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Share house selection: a unique decision for us all |
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Fully furnished, cheap rent, spacious rooms, a stylish interior design, good management ,etc. When making great effort to start a new life, people get hung up on finding a house or lifestyle close to their ideal vision, and without compromise continue hoping that they find it. However, when you find a good location the rent tends to be high. On the other hand, you wouldn’t want to live in a place that’s inconvenient either. So instead of trying to find a good house, why not instead try looking for a “good home”? The share house I’d like you to look at today is “Casa de kei Narimasu” managed by KOKEN ASSET FORTRESS. There may be a few of you who are not familiar with the area, but Narimasu is located in the Itabashi ward of Tokyo. Taking the express or local express from here, it’s just 10 minutes and 1 station over from Ikebukuro. After talking with the manager, it turns out that “You can get to Shinjuku in 20 minutes changing trains only once, and if you take the Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line, you can get to Shibuya without changing trains in 30 minutes. The easy access to main terminals is one of the attractions of this location. For ease of living, this spot is one of the best-kept secrets of the 23 wards of Tokyo.” When actually visiting Narimasu, you’ll find a supermarket and many places to eat in front of the station, along with all the basic needs for living. The share house is conveniently located just a 2 minute walk from the station, and walking not too far away from the station there’s a Shinto shrine and park with lush greenery. While reasonably meeting today’s expectations for living, it’s a place where you can lead a quiet and simple life. This time you’ll be looking at a place that I think people are sure to like after living here: Casa de kei Narimasu. So let’s get started. |
「Casa de Kei Narimasu」House Detail Page
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 Here’s a look at the outside of the house. Although it looks like a building where everyone would live alone, the entire building is actually a 5-story share house. 
At the entranceway you’ll see the “Casa de Kei” title plate and mail boxes. Also, the device next to the title plate is where you place in your card to unlock the door. |
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 After entering the building through the entrance way and passing through another door, you’ll be in the main lounge. Designed with a mainly white interior, it has a simple design. 
Another shot of the main lounge from a different angle. It certainly looks like a good place for residents to gather when it’s time to eat. |
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 The share house is fully equipped with furnishings including furniture, kitchen ware, and a refrigerator. It gives the impression that anything lacking would naturally be shared by residents.  The kitchen also includes 3 induction cooktops and a large sink. |
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 Now then, let’s go take a look at the 5th floor. Here you’ll find another lounge that’s nearly identical to the one on the first floor.  There are also manga and games here on the 5th floor. Furthermore, both of the TV’s on the 1st and 5th floors have paid TV including WOWOW. There are sure to be those who are glad there’s access to foreign dramas and sports programming. |
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 The functionality of the kitchen on the 5th floor is nearly identical to the one on the 1st floor. It seems those staying on the 4th and 5th floors visit this lounge more so than the other. 
Also, every floor has an independent wash stand as well as a washing machine, dryer, and shower. (2F) |
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The 2nd and 3rd floors are women only, so there’s no need to worry about the prying eyes of the guys when preparing in the morning. (3F) 
Every floor is also equipped with a shower room. |
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The washing machines and dryers are paid, with the washing machine needing 100 yen for 50 minutes and the dryer 100 yen for 3 hours. 
The toilets include a bidet function. |
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Also, in front of “Casa de Kei Narimasu” is a supermarket. It’s much more cost effective than shopping at a convenience store, and perhaps when residents are throwing parties they go shopping together. |
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 There were only 3 rooms available to take pictures, so I’ll start by focusing on this room. The room in this picture is 103. It’s roughly 11.3m2, and you could say it’s fairly spacious. Every room is furnished with necessities including a full length mirror, a simple clothes drying rack, and a closet.  This is the closet space typically found in the rooms. |
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 This is an electronic key only found on the women only 2nd and 3rd floors. Those who are worried about security are sure to be pleased seeing this. 
Here’s a shot of the hallway on the 3rd floor. The base color is white, giving this women only floor a rather bright yet gentle impression. |
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 Just like the hallway, the base color of room 304 is also white. The wallpaper is currently a blue sky with clouds, but it seems they’re planning to change it. 
The room is 10.5m2 in size, about the same as room 103 introduced earlier. |
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 This is room 4001 (size: 8.3m2; price is 52,000 yen). This room can be used by both men and women. There’s great lighting from the window.  It has a relatively darker monotone color with a very composed look to it. |
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Casa de Kei Narimasu, while not having the most sophisticated facilities or a unique concept, has all the furniture and facilities essential for moving in, and with a security system in place along with 2 main lounge areas, I felt this was a share house where you can live peacefully yet safely at your own pace. While work and studies are important, I think this is a good share house to consider for those who’d also like to enjoy socializing at their own leisure.
Of course, deciding on where to live is very important, so there’s also sure to be a lot of people who consider it’s convenient access to the city as important.
Choosing a place to live is not something to be decided with little forethought, and whether one likes the atmosphere of the town or its scenery varies from person to person, so offering advice is not easy to do. Nevertheless, the shopping complex around the station offers more choices for one’s lifestyle, and I think there’d be just enough commute time on the train to take a moment and sort out your thoughts.
If any readers are interested, I’d like you to check out this share house as well as take a walk around and see the town.
The book “Train Your Spirit”, a self-development book written by the soccer player Makoto Hasebe was fairly popular not too long ago. In that book, he wrote that to bring order and stability to both your job and your life, “the mind is not something to be forged, but to be cleansed.”When visiting Casa de Kei Narimasu, it reminded me of how important it is to maintain balance in the way you live.
I think the fine details of everyday living such as the faces and voices of people passing by, and the busy streets they walk on add color to one’s life. And on the other side of the door at Casa de Kei Narimasu, a refreshing “welcome home” will be waiting for you. Thinking about that, one could say there’s a rich life to be had here.
/Author: Kagawa, Translator: Paul
