Minimalist culture in Tokyo

By Honor Davies GMD

This December I had the opportunity to visit Tokyo, Japan. During my visit, a lot of my expectations were challenged and I began to see a new side of Tokyo. I had previously known about the Japanese 'minimalist' movement but I had just (wrongly) assumed that the minimalist lifestyle was mostly for removing most 'material' goods. Through more research I soon realised that this is not the case. Although, for some people, that is why they practice a minimalist lifestyle; for most it almost becomes a necessity in a constantly growing city with an even faster growing population. This means that many people live in 'coffin' houses. These are houses that just fit the fundamental elements of a house: a bed, a kitchen and a bathroom. These tiny houses mean that many young professionals are required to live a minimalist life due to otherwise being unable to fit all of their clothes and 'stuff' into their homes. 

This adaptation in order to live in a smaller apartment seems to be one that young people in Japan take on freely and with very few complaints.