Tiny houses in Japan

It’s not just the lack of affordable space that has resulted in more people in Japan living in tiny houses: increasingly, they do so out of idealism. Journalist Ingrid Houtkooper talks to three Japanese tiny house dwellers. One of them is Saho. 

Saho began building her house while at school—she had no job and only a small student loan. “We learned how to make different types of model wooden houses so we could get the techniques right and I got to keep all of the materials,” she says. “I used the best beams I could find to build it. I made the walls out of clay and straw, and finished them off with drywall. It keeps the house warm in the winter and cool in the summer.”

Grass, moss and flowers grow on the roof and act as natural insulation. The prefab cabin is now the bedroom. Saho expanded it with a kitchen, living room and toilet. A shower and beautiful wooden bathtub stand separate from the living area. Saho used a traditional Japanese technique to preserve the wood in the house. “The technique is called Shou Sugi Ban,” she explains. “I burned the top layer with a blowtorch and then sanded it. This makes the wood beautifully dark and it is better protected against weather.”