Japanese houses compared to European ones

[Ewok85]

OMG, the wind in winter in a japanese house, it just goes THROUGH the house. Cmon people, stick some insulation in the walls!

I read an article last year about a Canadian carpenter who was working in japan (and had been for a while) slogging his way through a rather close environment and eventually starting his own business. He would be the kind of person I'd see about getting a house in Japan.

This is a great topic Maciamo. The house im in at the moment is a 40ish mudbrick home in Adelaide, Australia. We have cold wet winters (avg 0-20 celc) and hot dry summers (avg 30-45 celcius).This house is a typical brick, insulation, fibro (plasterboard) construct, attics and basements are rare and we dont have one. We do have some space uner the roof (tiled, though metal corrugated iron sheeting is equally popular and more often used now) in which the air conditioning vents and central heating vents are. Pantries are not common or rare, some people have them some don't.

Bathrooms are an interesting topic though. Like in Japan the toilet and bath/shower are in different rooms over here. I think its the same in Europe but not America. Cant see why you'd want them together anyhow.

Most washing machines here are top-loading, we have the space The tumbledryers tend to be front loading though.

Ceilings are higher. Windows are 2 parts, generally half is fixed and the other half can slide behind it. Double glazed helps keep the heat in.

Built in wardrobes are becoming popular now. Similar to what you have in japan only with drawers at the bottom, shelves above. Single long shelf at the top. Maybe a bit of long hanging space. Very very useful (and mirrored doors to make the room look huge! )

[Maciamo]

Bathrooms are an interesting topic though. Like in Japan the toilet and bath/shower are in different rooms over here. I think its the same in Europe but not America. Cant see why you'd want them together anyhow.

What I meant was not just that the toilet were in a different room, but that the bathroom itself in Japan is the shower. It's just a big shower with a bath inside. After taking a shower, there is no space left dry on the floor, so you can possibly enter with socks in the bathroom. In Europe, Australia or America, there is a tiled floor with a sink, mirror, some furnitures, with or without toilet, then the shower in a corner with "plastic walls" and a door to avoid water spilling on the floor. If there is no such shower, then it is in the bathtub and there is usually a plastic curtain, also to prevent the water from reaching the bathroom's floor. No such thing exist in Japan. In other words, there are no bathrooms in Japan, just an "ofuro" with a door that gives on a corridor.

NB : In Europe, the toilet is more often than not in the bathroom, but with possibly some additional ones outside too.

Most washing machines here are top-loading, we have the space The tumbledryers tend to be front loading though.

Actually I hate those top-loaders and wonder why bossel said they were "hip". IMO, they don't wash well. I have used one in Japan during 2 years and always complained about the white fluffs accumulating on the clothes because they are justly not "tumbled" but stay at the bottom and turn in horizontal circles. They are also less convenient to unload (you have to lean into the machine and pull everything 1m up), and you can't put anything on the top of the machine (like the laundry basket). I had to look for a new front-loading one and it is much better now.

[bossel]

Actually I hate those top-loaders and wonder why bossel said they were "hip". IMO, they don't wash well. I have used one in Japan during 2 years and always complained about the white fluffs accumulating on the clothes because they are justly not "tumbled" but stay at the bottom and turn in horizontal circles. They are also less convenient to unload (you have to lean into the machine and pull everything 1m up), and you can't put anything on the top of the machine (like the laundry basket). I had to look for a new front-loading one and it is much better now.

Hip as in trendy. I don't see any other reason why people would buy this stuff. As you pointed out, they're pretty impractical. (not as impractical as washing by hand, though, as I have to do at the moment)