Accommodation & Lifestyle in Japan

by Ian Patterson & Ross Kerley

There are two types of flat in Japan, called "apartments" and "mansions". If you follow your instinct in thinking that a mansion sounds more impressive, you would be right, although they are definitely not what we would think of as mansions!

My landlord insists that people who live in mansions are more snobby, and less likely to know their neighbours than people who live in apartments. He of course lives in an apartment (the same house as me), and as he pours me another beer, I cannot but help agree with him.

So what are mansions and apartments? Basically, multi-storey steel or concrete buildings house "mansion flats", which are fairly similar to modern flats in London. Apartments on the other hand are two storey traditional style timber framed houses. Inside you will be met by the smell of the tatami, since at least one room will be have a floor made of the traditional woven straw mats. The timber main columns are normally clearly visible, and the colours in the house will normally be muted, generally the colours of straw, timber and dark varnish.

The first time I stayed in Japan was in midwinter, and it was late at night when I finally reached a gaijin house (a guest house or shared house where mostly foreigners stay) somewhere between Narita and Tokyo. With the other guests, I sat on the tatami floor around the kotatsu (a low table with a heater under it) with my legs warmed under the blanket and watched Mishima on video. In the morning I woke and opened the curtains to be met by the sight of a red painted tori, the arch at the entrance to a Shinto shrine, nestling in the woods just outside my window.

After an introduction like that, I did have very strong first impressions of Japan, and maybe that is why I returned some years later, and why I am still here now perhaps!

So when you come to Japan and have to find somewhere to stay, how about checking out an apartment, preferably somewhere with trees or a park nearby? If you are willing to take a fifteen minute walk from the station, you may find that you can get a flat twice the size of the smallest mansions for the same price, and of course you may also be lucky enough to meet friendly neighbours. But then again, if you are one of those people for whom there are never enough hours in the day and sleep is all-important, the extra few minutes saved by being as close to Naganuma school as possible may persuade you to get that little mansion near to the station…

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