Japan's Housing for the Middle Class
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 20 ส.ค. 2024
- Ever since I moved to Japan six years ago I've had an interest in danchi, which are the housing complexes built by Japanese government agencies in the late 1950's. In this video I tour some of the original restored units as well as their modern counterparts.
A special thanks to UR for giving me access to all that they did. I was actually surprised at how helpful they were, especially since this was not a sponsored video.
If you're looking to see rental housing available from UR, their website is www.ur-net.go..... If you don't know Japanese, you can actually use realtors to help you find spots (UR pays their fee, so there's no extra cost). An example of a realtor is www.tokyobestap... who specializes in helping foreigners find apartments in Tokyo.
You too can visit the Urban Renaissance Agency Technology Research Institute in Hachioji www.ur-net.go.... for free, however you have to make a reservation by phone or email, so it's not a place you can just easily drop by.
A few related videos I made that you might be interested in are:
- Why Foreigners Have Difficulty Renting in Japan • Why Foreigners Have Di...
- How an Average Family in Tokyo can Buy a New Home • How an Average Family ...
- Brand New Japanese House Tour • Brand New Japanese Hou...
- Are Japanese Homes Really Worthless After 30 Years? • Are Japanese Homes Rea...
Sources
- Japanese Public Housing Stats www.mlit.go.jp... and www.zenken.com/...
- Japan's Public Housing System Has a Shelf Life www.japantimes...
- UR Public Profile www.ur-net.go....
- History of UR www.ur-net.go....
- Social Housing Policy in Japan www.internation...
- Danchi housing lets you think outside the usual box www.japantimes...
- Affordable Housing Challenges in Japan and Lessons Learnt from Europe www.housingeuro...
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If you're interested in Japanese Housing, a made a playlist of all the videos I've made about the topic th-cam.com/play/PLwBDd34gIIWnOWKVxvjgoalT66U3Jq10d.html
Hi there, what was the image flash just after the 30 second marker
I just got my apartment in Yokosuka. The rent is 189,000yen. It cost me about 800,000yen just to move in with all the extra fees.
How about public housing for the lower class, later?
Well done for expressing your thanks to your supporters by listing them. Very kind of you.
@@dashingmay I'd like to do that.
I appreciate that Standalone Complex frame thrown in.
@@alexli1994 It's an old anime called Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. Just a little reference
I saw that too looked like Ghost in the shell. On my phone so was hard to catch the frame hehe.
It could of been a frame like in fight club. Then we cry :(.
Lol thanks explaining that! Kinda freaked me out. Reminds of The Exorcist when they put the demon face in certain frames.
Try to slow the playbackspeed and you can see it
I can’t believe the government puts so much care into “public housing”! Such nice and high-quality designs!
Jennifer Lambert I agree
@Michael Antonio Re "poor people are lazy"
Such an enlightened worldview you've got there. But hey, all we gotta do is pull up those bootstraps and we can all be Jeff Bezos, right?
@Michael Antonio Re you dont have the first idea of what it's like to live in American public housing. No one wants to live in the "ghetto" by default. America has horrible distribution of wealth, not to mention, rent is at an all time high.
@@cookie22100 thank you for saying that.
Mm Mm Yeah, different society, different culture...
I can’t believe I watched a whole 13 minute video on Japanese middle class housing. Your channel and it’s videos are really captivating!
@Will Black 😂😂😂
Yeah I don't even know how I got here! Lol but I regret nothing.
lol he makes the most mundane things actually interesting
It is $570 to $920 per month for middle class that decent price compared to to average city in the US for the same pay you take home sure
Yes this is the longest video on TH-cam,
Crazy, when a government invests in its people. This was really interesting and those experimental units were very cool. Thanks for making this!
1MHCS government in great America chosen by the people for the people .Hope you vote and chose the right person to govern the country and your beautiful state anywhere you are .I love Japan’s Wisteria any kind of land scrapping and the nit ness and cleanness . Love to visit ,Never ever exchange my house to the kingdom of anywhere .I travel this blessed land from cost to cost .This land is the gods gift to the kind generous decent AMERICANS.
@Amanda Armstrong Maybe they contribute more to their society because they invest in social programs? Which helps free people up from the daily grind of just having to live? Not to mention that healthcare system~
Just take a look at other countries with similar social programs and healthcare systems.
@array s They should, but it rarely happens unfortunately.
1st world
@@1MHCS I get what you're saying, but Japan is famous for its people not having a proper work life balance so it clearly doesn't free them up from the grind like you state. Social programs are more of a luxury once the economic basics have been met, not a way to meet the basics. One of the basics Japanese gov. gets wrong is not enforcing laws that give people enough free time from work to have children so that it can sustain its rapidly aging nation. If a government really wants to invest in its people, it should stop creating wildly inefficient programs and systems that can oftentimes be ran by corrupt individuals depending on the level of corruption within a nation. Rather, they can invest in their people by letting the people take home more of their money.
Because of this, they have a shrinking younger population to support the increasing retiree population's social security (a social system) and an overall population decline, shrinking the size of their domestic markets and domestic output to foreign markets. Individual financial discipline here is the basic that should be met to not need the social program (social security) that can be misallocated or mismanaged or simply exhausted.
That's not to say that all social programs are worthless. If you want to argue that there should be a system in which the gov. ties a portion of your income up in YOUR OWN bank account that you can access once reaching a certain age or fulfilling a certain set of requirements, I'd be willing to listen to that, but in general, governments are terrible at allocating the people's money. Plus social programs are expensive upfront and often do not produce the desired result.
It's really depressing to see how some countries like Japan can manage with the available resources because of their discipline while other countries have descended into anarchy with their public projects .
@Amanda Armstrong That's not _completely_ true. We've had very similar projects done like in Greenbelt, Maryland for example and they succeeded tremendously but then the red scare happened and now public housing is pretty much left to the communities in desperate needs which tend to also be high crime areas. When doing these projects, you have to consider all components and be in it for the long haul, Japan had the advantage of already having a homogenous culture with little internal strife. If you were to do it in the US, you'd have to adress multiple components. It's not impossible, Signapore is an example of a multi-cultural society that even had race riots but still prospered tremendously with public housing but that involved a number of other factors even to the extent of diversity quotas, and I don't think that would ever fly in the US.
That can be attributed to racism, hence the St Louis housing project MADE by a japanese architect becoming a landmark failure in american public housing, resulting in the image of high rises being associated with poverty.
Anarchy isn’t the right adjective, chaos is.
I went to a European American projects in a America I wont say were because of haters and it was clean and peaceful no crime at all but that is far and between now adays
Regarding some previous comments:
a) It’s not a question of _discipline_ which causes public safety net projects to succeed, but rather a question of _solidarity_ and of _compassion,_ in which people are willing to look after one another for the good of all,
and
b) Japan as a country is _not_ a “homogenous culture,” any more than Sweden or Venezuela is; it may appear to be, to someone with little understanding of the country looking in from the outside … but you’ve got religious differences, regional differences (including regional accents), ancestral differences, recent and historic waves of immigration, and income and educational and class differences, all amounting to a multicultural environment, just like in the U.S.A.
Just because you can’t tell one citizen of Sweden, Japan, or Venezuela from another, doesn’t mean one resident of a country isn’t looking at another resident and thinking “Oh, your parents are from a neighboring country, and your hair color tells me you have native ancestry, while your eye color and shape tells me one of your ancestors came from the (x) wave of immigration, and your eating food (y) tells me you’re of the religion (z), while your accent is from the region north of here, so your education is probably so-and-so and thus your income must be this,” and so on.
Put another way: you’ll be startled while traveling around the world by how many people will tell you the U.S.A. is a homogenous monoculture … because, looking in from the outside, it can easily appears to be!
Did anyone see the split second image?
I was so confused. But what was that??
@@beauty_starts_within79 Anime. Ghost in the Shell
:32?
Yes. At about 30 second mark. Slow the playback to see it.
What's that all about? Why'd they do that?
Great video. I know some people living in public housing (low income, not UR) and what stood out to me the most was how the residents are expected to do all the cleaning, handling trash, and basic maintenance in shared areas like hallways. They have a rotating list showing who's responsible each week, and not helping with the upkeep is grounds for getting kicked out.
That is a good system. Where I live now, I know some people (non-Japanese) like to not take responsible of the mess they make, and expect others to clean up after them.
So, the slums in the cities of America run by HUD is a better idea. They are nothing but gang ridden dilapidated dangerous places to live. Filthy places created by the people who live there and people live in fear of the neighbors.
Japan makes children clean their school before class every day. You have to ingrain communal responsibility in people. People are apes wearing clothes they didn't make.
@@ohwell2790 how is that better? Was this comment supposed to be sarcasm?
Ganda Gandara
If that were the case, we might actually have universal healthcare by now.
Japan is certainly more collectivist than the United States on pretty much every level.
I"ve lived in Japan for awhile now, and I really was impressed to see the barrier free design they had been working on! I have lived in the countryside and in the city and seen where wheelchair bound people had to rely on their coworkers/friends/teachers to move them up and down stairs in older buildings. I'm glad to see that there are ideas being developed for people in wheelchairs, if nothing else!
I liked the single frame flash of the major when you said the houses "were built as communities rather than ｓｔａｎｄａｌｏｎｅ ｃｏｍｐｌｅｘｅｓ"
The experimental units at the end were very interesting; I wonder why more weren't created. Thanks for including this segment.
Probably the cost of production compared to other housing options.
They weren't created because of money and power ("private" interests). Public/social housing should be an option for everyone ( I think a few European countries have something like that ).
It's amazing to see how well kept government housing is in the Japan vs the U.S. where government housing is synonymous with gangs and poverty.
Caspdown it’s with the Japanese people. Even the poor knows to keep the building clean and not commit crimes
louis foxwell while people in the west blame the government for the poor conditions of public housing, when they constantly trash the place
Caspdown Why all gotta involve the U.S. in everything. Don’t forget what Japan has done.
Different mindset, and homogeneous people
It’s because they are Japanese and not black. Demographics is everything.
I was lucky that the Japanese company I did my internship with had their own housing complex. And I did not have to look for housing. And after college they had a home ready for me. It was part of my compensation for working for them. I am not on the lower end of the pay scale as I am an engineer. So the home came with the job.
Nice anime subliminal message...I was about to say it reminds me of Soviet apartments but modernized. Nice gardens
These are older apartment buildings with modern interiors. There are also modern buildings that are much taller.
What was that anime character flashing on screen?
@@jessearth 0:30 Motoko Kusanagi from Ghost in the Shell
Japan is-lands around the communist country(China-Russia-N.Korea).
Japan are little bit influenced by them.
ghost in the shell
Welcome back! I put a whole bunch of links to sources and how to rent in the description, so I won't write a looooong comment here with it all again. But if you have any questions, hit me up and I'll try and answer them over the next 24 hours.
3rd like hehe
Have you ever do business here in Japan? I want to know!
Hello
@Roxas in Japan / Roxas Rosenkrantz Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex. I was talking about how the danchi were often built as communities, not stand alone complexes, hence the image.
@@jadecummings8093 This is what I do now... so yes?
Super interesting stuff Greg, please continue covering this sorts of topics because I think your channels is basically the only one putting the work and digging into these topics this well.
Thanks!
Wow. Never saw anything on this channel before, but I have to say, I like the style. No overhyping, friendly narration straight to the point, no pointless stock music, no exaggeration in expression because “it’s Japan.” Good job!
I'll be in Japan for 2 years and my company have put my family up in a UR apartment almost Identical to the one you showed. I always wondered if it was standard style housing so now I know, thanks! Coming from the UK it feels very small, and strange not having a garden but the japanese are so good at putting parks everywhere, it's not a real problem.
We have no dryer but our entire bathroom can be sealed and turned into a drying room (or a cool air room), which is a pretty cool novelty.
I really loved the look at accessible housing. Being handicapped myself, it can be fascinating to see how other cultures adapt to those needs. Thank you.
Damn, no wasted space at all. But I bet these kinds of housing wouldn't work that much if the residents didn't do their part and responsibilities. Trying to imagine these kinds of houses in my country and all I can see would be trash in the corridors, loud karaoke parties, semi-feral pets, etc.
=)) are you vietnamese fellow ?
Harrison Jr. the accuracy
These are the kinds of complaints that some Japanese people have when foreigners move in. You can check out the video I made about why foreigners have a hard time renting in Japan for more info. But basically, there's a culture difference, and I think it's hard to blame newcomers when they never grew up with the kind of rules that are ingrained into Japanese people from birth. If after they are taught the Japanese way and still break the rules, okay, I'm all for criticism, but it's also the government's job to educate newcomers (which they've recently admitted and have plans to operate something like 100 welcome centers that are supposed to teach about Japanese culture and its many unwritten rules).
@@LifeWhereImFrom I think it stems from a permanent vs temporary mindset of some foreigners. Some just don't care about the apartment at all. Some just don't care about what's outside their front door. And some care enough to try and ensure that the place they live is as clean, inviting, and enjoyable to live in. That communal feel is not common outside of Japan. Then if you happen to have a foreigner who knows they are not staying long, they have even less reason to care about the community.
Philippines we have like this .. tenement is what we called it ..
Very nice public housing, clean environment and quiet.... individual block is well organized; well lit and ventilated. The housing department did a fantastic job. Thumb up!
It’s so great they developers weren’t just looking to make it cheap and bland, they were experimenting with design using science to try and improve people’s lives.
Wow looks so much like Singapore public housing. The town planning and the exterior.
There are some parts of Osaka and Tokyo that look a lot like Singaporean neighborhoods like Tiong Bahru or Toa Payoh.
Singaporean guy here. I was just about to post something similar.
Yes, from the outside, these block of flats really do like the older estates like Toa Payoh. But they look bigger from the inside.
@Amanda Armstrong It has the the _majority_ of its land covered in greenery, so its an incredibly fresh and clean environment!
Ahhh HDB I miss Singapore. Best town designs. Used to live in Tampines gosh nicely constructed and everything are well thought.
I live in one of these - and it is one of the best places I have *ever* lived. One of the UR buildings, in fact. And they are courteous, super efficient, clean, constantly being updated, affordable, and near to everything a person might need. I am within walking distance of my work (I work at a senior high), and there are not less than 2 elementary, 2 JHS, and 2 SHS. It's also 15 minutes slow roll to the train station connecting to the entire city. If I can stay, I will! Also, an older building, so I have tatami, and a HUGE balcony!
I'm in America and the things you show about Japan, the culture and beauty makes me want to visit for like a half year for the experience of it all. The video on the prayer doorways I find equally interesting and would love to pay tribute around New Years one time and it's now on my bucket list.
The low-income housing buildings in Japan seems so much better than the NYCHA projects that's for sure.
The units are essentially a single "large" room, with the kitchen taking a corner, the bath, toilet, and sink taking another. The living area is opened during the day to make a large open space, but the center panel doors can be closed to make two different rooms. The newer apartment shown was about 40 square meters, or about the size of the master bedroom in my old Miami condo. The main room is also divided because the smaller sections are easier to heat or cool. It gets very hot and humid in the summers, and quite cold in winter. In the past, a family of 4 (or more) would live in a 40 square meter Danshi apartment, with everyone sleeping together.
"Middle Class" is a vague term in Japan where most people identify as being in the middle class. The typical family in Japan earns about $45,000 per year when the father (usually the only income earner) is 45 years old. An odd thing about Japan is that there is no "keeping up with the Joneses." Most people are content to live modestly, and few buy things to show them off. Your average Japanese salaryman earns quite a bit less than his American counterparts, and despite the cost of living in Japan, having a stay-at-home wife, and saving for their kids' university tuition and their own retirement, he will die without any debt, and leave behind money for his wife and kids.
You know I find that hard to believe when the average Toto bidet there costs at least $1000 USD. Electronics are PRICEY. Forget computers and cellphones, what about household appliances and body grooming tools? How is this even possible without financing your purchases?
My last salary was 1400$ per month from govt. Company after 30years from India.
@@ragabara1031 the government subsidizes your child reading up to a certain point based on your income.
ragabara You can buy an electric bidet for a couple hundreds $ in Japan. I live in the US and ordered a Toto bidet for less than $400 from Amazon 7 years ago. It was easy to install and is still working no problem.
@@ragabara1031 Household items are supposed to last for over 10 years. Compared to smarthphones and other electrics, that you replace every other year, they are pretty cheap for the duration they are supposed to last.
Been living in a UR apartment for the last few years. Definitely love the neighborhood. A lot of green space and community facilities. They were built in 80s, but we moved in after a recent refurbishment. And then Covid happened. Thank god for those parks.
You do make very informative videos. Where I live, in the United states, there is a housing for low income families which is an apartment I live in. There are houses here but a big percentage live in these apartments
You live in the projects.
Do people pay for those apartments or are they given to you? Where I live, depending on the state where you are, you're given an apartment in a building. The apartments are nice :)
Ok but that's the ghetto to the majority of people
Different street them where I am. And no we pay rent
@Ganda Gandara I live in Alabama
This video is very informative and I love the way you make this as a documentary, watching this while I am on the commute to work. I love how Japanese housing designs are usually towards practicality.
The apartment i live in Malaysia, developer gave us false hopes on the sales kits, the reality is I seeing all the pipelines and wiring cables are quite exposed. I just love how the Japanese house have the courtesy to hide the pipelines and the easy access panel for maintenance and repairs.
this will not work in my country, first thing is that japanese people are disciplined and ours are not. this place will be trashed in a year. sad but true
What country are you in ?
Same here in the U.S. 😂😂😂 no respect for gov’t provided things
The Philippines immediately came into my mind when I read your comment...
Aka almost every third world country
very true....same too in my country....my nbouring country, singapore is d exact twin to d hi disciplined japanese.....
Love the wheelchair units, they are a great design! ♥️
i like the cockpit mode very creative and helpful.
The separate toilet and bath make a lot of sense to me. I wish they'd do that in the west...
I don't understand why we don't do that except for inertia (we've always done it this way) or cost. It's so convenient to be able to use the toilet when someone is in the shower.
Not just the west, the rest of the world should adopt it. It is also more hygienic to have it separate.
There are plenty of capsule bathrooms in a lot of Japanese apartments.
It up to design not location. Plenty of such apartments in West or anywhere else in the world
I think some houses in the west do this- it’s sometimes called a WC or water closet instead of a bathroom. I have encountered it more in high end housing rather than housing for middle income & lower income people.
In Hawaii, social housing is ONLY for low economic families with a waiting list at least 2 years or more. I’m amazed by the community planning of green place, energy, closest to public transportation, etc. Mahalo for your posting.
In the UK the waiting list for social housing is 10+ years. Sometimes 15-20 years
Low income housing in the US seems mostly (like everything in the US) privately owned. Slum lords let their properties fall apart and take advantage of their already poor tenants. I think we have some government owned housing but it's very limited and difficult to get into.
And is really under funded so they aren't great
Did you not watch the video. He mentioned many times that this is absolutely NOT low income housing... Take a look at the minimum income for these apartments. You can find some pretty nice apartments in the US with the same income.
this is poverty in the US. Middle class own bigger houses and multiple cars.
@@archmad no wonder all suburbia there are car-centric hellholes, far from any commercial area. Now I know why people there are VERY unhealthy.
@@ianhomerpura8937 you can practically go to Africa or some remote Asian place, or even in the US, that dont have a cars yet it's very unhealthy
Really missed uploads from this amazing channel, GLAD NOW IT'S BACK (T_T )
Btw if you read this Greg, could you give some info on some future vids you're planning ahead or working on?
:)
0:30 🙃
Working on a video about Shinto (Japan's kind-of-religion), eating ALL the frozen treats, and one about all the ways you can glamp (glamour camp) in Japan. If all goes to plan, will have a video out roughly ever week for the next few ones. Thanks for your patience!
@@LifeWhereImFrom 😆 Thanks for the info greg!! i really can't wait for the shinto vid!!
Btw can you include/explain on shinto video later about:
1. Does the japanese is heavy religion oriented.
2. Is it true that most japanese is believing in buddhism even though they're shinto believer.
3. Is it true that most japanese "born shinto and die as buddhism."
4. Is it okay or is it even a big deal to not believe in "religion" to the japanese? and will it get things harder for you living in japan for not believeing in one? (ex: work & housing) as i will move in to japan in 2020 and tbh i don't believe in the existing "religion" but i do believe in god.
Hope i can see you cover this in a video whether on the next shinto vid on on separate vid covering this topic, thanks greg and see you next time :)
@@LifeWhereImFrom ^ Read above, maybe good ideas/bonuses to put into future vid?
who knows :3
start from 10:45
kitchen for disable people
to the end
make me think about what apartment should look like..
a dream apartment
All the appartment in Sweden have to be build for people with wheelchair
Experimental stuff that never made it is always interesting to watch. Thanks for including those footage.
8:25 "and the japanese population is following suit(referring to a decline). On that happy note..."
Happy?
I laughed so hard at that cuz I know that’s not what he meant, but it’s just hilarious.
Obviously Japanese thnic nationalism has been destroyed and the social culture undermined systematicslly and purposefully to this end by the occupying powers like in Europe.
Well not entirily like in Europe yet where the agenda is outright extermination rhather than culling like seems the case with Japan. But they are undoubtedly building towards the same.
lol i was going to say the same thing
Gotta love how people are suddenly anthropologist and explain away why this system is only possible within Japan and their own country could not implement more affordable housing.
Always the go-to when Asian governments do something good. "Must be the culture!"
Yep, they always invoke that they're "homogeneous", as if that alone is the factor that differentiates them.
They're racist, and are not denying it.
This is crazy i was looking for info on UR housing yesterday.. Thanks!
Wow! The experimental units at the end... They're really going the mile. They're not just shoving as many housing units together as they can and making people live with whatever space they're given. They're really thinking of different needs for different people and how (possibly) a single space can be used and arranged to fit the different needs. Super impressive!
The ghost in the shell stand alone complex frame is something i didnt think i would ever need. LOVED IT.
I bought the entire blu-ray collection of Ghost in the Shell after watching this video, and I don't know why.
😂
Its alot better than supporting the movie. The og producer and artists deserve more recognition
Bc You're trying to show off that you have Money?
@@AbhishekGupta-hd3wr tried to joke about the video "brainwashed" me to be ghost in the shell addicted
Yup, I saw the image flash on the screen at 0:30
I genuinely think that Japanese people are just something else, for the most part they’re the most intelligent, respectful, and law-abiding people on this god forsaken planet
Eh, I don't think you'd really get to see the bad side of things until you've really lived there for a while.
Wow, talk about making a sweeping statement!
Except they hate foreigners and will reject you living in a unit just because you're not Japanese.. And then when you do find a place, they charge you double for not being Japanese. Not very respectful in my opinion.
@@MidWesti they're trying to preserve their culture
@@pedroferreira9234 not the right way to do it.
I think one thing that would help middle-class homes in Japan feel more authentic would be adding design features that give that feeling. Entrance panels added to the front door, a balcony overhang that still allows use of the whole balcony; perhaps even space enough between families so there is a mini lawn.
Stunning initiative of Japan. Hopefully this can be replicated to provide local government's housing initiative for young couples living in Jakarta. So that they can live in the downtown SCBD complex comfortably and affordably. As an alternative of commuter live to neighboring cities.
Does the PUPR have public housing projects like that? or more like subdivision style housing?
*_"This is the recycling and waste disposal center, where everything is sorted out by the residents"_*
Requires communal (you know what *_"taboo word"_* in the West that sounds like) responsibility, not a popular trait in individualistic Western societies.
It does not mean you have to work together (with the community) to sort the trash, you just have to sort it out in your own trash can and bring it to the disposal center, put it into the designated bin, on the designated day (they have schedule for each type of trash). What I mean is, you are responsible for sorting out your own trash. Most Japanese people are also individualistic.
@John Doe Actually, you're both wrong (one more than the other). It depends upon what the people involved agree upon getting done, which is the root of how cultures develop. Signapore is a very multi-cultural society with a tumultuous history, to the extent that race riots were a thing. But their government officials banded them together and Signapore is one of the cleanest countries with public housing projects that also are a bit better, not having a soviet, utilitarian design but one that's more pleasant and humane. There are no excuses to not make efforts to band together and work together in cooperation, no matter your differences!
So many clever things. The only issue I have with Japanese housing (which is very similar in the US from my experience) is that homes have no insulation and it‘s freezing cold in winter. If you use the AC you basically also heat outdoors. In summer the rooms don‘t stay cool and it gets as hot as outside. In Germany houses have thicker walls. In winter it stays warm easily when we turn the heat on for a bit and in summer it is so cool I can often sit im my room with a jacket or blanket, while people outside wear t-shirts and shorts...
That's not uniformly true though. What you're talking about is older Japanese housing stock. I'm guessing with the time frame, but anything built within the past two decades is decently insulated for the weather in Japan and have proper aircon, which both heats and cools, within the units. I have been in the older places though, so I now what you're talking about. Even my old manshon place that was built in the 90's and had older aircon units cost a lot more in electricity than my 3 year old house, which is so much better insulated. That being said, I wouldn't doubt that the insulation in an average new build German home is better than in Japan, but they've made a lot of good strides over here.
@@LifeWhereImFrom Having stayed in 1990's german social housing in the middle of summer, I have to believe that this person lives in a very new apartment complex or a well built german house.
@@LifeWhereImFrom I stayed in a university dorm that was built in 2011. Even when we closed the windows the wind blew through. I guess it also is a matter of costs and they had to spend a lot already by making the building able to withstand earthquakes.
00:30 Stand Alone Complex, I see what you did there : )
Damnit u beat me to it wp
@@jobertuy2130 i first thought it was a mistake of an edit, but then I connected the dots :)
I missed the image, what is that?
@@Hadrian1616 it is an image from animation series called "ghost in the shell"
@@GeorgePikalov do u know why he put that pict ? I have no idea why he put that on hahahahaa but yes, i can see a woman and buildings and green light.. i played and paused to get the clear pict hahahhaaa
I stopped at UR months ago looking for an apartment next to Oji station. I was amazed by everything. However I’ve never known the history behind UR. Thank you.
This is super interesting, as someone who just recently moved into an apartment in the US, to see how it is in Japan is really fascinating. Thanks for the video!
Inspiration comes from the Soviets and no one is demonizing it for being "Socialist". Japan is a breath of fresh air.
Duke Of Prunes Thank Ronald Reagan for that
@Duke Of Prunes facts socialism needs a population ready to work share and have discipline, that's why it will never work in America
Half of the planet needed large housing blocks constructed quickly after World War II. It has nothing to do with socialism or anything else. People need somewhere to live, and building custom single-family homes would take too long, too much space, and cost too much.
@@lapatafc618 start teaching discipline from childhood. It can be done provided you start with the young.
The quality of your videos is very impressive. I love them!
Hi dear
One more reason to like Japan. Thanks for sharing.
0:30 ghost in the shell : stand alone complex , that was sneaky greg loool
I had to pause it a few times to see it lol
I tried so many times and failed to get the right frame. Thanks.
We have government housing in Western Australia. It used to b mostly grouped together in suburbs when I was growing up in them but now the houses can b in any suburb and not all grouped together. (Not rich ones obviously). There is a long waiting list though. I rent through a real estate and because I am am a single mum on long income the government give me extra money to help with the rent. I am very fortunate to live in Australia, because of our welfare, health and education.
I really like how drying machines or dish washers aren't a thing and they put out there clothes to dry instead. Im originally from the Philippines and it was the same way when I lived there. Its very environmentally friendly and saves energy costs
Dishwashers are just another addition to electricity and water costs. So they aren't that popular.
I loved the clips at the end showing how much thought they put into making it a functional but livable space and taking advantage of every little nook and cranny, a lot of the public housing I've seen is built weirdly and a lot of the space in the units goes to waste because there is no thought on the fact that people who live there need to fit everything on a small space + be there 24/7 taking care of children and sometimes a disabled parent, the care they put on designing these units in Japan is amazing
Firstly, i am a Japanese who grew up in 🇯🇵.
I was surprised that this video actually shows the real Japanese middle class housing.
I’ve seen many “Japanese middle class housing video” on the internet, but they usually show Upper middle class, or even upper class😅.
Hope I can make this level quality video one day as a TH-camr,,,
Love it, great video!😆
In Toronto, we could benefit greatly from some well-designed housing communities (or even just buildings downtown) built for the middle class. There is virtually nothing left to rent that justifies this city unless you are willing to pay $2500-$3000. This world where corporations and profit have taken over the building blocks of an economy and quality of life makes me more cynical and bitter every day.
Stay last the credits for the bonus footage! The featured kitchen design for wheelchair users is GENIUS!!! Japan's engineers are amazingly innovative with something as simple as wiring.
These kinds of informational videos are so interesting! I'm glad you left in the extra footage at the end, it was cool to see the experimental kitchen and living areas, even if it's not cutting edge!
My family and I live in a UR unit, and we love it! It's much nicer than any other similarly priced apartments in our area. The neighborhood is also really nice, and is a perfect example of the "post-modernist retro soviet dystopia" style!
Here in The Philippines, real estate is dominated by the rich businessmen that's why prices and rentals are high. We only have a few government houses and apartments for the lower and middle class. Many people can't afford to have their own house or pay expensive rent when they relocate to another city to get a job. These are one of the reasons why more and more countrymen are fleeing from the country to get a high paying job so that they can build their own house and buy a car here in the Philippines. It's sad that when you look at the beautiful buildings here in our big cities, you will also think that it seems useless because people can't enjoy much of the small amount of money they earn and they need to tighten up their budget more. It's like being deprived to live a happy life. The rich are getting richer here while the poor and the middle class can hardly keep up. The market here is manipulated by greedy businessmen who own big companies with less or no competitors that's why it is easy for them to manipulate the market. The government here needs to adjust and make new policies in order for the country to prosper like Japan.
as a former GDR resident i am very familiar with the social house building plans. your footage of most building reminded me of these. they are still very popular for low income families. they follow the same principals and share the same problems.
of course the interior is diffent and the overall thoughtfull designs of the whole complexes is on a different level.
during construction and later use (1965 until the 1980's) they gained the infamous nick name "Plattenbauten" or "Platte" because they where constructed by using prebuild concrete walls. whole town quarters where erected this way. Former East Berlin has some good examples.
You're one the best docu makers on TH-cam , well done , keep it up !
They are also common in germany called "Plattenbauten", especially in eastern germany, which was under russian control until 1989.
In Holland and N. Belgium they call them "flatgebouwen", but many of the 60s and 70s ones are working class and immigrants.
@@GUITARTIME2024 In Malaysia, Singapore and Brunei we call them "flat" too. Singapore have lots of them because they do not have a lot of land. They call it HDB (High Density Building) housing.
@@zam023 I thot they call it "HDB flat" because HDB is an acronym of "Housing Development Board" of Singapore?
@Fatih Matsu In which City did you live in one? Their quality is highly dependant on the city and the individual landlord. I lived in three for in a sum of ~9 years and they were all decent.
Yes but in Germany those Plattenbauten are for Hartzer and low class Assis
Thanks Greg! Wonderful content, as always 😉
Housing up here in New England? Yeah, even the most expensive tiers in Japan look reasonable in comparison. People want anywhere from 1200 to 2000 a month just for a one bedroom apartment, whether that be a college town or a small aging town on the edge between rural and suburbia.
I love the cockpit kitchen. The engineering overall is amazing
Lol, the experimental apartment with the toilet in a room where you can sit and relax could be devastating if you have to use it with friends over.
I feel like the bath park is ok, but the toilet nah.
Woah !!!!!
It's for the first time I can see these houses in real I watched them in my favourite Animè cartoons *Kiteretsu*, *Doraemon* and *Shinchan*, when they used to get telecasted in India.
Hey, 6:54, it's Kyde and Eric, I love those guys. Totally underrated J-vloggers and they do a wonderful job of visiting out of the way gems in Japan.
Honestly, I love my Donchi. I live in a Donchi in Tatsumi and they are so foreigner friendly that life is amazing. UR is amazing and also owns my complex
It’s always interesting to see social housing in other countries, in Sweden there are no social housing to not segregate people, instead supplement with social security who not have afford to live in a home by own means :)
Sadly illegal migrants get it for free. :/
Let me just be Japanese in my next life 😭
You can live there now!
Most important qualification is being slim and trim, after all the average house is 200 square feet.
It comes with pros and cons
@Amanda Armstrong If you're fit with the culture, they will accept and welcome you. That If is the biggest part, but some of us are and are living a happy life here. And contributing to the country's economy and international competitiveness, all while respecting the culture.
@Amanda Armstrong Completely agreed, and thank god for the moment the language barrier is acting as a nice filter. To be honest , It's not a country for everyone (like how everyone doesn't speak on the train), so immigration here can't be massive for cultural reasons. But yeah if you fit it's one of the last great places and much much more comfortable than the West (and I come from a rich western country).
Watching these is seriously eye opening how different Japanese Economy and My own are.
In Aotearoa, My partner and I earn enough to save maybe 1/5th of our incomes at the end of the week after covering rent, power, electricity, gas, food, car, health, family bills etc. I.e we're just above the national median household income.
If we were earning similarly in Japan, we'd have almost triple the national median household income.
I won't ever presume to know why there's such a disparity in buying power between countries - but just seeing the numbers side by side really makes me think I should move over 👀
If you can work remotely with your company even overseas, that would be an option, or if you can ensure that you get about the same wage as you do in NZ by working for Japanese company. But bare in mind that in general the average wage for many of the jobs are much lower in Japan. I tried to go back to Japan, but I decided not to after finding out that my wage will most likely take a 30 to 40% decrease in wage as the market standard is quite different. Of course almost everything is cheaper in Japan, but if you take many expenses into account, it may not be the best option. I suggest you do your own research as well.
So, the little insert of Ghost in the Shell is definitely a great touch.
i love danchis, they feel so cozy
Pirin unlike western public housing where you worry about getting stabbed or shot whenever you walk around the complex. In American public housing, they are constantly worried about bullets landing inside your apartment
Always informative. Can you please make a video of a day in a life of a working foreigner ? The difference from there to canada Or how one can get a job without japanese.
Some of the footage reminds me of usual housing planning that I would see in my home country in Eastern Europe, which is kinda trippy
It’s always a good day when LWIF uploads.
I'm here for the more positive vibes about living in Japan after Ryan left for Kenya in Boundless Journey:)
Did he take his gf?
@@GUITARTIME2024 looooooool. Ofcourse....not.
Hasn't that miserable guy been threatening to leave Japan for years?
Im from South Africa. If he is living in Kenya..... good luck to him. I give him a short time till he starts complaining about a great many things there or goes back to Japan.
That Ghost in the Shell frame tho....👌🏾
I love the quality of this channel, congratulations.
I am planning to live in japan in the future, and this video can be my references...
thank you and keep the good work
That odd moment when I realize rent is cheaper for a 'Meh' apartment in Japan than a real POS apartment in Seattle or Portland
Soviet influenced...they’re our apartments comrades
What's up Kim Jong-Un 😊✌
soviets built 2.5m cieling min appts and they were handed out to every one
@Mourning Star yes both on inside and outside,. But not in 1953
Do you ever feel, like the plastic bag
Sadly Japanese apartment building standards are still lower than those of the Soviet block from half a century ago.
I love this!!! It's like a gold mine for future design ideas for when i'd have my own house built. Or if i decide to have an apartment business. Lol. Japanese are truly creative people. It's like, when you think you've done something amazing like designing a multi-purpose furniture but Japan slaps you with a multi-purpose everything inside a box. And their ideas are so advanced but are also so simple. Truly amazing.
0:30 the flash of “GITS: Stand Alone Complex” 👏🏽👏🏽👏🏽 Well done!!!
To be precise, this is for "lower" middle class Japanese.
分からないので、教えて欲し頂きたいのですが、団地って、現在でもミドルクラスの為のものなんですか？なんとなく、母子家庭や生活保護世帯の人が暮らしているイメージがあるので。
It was an informative and fun display of facts. ..great job, you deserve all the praise
These housing complexes are fantastic. I almost jumped into a 3ldk built in a very very modern style but still using tatami. The kitchen was huge with soft closing doors and pendant lights. They are 2 months of deposits no key money no renewal no realtor no hidden fees. We decided on another place because the lack of a jumin hyo and a time crunch.
There’s a misconception that “Western” homes have open planning. It’s not a thing in the uk, there’s choices, but most houses and flats have separate rooms. Some people will change their home into open plan.
Anyone else see a flash at 30 seconds in? LIke it's 1 frame from a anime?
Jim Marchetti It was a pun-like joke. He was describing stand alone buildings, and then flashed a frame from an anime series named Ghost in the Shell: Stand Alone Complex.
I'm impressed! Public housing of a good quality and so well organized!! Thanks for sharing all that useful information.
rewatching your past videos now (October, 2020) 🤗🤗