Job Discussion Forums

[becmaha]

My boyfriend and I have been given the choice between a modern apartment and a traditional apartment. They are the same size, and the only difference my boyfriend's employer mentioned was that the traditional apartment doesn't have a shower. (Plus the modern apartment is about 40000 more yen per month, and a couple miles closer to the school.)

Neither of us have ever been in an apartment in Japan. If any of you have experienced both traditional and modern apartments - could you share some of the common differences? Any information will be helpful so we can make a good decision. Thanks!!

[Glenski]

Assuming a traditional apartment has tatami floors in the bedroom (and perhaps living room), I'd opt for that. Tatami floors are cool on your feet in summer, and warm on your feet in winter. You can buy beds to rest on them, or sleep on a futon, so I guess it might matter if your back suffers. With tatami rooms, you just tuck away the bedding during the daytime and have a whole extra room, too. Personally, I also like the smell of tatami. You just have to be a bit careful about spills.

Shower vs. bath. Assuming the traditional apartment has a deep tub, it must also have a short shower attachment for cleaning it, if nothing else. All that I have seen do. You can rig your own hook to use this as a full-fledged shower if you like, but you WILL be showering in cramped quarters. It will be a bit difficult/clumsy to shower in the deep tub anyway, and you are not supposed to use soap in the tub if you stick to the traditional ways of bathing here. You should also consider how large the two of you are. Even though tubs are quite deep, some westerners are still too large to bathe in them.

Kitchen. Is the traditional apartment any smaller? It is likely so. You will find them to have much less counter space, too, although the difference between counter space in a modern vs. traditional place has been minimal in my experience. Will the traditional place have a smaller than average refrigerator, or a western size one?

Traditional apartments will likely have lower ceilings and doorways, more so than modern apartments. If you are tall, this could pose a risk to banging your head a lot.

Take a look at some online pictures to see what various places are like. I also suggest asking for pics of your two prospective apartments, or at least a floor plan with dimensions.
www.markinjapan.ca/features/apartment/index.htm
http://vocaro.com/trevor/japan/home/index.html
http://ekhardt.com/tokyo/myapartment/Iapartment.html
http://www.tiger-marmalade.com/gallery/apartment
http://www.collin.org/travel/japan/apartment/apartment.html
http://www.globalcompassion.com/home.htm
http://www.greggman.com/japan/apts/tokyo%20apts.htm
http://daveahlman.com/arch/arch_apt.htm
http://chaninjapan.utopiades.com/Information/Apartment.htm

[Gordon]

I agree with Glenski's comments. You need to ask your employer more detailed info about what is in the apt. You will get used to a deep tub.

The traditional apt may be a dirty dump too. You don't know. Usually the apts are clean when you move in, but that is not always the case.
40,000 yen difference is a lot. I'd take it.

[Iwantmyrightsnow]

And what is modern? 20, 10, or 1 year ago? Unless the "modern" apartment is really expensive it won't be so different so I wouldn't factor the kitch, bench space etc into the equation.

You didn't actually mention that the "traditional" place has a bathroom. Make sure that it has one and that you don't need to go to the public bath. That may be one reason for the price difference.

When he says traditional he is probably talking about tatami and also layout. More traditional apartments have all the rooms in one line. There is no hallway - you need to go through each room to get to the next. Not much privacy but probably fine if you are a couple.

[becmaha]

Thanks for the replies! Those pictures of apartments were very helpful, Glenski! We sent another e-mail off to ask more questions and to ask for some pictures of the apartments. Both of us are about 6' tall, but average weight...I think we will be okay if we have to duck to go through doorways Thanks for the guidance so we knew what questions to ask... I'm so excited to get to Japan!!

[ranmawoman]

These links of apartments kick ass! Thanks for posting it.

[GambateBingBangBOOM]

[Iwantmyrightsnow]

Lots of places in Osaka don't come with aircon = even the very expensive 3ldk I had. This is my 4th place in 15 years and none have come with aircon. BUt I finally broke and went and bought my first just last week! Cannot understand how I lived without it!

[nomadder]

Had both.

Re:the trad-liked the tatami and shoji-paper windows but hated that scummy bath and waiting to heat water-never figured out how to get hot water in the kitchen. Also had kerosene heaters in a cold part of Japan-hassle.

New-was boring looking but good shower, tub and hot water not to mention aircon/heater system.