Housing in Japan includes modern and traditional styles. Two patterns of residences are predominant in contemporary Japan: the single-family detached house and the multiple-unit building, either owned by an individual or corporation and rented as apartments to tenants, or owned by occupants. Additional kinds of housing, especially for unmarried people, include boarding houses (which are popular among college students), dormitories (common in companies), and barracks (for members of the Self-Defense Forces, police and some other public employees).
Housing statistics
Figures from the 2003 Housing and Land Survey conducted by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications indicate that Japan had 53,891,000 housing units at the time. Of these, 46,863,000 (87.0%) were occupied and 7,028,000 (13.0%) unoccupied. Of the occupied units, 28,666,000 (61.2%) were owned by the resident household, 45,258,000 units (96.6%) were used exclusively for living and 1,605,000 units (3.4%) were used both for living and commercial purposes. The average number of rooms per unit of housing was 4.77, the average total floor area in was 94.85 square meters (28.69 tsubo; 1,021.0 sq ft) and the average number of people per room was 0.56. Of the units used exclusively for living, 10,893,000 (24.1%) were equipped with an automatic smoke detector. As of 2003, 17,180,000 housing units (36.7%) are classified by the Japan Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communication as being located in urban areas while 27,553,000 housing units (58.8%) are located in rural areas
Interior design
Traditional homes
Traditional Japanese housing does not have a designated utility for each room aside from the entrance area ( genkan, 玄関), kitchen, bathroom, and toilet. Any room can be a living room, dining room, study, or bedroom. This is possible because all the necessary furniture is portable, being stored in oshiire , a small section of the house used for storage. It is important to note that in Japan, living room is expressed as i-ma , living "space". This is because the size of a room can be changed by altering the partitioning. Large traditional houses often have only one ima (living room/space) under the roof, while kitchen, bathroom, and toilet are attached on the side of the house as extensions.
Somewhat similar to modern offices, partitions within the house are created by fusuma , sliding doors made from wood and paper, which are portable and easily removed. Fusuma seal each partition from top to bottom so it can create a mini room within the house. On the edge of a house are rōka , wooden floored passages, that are similar to hallways. Rōka and ima are partitioned by shōji, sliding and portable doors that are also made from paper and wood. Unlike fusuma, paper used for shōji is very thin so outside light can pass through into the house. This was before glass was used for sliding doors. Rōka and outside of the house are either partitioned by walls or portable wooden boards that are used to seal the house at night. Extended roofs protect the rōka from getting wet when it rains, except during typhoon season where the house gets sealed completely. Roofs of traditional houses in Japan are made of wood and clay, with tiles or thatched areas on top.
For large gatherings, these partitions are removed to create one large meeting room. During a normal day, partitions can create much smaller and more manageable living spaces. Therefore, kitchen, bathroom, toilet, and genkan with one multipurpose living space create one complete Japanese housing unit. However, the bathroom, toilet, and even kitchen can be communal. (See Sentō .) Therefore, the minimum Japanese housing arrangement, which is still possible to find if one is looking for the cheapest room to rent, consists of just genkan and one living room/space.
Modern homes
Housing is typically listed in Real estate advertisements in the format of a number of rooms plus letter designators indicating the presence of common room areas, for example: 1R or 2LDK. R designating room, L for living room, D for dining room, and K for kitchen. In this format, the bathroom and toilet are not mentioned but are included with the exception of some very small 1R or 1K's. L, D and K are not really separate and are part of or next to the kitchen. An LDK is bigger than a DK. The number before the letters indicates the number of additional multipurpose rooms. Often the rooms are separated by a removable sliding doors, fusuma, so large single rooms can be created.
Additionally, advertisements quote the sizes of the rooms – most importantly, the living room – with measurements in tatami mats ( jō in Japanese, traditional mats woven from rice straw that are of a standard size: 180 cm by 90 cm in the Tokyo region, and 191 cm by 95.5 cm in western Japan): "2DK; one six- tatami Japanese-style room, one six- tatami Western-style room" is an example.
In Japan, multiple-unit blocks are referred to as one of two types: 1) Apaato (アパート）often older buildings, which are usually only a few stories in height, without a central secure entrance 2) Manshon (マンション) more modern expensive buildings with multiple floors, elevators, and a communal secure gate, with centralised postboxes; they are usually more sturdily built than apaato, normally of reinforced concrete (RC) construction.
Though commonly accepted standards for description exist, this is not a legal requirement, therefore descriptions may not be entirely accurate.
Genkan
One characteristic of a Japanese home is the genkan , or entryway. It includes a small area, at the same level as the outside, where arriving people remove their shoes. As they take off their shoes, people step up onto a raised floor. They point the tips of their shoes to the outside. The rest of the residence is at the raised level of this floor. Adjacent to the lower floor is a shelf or cabinet called a getabako in which people may place their shoes. Slippers for wear in the home are also stored there.
Toilet
Main article: Toilets in JapanThe toilet in Japanese housing is located away from the bathroom and separate from it. It usually is in a small stall-like room with only the toilet in it. When entering the bathroom, one traditionally replaces their house slippers with plastic "toilet" slippers, swapping back when exiting the bathroom.
Kitchen
The modern Japanese kitchen features appliances such as a stove, a narrow fish grill (broiler), and an electric refrigerator. The stovetop may be built-in or may be a self-contained unit on a counter-top, and it is usually gas-burning, although recently induction heating (IH) stovetops have become popular. Common units of all types of stoves include two or three burners. Broilers designed for cooking fish are usually part of the stove and are located below, and unlike many Western-style grills, are not full width. Built-in ovens large enough to bake or roast are uncommon; in their place, work-top multifunction microwave ovens are used. Many kitchens have electric exhaust fans. Furnishings commonly include microwave ovens, hot water boilers, and electric toaster ovens. Built-in dishwashers are rare, although some kitchens may have small dishwashers or dishdryers. The kitchen includes running water, typically with hot and cold faucets.
Bathroom
(see also Sentō)
Japanese housing typically has multiple rooms for what in Western housing is the bathroom. Separate rooms for the toilet, sink, and ofuro (bathing room) are common. Small apartments, however, frequently contain a tiny single bathroom called a unit bath that contains all three fixtures. The room with the sink, which is called a "clothes changing room", usually includes a space for a clothes-washing machine. The room containing the bathtub is waterproof with a space for washing, and often for showering, adjacent to (rather than in) the tub. As a result, bathwater is neither soapy nor dirty, and can be reused. Many washing machines in Japan come with an extension pipe to draw water from the tub for the wash.
Hot water usually comes from a gas or kerosene heater. The heater is usually located outdoors (at least in warm climates). Its gas supply may be from a municipal utility or from tanks on site. The typical Japanese water heater is tankless and heats water on demand. One heater may supply both bath and kitchen however many homes have two or more heaters.
Washitsu
Many homes include at least one traditional Japanese styled room, or washitsu . It features tatami flooring, shoji rather than draperies covering the window, fusuma (opaque sliding vertical partitions) separating it from the other rooms, an oshiire (closet) with two levels (for storing futon), and a wooden ceiling. It might be unfurnished, and function as a family room during the day and a bedroom at night. Many washitsu have sliding glass doors opening on
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