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Japan’s new micro-houses want to be your home away from home on weekends, but we’d stay all week

Casey Baseel Jul 10, 2022
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Having a house built for the price of a car? We could make that lifestyle work.

Tokyo-based architectural firm Jibun Haus takes the first part of its name from the Japanese word for “your own” and the second part from the German word for “house.” The company has done a little more linguistic fusion for the name of its newest offering, the Weekend Haus, but regardless of the language, the appeal of these stylish micro-houses speaks for itself.

With a total floor space of 24.84 square meters (267.38 square feet), the Weekend Haus may not be opulent in its spaciousness, but those dimensions are on par with a cozy Japanese apartment. Unlike with an apartment, though, you’re not sharing your walls with your next-door neighbors, and depending on where you choose to have yours built, you may not have any nearby neighbors at all, aside from whatever local wildlife makes its home in the beautiful natural surroundings.

These aren’t crudely slapped together log shacks, either. Each Weekend Haus has a shower and kitchen, and you can add a bathtub as one of numerous customization options.

If you want to get even more luxurious, sample designs also show features like a pool for keeping cool in the summer…

…or, on the other end of the open-air temperature-based relaxation spectrum, a hot tub and fire pit.

Jibun Haus also makes special mention of the flooring material used for the Weekend Haus. With the target market being those with an appreciation for nature, owners will probably be taking frequent walks through the woods or on the beach. Because of that, the floors are made with solid cedar board of a type more commonly used in cafes than private homes, which Jibun Haus says is resistant to moisture or other staining.

As you might have guessed from the name, the concept for the Weekend Haus is as a getaway cottage for weekend use, ideally somewhere an hour or so outside of the crowded city center or suburban sprawl where you work/live Monday-Friday. For anyone who has managed to adapt to quasi-minimalist lifestyle necessitated by a Japanese-size studio apartment, though, the Weekend Haus looks like it could possibly be a viable 7-days-a-week, 365-days a year home.

▼ Space for a bed and chairs? That was definitely an either/or decision when buying furniture for my Tokyo-area bachelor apartment.

Weekend Haus prices vary by the exact options, but start at 7,480,000 yen (US$55,407). Granted, that doesn’t include the cost of the land you build it on, but still, it’s a house for the price of a moderately nicely equipped car, and if that sounds good to you, virtual tours are available here on the Jibun Haus website.

Related: Jibun Haus
Source: PR Times
Top image: Jibun Haus
Insert images: PR Times, Jibun Haus
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Follow Casey on Twitter, where his bachelor bunker was so small there wasn’t enough space to have beer and water in the fridge at the same time (and so he drank lunkwarm water every day).