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Our company manages many properties which are rented by U.S. military-related customers.  Some of them are houses which have been specifically rebuilt (and enlarged) to allow for more living and storage space, as well as having bigger doorways and wider stairs, etc.  However, many other rental properties are older/traditional Japanese houses and/or apartments -- and they have less space for living and especially for storage.  In some past articles (linked below), we looked at the average room size differences between Japanese and American dwellings.  Also, some things to consider before shipping larger Western-sized furniture over to Japan, and local stores around Yokosuka where Japanese furniture can be purchased.  As far as storage spaces go, not just foreigners but also Japanese are challenged by not having enough places to put away things -- closets and shelves tend to be narrower and smaller.  So, in order to deal with this problem, many convenient products have been developed, which are sold at home improvement & 100-Yen stores (see link below).  First, there is a huge variety of plastic storage boxes and containers, which vary in size from small to large -- including boxes with pull-out drawers which can be stacked inside a closet or pantry space.  There are also more rugged storage boxes, or even huts, which can be placed on a balcony or set-up outside in the yard.  Finally, there are modular shelves and various hooks and hanging brackets, etc., some pretty ingeniously designed, which can take advantage of an open corner or wall space to store things vertically.  We hope you will be able to efficiently fit all your belongings in your Japanese home. Written by Goodfield                     

LINKS:

Size & Characteristics of Japanese House

https://us.iino.cc/blog/blog.html?eid=00113

Home Improvement Stores

https://us.iino.cc/blog/blog.html?eid=00225

"Oshi-ire" Japanese traditional-style closet

https://us.iino.cc/blog/blog.html?eid=00063