japanese rooms and lifestyle

[Sangetsu]

My first apartment in Japan wasn't much more than a matchbox. It had a "kitchenette", which is a single electric burner for cooking, and a sink too small to hold an American size dinner plate, unless you put it in sideways. The refrigerator would hold a 6 pack of beer comfortably, but without leaving room for anything else. The shower/tub was small enough that I often bumped my elbows when trying to get clean. It had a single room, which was where I ate, slept, and lived.

I then rented a new house in the countryside which was much nicer. The stove was upgraded to a 3 burner gas model which worked wonderfully well. Unfortunately, Japanese cooking stoves don't include the large oven which come with stoves commonly used in America, only a small broiler for cooking fish. The bathroom had a much larger tub, with a modern inline water heater which keeps the bath water at a constant temperature. The rooms were large, with sliding doors and hardwood flooring.

Then I was transferred to Tokyo and I moved into another small apartment, not much different from the one I got when I first moved here. Unfortunately, in the city things are not well laid out, homes, apartment buildings, factories, and office buildings are all mixed together. My apartment was located between a copy machine repair center and a bicycle shop, with a hotel across on one side, and the railroad tracks on the other, noisy didn't begin to describe it.

Recently I moved to a new apartment in Shirokanedai, which is one of the better districts in Tokyo. The apartment is a 1LDK, about three times the size of my old apartment. It is in a new building, so it has a lot of modern touches, like an automatic bath. The tub itself is a modern version of the old claw-foot tubs popular in America and Europe in the 18th century. It's nice to be able to lay back in the tub instead of sitting upright in it with my knees under my chin. The kitchen is also nice, with a big sink, stone counter tops, and a 4 burner stove. The refrigerator (a moving-in gift) is large, with an ice maker and a large freezer. The bedroom is upstairs, similar to a loft, but with a high ceiling, and it has a nice view of the living room. The best feature is that the apartment has a washer and a dryer. For some reason clothes dryers have never caught on in Japan, and most people still hang their laundry outside. All in all, I love the new place, but it's not cheap, the rent works out to about $2200 USD per month.

One of the good things about the new apartment is that it is in a residential area, with no businesses very close. What I don't like about it is that it doesn't include a parking space, and I need to buy a car next year. I'll have to rent a spot, which is far from cheap in this area.

Ah yes, the best thing is that this apartment actually has insulation. My old matchbox apartment was as poorly insulated as many Japanese places tend to be. In the summer I had to keep the AC on all the time just to keep it a little cool, and in the summer the heater couldn't keep it warm enough to allow me to walk around without a sweater. Running the AC or heater all the time was expensive, and my monthly electric bill was about 9000 yen per month. My electric bill for last month at my new apartment was only 1800 yen.

But after all is said and done, I miss my house in Miami. The kitchen in my old house was bigger than some people's apartments in Tokyo, and I miss having large front and back yards with large trees in them.

[dogsbody70]

thanks to all of you who have given some information. Really fascinating it is too.

I am particularly interested in permanent residents homes in Japan-- family homes etc. apart from apartments etc. It was my present Japanese friend who described the fire in the centre of the room and the hanging Pot.

Nyrororin as usual extremely helpful.

the other thing that I wonder about is about seating around a table If it is not a western style home, do people have to kneel down to eat around a very low legged table?

I know that I would find that impossible to do if I did come to Japan.

everything is amazing really.

Are japanese people mostly smaller or shorter than many Westerners?

Space or lack of space seems to be something that has to be accommodated as the most practical and suitable as possible.

There seem some great idea regarding using the bath water to wash clothes.

HOw long have there been showers available in Japan? daft question maybe-- but I was brought up to have a strip wash.

When I was in childrens homes we all queued up in turn to have a very shallow bath-- water just a few inches deep-- but we did not wash beforehand-- but it seems really sensible to have a wash or shower first.

It was years before I had a shower here--


I do find this whole subject of deep interest. sounds pretty uncomfortable for many of you having to squeeze inside a bath way too small for you.

also there used to be public slipper baths for people who did not have a bath tub at home which was very common back then

[MMM]

Originally Posted by Nyororin

Actually, unit baths are designed for washing outside the tub - no matter how it may look at first glance. There is usually a small drain somewhere in a corner and the bottom of the door will be sealed to not let the water escape.
Most of my friends back in university lived in tiny one rooms, and I assure you that when staying over no one washed in the tub. Everyone would use a big washing bowl perched on the toilet to wash with, then a quick rinse of with the shower before getting into the bath.
I`ve even been in a few that have a sort of secret panel that lets you pop the sink itself out from the wall so that it wedges over the toilet next to it and a (tiny) washing area appears. It took one of my friends 2 years to realize her unit did this, and that the drain was hidden in an impression behind.

If there is a bath and not shower stall, then it is made with bathing in mind. I have yet to see any that just have the stall in normal apartments - they`re usually in workplaces.

Trust me there was no where to bathe outside of the shower/bath. I couldn't even sit on the toilet and close the door without banging my knees. The only open space in my unit bath was the bath/shower.

[Nyororin]

Originally Posted by dogsbody70

the other thing that I wonder about is about seating around a table If it is not a western style home, do people have to kneel down to eat around a very low legged table?

These days, it`s pretty normal to have a table with chairs around it in a house. In houses with a Japanese style room (most modern houses have one somewhere for guests and to install an altar in when someone dies), there is almost always a low table but it seems to hardly ever be used for meals.

On the other hand, in winter people bring out the kotatsu - a table with a heating element on the underside, a removable tabletop, and a large comforter sort of attached. (You put the comforter over the table base and then put the tabletop on it.) 95% of the time these are low tables. They sell some high versions, but they aren`t really all that common - I have yet to encounter one in someone`s house. Even people with dining tables will usually eat at the kotatsu in winter because it is usually bitterly cold in the house. With the high cost of heating, it`s pretty normal to not have much of any heating other than inside the kotatsu. You stick your legs under the cover and keep them toasty warm.

We used to have a dining table, but it was easier just to eat at the low table year round... So even though our place is very new with a counter type kitchen and dedicated dining space, we no longer have a table and chairs.
My husband`s family live in a very traditional old house, and tend to eat breakfast and lunch at a dining table but eat dinner at a low table. This includes great-grandmother who is almost 90.

I know that I would find that impossible to do if I did come to Japan.

You don`t need to kneel - it is fairly accepted to stretch your legs out. This is particularly true for older people, as kneeling is just as hard on older Japanese people.

Are japanese people mostly smaller or shorter than many Westerners?

I would say on average a bit shorter. But there are plenty of very tall people too. In my observance, it`s not all that hard to find very tall men but there don`t seem to be many very tall women. I can think of several men over 6 feet tall, but no women even close.

HOw long have there been showers available in Japan? daft question maybe-- but I was brought up to have a strip wash.

I seem to recall them being made popular after the war, as they were installed in the countless housing projects constructed to accommodate those who had either lost their homes or moved to the cities to escape the poor situations in the countryside.
Before this people would use a large bowl to get a scoop of water from the hot bath and use it for washing, then throw away and use a smaller bowl with handle to scoop more to rinse the large bowl and themselves before getting into the bath.

I do find this whole subject of deep interest. sounds pretty uncomfortable for many of you having to squeeze inside a bath way too small for you.

This is one of the misfortunes of being a poor student or short-term worker. In general, baths are quite spacious and very comfortable... But if you`re in a small apartment not worried about comfort but more about location, convenience, and price (or if the tiny apartment has been arranged for you by your school or workplace), the comfort of your bath will be quite low on the scale of importance. A lot of people judge life in Japan based on their experience in that sort of housing, which is really unfair... Much like judging the life of any country by the cheapest, smallest apartment or dorm room.

also there used to be public slipper baths for people who did not have a bath tub at home which was very common back then

Public baths were also quite common in Japan too, but have slowly fallen out of daily use (most everyone has their own bath these days) so have really gone more for a novelty market. Those still around are usually very nice and fancy things, giving you a type of luxury bathing experience that you couldn`t have at home. The remaining daily-use public baths are slowly fading away and going out of business.

Originally Posted by MMM

Trust me there was no where to bathe outside of the shower/bath. I couldn't even sit on the toilet and close the door without banging my knees. The only open space in my unit bath was the bath/shower.

What matters isn`t the space, but whether there was a seal around the door.
If you could stand in front of your toilet with your back against the door - it`s space enough to wash (in the mind of unit bath designers, at least.)

[dogsbody70]

Fantastic information Nyroroin---thank you so much-- really enlightening

[MMM]

Originally Posted by Nyororin

What matters isn`t the space, but whether there was a seal around the door.
If you could stand in front of your toilet with your back against the door - it`s space enough to wash (in the mind of unit bath designers, at least.)

There was a about a one inch lip from the bottom of the door to the floor, but there was no "drain" so in a couple minutes I could have filled and flooded the bathroom to the rest of the apartment.

I understand what you are saying, but standing in the six inch space between my toilet to the bathroom door to "lather up" would not have made any sense at all in the place I was living. This was a fairly new apartment in the mid-90s, but I don't know if that has anything to do with it. I had Japanese friends from out of town stay over, and no one bathed anywhere but in the tiny bathtub using the shower. I am not meaning to be contradictory, but that is my experience.

[GoNative]

There's a lot of things I can do without from my old life in Aus but I cannot live without an oven. I love roasting and my wife enjoys baking so we installed this little beauty below when we did renovations.
We had some Japanese friends around for christmas dinner last year and had a whole roast turkey plus a leg of lamb and pork (with crackling of course). They were just blown away by it all. They spent half the time taking photos!

[dogsbody70]

Is that a Gas cooker GN?

You had you rhome refurbished to suuit yourselves I am sure-- How difficult was it to obtain that cooker? Are they easily available.

somewhere earlier on here Nyrororin mentioned that japanese homes are extremely cold.

does that go fo most of them or just older homes?

what sort of insulation is there? Are most homes made from wood or other material.


My friend tells me that her home is like a rabbit hutch-- really small. I must try to get some more input from her. Locality etc.


Is there any kind of central heating?

[GoNative]

Yes it's a gas stove and oven. It's commercial grade so would normally be found in commericial kitchens rather than someones home. It wasn't hard to find at all. My wife found it on the internet at a good price (much cheaper than the smaller domestic ovens we could find) and we asked the local gas company who we'd contracted for redoing most of the plumbing during the renovations if they could supply it at the same price. They agreed as long as we exclusively signed up for our gas delivery from them for 3 years.

Many houses up here are wood or have a concrete rendering on the outside. When we renovated we completely replaced all the insulation throughout the house and reclad the exterior with an aluminium sheeting that has insulation within it as well. We also replaced all the windows with double galzed windows. Overall the house is now much better insulated than what it was.

We also put in a central heating system that heats an oil/water mix that is piped to radiators attached to the walls around the house. It gives off a nice evenly distributed heat that does not dry out the air. This runs off kerosene.

We also put in a brand new unit bathroom. The existing one was terribly small. The room that the old bathroom was in is now our laundry. There was a rear entrance to the house with a large genkan/storage area that we converted into the new bathroom.

It was a lot of work. Basically we completely stripped everything out of the old place back to the framework and started again. We removed some interior walls and ripped out the old floor to relevel it. Same on the second story. This was the second house that I've bought and completely renovated. To be honest don't think I would really ever want to do it again. Next house I buy will either be near new or I'll build it from scratch.

[dogsbody70]

HI GN----------hope you don't mind the abbreviation.


Sounds as though you have put a heck of a lot of work into your home-- also worthwhile if you now have it exactly as you need.

thanks for the info.

It must be so different from your life in australia!!