Luxurious guesthouses attract people hungry for neighborly ties

By Maya Kaneko

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Latest 15 of 17 Total Comments Show All

Gaijinocchio at 10:46 AM JST - 16th September

7 square meters!! Now THAT'S what I call luxury!!

And only for the low low price of 90,000 yen or higher!! How could you afford NOT to pay?!
Wakarimasen at 11:47 AM JST - 16th September

Sounds like fun.
meguro at 01:03 PM JST - 16th September

oh this is he cool , I hope they would screen or interview those people will stay in this luxurious gueshouse.ive experienced living in guesthouse sometimes its so scary because diff kind of people living in one place some are paranoid and some are criminals.. mhmm;)
ebisen at 03:28 PM JST - 16th September

I pay almost this much for my 400 sqm land and 170 sqm house loan - 1 hour from Tokyo station
stirfry at 04:02 PM JST - 16th September

200 sq ft for $1500...sounds like a steal...and 7 sq meters ? thats a bathroom in a normal city's apartment
Alphaape at 06:07 PM JST - 16th September

Most of the rooms are not equipped with a kitchen or bathroom and the monthly rents range from 84,000 yen to 141,000 yen

Maybe I am just silly, but if I am paying that much, I would at least want the ability to walk in my undies at night and go to the bathroom without having to worry about seeing someone. Also, I wonder what the line for the shower looks like in the mornings.

How about this, how about trying to say hello to your neighbor in a regular apartment and just be nice because it is a good thing to do rather than to do it because it seems "trendy."
usaexpat at 11:30 PM JST - 16th September

Fail: that kinda money to share space with strangers doesn't cut it even in Tokyo.
womanforwomen at 12:17 AM JST - 17th September

but they are comfortable and offer the chance to make friends with other residents in a shared common space or via a social networking site available only to residents, the property manager says.

You don't need a social networking site to make friends with people. Greet and smile with your neighbors. only kindergarten kids have to be taught to socialise. This manager better think of something else to add more value to his guesthouses. Anyway, in this day and age sharing kitchen and showers, no way.
memyselfI at 06:01 AM JST - 17th September

sounds like fun - Not. Guesthouses is annoying, i really do not want to re-live my college dormitory days. I would rather lre-live that through dreams. Even thought you meet people from everyday walks of life. I really do not want to hear somebody snore. And I hate backpackers. Akiba backpackers I especially hate. Sorry tourists i don't like you.
Apsara at 01:48 PM JST - 17th September

141,000 for a room without bathroom or kitchen? Someone is being ripped off. We live only about 30 minutes from Ebisu and pay less than that for a fairly new 50 sq m apartment, and there was no key money or agency fee either. It's not worth paying that amount just so you can meet people, for goodness' sake.
stirfry at 02:01 PM JST - 17th September

maybe i misunderstood the definition of 'luxurious' for the first 35yrs of my life...i kinda figured a bathroom and kitchen were the LEAST you needed
PitoPuccho at 05:02 PM JST - 17th September

Ryuki Akira, a 19-year-old half-Japanese musician from Scotland

And how does he afford the high cost of rent? I know when i was 19 that would have been impossible.
lostrune2 at 05:02 PM JST - 17th September

Reminds me of university co-ed dorms - and yes, there you can walk to the bathroom or the kitchen in your undies, nobody cares. Haha!
SiouxGirl at 10:48 AM JST - 22nd September

Wow. This apt is about as big as my bedroom and bathroom put together. But it would be easy to clean and in a space like that you never lose anything for long. Like car keys. And if you choose to take the party back to your apartment, you don't have to worry about half of the group going off in the corner to talk among themselves, leaving the other half out. I'm talking about men standing in a group talking to the other men only. In an apt this size, you'll all be infiltrating each other's spaces. But then there's the shared bathroom ... You KNOW some people aren't going to clean up after themselves. I'd have to pass on this place and go to the bars to meet people instead. Even factoring in the price of alcohol, it'd be cheaper.
WhiteHawk at 09:33 AM JST - 25th September

Sounds like the setting for Love Shuffle 2.