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IKEA has furnished and is renting out a 10 m2 apartment in central Tokyo for about a dollar per month. It's clearly a gimmick of sorts as the furniture in the apartment are worth a lot more then that. Still looking at the pictures it looks like living in a nicely furnished prison cell, that is also very high (floor to ceiling). Any takers for such compact living? I dont think climbing around on ladders to get around is for me.
It seems very futuristic though; it is a staple of sci-fi to pack people like sardines in a can (Ripley's apartment in aliens, 5th element etc., etc.)
https://edition.cnn.com/2021/11/25/business/ikea-japan-tokyo-tiny-apartment-scli-intl/index.html
https://www.ikea.com/jp/ja/campaigns/ca00-tiny-homes-pub616dcf20
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No self-made man ever did such a good job that some woman didn't
want to make some alterations.
-- Kim Hubbard
(Score: 5, Interesting) by PinkyGigglebrain on Sunday November 28 2021, @05:44PM (13 children)
from the floor plan shown in the article it looks like the rooms have a sink, toilet and shower. My guess is there is a commons area with microwaves and vending machines, everything you need to get by and a major step up if you had nothing before. Getting a rental in Japan has a lot of hiden costs that most people outside the country don't know about, there are gifts to the landlord, a "key fees" that can be multiples of the stated rent on top of the security and first/last months that most of us know about..
Most places won't rent to you if you don't have a job, most employers won't hire you unless you have a local address, its a catch 22 that really Fscks new renters. These units might give people who couldn't afford a place someplace to sleep and clean up for job interviews till they can afford to move up to a bigger place when they want to.
"Beware those who would deny you Knowledge, For in their hearts they dream themselves your Master."
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 28 2021, @07:25PM (6 children)
Uh, if you need to "clean up" for a job then I don't want to hire you.
(Score: 2) by dwilson on Sunday November 28 2021, @07:31PM (3 children)
Sounds like you're bringing your personal opinions to work with you. You should leave them at the door, like you expect your employees to.
In other words, you should clean up for work.
- D
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 28 2021, @07:49PM (2 children)
Found the guy that sits on the couch drinking on his time off. Hi friend, welcome to our brotherhood.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 29 2021, @04:32PM (1 child)
Don't be silly, he's an employer, not an employee. He doesn't have time off!
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Monday November 29 2021, @05:26PM
Too busy creating jobs? Oh poor bunny, have a tax cut.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 28 2021, @09:08PM (1 child)
Fine. If you don't want me to clean up before coming to work, I can do that - or not do that. But, it's going to cost you extra.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 28 2021, @10:02PM
Fine. Don't clean up but at least put some pants on, this ain't a Bieber concert.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 28 2021, @07:47PM (4 children)
"Most places won't rent to you if you don't have a job, most employers won't hire you unless you have a local address, its a catch 22 that really Fscks new renters."
That seems really odd to me -- is that actually a thing? I suspect any normal employer would understand when told that you'll have a local apartment after acceptance of the job so that you can sign a lease. I seriously doubt any employer would refuse to hire you because you have not yet signed a lease for a local address.
(Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 28 2021, @08:21PM
You obviously must live in a civilized country, not in a backward country like the USA.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Sunday November 28 2021, @08:59PM
Cultural thing... when you aren't happy about having to hire outsiders (not from your local neighborhood / family / known since birth) in the first place, any excuse to make things harder on the outsiders / easier for the locals is "standard practice."
Take a look around a Tokyo subway stop at rush hour. Not exactly the cultural melting pot you find in a lot of western metropolises.
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://news.stanford.edu/2023/02/17/will-russia-ukraine-war-end
(Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Sunday November 28 2021, @09:03PM (1 child)
Sadly, it is a thing. NYC makes it difficult for newcomers from anywhere unless you're an illegal alien. Some might hear a screed in that, but it's honestly not. It has been that way since at least the days of Tammany Hall, when Boss Tweed gave what were essentially FOB Irish a place to live, a job, and a leg up in exchange for political patronage. There's still political advantage in the city to using illegal immigrants in that way.
For most other newcomers, it's hard to get an apartment without one-two month's security deposit and the first month's rent up front. They don't take non-local checks, and you can't open a bank account in NYC without a local address so that you can get checks with a local address. I had an account with Citibank in Chicago, but it made no difference to Citibank in New York; I couldn't even walk into a Citibank in NYC and get a cashier's check from them because funds in Citibank Chicago are non-transferrable to Citibank NYC for that purpose. I had to withdraw the maximum amount from the ATM in cash for days until I had enough to cover three month's rent.
And so on, and so on. If you try to do things legally and by the book, it is difficult. If you think like an illegal alien or fugitive from the law, you will have an easier time by getting illegal sublets or that sort of thing.
And once you're in NYC and have a place and are set up, real estate speculation and rent control combine to make it a tough thing to move, because either you can get the same size apartment for about the same rent in an urban war zone like Bed-Sty, or pay double or triple for a worse apartment in your same neighborhood. Or, worst of all, you might cross the water to Jersey and become, *shudder*, one of the B&T People ("Bridge & Tunnel," meaning, you have to cross a bridge or go through a tunnel to get into the city).
There are many layers to it, but, yes, it is a thing.
Washington DC delenda est.
(Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday November 28 2021, @09:58PM
It's true.. I live in a place with very few Jews (Oregon), so I guess we just do things different here. With Bank of America I can walk into any branch in the USA and withdraw. Heck, I can go to Munich and withdraw from my BoA account at Deutsche Bank.
(Score: 2) by JoeMerchant on Sunday November 28 2021, @08:56PM
While I agree there is a need for these, bigger than capsule hotel, "apartments" in Tokyo... I doubt that IKEA is doing this for any reason other than self-promotion. It's not like they're opening a building with 100 units or anything.
Україна досі не є частиною Росії Слава Україні🌻 https://news.stanford.edu/2023/02/17/will-russia-ukraine-war-end