Photo: Mitsubishi Jisho Residence
lifestyle

Tokyo condo frees up space by putting a shower in the kitchen

32 Comments
By SoraNews24

One of the most famous aspects of big-city living in Japan is that space is at a premium and some living quarters can be downright tiny. Now, with the pandemic keeping people at home more now than ever, a demand for places that optimize their limited space is high.

Developer Mitsubishi Jisho Residence has come up with such a new design in their newly built The Parkhabio Kameido condominium complex in Koto, Tokyo. They feel this new Roomot plan – a combination of the words “room” and the Japanese word for “more,” “motto” – is effective at both maximizing living space and reducing water and gas consumption.

▼ The Parkhabio Kameido also kind of looks like a PS3.

SF-51.jpg

Back in 2009 Mitsubishi Jisho Residence unveiled the Mixink design in their other buildings, in which the kitchen and bathroom become one by sharing a sink. It’s important to point out that in Japan the toilet and bath are often in separate rooms, so thankfully commodes don’t enter the equation here.

In Mixink the bathtub, shower, sink, medicine cabinet, cupboards, and electric stove are all squeezed into the same area while the fridge is tucked away in a different corner of the room. Whether this is cramped or convenient is in the eye of the beholder. It’s kind of like the half-full/half-empty glass of interior design.

Mixink.jpg

This time, however, they took a look at the bathtub and wondered if it was really needed. Although baths are a big part of Japanese culture, some people might be willing to sacrifice them in order to squeeze in an entertainment center or life-sized Pokemon. The result is the Roomot Shower in which the tub has been removed completely and the shower opens up right into the Mixink kitchen-bathroom sink space.

shower.jpg

▼ The 3-D floor plan on the left shows a conventional kitchen and bathroom layout, and the one on the right is with the Mixink and Roomot Shower setup, along with considerably more living space.

models.jpg

This design will undoubtedly be even more controversial that the Mixink alone, and many of the comments online from people who saw the design had trouble parting with the custom of taking a bath and its purported benefits.

“There’s no bath?!”

“It’s a hassle to wash the bathtub anyway.”

“Sure. There are lots of other places to take a bath.”

“That’s really not much of a kitchen though.”

“It’s more like a rabbit cage than a condo.”

“Taking a bath is important to improve blood circulation. Have things gotten this bad?”

“It looks like the shower at an Internet cafe.”

“You need to soak in hot water to boost your immunity. There are people who don’t do that?!”

“That’s great for people who only take showers.”

“Taking a bath is good for hemorrhoids.”

“Great! The kitchen and bathroom are all in about one square meter.”

“Is the shower door transparent?”

If you look closely at the Roomot Shower photo you can see that the door is just a drawing rather than an actual transparent door. It’s just so we can see the full space, and the real thing will likely have the same standard semi-translucent door that a lot of showers have.

Mitsubishi Jisho Residence also says that the Mixink design reduces the condo’s annual carbon footprint by about 246 kilograms and the Roomot Shower brings it down by about an additional 30 kilograms. Environmentalism aside, these reductions will also have a nice effect on utility bills.

In the end, whether a person wants a bathtub, two sinks, or more space really boils down to personal preference. So, at least it’s always nice to have options in the limited space that’s available.

Source: Mitsubishi Jisho ResidenceImpress WatchItai News

Insert images: Mitsubishi Jisho Residence, SoraNews24

Read more stories from SoraNews24.

-- Japan’s awesome, eco-friendly, old-school water heaters (and how to use them)

-- Open-air toilets, showers for every room among offerings from crazy Tokyo apartment agency

-- How to have a Japanese rotenburo bath experience without leaving your home【Photos】

© SoraNews24

©2024 GPlusMedia Inc.

32 Comments
Login to comment

Figures. That's Tokyo. That looks too confined for me. I might add that a bath always feels great in winter and summer. Just looking at the shower next to the kitchen is stressful enough for me.

1 ( +5 / -4 )

A time saver! I can cook and shower at the same time!

6 ( +8 / -2 )

Good reason to never live in Tokyo or Kanto!

1 ( +9 / -8 )

What kitchen haha

0 ( +5 / -5 )

“You need to soak in hot water to boost your immunity. There are people who don’t do that?!”

“Taking a bath is important to improve blood circulation. Have things gotten this bad?”

How about moving into the 21st century.

-2 ( +6 / -8 )

What a scary back development. Flats without a bath and only a sink or shower in the kitchen were still widespread during the last century. Both my grandparents were still forced to live without a bathroom or outside toilets for many decades after the war until they could move in or afford a better apartment, equipped with a bathroom. Do we now sacrifice everything step by step and finally move again back into the trees like our very first ancestors, those humanoid apes, gorillas or chimpanzees, just to please those new era eco terrorists? They call it leaving less ecologic footprints, but in fact it’s like bombing back into Stone Age, isn’t it?

1 ( +5 / -4 )

Seriously?

It is Koto-ku, it isn't Azabu!

Plenty of nice 1 or 2 bedroom apartments at reasonable prices in the area all have full bathrooms and more space.

This is a place for fools and wannabes, that go around trying to act special and think that living in such a place makes people think they are special, when in reality people wonder why they are spending more to get less.

5 ( +7 / -2 )

So, how much?

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Lying back and relaxing in a hot bath is nice.

Why don't they fit a bathtub in that shower space? Looks like plenty of room on that floorplan, and you'd get the option to stand in the bath for a shower.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

Room + Motto = Roomot. It's a good combination.

However, being a man of letters, I just reversed the order of the two syllables in the word Tokyo.

I used to live in cramped quarters in Tokyo. Now I live in spacious quarters in Kyoto.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

Just make the kitchen sink smaller, problem solved.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Let’s see: J standard 1 outlet per room? - Is Roomoto also equipped for ‘remoto’ work? - Where are the mention of adequate ‘konsento’, upgraded wiring, wi-fi, 5G, etc. ?

*- “this new Roomot plan – a combination of the words “room” and the Japanese word for “more,” “motto” – is effective at both maximizing living space and reducing water and gas consumption.” -*

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I keep reading people going on about never living in Tokyo how they are so much better off in XYZ countryside, etc...

30 years in Tokyo, had a few rentals raised 2 children on my own for the most part last rental was not must smaller than what is available in the suburbs of of any major city back home in Canada and about the same price, my home I bought 2 years ago is just nice space similar price for a well located place in Canada.

The difference is unlike Canada, unlike the countryside in Japan, unlike some suburb.

I am in the city (23 wards) I am 6 minutes walk from 3 different trains/Metro less than a minute from 2 convenience stores, 5 from 2 supermarkets, etc....

So you can keep your countryside I will keep my convenient living and smaller footprint.

0 ( +4 / -4 )

Anyone else care to chime in on how well off they are living in Tokyo or wherever?

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

you can keep your countryside I will keep my convenient living

'Convenient' means different things to different folk.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

and you can be like Cosmo Kramer on Seinfeld and wash your vegetables while showering to save time.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

I guess if people are really hard up for a bathtub and want to live there, they can get one of those rubber swimming pools and put it in the dining room, filled with water. Pool Party!

-2 ( +0 / -2 )

I think they should just put the toilet in the kitchen, too, so as to win precious time in the morning by combining coffee making with bowel movements.

0 ( +2 / -2 )

This is the reason on why I want to stay in Tokyo. Keep sharing like this.

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

This is just nuts. Japanese apartments are so poorly designed; they don't make good use of the limited space provided at all. The "kitchen" is the biggest culprit - whether it's a 12m2 apartment or a 35m2 apartment, the "kitchen" is still basically the same size: a pathetic little corner with a hob and a sink big enough for a baby elf to bathe in. No cutlery drawer, little to no pantry shelves and just a giant hollow space under the sink. You'd think they've be a bit more creative and use transformer furniture, put hooks on walls, doors and utilize all that dead space so store and hang stuff but noooooo. Then there's the absolute lack of insulation making your apartment mimic the North Pole in winter...SMDH.

1 ( +3 / -2 )

Many motorhomes save space by putting the toilet inside the shower. It can be done quite cleanly. It seems like a better choice than this if space is really at that much of a premium.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

While the whole world gives you more space and better ideas for living, the Japanese once again do everything ass backwards

2 ( +4 / -2 )

So you're telling me that this is the best design the architect could come up with?

2 ( +2 / -0 )

Looking at that photo with the lady putting on her make up, I'm not sure if I want the smell of my aftershave to interfere with my food or coffee.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

I guarantee the whole building has inadequate insulation, if any at all. Gotta support the kerosene cartel in Japan!

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Login to leave a comment

Facebook users

Use your Facebook account to login or register with JapanToday. By doing so, you will also receive an email inviting you to receive our news alerts.

Facebook Connect

Login with your JapanToday account

User registration

Articles, Offers & Useful Resources

A mix of what's trending on our other sites