A Look Into the Traditional Japanese Home

As I promised to continue regular blogging, I thought I would do a few posts regarding traditional customs, typical housing, etiquette, etc.  This post will be about how the Japanese typically live at home.  I will focus on most of the traditional aspects, which are still used frequently, although the Western amenities that we are used to are definitely becoming more abundant.

As I know I have mentioned previously, houses are very close together due to the densely concentrated population and very few homes have large yards - or any yards at all.  In larger cities, apartment style living is very common - as they say, the only way to increase housing in Japan is to build upwards, as all the livable land is already used.  A classic Japanese apartment is called a "mansion" and is basically equivalent to what we would call a "studio" or "economy" style apartment - a one room space with small kitchen area, that is then partitioned off into bedroom/living area, etc.  So, if you move to Japan, don't express interest in a mansion, you won't get your dream home.  ;)

The typical Japanese home is built with wood.  This is cost effective and safer due to all the earthquakes. Roofs used to be made of thatch, and you will still see this from time to time, but now days the roofs are instead made of tiling.  Windows are sliding with shutters, and inner doors are covered in paper.  Below are some pictures of the typical Japanese home.

Thatched Roof

Paper lined window shutters/partitions 

The architecture of most Japanese homes is clean, simple lines with sloped roofs - inspired by the structure of Buddhist temples and of buildings in the Edo period (1600's). 

Upon entering a typical Japanese home, you will find the "genkan", or entryway.  The genkan is at the same level as the outdoors, with a step up that enters into the house. The rest of the house will be at this raised level.  At any Japanese home, you are expected/required to remove your shoes in the genkan itself, and then as you step up, you slip into slippers or remain in your socks, if desired.  Slippers are provided to you as a guest of the home.  It is rude to go barefoot, so it is socks or slippers only. :)

The strictness of no shoes in the home is two-fold.  Mainly, it is formed from the Shinto religions philosophy of cleanliness, but also due to the practical fact that Japanese flooring is extremely fragile.  The wood is soft and indents from shoes are easily left, and the straw tatami mats that cover most of the rest of the house are fragile and expensive to repair.  It is written into our lease that we are not to wear shoes in our house.   
As a lot of restaurants and other places also adopt this philosophy, it makes shoe choices interesting.  Anyone who loves shoes knows that some are easier to get off/on than others, so occasionally (okay, most of the time), I look like a classic awkward American falling down in the restaurant genkan trying to get out of my shoes. 

The layout of a Japanese home is truly the definition of open-concept.  They were on trend before their own time.  ;)   There are the wooden and paper covered doors that you see in the above pictures that can be used to separate rooms if needed and/or to make "bedrooms", which aren't strictly defined in a traditional Japanese home.  As homes are usually on the small size, not having distinct purposes for each room helps maximize space as needed. 

Japanese rooms are typically "sized" by how many tatami mats are required to cover the floor.  Tatami flooring is what covers most of the living space in the house, while wood flooring covers hallways and maybe the kitchen.  Tiling or other flooring is found in the kitchen and bathrooms.  Tatami is a straw mat material that is incredibly intricate and fragile.  Each mat is usually 180cm x90cm, so if you have a 4 tatami room - 4 of this size mats are needed to cover the floor.  

For sleeping in a traditional Japanese home, futons are placed on the floor and then stored in closets (oshiire) during the daytime.  

Folding the Futon

Quite a few Japanese hotels will give you the option of a Western style room with what we are used to as a bed, or have the traditional futon option as well.   A hotel that only has the traditional rooms is called a Ryokan.  In my experience, there probably isn't much difference between the two bedding choices, the "Western" style beds are usually hard as a rock.  I'm a wuss, I like my pillow-top mattress. ;)

The traditional Japanese kitchen usually consists of a gas stove, rice cooker, microwave oven/toaster, and a refrigerator.  They do not classically have large ovens like we are used to, if they do have a oven attached to the stove, it is a fish oven (see picture below).  Large kitchens are not common, they are usually quite small. 

Stove with Fish Oven

The majority of houses in Japan, traditional or not, do not have central heating.  They use either wall units or kerosene stoves or a combination of the two to heat their homes.  Units are turned off when no one is in the room and/or at night.  Combine this with wood flooring and you better own some good slippers! :)

A cool furniture item that stems from having generally difficult to heat homes, is the kotatsu. This is a table that was traditionally placed over a deep recess in the flooring of a home.  It is deep enough to put your legs under/in and then a charcoal heater was used to heat the recess, keeping your legs nice and warm.  In more modern times, you don't need the recess in the flooring and the charcoal is replaced with an electric heater built into the bottom of the table.

The Japanese bathroom probably takes the most getting used to, and causes the most anxiety with how to do things correctly, if staying in a traditional Japanese home.   Separate areas exist for the toilet, the sink and the bath.  The toilet is always a separate room from both the sink and the bath.   The Ofuro (bath) has a small room just outside of it for changing, and also has a sink/mirror.  In a waterproof room is the shower and bath.  The bathtub is small and compact, but very deep.   To the Japanese, the bath is a place of relaxation, therefore no cleansing is done in the actual tub.  You shower/rinse off just adjacent to the tub, and then only when clean do you enter the bathtub.   The tubs are quite remarkable, they can be controlled on remote settings, often from ones cell phone, or programmed to fill at a certain time every day.  They are circulating tubs, meaning that the temperature will stay where you set it for as long as you have it on.  Classically, the entire Japanese family will use only bathtub full of water since it stays warm and you are already "clean" when you get in.  The tub comes with a cover that you keep on between bathers as well as when you showering so soap and dirt don't enter the clean space. 

You shower NEXT to the tub.  Lots of room :)

Changing area/sink

 And then there is the Japanese toilet.  A modern marvel really.  I can see why many Westerners who live here for a bit buy toilets to send back home to their own house.   First of all - heated seats, need I say more.  And you can program to the degree how warm you want the seat.   Then, there are the cleaning options - which I am sure you can all imagine how those work.  For those, you can program water temperature used and strength of the water jets.   Because the toilet is not in the same room as the sink, the toilet usually has a water spout on the back that runs clean water when you flush to wash your hands with.  This water is then used to fill up the toilet tank for the next flush.  

Toilet Controls

A VERY important note!  When at a ryokan, a Japanese home, or anywhere you are using the bathroom that has made you remove your shoes - make sure you do not wear your house slippers into the bathroom!  There are slippers marked "WC" which are used exclusively while in the toilet room and it is a huge faux pas if you don't change in or out of them when using the toilet.  

Lastly, the "Squatty Potty".   That's what I call it.  I believe you find these more in SE Asia, but they nonetheless still quite common here, especially in train station bathrooms or other public bathroom facilities.  

Raised squatty potty

Regular squatty potty

Yes, these are for girls.  To use, you face the front of the toilet - which is where the water well is at the top of the pictures and then squat as close as you can to the toilet itself.  If it is a raised potty, you stand on the raised section.  Intimidating at first, but then I just tried to remember back to undergrad tailgates, parties, etc., where you had to find a nice tree to squat next to and then it was much easier! ;)   Also an excuse to keep up with squat exercises to help keep you balanced, lol! 

Also, it is important to keep some toilet paper/tissues, hand sanitizer, and a hand towel with you when you go out.  It is common that public bathrooms don't have toilet paper, it is rare that they have soap, and it is unheard of that they have paper towel or dryers.  Unless you go to the fancy shopping area ones. :)

On that note, until next time!  :)  I swear this will be the last time I talk about toilets.