By entering inside and opening the door in your right, it connects to the main lounge. “Hitotoki”, the word used as the name of the shared house means “momentary”, but it also comprehends the theme “hito=people to=and ki=a tree”. This room is designed to make people gather around at the big tree standing in the center of the table.

Natural and warm colored interiors produce the warm and relaxing atmosphere.

Plenty of sunlight pours into the room, providing enough light in the daytime.

If you are freelance worker who stays at home, this is the perfect place to concentrate on your work.

Kitchen is at the far end of the living room. There’s lots of space for several residents to cook at the same time.

It is a standard system kitchen, nothing extraordinary, so you probably won’t need any help to figure things out and get to cooking right away.

3 IH cooking stoves are at your service. Since it’s not a gas type, you will find it very easy to clean up after using.

There is standard electric cooking items and tools, so you don’t have to prepare them yourselves. In the picture are coffee bean mill and brewer, enabling you to enjoy professional coffee at home.

Look, there’s many magazines about coffee on the living room wall rack.

Now, let’s move on to the bathrooms. Bathtubs and shower rooms are all located on the 3rd floor.

Shower rooms and bathroom with bathtubs are one each. This picture shows the bathroom.

Have you been wondering what this wooden door on the left is? Surprisingly, this is sauna booth! You can enjoy sauna at your house. Isn’t it fascinating?

Bath tub is wide enough and will help you take a good night sleep after sinking and relaxing in it. Don’t you just love bathing?

Next, we’ll check the 4th floor! This spiral staircase will lead you to it!

Here is the sharing library where residents can bring their books and leave them for others to read. Lie on the floor and enjoy sharing your interests and knowledges with house mates.

You can take a sneak peek into each other’s mind by sharing your favorite books. It will be a great opportunity to know each other even more.

The books already prepared on the shelves are all so interesting with various genres and even picture books.

There’s a big terrace outside the window of the sharing library. In this extremely hot weather, it’s difficult to use the space in the day time. But at night, you can grab a drink or chit chat with your house mates. It can be your hide out space to spill out things you cannot say in public.

By the end of summer, you may even read outside with cool wind kissing your cheek.

As you can see in the picture, there’s a convenience store right in front of the house. You can shop whenever you need to.

Two laundry machines are on the 5th floor.

Going outside from the laundry room, you will find the space to dry your laundries after washing.

Lastly, let’s check out the rooms! There are 8 individual rooms.

The size differs slightly, but in average, 8-12 square meters are assured in every room.

Here at room 502, there’s this huge closet with ample of space for living solely.

At the room on the 5th floor, there’s window in the ceiling providing enough light at the daytime. No need for electricity! Not only the main lounge, but also each room is designed to implement comfort living.

While we were at house touring, preparation for the opening party has been proceeding. From now on, I will show you specifically about the party held on the day of shooting.

Going near the kitchen, I found lots of delicious looking meals set ready on plates.

The person in the picture is a special guest for the event. I will introduce him later on.

Don’t forget about drinks. They have prepared bar-like varieties including original cocktails perfect for the summer.

After many people squeezing in at the main lounge, the party started with greets from Mr. Hiraoka, the representative of Kizunabito. More than 30 people gathered today for this event.

This picture is just the moment of toasting. Look how everyone is smiling.

Everyone, from grownups to little kids are the guest of the house today. This probably is one side of attraction of the shared house, with people enjoying conversations regardless of their age, gender, or nationality.

Great smiles everyone!

Now that the place is warmed up after talking, I would like to introduce the special guest today. He is the famous traveler chef, Naoyoshi Motoyama.

If you’re a cooking-lover, you might have seen his book at stores. This recipe book introduces how to cook 196 country’s local foods, and he’s the one who supervised the piece. Mr. Motoyama is extremely busy developing products, attending events, and giving lectures all around the country. Kizunabito has offered passionately for him to join the opening party, and now, here he is.

The foods offered at today’s opening party were all prepared and cooked by him. Lots of local foods which fits perfectly to the theme “traveling” was lined up. He explained to us how he became as he is now by picture-story show. Let me share his story. He first became interested in traveling when he learned about India.

He used to be a chef at French restaurant but became obsessed with spice when visiting India with his costumer who was Yoga teacher. Once he came home, he started working at an Indian restaurant.

Since then, he has been traveling all around the world whenever he has a free time and learned and acquired how to cook local foods by communicating with residents. He visited over 30 countries. “Travelling Chef” fits perfectly for him.

Recently, he was consulted by government the ways to get rid of Trachemys scripta (red-eared sliders) which increased too much in numbers and has a risk of destroying ecosystem. As a solution, he developed a world’s first boil-in-the-bag food using them as ingredient. It was a rough path to come up with cooking method and handling the hard carapace, but eventually he made it into a product that can be sold.

Since then he has been producing boil-in-the-bag foods of local dishes and calling them the “series of fine appetite worldwide”, wishing to make lots of people to easily experience the culture of different countries.

I will introduce you some foods provided at the event! This one in the picture is called “Bhajia”, an African croquette with beans in it and tomato sauce on top.

This one here is from Romania. A quiet interesting putty made from paste of eggplant. 

Main dish is local food from New Orleans in southern part of US called “Gumbo”. Originally, they eat as a soup, but it goes so well with white rice!

This soup is called “Ajiaco” from South America. Potatoes, giant corns, and avocado is in it. Every dish was not weird at all as I imagined, and although some of them tasted unfamiliar, I found them very delicious.

After eating, we had original blend coffee of Kizunaya. I enjoyed all three flavors.

There were also some activities that every nationality or gender can enjoy. People concentrated on working them.

The event was a full success! They closed the party, not by Japanese’s traditional style of hand clapping, but by showing palms of their hands in a call. Showing one’s palms were probably intended to communicate the concept of this share house, such as connecting people and sharing values.

Recording the memories by taking pictures together! Many people from various backgrounds joined the event, and I assume this circle is going to grow even bigger.

If you are interested in these three keywords, “travel”, “coffee”, or “book”, then please go and see the house for once! Thank you staffs and everyone gathered at the event!

How did you like it? The shared house “Kizunaya Share house -hitotoki- Tezukayama” I introduced you today is run by Kizunabito Inc.

They already have been running 4 other shared houses in Tokyo and nearby areas. The main feature of the houses run by Kizunabito is created by Mr. Hiraoka, the representative himself.

Reading blogs, looking into their SNS, or attending events, you can sense that the residents gets along so well, even with residents at other shared houses. The reason why they are so friendly is that Mr. Hiraoka is willing to enjoy with them despite of his position as an owner. It takes away resident’s hesitation and make them go jump right into the community.

Gorgeous facilities and comfortableness can be one aspect of attraction, but the main feature is the community that the house creates.

Meeting and spending time with your share mates all becoming lifetime memories to cherish. Why don’t you start your shared house life if interested in travel-like living?

/Author: KAGAWA

Find out more about “First house Series”     

Inter-cultural share house mixed with multinational culture, “First house series“ Feel foreign culture. It is a very good experience of noticing the difference with own country, spreading your point of view. When things look different, everyday life may become a bit interesting. The characteristic of the share house of First house series is, by any means, a global house community. Not only people from Europen countries, Asian countries, you can be a friend with people all over the world.
In each property, interwhao regularly hosts the event. Other than that, there are also cases it is held frequently by residents. And here is the one of the actual event held. It is a Halloween party, but surprised by the ratio of foreigners. It seems Japanese are fewer.
The concept is “American Vintage” “First House Mizonokuchi 100 + b“ A large share house of 40 households shared by both sexes. The lounge space that incorporates furniture and interior processed like well-used is zoned into 4 areas, you can choose where to use according to your mood and task at that time. The location of the property is “Mizonokuchi Station” where Tokyu Den-en-toshi line and Nambu line can be used. Good distance to Mizonokuchi station where express is stopped and to Shibuya station which takes only 13 minutes. As of March, 2018 it is the newest property in First house series.  There is a slight distance when walking for 17 minutes from Mizonoguchi Station, there are some commercial facilities around the station and there is MEGA Don Quijote along the road to the property so it does not seem to be a problem for buying consumable supplies etc. From the appearance no one can imagine that this is a share house. It is a 5 story building, the first floor is the common area and from the 2nd floor there are private rooms.  The most eye-catching in First house Mizonokuchi 100 + b is here. There is a billiard table in the playroom adjoining the lounge. Unlike woodgrains in living room, a checkered pattern flooring makes it looks like a Ameriacan diner.  Are you care about water surroundings ? Because it is a powder room exclusively for women, make-up can be done without worrying about eyes of opposite sex.  The bathroom is equipped with a total of 6 rooms ; 3 shower rooms for 3 men and women each.  What is this spacious space ? It is a laundry room. There are washing machines and a driers installed.  Going up the stairs to the room floor, there were doors of the rooms on both sides of the corridor.  Room # 201 was a model room for men. The window is large, and the room is large enough for one person. The next room, # 202 is a model room designed for women.  Fashionable lounge which imaged cafe living “First house Mizonokuchi 100 + a“ You can imagine the name of this sharehouse without saying. It is the sister house of First House Mizonokuchi 100 + b introduced first. The location is also as close as I can call the neighbor. The furniture and the flooring are unified in the dark brown and the brightness of the space as a whole seems to tone down at first glance, but the natural brightness is ensured by inserting sufficient outside light from the big window of the back in the living room.  A total of 62 households and a slightly larger property than 100 + b. We adopt the electronic lock of the auto lock at the entrance.  Tables and chairs in the lounge are wooden. The design of the chair is arranged with different specifications. I see people working on Macbook with drinking coffee in cafe with such this big table but Wifi is equipped in this lounge so it seems that residents can work here.  A luxurious area by a one-sided window. The special seats for breakfast should be here. There is a washbasin with a large mirror on the background of ethnic wallpaper in the shower room only for women.  All rooms are spacious and 13 ㎡ with closet, bed, air conditioner, refrigerator, desk, and chair. A house community “Living in a luxury residential area” Aobadai “First House Yokohama Aoba“ The staff who lives in said that this is the First House Yokohama Aoba as the image of the share house that can be imagined in the general public. Every age group is relatively younger than other sharehouses. Of course, it is a share house with a high percentage of foreign nationals. It is located a short walk from the Aobadai station of the nearest station for 10 minutes on foot. Because Aobadai station stops express, you can reach Shibuya in 30 minutes. The property is located along the boulevard of one road that leads to the station.There are a lot of bus streets and you may use the bus to the station.  Boasting is this living room which it blew through. Flooring etc in the living room have just been renovated last year.  It seems to be comfortable when you want to eat alone with a bar counter at the window. There are two verandas from the living room. On such a day it is more relaxing to eat out. Smoking is also possible here.  First House Yokohama Aoba has a nice billiard table. Wallpaper here has been changed as well. Although it is reasonable, you can live in a large room “First house Ichigao“ Ichigao sandwiched between Mizonokuchi and Aobadai does not stop the express train, but it takes 30 minutes for Shibuya station. If you are in a hurry, we recommend that you should transfer to express train at Azamino station, two stops ahead. First House Ichigao is a historic house opened in the early stage when Interwhao of the management company started the share house project. The sharehouse has went through some renovations and I do not think much that it has taken such a long time since it opened it. From the author who has seen the large number of share houses in the Kanto area, I think that it is just right as the first house to live as a share house considering size, location, and rent.  It is located about 5 minutes on foot from the station, and there are restaurants and supermarket in front of the station, which makes distance feeling not to be a pain even if you bring your luggage from purchase.  Setting up many kinds of furniture in the living room so that multiple people relax at the same time. The living room is the first basement in the basement. but it’s good sunshine. The living room with no one during the day is quiet and it seems to be quite nice.  There is a workbench centering on the shared kitchen as well, and it seems that it will not be crowded even when working with multiple people. The size of the room with 37 households is about 10 to 11 m2. Even if putting a bed and a refrigerator to take up space, it looks as a refreshing room.   The building which was originally a dormitory is diverted almost as it is, so the walls on both sides are also solid. Do not worry about the sound of your neighbor’s life.。 How was that? What I introduced this time was Interwhao’s House Brand “First House Series”. There are many other large sharehouses along the Denentoshi Line, but sharehouses with concepts with added value such as reasonable and international exchange, while being private rooms as large rooms as the first house, are located along the railway line that they will not be found on the top. For example, if there is a need to have a living environment with being able to speak English on a daily basis after returning from studing abroad, living with foreign nationals would be a better choice than going to English learning language school. Also, those who come to Tokyo from the rural areas as a result of finding employment do not know the job habits of the work place, and there is no money enough to buy the necessary items of living. For such a person, it is attractive for him/her that it is possible to exchange information with those who live long in the area, and with all furniture appliances necessary for daily life. In addition to having an environment where you can live a minimum amount of life, new encounters with people inside the house may speed up your life. In Firsthouse, staff members are in charge of each property so that interaction between people happens naturally. Because some of the staff in charge actually live in the house, introduction of people takes place via staf. Staff will follow you even if you are hesitated to talk to people. How about trying to live in the First house for the first share house? /Author:inamine

「For more details of “Firsthouse Yokohama Aoba”」　       

Fresh town in Yokohama “Aobadai” The number of population in Yokohama is ranked in the first place in cities in Japan.The name of Yokohama makes you imagine the westernized city near sea. But this image is a part of Yokohama with tourist attractions such as Minato Mirai, Red Brick Warehouse, and China Town. Yokohama city is huge, and the atmosphere in the area of Yokohama which is the next Kawasaki city and Setagaya-ward in Tokyo will be different. Denenntoshi Line is popular as bed town due to the good access to Tokyo area. As the name of this city is “Aobadai” , there are lots of green and full of the fresh atmosphere you can feel as you walk in this town.
On the way to the property, you will get there by 10 min walking straight but if you feel it’s hard, I recommend using a bus. Thanks to the large traffic volume, you don’t need to wait for a bus coming. The season of shooting is winter. Unfortunately, I can’t show you the town with full of green but the leaves of ginkgo falling is also beautiful. You can feel four seasons here.

There is a big supermarket “LIFE” near the property. This is closer than a convenience store which is 2 min walk from the property.

Finally, this is the appearance of Firsthouse Yokohama Aoba. The landmark is the big signboard on the wall of appearance that people on the road unconsciously look at it.

 

Let’s get into here.

Since there are 50 rooms in this property, the entrance is wide enough.

There are rooms along this long vertical hallway in each floor. Let’s check the centerpiece of this property, the living room on the second floor!

 

3 common spaces in the lounge. The common spaces have been renovated last year. The outstanding change is the “floor”. The floor which influences the impression of the space was changed to distinctive floor tile of “ Herringbone”. “Herringbone” is the type of zigzag design of trees. It comes from the bone of fish “herring”. It has become the high space of the fashion sense that is different from the image of the house. In the lounge, there 3 common spaces, “dining”, “living room”, and “billiard space”

You can use authentic billiard table at anytime. See, they repapered the wall.

A table is surrounded by sofas. A big group can be watching movies and relaxing.

And the dining space is like terrace seats in a stylish café.

An island kitchen viewed from the dining space.

You can go to real outdoor terrace seats from the dining space and the billiard room.

A bending machine and food stockers in the living room.

Some residents are very good at Chalk Art.

You will feel at home very soon because events are held regularly here.

Your private time goes slowly The building used to be a company dormitory and the residential space is big enough. It is very common among the residents in a share house to spend most of their time in the own room, not in the common area. Another good point of share house is that you don’t need to prepare furniture by yourself. Every room in First house Yokohama-aoba has a bed, desk, chair, closet and refrigerator.

The lights are off now. All rooms face south. How sunny it is.

It is a very simple room in a good way. How would you bring your color?

Inside of the closet. If you are a fashion freak, you may feel it is cramped. Please bring another chest if you need. A balcony is shared by 2 rooms. You don’t need to worry about clothes’ smell after indoor drying. There also are dryers in common area for rainy day. A view from balcony and window. Streets in Yokohama has an aspect of a leafy and calm residential area.

Keep separated to share As a woman, you may be wondering how people use water surroundings? Firsthouse Yokohama-aoba has a women-only floor. Of course, there are women-only bathrooms and shower booths. Especially for women, you can use the beauty room on the 3rd floor. Differ from a common lounge on the 2nd floor, it has a taste of Bali, looks like a massage saloon where you will be healed.

Make-up in front of an extra large mirror in the morning.  Beauty room has 3 shower booths for women only. Don’t worry, gentlemen. There are 4oor. In comparison with beauty room for women, the rest room for men is very simple. Some residents brought a hammock and muscle training implements to use this space effectively. Bathroom on each floor.

What did you think? It was Firsthouse Yokohama-aoba, a share house managed by interwhao.

A big building of 50 residents is worthy to have various common spaces which help people to communicate. Interwhao features their events produced by the company. In the season of Halloween or Christmas, etc., they plan parties so that residents get together. There are some share houses in Yokohama area and so on, the residents from other share houses sometimes visit neighbor’s party. Interwhao produces a community for international exchange. Their share house is big enough to have great number of people and the chance of meeting people, cultural difference, sense of values in this big share house cannot be compared with small share house. What do you think about living renewed First house Yokohama-aoba and enjoy your new share house life?

 This is Jujo station north exit. Restaurants and cafes are around the rotary. From elders to students, various types of people seems to use the station. Several colleges stands near the area which brings lots of students to the town. It takes 9 minutes walk from station to the house.

This is why I started this introduction not from Higashijujo but from Jujo station. Please take a look at this shopping avenue called “Jujo Ginza shopping avenue”.

Shopping arcade with roof makes shopping easier on rainy days. Various shops lines on both sides; fish markets, apparel shops, and most of all, delicatessen shops are everywhere! Since it is surprisingly cheap, you definitely can enjoy eating around. Going through this arcade and another called “Fujimi Ginza Shopping Avenue”, there stands ARDEN Higashijujo along the main street.

The main road is pretty heavy in traffic. Look out on your both sides and cross the road.

A minute walk after turning right, you will find a building with blue line on the wall. It was completed in August and is anemic structured.

Here we are at ARDEN Higashijujo and this is share ambassodor Mai. She will be our guide.

The door is self-locking and opens with key cards. Now, let’s take a look inside.

This is the entrance. The building faces the main street, but sound insulating door prevents the noise outside from disturbing you.

The building is 5 stories high, with living room at 3rd floor and private rooms on others.

Running up to the living room on the 3rd floor, our priority interest!

Here we are, at the 3rd. We are cutting out of breath… Ready to see the inside?

What should we call this, perhaps a cafe living room? The room is filled with wood, from flooring to the furniture,  making warm and welcoming atmosphere.

Is it because they chose the unassertive aged taste furnitures, the room is both new but vintage. The comfortness are brought to the place with these styled furnitures and it harmonizes perfectly in spite of the newness.

This floor is made from three parts, kitchen, dining, and living room. Let’s take a careful look at the furniture of the living and dining rooms. 

Sofa placed surrounding the low table and TV. One is firm leather-like sofa and another is low repulsion sofa. It looks like the ones at the Tsutaya electric store, both comfortable enough to meet your expectations.

Want to enjoy TV with high definition images and good audio equipments? Lucky for movie lovers, the house equips theatre system. Great sounds will take you into the story on screen.

Small goods are keys to make the room look like a cafe. Artificial plants are placed everywhere, giving the natural scent to the room. Owner’s good taste of coordinating colors and small goods blushes up the design.  

Two tables are set in the dining room. One is a big square shaped and one is smaller round table. They seem to match well even though the difference.

8 people can sit around the big table. How about a toast, coffee, and scramble eggs in the morning? Pastas and meat dishes will be perfect for the table.

Antique styled chairs are slightly different from one another. Not many share houses pay attention to details. 

Let’s take a look at the kitchen.

Island kitchen and fine range food you see first entering the room, will give big impression to the ones visiting the property. 

There is enough space for people to gather and cook at the same time, very convenient during events and parties. There are private food storage boxes just aside from the kitchen. You can store your personal spices and dried foods.

Two mini kitchens are at the back. For simple procedure, you can use here to avoid the crowdness at the main kitchen.

What’s your opinion about sharing space of ARDEN Higashijujo? Now, let’s move on to the private rooms.

We’ll check out the room at the left side, room 206.

All rooms are either 10㎡ or 11㎡ big. I felt no big difference between two. 

For some rooms, there’s enough sunlight pouring in during the daytime. Of course, windows and doors are soundproofed.

One of the good thing about the share house is that basic furnitures are already been set. Rooms in ARDEN Higashijujo are completed with refrigerator. closet, bed, table, and chair. 

Bathrooms are on every floor.

At the very back of the bathroom, there is a balcony. Opening the door, you will see the main street. At this time of the season, sun comes straight up at the front of the room, providing shining sunlight.

Sky was crystal clear on the day of shooting. Look carefully and you will find a tiny Tokyo Sky Tree far ahead.

Getting back to the facility instruction. This is the very top of the building, with roof top balcony. Water facility is all gathered on this floor, including laundry machines.

Great location to dry your laundry on a sunny day like this.

How did you like it? The share house we introduced to you today is ARDEN Higashijujo run by Share Style Inc. The ARDEN series releases new property every year. Especially this year, three property was brought to the market; ARDEN Higashi Shinjuku, ARDEN Fujigaoka built in “Fujigaoka”, the town in Yokohama city Kanagawa prefecture, and ARDEN Higashijujo we introduced today.  

How less stressful can we make our lives depends on the house itself and the distance from your house to the place where you spend most of your daytime. Newly built ARDEN Higashijujo may be a perfect fit for some of you from those perspective, due to the accessibility to major cities such as Ikebukuro, Shinjuku, and Shibuya.

You need to feel relaxed in the house where you spend time almost every day. ARDEN may be a good choice for you with comfortable cafe living room with the concept of New ✖︎ Vintage.

/Author: Inamine 

Share ambassodor / Mai

Moved to Tokyo when entering college. She has won Grand prix in MissCampusCollection 2017 tokyo and was a semi finalist of TGA17 and have been working as a model. Now, she joins us as a share ambassador to introduce the living at share houses. Twitter account : @0525_9

 Aoba-ku is known as one of the nicest residence district in Kanagawa prefecture. As you can see in the picture above, the trees rowed in front of the station and the streets are neatly trimmed. When the season changes, the leaves will turn into yellow. You will feel the season passing by. 

8 minutes walk from the Fujigaoka station, there stands a building with totally different atmosphere from other houses. It is build on the slope from the lower part of the road. The pictures are the house’s entrance. On the day of shooting, it was raining and the environment of bamboo bushes made the building look shady but it actually fits perfect for the design.

In the night time, when the whole town darkens, ARDEN Fujigaoka outstands from others dramatically. It may sound childish, but it looks “cooler” at night.

Along with the beauty, it’s so picturesque. This is Share ambassador Mai, the image girl of ARDEN series. Let’s join her entering the house!

By opening the first door of the entrance, you will find mailing boxes. Mailman can drop off your package in one of the vacant mail boxes when you’re absent.
Moving on to the second auto lock door.

Surprising entrance looking like the one in luxury apartments. At first glance of this view, you will fall in love with ARDEN Fujigaoka.

The unique ceiling extending diagonally has skylight which at the daytime will provide enough sunlight in the room. With full-length mirror, you can check your appearance before going out. 

Considering that it’s contiguity with entrance, there seems to be few residents using the space. But looking at the bright side, this may become your private space of your own.

I’m getting more and more excited! You have to take off your shoes when entering the house, so put on the slippers and let’s get into it! 

Shoes cases lined up for 40 households.

There are two boxes for each rooms, one small and one big. For example you can put one boots on the upper shelf and four low cut shoes on the lower.

Actually, the entrance we entered is located on the third floor. Since ARDEN Fujigaoka is built on a slope, third floor is the share space and entrance, second and first floor will be the basin and main living room. (There are few rooms up on the third floor, too.)

Let’s take a step into the main lounge, one of the three common spaces.

Calm and tranquil design with lots of wood used for the furnitures. Adding the fake greenery makes all the ARDEN series look like the fashionable cafe.

Speaking of ARDEN series, English lesson “English Activity” held on a monthly basis is famous. It is not anything serious, think it as a communicating occasion brought to you by owners of the house with entertainment of drinking and playing games.  

Further into the main lounge, there’s a relaxation room with small separated seating area and a hammock.

The stand alone hammock is durable with three people sitting on it at the same time. You can let your body sink in.

The low table at the small separated seating area will turn into kotatsu. It is a necessary item for winter seasons coming up. You may not be able to escape from the comfortableness at the lounge space. 

Moving on to the second common space, the dining kitchen!

Chic design for adult suits the ARDEN style. What kind of conversation will be heard at the dining table for maximum of 12 people? Conversation starts naturally by enjoying food together.

Every dining chair for ARDEN series are slightly different in its’ designs. Even so, the balance is well preserved, thanks to the sense of the owners. 

The designs of the furnitures are quite brilliant. Cabinet to put mug cups and glasses is made from wood in order to match the room’s scenery.

Looking from the different angle, you will find a kitchen besides the dining space. This partition will avoid the exposure of the kitchen from the dining room when cooking.

The question is, wouldn’t the kitchen be crowded with 40 residents sharing one space? Well, it may be surprising to find out that it can be managed since everyone has slightly different lifestyles. Plus, two mini kitchens are available behind the main one which ables three people to cook at the same time.

Safety is the priority especially with lots of people living together. For example, they adopt IH instead of gas to avoid fire.

Let’s take a look at the last of three common spaces, the library.

Compact space with comfort. Pendant lights and spot lights provide enough brightness for reading.

Enjoying communicating with your share mates in the lounge or dining kitchen is pleasant but you may also want privacy once in a while. It is the time when you may find your place at the library. Select the room you spend your time by purpose and you will sure manage to ease your nerves.

There was a counter at the corner. Using PC under WiFi environment with cup of coffee by your side, that’s a kind of scene you may encounter at the cafe in town.

What’s your opinion for the three common spaces?
Now, let us introduce you the basin, shower rooms, restrooms, and laundry rooms you use on daily basis.

This room on the third floor is completed with shower, restroom, laundry, and basin. There are basins at each floor.

Toilet with bidet and heated seat functions are fully equipped.  No need to endure the cold and small seat like you had in your 1 room apartment.

Shower boothes are 8 in total. Cloth dryer will cost you a coin, but laundry machine is free to use.

There are 3 bathrooms with tubs besides 8 shower rooms. It is good to have bathtub filled with hot water in this time of the year. 

You all women must be concerned about the usage of the bathrooms, but don’t worry, the bathrooms are separated by gender.

This is the living room located on the second floor right down from the third floor. Finally, let’s take a look at the private rooms.

The building is once a company housing. This means that it was a dormitory which explains this nostalgic atmosphere. 

One room is 12㎡ big, enough for a person to live. The room consists of desk, chair, bed, and refrigerator.

The big feature is that this room has plenty of storages. It is pretty common design in the older days, but this will be enough space to put all your stuffs. There are wall storages and 1.7㎡ wide closet.

How did you like it? The share house that we introduced to you today was a new residence ARDEN Fujigaoka run by Share Style Inc. 

Choose which common space to spend your day according to your condition. If you feel like talking to people, go to a living room or dining kitchen. When you decide to work, read, or focus on your private time, choose library. By selecting the room based on the purpose or usage, it will sure make it possible to cherish both your own and others’ time at the house.

Imagine how much it takes for you to live in a apartment with this scale of living room. Don’t give up just yet. It is possible for your “living in the big house” dream come true by selecting these kind of housing. The choice is yours.

/Author: Inamine 

Share ambassodor / Mai

Moved to Tokyo when entering college. She has won Grand prix in MissCampusCollection 2017 tokyo and was a semi finalist of TGA17 and have been working as a model. Now, she joins us as a share ambassador to introduce the living at share houses. Twitter account : @0525_9

Please click here for more information of the Kizunaya share house –Global HUB-.　   

New generation typed share house is a renovated apartment. In most cases, share houses are renovation of stand-alone house or company house, but this one is different. This share house is renovation of several rooms of apartment and utilizes the 1 floor space as its living room, which used to be a gathering space for all apartment residents. There are several rooms for people to share as it can provide living space for up to 52 residents in total. The nearest station Makuhari Hongou in Chiba prefecture is close to central part of Tokyo so you may commute without a big problem. If you take the Soubu line, it takes about 40 minutes to Akibahara station, and 35 minutes to Tokyo station. Good news for workers commuting near Chiba station, it only takes 13 minutes to get there.
The entrance looks just like an ordinary apartment. Share house residents will be going through here. You may realize how big the share house is by looking at the number of mailboxes set for each rooms. There are secured mailbox for bigger packages that makes it possible for you to receive products you shopped online whenever you like.
Furthermore, rental bicycle for each 52 residents are provided for free. No need to worry when going shopping for daily products or going near the station. Check out another unique service. At the parking lot, you will find vehicles of Times car share system. It only takes few procedures to use them. It will be very convenient for short trips with your share mates. After entering the entrance, you will find hallway often seen in apartments. There will be two rooms and 1 dormitory for two people to share in one household, so it can take up to 4 people.  Enough explanation for the appearance, let’s move on to the sharing space. Then we’ll take a look at the individual rooms.
Starting with dining kitchen where you can get to know each other. Pendant light hanging from the wall, picture in the frame, and herringbone flooring makes the room look classic and elegant. This is dining room. Gathering space for every one to enjoy eating. Eating together has power to naturally start conversation with each other. Especially when it comes to the Kizunaya share house group, there will be “cooking party” held occasionally which brings residents together and creating connections.
Kizunaya group’s familiar theme “Seeing the world by cooking” is of course adopted here at the “cooking party”. Residents will be making various dishes according to the theme at this very place of 80 square meters big dining room.  Enough space for the kitchen. I can imagine preparing the meal with share mates.
Recently, party was held to celebrate the opening. Events like “traveling around the world through beer” or “World-wide style takoyaki party” may be fresh in our minds. These were held at other share house of Kizunaya group. Without understanding others’ language, everyone has some sort of interest in foods. Start a conversation by introducing your home country’s traditional dishes or local specialties and you may get along just fine. Comfortable living rooms you can choose as you like.  Global HUB has separated living room a little away from the bigger one. Imagine people watching movie on the big screen, playing games, reading books, or netsurfing on their phones. The living room still can be connected with aisle to the kitchen so you can use the space for gathering events. By stepping back and seeing the bigger picture, you may realize how vast the room is.  The isle leading to the kitchen is utilized as mini living room. The layout is quite different from ordinary rental apartments with kitchen, living room, and dining room all squeezed together. It even looks like a fine office. Standing in front of the sofa are wall-to-wall bookshelves. The lineup was not substantial yet when shooting, but I assume that there will be worldwide storybooks and travel magazines on the shelves. 5 different theme and design for each 13 rooms of 3LDK. You can pick one from different county inspired designs. The layout is accordance to the original apartment. The room is divided into two dependent rooms and one dormitory typed room for 2 people to share. It is more of a gathering of small share houses than one big share house. Every room has living room, kitchen, and bathroom so you can complete your life without going to the main living room or main kitchen, if you’re not in a mood.  Resort-like room makes you feel like you’re staying at the villa in Bali. Impression turns one-eighty for this cool room imaging Italy. American vintage style room with red brick designed paper walls and chic black flooring. Here is a feminine room with the atmosphere of apartment in Paris.
Every dormitory is similar to each other. They consist of wide storage space and window with balcony; the size seems big for dormitory. As you can see, these are what two private rooms look like. This simple room has enough storage for loaded stuff.
Let’s go take a look at the kitchen. Though it seems quiet tight compared to the main living room, it’s not inconvenient like the type of kitchen usually set in the 1R apartment. Finally, this is the bathroom with washbasin, laundry machine, and bathtub.

How did you like it? We reported the “Kizunaya share house –Global HUB-” run by Kizunabito Inc. The feature is that you can retain your privacy according to the wide sharing space, thanks to the size of the house. You are able to spend your free time wherever and whenever you want.

There are two positive aspects of the Kizunaya share house; first is that there’s plenty of opportunity to communicate with foreigners without going abroad, and second is that you can widen your relationship with other Kizunaya group share house residents. I heard that foreigners from various countries have already joined as a member of the share house. Kizunaya share house has its’ share house in Tokyo, Chiba, Osaka, and Amami (in Kagoshima). Usually communication concludes in the share house you live in, but Kizunaya considers all area residents as one group. Therefore, gathering events of all areas are held once in a while and they say that this helps residents become like a relatives.

“Kizunaya share house –Global HUB-”, the attractive share house which enables people to interact with foreigners naturally in daily life and help you study as if you’re in abroad. Why don’t you take a chance to acquire international relation as part of your daily life?

/Author:inamine

For more information, click here.     

Tsurukawa station and the town’s scenery Both local and local-express train of Odakyu line stops at Tsurukawa station. By exchanging train at Shinyurigaoka station to rapid-express train bound for Shinjuku, you can get there in 31 minutes.
Around the station are various shops such as grocery stores, restaurants, electronic retail stores, hair salons and so on. You will find everything necessary for living. There is Tsurumi River right in front of the share house. You may find ducks and carps swimming, providing nature spirit you cannot find in the city life.

Newly built unique designer’s house After 9 minutes walk from the Tsurukawa station, there stands Chez toi Tsurukawa in the calm and peaceful residential area. Galvalume steel sheet, which is a metallic material, surrounds the house that gives stylish impression of the house.

The building is U-shaped and has stone floor patio at the center.

Chez toi Tsurukawa provides planter space for each inhabitant so that they can enjoy planting of their own.

Yes, this is a pizza oven. Don’t say that you’re not a frequent pizza cooker! You may be surprised by the fact that there are plenty of recipes that can be made with pizza oven. You can reach out easily for outdoor experiences.

You may enjoy foil-roasted vegetables harvested in your garden with butter. This is a great tool for home chefs! For more cooking examples, please refer below website.

Looking up at the oven is owner’s Shiba inu named Kinako. The house owner brings her sometimes to the house. She’s very quiet and does not hound at all. Green curtain at the back is a vine of bitter gourd.

Harmonizing with nature. Living floor with open ceiling. First opening the door, you will see the LDK sharing space. As you can see, the wall is covered with windows that enable serving enough lights naturally. Pay attention to the floor and you may notice that it is covered with stones same as the ones in the patio. Share space is basically spent with shoes on. This has effect on integrating outside and inside. It is quiet different way of thinking from Japan’s separating outside and inside by taking shoes off at the doorway.

View of the living room seen diagonally from the entrance. 

You can open the glass door this wide!

Both I-shaped and island type kitchen are available! The main island type kitchen with counter is found near the entrance. You can freely move around the kitchen that enables multiple of people to use at the same time. In addition, you may not see in the picture, but there is I-shaped kitchen set along the wall on the further space behind the dining table. Use wisely and you can avoid congestion during cooking time.

Beside the counter is a storage space where you can put all the spices.

I-shaped system kitchen is simple and useable!

Daily life should be simple and functional. The room of yours should be customized as you like for comfortable daily life. Each room has a slight difference in their sizes (including closets) and shapes. Choose one of your favorites before it’s too late!

There are 4 rooms for individuals on the 1st floor and 6 more on the 2nd.

At one of the sides on the 2nd floor are washbasin, bathroom, and laundry machine.

As a whole, I had an impression that the ceiling is high. The highest spot is at the room 204, with 3 meter tall ceiling.

Surrounding the window is a wash-line pole. Sunray will dry your laundries.

On the 2nd floor, at one of the living space is a washbasin and bathroom.

2 Laundry machines are free to use.

On the 1st floor, there’s one each of shower room and bathroom.

What is a life like here at the “International Share house” Chez toi Tsurukawa? This concept itself is a popular one that many other share houses adopt. The question is what is the difference of this house compared to others? We asked the operator about the details of adopting the concept and policies to be applied here. (Comments of the operator is below)

~Details of adopting the concept~ I have been planning on running a share house business with a theme of International relations for a long time. Since there’s a lot of similar share house at the market, I was searching for an answer for the suitable and brimful characteristic style for my very own share house. That’s when I met managers who are exercising business in South East Asia and had opportunity to ask about them of needs when they visit Japan. Most foreigners who just arrived to Japan cannot afford 50,000-60,000 JPY for rent so they only can choose to stay at the crowded sharing apartments (hostels). Moreover, although they can find jobs that doesn’t require Japanese ability, it also means that they are loosing the chance to learn. I came to think that it would be great if there were share houses where people like them can learn both Japanese and our culture by interacting with Japanese residents. It is reversal thinking from the most of the share houses that adopt “International relation” for their concept. Therefore, we basically request all the foreigners to speak Japanese in the house.

~Actions to be exercised in the house~ We plan to adjust the ratio of the foreign residence to 40-50%.  For those from other countries, we consider providing Japanese class 1 hour a week. We have tie-up with retailer providing Japanese lessons towards foreigners, so residents here have opportunity to take classes from the professionals. Lesson is conducted by using web-camera set to living room’s television. The contents are planed to be fun and not too serious like script or work style. We would like to introduce cultural aspects of our daily life that is not taught in ordinary Japanese education system. Then you can expect Japanese people to be surprised how well you know about our culture!

/Author:Inamine

The other day we went to a Grand Opening party for Share Residence Nishifunabashi, a new sharehouse in Nishifunabashi.

People living in Chiba will have heard of this place. Nishifunabashi station is an essential hub used by many as a transfer point to other lines, including the Sobu line, Tokyo Metro Tozai line, Keisei line, Musashino line and the Toyo Rapid Railway line. With its countless shops and the sweet smell of bread wafting throughout the station, passengers in transit often end up walking around the station premises while waiting for their next train.

The house is an 11-minute walk from the station, and I was warmly greeted by staff upon arrival before being escorted to the party room. There was a delicious aroma wafting through the room, and it had been set up and decorated by the fantastic staff for the event. Great food had been prepared by staff with cafe management experience, and another who had trained at a bakery was making bread right before my eyes. Right then and there I fell in love with the Share Design staff and the warm, homey atmosphere they had created.

I will now take you through the events of the party and how they unfolded.

「Share residence Nishi Funabashi」House Details Page

Food for the party is prepared by Share Design staff members to welcome the new residents.

A brilliant array of foods adorn the dinner table. New residents begin to arrive and the lounge becomes lively little by little.

All is ready to go! Everyone comes together to join in a spirited toast!

Cheers! What wonderful smiles all around.

Time to dig in! Everyone gushes over how good the food looks.

Gathering around a table to eat with others is something said to be lacking in the modern Japanese lifestyle. These folks right now are among their new big family getting ready to move in, and it looks like they couldn’t have felt more at home.

Can you guess what everyone is looking at?

Tada! Having this delicious smelling meal for breakfast will put you in a good mood for the rest of the day.

Next up is a bread-making workshop with a baker! The whole process looked difficult from where I was standing, though. Despite the tough task at hand, conversation and laughter flew about the room and I was reminded of the importance of connections between people. They say laughter is catching, and I truly understood the meaning of the phrase watching the exchanges taking place before me.

Party guests are making croissants and listening to a lecture on how to wind the dough to achieve that unique shape.

The final product! These look so good they could be sold in a shop. Freshly-brewed coffee completes the picture.

The wine is opened, conversation is ignited and I went around speaking to both new residents and staff members.

I spoke to one new resident who told me that they had lived in the confusion and chaos of the city, and chose this house in order to live in a charming neighborhood with space nearby to exercise and move their body.

Another resident hailing from outside of Japan mentioned that the house had a high ceiling and was comfortable to live in, something that Japanese people wouldn’t usually notice.

One young woman with a lot of luggage, something all females can relate to, says that she finds the ample storage space in the house very convenient.

I personally find the best thing about the house to be the beer tap! You don’t see those around too often! (laughs) This Share Design sharehouse shares the small happinesses in life that we often overlook, like free coffee in the morning. They pull out all the stops to make sure their residents are comfortable.

The great thing about sharing is that it fosters a cycle of communication between people of all ages and walks of life with with diverse personal and professional experiences. This was my first time participating in an event like this, and being here I truly felt our company’s objective, “reversing the communication deficiency of modern day Japan with sharehouses”, in action.

Another great thing about sharehouses is reflected in its management philosophy on how they would like their residents to live. The world that Share Design has created for this house is a warm, friendly place full of laughter. Take the opportunity to start a new lifestyle for yourself at Share Residence Nishifunabashi.

Author/Mayuko Tanaka

Tokyo Sharehouse editor. Strongly believes in the merits of sharehouses like those she experienced while studying abroad and aims to share and spread the word throughout Japan!

An event lead by housemates. House parties are easy to plan in a sharehouse.

Living together, creating together, laughing together

The Christmas party. As one would expect from a food-themed sharehouse, trays of professional-grade party platters line the table.

A giving spirit in the house

Encounter various values and beliefs interacting with others

HarukaYou should definitely talk to everybody! Talk to people who work in different fields, who have a different set of values, and broaden your view of the world. There are also people who are still trying to figure life and things out, and that there is another opportunity for interaction. Talk and communicate with these people and allow them to help you shape your own value system. Also, be generous, always offering others food and drink. Maintain the sharehouse has a warm, welcoming environment.AmiWhen I first moved in I was always wondering if I was sitting in someone else’s seat. (laughs) Everyone needs a little courage at first, but this house is very welcoming and you can sit where you want, or even just come down into the common areas to say hello and everyone will talk to you. I think it’s best if you make the first move, though. It’s easy to get along with everybody if you try. We are all friendly and you can talk to us easily. That’s all there is to know!—From their expressions when they spoke, it is evident that these two are taking full advantage of their sharehouse lifestyles.Thank you for taking the time to talk with us, Haruka and Ami!

The kitchen, Haruka’s favorite place. We got her smiling in this shot for us.

 

The two women we interviewed today are very close, and even go to the public baths together. Living under one roof creates special bonds between people regardless of age.

 

During the interview, the names of many people came up.

Among those names were managers of local stores, and also people who have since left the house due to job transfers.

 

It is by living in a sharehouse and connecting with not only fellow sharemates but the locals, too, that bonds form and your own view of the world begins to take shape.

 

If you are an aspiring chef, a foodie or a creator and you are interested in this house, why don’t you make contact and find out more?

Author/Hiroki Watanabe

Tokyo Sharehouse editor. Keio University student, third year. Working towards connecting society together through shared living and will go through rivers and over mountains in order to achieve this.