Comments for Cat Foreheads & Rabbit Hutches

Comment on Back to the land (2) by Paul Arenson

Paul Arenson — Mon, 17 Jun 2013 00:32:28 +0000

Ok… I get it thanks… Sometimes my brain does not work…..

Comment on Back to the land (2) by catforehead

catforehead — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 09:02:53 +0000

The slope of the hill runs south-north, not the streets, which run east-west. The southern sides of the houses get more sunlight, and those on the north side of a street face the street itself, which is five meters wide or so; whereas the southern exposures of houses on the south side of a street face their neighbors’ houses, which tend to be only a few meters away.

Comment on Back to the land (2) by Paul Arenson

Paul Arenson — Sun, 16 Jun 2013 06:35:48 +0000

Hi..tried to enter via wordpress but comment did not appear. Or maybe waiting approval. If so, apologies for double posting. Trying to envision how, if a street rises from south to the north, the houses on the north have more space.

I imagine
House. Road. House
House. l House
House. l. House
—————————
Road
House. l House
House. l. House
House. l. House

Probably I am not getting the picture.

Thanks

Comment on NHK looks at ‘akiya’ problem by David

David — Fri, 14 Jun 2013 18:04:17 +0000

Enjoy the blog, though I only check in very occasionally. I lived in Tokyo for 15 years in the 80s and 90s, and enjoyed it immensely.
My sense from reading this the past few years is that you will never buy. Sorry to inform you of this, but you seem a similar psychology to me, and when you have a fundamentally skeptical approach to a complex issue like buying a house, the default decision is always ‘no’ (in case you haven’t noticed), and it takes something exceedingly unusual to tip the scales to ‘yes’.
At the same time, if you treat your house search as simply an excuse to delve into Japan and all its mysteries and quirks, it provides a lot of entertainment. Thanks!

Comment on Home Truths, May 2013 by Tom Yamashiro (Mountcastle)

Tom Yamashiro (Mountcastle) — Tue, 14 May 2013 11:12:39 +0000

Thank you for a very interesting and informative series.
It’s about 50 years too late for this one, but welcome none the less.
Keep up the good work.
Tom. (KyuDai ’67)

Comment on Unsellable by Nando

Nando — Mon, 13 May 2013 14:41:11 +0000

I expect you’ve seen these two articles in the Yomiuri about vacant houses, They seem to be reporting on what you’ve been saying for a while here.
http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0000219373
and
http://the-japan-news.com/news/article/0000219367

Neither article touches on the madness that is the constant building of more and more new units, and the slice-of-cake size of what I call “three-box” housing, which are the typical subdivisions, where basically each house seems to consist of three rooms stacked on top of each other, with half of a car sticking out at the front. If there are tens of thousands of empty houses even in Tokyo and Osaka, how about amalgamating plots of land and building bigger houses with more space between buildings. I’m sure local governments could think of tax incentives to make it more worth developers’ while to do this.

Comment on Home Truths, June by markjamesdesign

markjamesdesign — Wed, 08 May 2013 15:31:52 +0000

No problem with me- I love small spaces. don’t we all? think of that comforting feeling sitting in your seat on the Shinkansen- tiny beverage table and beverage of choice, someone you like, hopefully next to you, enough leg room, or your car- everything at hand. Its just about perspective. Tolstoy- How much land does a man need? Walden? We just purchased, if all goes well, a 68sqm house in Tokyo (Asagaya). The house is 34 years old. Sliver of garden, shared visual greenery between the neighbors, a room for all three of us, a car park (no car, will be a garden) , kitchen and separate living room. What else do you need? There are ways t design a space to have privacy and be close to neighbors- I suggest talking to an artistic architect or just take a look at what people are doing out there to get inspired

Comment on Stand-up routine by Meredith

Meredith — Tue, 07 May 2013 02:52:24 +0000

I can think of a very specific reason for having a shower stall in close proximity to the bedrooms…

Comment on Stand-up routine by Chris

Chris — Wed, 01 May 2013 05:04:53 +0000

Although not a house, one of my first apartments in Japan actually had a stand-alone shower in the kitchen. By stand-alone, I mean it was a Porta-Potty with a hose jammed in at head height. Oh, those wonderful student days. Japan really does have a different relationship with the bath functions “mizu mawari” than the West does.

Comment on Move on up by catforehead

catforehead — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 09:28:34 +0000

Farm land is strictly regulated in Japan. If a property is registered for agricultural purposes it can only be used for agricultural purposes, so if we bought a farmhouse we would have to actually farm. Otherwise we would pay enormous property taxes. If a farmer wants to sell his land to a non-farmer, he has to get permission from the local agricultural cooperative, and in most cases they wouldn’t grant it unless he’s selling a large tract to a developer, who will then divide it up into tiny parcels. That’s how the farm sector keeps its property values very high.