The emerging expansion of economic cooperation between Russia and Japan is forcing developers from the Land of the Rising Sun to take a closer look at the Russian real estate market. It will be studied by Niigata University professor Mayu Mitigami for a year. During her stay in St. Petersburg, she told NSP about the peculiarities of the housing market in her country.

- Michigami-san, what aspects of the real estate market interest you in Russia?

When I ask Russians about housing, I understand that this is still a difficult topic for them. Mortgages have appeared in the country, many new houses have sprung up, there is a secondary market and rental housing. Why does housing remain a problem for many in the country? I am interested in almost everything: property issues and the right of residence; the situation of those who took out a mortgage in foreign currency; who sets property taxes and how; special housing for the elderly; suburban housing market. All this is interesting and very different from the way people live in Japan. In many respects, our two markets cannot be compared with each other.

- Do the Japanese prefer to rent housing or buy their own?

In Japan, 60% of housing is owned, along with the land, the remaining 40% is rented. Of course, a lot depends on where the housing is located. Central Tokyo is so expensive that it is better to rent an apartment there. In Niigata, where I live, buying your own home is relatively easy. Therefore, residents of the provinces more often choose property, while residents of the capital choose renting.
The reason why Japanese people strive to own a home lies in our character. For example, it is fundamentally important for my parents to have their own house and land. Rental housing is someone else's space. In addition, we can use housing as an investment or capital: rent it out and receive income.
In addition to the value system, a very cheap mortgage contributes to the purchase of your own home. It is issued for 35 years at 1-2% per annum. Now this is the market rate, but previously the government subsidized it. For 15 years from the mid-1990s, rates remained almost zero, but even now they are quite affordable.

- What proportion of home buyers take out a mortgage?

Almost everything. In Japan, in principle, lending in foreign currency is possible, but mortgages are always given in yen, since it is impossible to calculate exchange rate risks 35 years in advance. According to statistics, the average Japanese household has approximately 12 million yen in savings. And another 6-7 million accumulated debt to banks. The bulk of this debt comes from mortgages. Since there are approximately twice as many savings as debts, the borrower is insured against personal bankruptcy. Japanese banks believe that up to 30% of a family's income can be used to pay off a loan. It should be borne in mind that in Russian families, as a rule, there are two working spouses, and in Japan - one. And a slightly different consumption structure.

- What size housing can the average Japanese family afford to buy?

In Japan, it is not customary to divide housing into economy, comfort and business class, as in Russia. There is some social housing. But the real market is divided into two large segments: apartments and detached houses. These segments are related, but work completely differently.
In Tokyo, on average, 6,000-7,000 apartments are put up for sale per year. They are approximately the same in terms of comfort. The price depends on the area (it is measured in both tatami and square meters) or on the number of rooms. On average, a Tokyo family most often buys an apartment measuring 70-80 sq.m. Its price is about 50 million yen (now about $450,000).
Really affordable housing for the middle class is considered wooden house area 120-140 sq.m. It is built on a plot of 200 sq.m. and is sold together with the land. The land plot and the house have approximately the same share in the transaction value. It makes no sense to calculate the average price in this segment, because the price of land can vary radically depending on the area in which the plot is located. Wealthy people, as elsewhere, prefer to settle separately and form their own neighborhoods.
In addition, the market price of a home depends greatly on when the building was built. In Japan, the service life of a residential building is 50 years. Depreciation of real estate must be taken into account.

Do young Japanese people, after finishing their studies, prefer to rent an apartment until they start a family? Or are they immediately focused on buying their first home?

Differently. This depends not so much on the age at which a young man starts a family, but on whether he has a permanent job in a serious company. While he is looking for such a job, he must remain mobile. When it appears, you can think about your own home. A permanent employee can easily get a mortgage.
The real estate market is impacted by Japan's aging population. Special real estate for the elderly is in demand - with special bathrooms, without thresholds, with elevators adapted to the size of a wheelchair. There are more and more such housing.

- And yet the most economically accessible is mass low-rise construction?

Yes, and it’s surprising to me that the cheapest housing in St. Petersburg is in 25-story buildings. It seems to me that in a couple of decades there will be huge problems with the operation of these houses, with the supply of water and heat upstairs.
In Japan, a developer takes a territory, cuts it into plots of 200 square meters, develops an entire block and builds a residential complex that consists of private houses. Typically such an area includes schools, shopping centers, a hospital and is formed around a railway station. Private railway companies that build new lines and stations serve as real drivers of territorial development. In our country, railway transport accounts for the largest share of passenger traffic within cities. Several office high-rises are being built around the station on special cushions that protect buildings from earthquakes. Next, shopping streets are formed, and behind them is a huge array of private houses. For Japan, this is the most economical model, best adapted to market conditions.

- Would Japanese companies like to implement something similar in Russia?

Maybe. Although construction technologies in this case will require some modification. Japan has different ideas about the quality of housing. A newly built house has neither heating nor air conditioning; the owner must take care of this himself. Most Japanese are willing to tolerate the cold, but not the heat. Japan receives enormous amounts of rainfall. That's why our houses have excellent waterproofing. But double glazing is still a luxury.
Note that people never enter a Japanese home wearing shoes. There is a step leading into the house, which you climb up, leaving your shoes at the bottom. This place is called genkan - analogous to your hallway.

- How do you create cities with high population density with such a love for traditional private houses?

Japanese cities occupy a larger territory than Russian cities similar population. Several cities merge into a single metropolis. If we look at the agglomeration that unites Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe, Nara, we will see that 17 million people live in a relatively small area and produce a GDP equal to the GDP of Canada. This is truly a gigantic concentration of people and economic activity. It is achieved due to the fact that there are no borders between cities, and from the center of one to the center of another you can get by train in half an hour.

- How does housing renovation occur when its service life expires?

In Japan, each owner renovates a house from his own budget. And this is a very serious problem. The population is shrinking and aging. Japanese pensions are not so large that they can be invested in upgrading a house or apartment. Sometimes this is done on credit, sometimes children help.
It is more convenient for developers to tear down private houses with an excavator and build a new residential area. The business model is focused on the complete renovation of a residential area; this approach provides maximum profit. But for the owners this is a big expense, although the land remains their property, i.e. they only need to build a house.
Renovation of mass multi-storey buildings follows the same pattern. There is no point in leaving the walls: seismic resistance standards have changed dramatically in 40 years. It’s better for the owners to move out, let the developers build new apartments and then sell them, or, if they have enough money, move into the renovated housing themselves. It will, of course, be more expensive than before.
It helps that Japan has very low inflation. Contributions for the reconstruction of the house begin to be collected right from the moment it is put into operation. As a result, large sums accumulate. Land in 40 years can also increase in price.
But there are still few examples of mass renovation that would suit everyone. In 1996, after the great Kobe earthquake, new neighborhoods were built ahead of schedule. But housing prices have risen so much that they are beyond the capabilities of ordinary people.

What if the owners do not agree to renovation? Can the state or municipality carry it out by force?

No. In Japan, mechanisms for influencing owners are only now appearing. Every eighth a private house in cities it is empty or even falling apart. The owners are not going to repair or demolish them, because demolition also costs money - about $20,000. Now, some municipalities have begun to pass local laws that can force the owner to demolish the house or pay the costs of demolition. But such laws have not yet been adopted for apartment owners in high-rise buildings.

- Are there any restrictions for foreigners related to purchasing real estate in Japan?

As far as I know, there are no legal restrictions. A foreigner can buy both a house and the land underneath it. The only question is emotions: will he be able to get used to the peculiarities and customs of our country.

The editors would like to express their gratitude to the First Deputy Dean of the Faculty of Economics of St. Petersburg State University A. V. Belov for his assistance in organizing and conducting the interview.

Residents of Japan do not often invite guests to their homes, and they have reasons for this: the Japanese are embarrassed to show where and how they live, because many houses are not so nice. And secondly, this is not accepted in their mentality.

But the family I know from Osaka don’t have any special complexes about this, and barmoska decided to visit their apartment and make a detailed photo report.

Ordinary pictures that show how the Japanese live.

1. Let's introduce ourselves, on the left is Kimura-san and on the right is his wife, Eri-chan. They invited me to enter their house.

2. Their entrance. Their car, a Daihatsu, is parked outside.

3. They still have an internal parking space under the house, but if they leave the house for a short time, they leave the car at the emergency exit.

4. This is what the emergency entrance looks like. The video intercom is also here.

5. There are not many floors, but in this city all the apartments are multi-size.

6. Mailboxes and a drinks vending machine are installed at the emergency entrance.

7. Hanging white boxes are places for storing undelivered parcels and parcels. Now they are in all new houses. How does this system work? Let's say I'm a resident of apartment number 402, I'm waiting for a parcel with the Black Cat courier service. When I left the house, the courier arrived.

He called the intercom, but when he realized that I was not at home, he left the parcel in one of the white boxes and wrote down my apartment number, and then wrote this notice: “So, they say, and so, I arrived and didn’t find you at home, I put the parcel in box number 1.”

After reading the notice, I go up to this machine, apply my computer key to the entrance - the computer sees that the key to apartment number 402, and opens the box in which my parcel lies.

8. After the main entrance, the interior of the main entrance appears before us. You can sit here while waiting for friends.

9. Video intercom of the main entrance in a close-up.

10. Interesting decorations.

11. For safety, on the first floors of buildings, there is a display near the elevator showing a picture from the cabin.

12. The picture quality is excellent.

13. The elevator is comfortable and the signs indicate English language.

14. In many apartments, the windows open onto a common balcony. Everything is closed with iron shutters.

15. This is what the entrance to the apartment looks like - a lamp with a number, a lamp that illuminates the floor at night, an intercom. A handle to hang an umbrella or bag while opening the door.

16. And here is the apartment itself. On the right is the white threshold where everyone leaves their shoes - this is the entrance. Then from the corridor you go into the rest of the apartment. There is a closet in the hallway.

17. If you turn half a turn, you can see - On the left is the entrance to a small room, straight ahead is the entrance to the toilet.

18. The apartment has a small living room, in which there is a desk, a TV, a futon (they sleep on the floor), and a large closet. The lamps are all LED, large in diameter. There are even sockets on the ceiling.

19. The door that was straight. Here, as you can see, there is a toilet. The bathroom and toilet are always separate in Japan. Now new homes are installing toilets with remote controls.

20. After photo number 17, the corridor turned to the right. There are three doors here. The door on the left is the door to the bathroom (the first part of it). The door leads directly into the living room and kitchen. The door on the right is another small room. Let's see what's there?

21. Another living room, but it serves as a storage place for all sorts of junk.

22. Now let's go straight through the door from photo 20, which leads into the living room and kitchen. On the left there are light switches in all rooms, in the middle there is a gas control panel and hot water in the bathroom, intercom on the right.

23. Next is the kitchen, where the hostess prepares a simple lunch. From the kitchen you can access a small balcony. A large side-by-side refrigerator, a hood above the stove, cabinets for storing utensils, and a large saucepan in plain view. Behind the refrigerator is a door leading to the bathroom. There are two entrances to the bathroom - one from the corridor (photo number 20), and the second from the kitchen.

24. Door to the kitchen balcony.

25. What is in the bathroom. Large sink, mirrored cabinets for storing cosmetic products. On the left on the wall is an auxiliary control panel for the bathroom - the functions of the dryer, sauna or air conditioner can be controlled from here. The door is reflected in the mirror into the bathroom itself.

26. There is a washing machine on the left, a little to the right you can see the door to the hall.

27. And this is the bathroom. What a beauty. Pay attention to the shower head and floor. In Japan, it is customary to take a shower not in the bathroom itself, but while standing (or sitting) here, on this rough plastic. There is a drain for water (a small hatch under the bathtub). The mirror reflects two control panels - one for the bathroom, the second for other functions (sauna, etc.).

28. Let's go back to the living room. Directly behind you, if you look at photo 23, is the entrance to the main bedroom. This is the master bedroom. The room is large, spacious, with a European bed, computer desk, wardrobes, and access to the loggia.

29. There is a small sofa in the living room.

30. Nightstands with the owner’s “treasures” are located to the left of the sofa. Comics, tea book, family photos.

31. A young couple got married quite recently; they had been dating for a year and a half before that. They work in the same company in the same position - managers. We met at work. You can see a small wedding photo, the bride in a red dress.

32. There is an armchair and a chest of drawers with festive dishes against the wall opposite.

33. To the right of the sofa is a TV and PlayStation 3.

34. Well, what about without toys?

35. Behind the TV on the wall there are hatches for the supply and forced ventilation. The air in the apartment is very clean and fresh.

36. There are air conditioners in every room.

37. Here is the entrance to the second loggia (shared with the master bedroom). All doors are sliding. In cold weather it can be chilly.

38. All balconies and houses have washbasins with running water - to make it easier to care for flowers.

39. Japanese houses are all with bells and whistles. For example, a wireless robot vacuum cleaner, which is very popular in Russia.

40. For lunch they had a large assortment of sushi, cold water with ice and rolls.

41. Not everything can be eaten

42. And he ate everything

43. The Japanese prefer to put whatever they want on their phone.

The author writes: Many people interested in Japan often ask – how do the Japanese live? In the sense that how is everything arranged in their everyday life? The inhabitants of the land of the rising sun themselves do not often invite people to visit them (when compared with Russia, for example) and there may be several reasons for this. Personally, it seems to me that the main reason is probably embarrassment - they don’t want to show their everyday life, the living conditions are not the same, and in general this is unusual for most...
Some of my friends from Osaka (a young married couple) do not have any special complexes about this, and I was able to visit their apartment and take a few photographs. I’ll warn you right away - you shouldn’t expect any artistic value from the pictures, it’s just ordinary interiors housing, from which you can get more or less some idea about the house.

1. So, meet me - on the left is Kimura-san and on the right is his wife, Eri-chan, inviting you to come into their home2. But let's start from the entrance itself. Their car is parked outside - a tiny Daihatsu.
3. Of course, they have an internal parking space under the house, but when they go into the city for a short time, they leave the car at the emergency exit. 4. There are not many floors in the building, but, unlike many other new buildings in Osaka, most of the apartments are multi-size apartments. 5. This is an emergency exit. The video intercom is also here.
6. There are mailboxes near the emergency exit, and there is even a drinks vending machine.
7. And these white boxes are a kind of safes for storing undelivered parcels and parcels. They are installed in all new houses. How does this system work? For example, I am a resident of apartment number 601 and I should receive a package via Black Cat courier service. I left the house to go to the store and at that moment the courier arrived. He called the intercom a couple of times, realized that I was not there and from the outside of the house he could put the parcel in one of the free compartments of this safe. When he puts the parcel in the box, he dials my apartment number, 601, and then writes me a notice: “So and so, I arrived and didn’t find you at home, I put the parcel in box number 1.” I return home, read the notice, go up to this machine, attach my computer key to the entrance - the computer sees that the key is for apartment number 601 and opens for me a box in which there is a package intended for apartment 601.
8. Let's move on... This is the interior of the main hall, where the main entrance to the building is. Here you can sit in the cool (or warm, depending on the season) air conditioning while waiting for friends
9. Simple decorations.
10. Video intercom of the main entrance, larger.
11. On the first floors of buildings near the elevator there is a display showing a picture from the cabin. Well, for safety's sake.
12. By the way, the picture is of good quality

13. The elevator itself is comfortable, there are even signs in English)) Indicates the next stop
14. Some windows of many apartments overlook a common balcony. Of course, they are closed with special iron shutters, but this does not add comfort..... My friends were lucky - all their windows face the external walls of the house.
15. This is what the entrance to the apartment looks like - a lamp with a number, a lamp below to illuminate the floor in the dark, an intercom. On the left there is a special handle for hanging an umbrella or bag while you open the door. The door itself is made of metal, although not as heavy and durable as we have in Russia. 16. We finally got to the apartment itself))) I’ll try to explain the layout, how it will turn out. On the right you can see the white threshold where everyone leaves their shoes - this is the entrance. I'm standing in the corridor leading to the rest of the apartment. In the hallway there is also a closet just ahead. 17. Now I have turned 180 degrees and the hallway is behind me. To the left is the entrance to a small room, straight ahead is the entrance to the toilet. 18. Open the door on the left and look inside. A small living room, a desk, a TV, a futon (they sleep on the floor)... On the left (not visible) there is a large closet. The lamps are all LED, large in diameter. Pay attention to the socket under the ceiling - the builders provided electrical and TV sockets even there. 19. Now we look into the door that was directly ahead. Here, as you can see, there is a toilet. I have never seen combined bathrooms with toilets anywhere in Japan (except hotels). Everything is always separate and sometimes it’s not even next door. One more point - by default, all new houses are equipped with controlled toilets - a remote control with buttons on the left. 20. After photo number 17, the corridor turns right. There are three doors here. The door on the left is the door to the bathroom (its first part). The door leads directly into the living room and kitchen. The door on the right is another small room. Let's take a look at it first. 21. Another living room. True, it serves as a dump for all sorts of junk. 22. Now let's go straight through the door from photo 20, leading to the living room and kitchen. Immediately on the left wall behind the door there is a kind of control panel for almost everything in the apartment) Just kidding)) On the left are light switches in all rooms, in the middle is a control panel for gas and hot water in the bathroom, on the right is an intercom.
23. Let's move on. By left hand- a kitchen where the hostess prepares a simple lunch)) The kitchen has access to a small balcony. A large side-by-side refrigerator, a hood above the stove... not a lot of cabinets for storing utensils - that’s why there’s a healthy saucepan in plain sight. Behind the refrigerator there is another door that leads to the bathroom. That is, there are actually two doors in the bathroom - one from the corridor (photo number 20) and the second from the kitchen.
24. Door to the kitchen balcony.
25. Now let's look into the bathroom (taken from the kitchen door). Large sink, mirrored cabinets for storing cosmetic products. On the left on the wall is an auxiliary control panel for the bathroom - the functions of the dryer, sauna or air conditioner can be controlled from here. The door directly to the bathroom itself is reflected in the mirror. 26. We look to the left - there is a washing machine installed here (on a special pallet, of course) and a little to the right you can see the door to the hall. 27. And this is the bathroom. With a window, beauty. Pay attention to the shower head and the floor - in Japan, people usually take a shower not in the bathroom itself, but standing (or sitting) here, on this rough plastic. Of course, there is a water drain (a small hatch under the bathtub). In the mirror you can see the reflection of two more control panels - one for the bathroom, the second for other functions (sauna, etc.) 28. We return back to the living room. If you look again at photo number 23, with the kitchen, then right behind me I found another door - this was the entrance to the main bedroom. I didn’t go inside, the owners were too shy, so I rented it from the door)) The room is large, spacious…. European bed, computer desk, wardrobes, and there is also access to the loggia.
29. There is a small sofa in the living room.
30. To the left of the sofa is something like a nightstand with the owner’s “treasures”: Comics, a tea book, family photographs….
31. They got married relatively recently, in August before last, and before that they dated for a year and a half. By the way, they work together in the same company as managers. We met at work)) A small wedding photo can be seen in the lower right part of the photo - it shows Eri-chan in a red dress
32. There is an armchair and a chest of drawers with festive dishes against the wall opposite.
33. To the right of the sofa is a TV and Playstation3.
34. Well, what about without toys?
35. On the wall behind the TV there are hatches for supply and forced ventilation. The air in the apartment is very clean, by the way.

36. There are air conditioners in every room.
37. Here is the second exit to the large loggia (shared with the master bedroom). The doors are sliding everywhere - which of course is not very good due to poor airtightness in the cold season. Eh, it’s a pity you can’t glaze, otherwise you could create another room
38. Again, in all new houses there are washbasins with running water on the balconies or loggias - to make it more convenient to care for flowers.
39. Well, what about a Japanese house without all the bells and whistles!?))) For example, this wireless robot vacuum cleaner. In Russia, by the way, it is sold with all its might.
40. It’s time for lunch. The owners treated them to what God had sent... On this day he sent them a large assortment of sushi, cold water with ice and some rolls.
41. I didn’t eat this.
42. But this cracked everything
43. A small digression to the question that the Japanese like to hang things on their phones - this is one of the owners’ phones.
44. Kimura-san was fooling around all the time and making faces. But seriously and on the topic of the post, I will immediately answer some possible questions. The apartment is new and they bought it the year before last on credit. In fact, almost the vast majority of Japanese new buildings are sold on credit for a period of 30 years. The interest is not very high, about 3 percent per year, probably even less, somewhere around 2-2.5%. The square footage of the apartment is about 90, the cost at the time of purchase was about 35 million yen, now it’s even less. Yes yes, don't be surprised, Japanese real estate has interesting property become cheaper after purchase, therefore as a tool for financial investment this option doesn't work
45. With that, let’s say thank you to Kimura-san and Eri-chan and see you again!

One of the reasons why people love to travel is interest. Moreover, interest is not only in another culture, but also in the ordinary everyday life of representatives of another people.

The main character of today's video is a European woman who works in one of the largest metropolises in the world - Tokyo. The girl had to rent an apartment. According to her, this was the best option in terms of price and quality. She also noted that such living conditions can be called typical for the average city resident.

It is immediately clear that the Japanese are building everything for themselves. Every time you have to bend over so as not to hit your forehead on the door frame.

At the entrance there is small cute corner, left by the owner. To the credit of the Japanese who rent out housing, it must be said that they do everything to ensure that their guests like the apartment.

Genkan- small hallway. It’s even difficult to turn around on such a patch. It is customary to leave dirty shoes and wet umbrellas here.

There is only one window, near which the bed is located.

They're sitting here on the floor. For this purpose the room has special pillows.

The Japanese treat with great reverence various greens in the house. It is often located somewhere on the wall to save valuable floor space.

Hare near the switch. Another nice detail from the hostess.

In the corner, in the form of a kind of totem pole, there are refrigerator, microwave and electric kettle.

The Japanese are very fond of balconies. It's here too. True, the path to it lies through the bed.

The balcony is also miniature. It has a stick for drying clothes...

And this is a view of the neighboring houses.

Let's go back to the apartment. In the corridor there is closet.

There is not much space in it. For lovers of a huge amount of clothing there is definitely not enough...

Hidden behind the next door small kitchen. It is closed so that it does not become an eyesore when it is not in use.

On the opposite side of the corridor is a bathroom the size of a first class airplane toilet. Despite this, there is a toilet, a sink, and a bathtub.

And the final touch: Wi-Fi is supplied to the apartment through a portable device, which is charged from an outlet. Firstly, routers and cables do not take up extra space, and secondly, you can take the device with you and it will work for several hours until the battery runs out...

As mentioned above, such housing is typical for most residents of Tokyo. Only people with higher earnings can afford something more luxurious.

If you found this material interesting, be sure to share it with your friends and acquaintances. To do this, you can use the one that is convenient for you social network!

Author of the article

Ruslan Golovatyuk

The most attentive and observant editor of the team, an intelligent person. He can effectively carry out several tasks at the same time, remembers everything down to the smallest detail, and not a single detail can escape his keen eye. Everything in his articles is clear, concise and to the point. Ruslan also understands sports no worse than professionals, so articles in the corresponding section are his everything.

Apartment search

For a long time, a trip to Japan was a small adventure for a Russian. It was necessary to contact a special agency to collect documents for a visa, book Japanese hotels of at least three stars, and canceling or rescheduling their reservations was not allowed. Recently, relations between countries have improved, visas have become free and it is much easier to obtain. For visa documents, I started providing apartment reservations on Air BBC, which was strictly not allowed before. A visa is issued without any problems, although the service itself is prohibited in Japan.

I'll show you a few apartments I've stayed in over the years.

Let's start with the entrance to the entrance. Usually the doors to the hall are glass, sliding, with a sensor. To open them, you need to insert a regular key into the control panel in the pedestal. The remote control also serves as a video intercom.

To the right of the pedestal are mailboxes.

The boxes are pass-through. The postman throws the correspondence through the slot, and the tenant takes it through the door on the back side, passing through the glass doors into the hall. It must be admitted that in Tokyo they spam in mailboxes no less than in any other country.

For large shipments and parcels from online stores, there is such a storage room. The courier leaves the box and the tenant picks it up afterwards.

The Japanese love elevators; you can’t get them on foot even to the second floor. Pets are generally not allowed in homes. But if there is a dog in the house, then at the request of the residents there will be a separate “meal with the dog” next to the regular call button. Then the corresponding diagram will light up above the window indicating the movement on each floor. So those who are afraid of dogs will not sit in a booth with a dog walker, they will wait and call the elevator for themselves.

The information board near the elevator is covered with meaningless messages like “keep quiet”, which the Japanese put up everywhere for no reason.

This is what a floor of apartments in an apartment building looks like.

A typical entrance is open (the opening is not closed with glass or a vestibule with a door, as is customary in Russia). There are no frosts in Tokyo, so there is nothing to be afraid of. Recently there was a typhoon here, and there was a puddle in the entrance on the floor. Well, nothing, they say, it will dry out.

Handle on front door. There are usually two locks on it: at the top and bottom of the handle. Near - door bell with a microphone that is output to the video intercom in the apartment (nothing special: a familiar-looking telephone with a monitor - open the door to the entrance and communicate with the visitor without opening the lock).

And this is what the same structure looks like inside the apartment. No matter how many apartments I rent, there are always two locks. Why is it unclear: so that a thief would spend twice as much time breaking into something?

Sizes and price of the apartment

Welcome! The entire apartment has an area of ​​20 sq.m. - with a corridor, a bathroom, a toilet, a balcony, a couple of storage rooms and a storage room. washing machine. Sorry for some of the chaos in the photo: I specifically decided to show what a tiny apartment turns into in conditions where you are not accustomed to minimalism in everyday life in the Japanese sense.

The first couple of days in such an apartment, Europeans and Russians suffer from acute attacks of claustrophobia. But after a month you get used to it: you know where to put things and how to sit together to work on the bed. The only negative that is difficult to deal with is the small volume of air. If you hang your shirt out to dry, after just a couple of hours the atmosphere in the apartment resembles a bathhouse (only cooled down).

The glass in the apartment is reinforced. In the event of an earthquake they will not fly apart. The windows in the photo are not dirty, they are just very foggy from high humidity (and this despite the fact that there is a vent hole in the wall - cross ventilation; there is no point at all, it only helps to open the window).

About prices. It’s possible to rent such housing for 2-3 thousand rubles a day (at one time I rented exactly the same one for 180 thousand yen a month - that’s about 90 thousand rubles). And after living like this for a month or two, I wouldn’t recommend renting small apartments like mine (unless you want to get an ethnographic experience) - you’ll be exhausted from the habit. It's better to take a hostel.

Here is a premium Japanese apartment in Osaka - lighter, more spacious and, naturally, more expensive. Relatively high ceilings, floor-to-ceiling windows, built-in air conditioning system. Such an apartment already costs 3-4 thousand rubles per night. If you can spend that kind of money, don’t hesitate to rent it, it will be better and more soulful than a small hotel room.

Here is a bedroom in such an apartment. A minimum of furnishings, for the entire interior decoration - only sofa cushions.

If we talk about places to store things, then there are almost none - the closet resembles the one we are used to seeing in the locker room of a sports club: there is enough space for a couple of hangers, there are no shelves or drawers. In a couple of weeks, you get used to the “suitcase” system (linen and folded items are stored in plastic boxes with lids, which are placed in a stack at the bottom of the closet). At the same time, you get used to folding and neatly folding any object.

Let's go to the kitchen. The Japanese adapt their homes well to earthquakes - for example, they hang kitchen cabinets so that they do not fly off their mountings during shaking. Please note that there is no gap between the box and the ceiling, this is done just so that it does not “jump off”.

The safest place during an earthquake is inside a building. Japanese houses can withstand magnitude 8 shocks without destruction, only swaying characteristically. But on the street a pole or advertising structure may fall.

The Japanese are so accustomed to shocks that they calmly roll over on their other side in their sleep or raise their glasses at the bar to prevent them from spilling. A year ago, I was caught in a magnitude 5 earthquake in Tokyo - the house shook with noticeable amplitude, throwing things around the apartment. Incredible, chthonic horror.

In Japan, there are no traditional ovens like ours. Instead, there is a small plate (here it is under the hob) into which a sandwich can hardly fit.

Japanese bathroom. With my height of 190 cm it is difficult to stand in it. As soon as you turn around, soap and brushes fly off the shelf.

Any Japanese bathroom is sealed: it is customary to wash it after yourself with a shower - everything flows into the drain hole in the floor. A bathtub (font) is essentially a narrow shower stall with high sides. The Japanese traditionally wash in it, sitting on a stool.

This is the simplest bathroom I've ever seen. There is no flush - a simple, familiar toilet that flushes with a terrible roar. The shower is connected to the sink faucet.

But the bathroom in an expensive apartment. It is important to note that the bathtub in Japan is used specifically for taking a bath (lying down). It is impossible to wash in it while standing, as we are used to, as the shower does not reach. If you need to rinse off, place the chair in the bath and sit on it. Or wash in the shower while standing on the floor.

The bathroom in a traditional Japanese house is closer to the bathhouse, onsen. The bathtub becomes larger and deeper, but, again, it is a place for enjoying hot water, where you are supposed to get into it already washed.

And finally, a photo from a very traditional Japanese house, of which there are many in rural areas. There is only a small screen for furniture. There are rugs on the floor tatami, the blue thing in the corner is an extremely thin and hard mattress futon. Sleeping in a house like this to a Westerner painfully. This morning a poem came to mind:

“I crawled under the blanket.
Hard, cold and small.”

In any case, Japanese housing is a unique cultural and ergonomic experience that I advise everyone to get.