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share house

Neighbors Kamikitazawa introduces us to the cool side of shared Tokyo apartment rentals

Where neighbours become good friends…

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Living with coronavirus in a Japanese share house

Firsthand account reveals there are pros and cons to catching the virus in a communal living environment.

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We check out Films Wako, a “social apartment” building with a movie theater inside

And the price for a room is actually super reasonable!

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Room to swing a hamster: This share house in Roppongi is the cheapest and teeniest we’ve seen

Don’t believe people when they tell you that everyone in Tokyo lives in expensive shoeboxes. Compared to, say, London, where you could literally find yourself living on a pull-out bed in some stranger’s kitchen for £700 (US$1,000) a month, Japan’s accommodation isn’t TOO bad. In fact, if you don’t mind a little bit of a commute, it can be downright comfy.

Having said that, we were totally shocked when we discovered a room in a Roppongi share house going for only 29,000 yen ($235) a month. Wow, that’s cheap! So, what’s the catch? Oh, nothing… as long as you’re under 5’5″ and don’t suffer from claustrophobia…

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Have Japan’s “share houses” become a target for women seeking gaijin baby daddies?

If you’ve ever flipped through the pages of a glossy Japanese fashion magazine like Vivi or Non-no, you might have noticed that quite a few of the models are half-Japanese. For various cultural and aesthetic reasons, a mix of Japanese and Western facial features is generally considered extremely attractive in Japan, and there’s an increase in the number of Japanese women who believe that the key to creating gorgeous offspring is to have their own “haafu” baby.

In order to satisfy this desire, some women in Japan have taken quite calculated steps to help make this a reality, including purposefully moving into international share houses in order to be in close proximity to Western men.

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Create your dream share house and win a chance to live there rent-free for two years

In these cash-strapped times, wouldn’t it be great to move into a brand-new house and not have to pay security fees or rent for two years? Wouldn’t be even better if it were a house built entirely to your specification and tastes?

Home building agency SuMiKa and employment website Wantedly are working to make that a reality for three lucky people with a unique promotional event. Anyone who enters could win a chance to design a house and live in it rent-free for two years.

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