In this economy, we can all agree that finding housing can be quite challenging, especially in a world where landlords and developers try to squeeze as many people as possible into tiny areas.
In Japan, where the population has grown exponentially to 125.7 million, living in micro apartments has become commonplace.
As a result, one travel vlogger has made it his mission to explore the East Asian island and show multiple creative ways some developers have managed to build tiny housing.
Most recently, Norm Nakamura, who has 884,000 subscribers on his YouTube channel entitled Tokyo Lens, filmed himself visiting “Japan’s craziest apartment hands down”.
A YouTuber filmed what he labeled to be "Japan’s craziest apartment hands down"
Image credits: Tokyo Lens
Located in Japan’s capital city of Tokyo, the content creator captured an extremely narrow building adorned in bright yellow bricks.
With a triangular shape, the building was placed on a plot that was seemingly meant to fit a singular car parking space.
As hard as it was at first glance to even imagine a single person living in the extraordinarily small infrastructure, Norm filmed himself entering the premises, where he had managed to acquire permission to visit one of the units.
The building was placed on a plot in Tokyo seemingly meant to fit a single-car parking space
Image credits: Tokyo Lens
Indeed, the block had multiple floors and units.
“Tiny apartments are everywhere in Japan, but this is probably the tiniest that I have found yet,” the YouTuber wrote in his video’s description.
“This just might be the skinniest free-standing apartment I've ever seen,” he added.
Norm displayed the cramped apartment’s entrance, which had just enough space to remove his shoes.
Norm Nakamura, the YouTuber, said this was "probably the tiniest apartment he had found yet"
Image credits: Tokyo Lens
He then turned the camera to what he immediately saw; a limited space for some sort of kitchen area on one side, and a tiny green door giving way to a shower area on the other.
“I basically take out the entire space,” the videographer said.
While filming the shower room, Norm noticed that the building’s developers had miraculously managed to fit in a meager bath.
“It has everything that you need, even a bath, but I doubt I can even fit in,” the adventurer said.
Norm managed to squeeze himself inside the apartment complex after acquiring permission to visit one of the units
Image credits: Tokyo Lens
Nevertheless, Norm did manage to fit into the bath after all, revealing that he had actually seen worse in terms of bath size.
The content creator went on to walk into the main area, a space he measured to be a total of 2.5 meters long from front to back (8.2 feet).
The space, which let a lot of pleasant natural light penetrate inside, looked quite clean and even a little hip with its brick walls.
But after taking a closer look, Norm revealed that the brick walls were in fact made of sponge bricks bought from the dollar store, while the other side was just a fake brick paperwall.
“I basically take out the entire space,” Norm said
Image credits: Tokyo Lens
However, according to the YouTuber, the property’s biggest problem was the noise, as it was located on a busy main street.
“I had problems shooting,” Norm said. “It’s the single most noisy apartment that I’ve had the opportunity to experience in Japan,” he added.
Apartments that are located in capital cities are notoriously known to be expensive, regardless of their size.
But the videographer admitted that he had been surprised by how cheap this apartment was, with a monthly rate of ¥40,000 Japanese yen ($267.17 USD).
“It has everything that you need, even a bath, but I doubt I can even fit in,” the YouTuber said
Image credits: Tokyo Lens
Norm then moved to the toilets, which weren’t included in the same unit, but in a separate narrow room across the studio.
The YouTuber explained that despite being placed outside the apartment, each unit had its own toilet on each floor and that nobody had to share their toilets.
He went on to share a quick glimpse into an abandoned unit that was on the fifth and last floor, the only unit that had a walking balcony.
The deserted apartment had been left completely trashed, to Norm’s shock, who revealed that he had been warned not to talk to other residents living in the complex.
Norm measured a total of 2.5 meters long from front to back (8.2 feet) of living space
Image credits: Tokyo Lens
Norm’s video, which has received 3.3 million views, was flooded with comments from viewers who could not believe the narrowness of the property.
“This makes me feel sad for the tenants... even if you aren't claustrophobic, this is extreme and has to have profound impacts on mental health,” a person commented.
A viewer wrote: “I live in Japan and it is obviously weird to live in the center of Tokyo.
“First it is always noisy, then there isn’t much space and for a family, it is hell.
The space was clean and had a lot of pleasant natural light
Image credits: Tokyo Lens
“I live outside (50 minutes by train), much better for a family (we are 5).
“I understand when you are single and young that it seems a great deal but that’s something we can’t fit for a lifespan.”
Another individual chimed in: “Wow, I actually felt kind of ill watching this. It feels like a nightmare house to me.”
Japan isn’t the only country that provides shockingly small housing to its residents.
Norm revealed the unit cost ¥40,000 Japanese yen per month ($267.17 USD)
In the US, more precisely, in New York City, tenants often find themselves in the predicament of paying a lot of money for a very limited living area.
In fact, one TikToker went viral after touring the “Worst Apartment Ever” in NYC, which wasn’t only expensive and minuscule, but even deprived of its own toilets.
Another extreme example of such cramped places can be found in the form of the infamous “coffin homes” in Hong Kong, China.
An estimated 200,000 people live in tiny subdivided units, some so small that a person cannot even fully stretch out their legs, The Atlantic reported.
People claimed they would felt claustrophobic if they had to live in the tiny unit
