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Share life in Japan through English and discover a whole new world

A new house has been born in the city of Fukuoka with English its lingua franca.

The most important thing for understanding foreign cultures is actually interacting with them. The residents of this house have the same interest - intercultural exchange. Communication is easily created among those with similar interests. Also, because English is the main form of communication there is no mistake that non-Japanese residents coming to Fukuoka will benefit greatly.

Fukuoka is definitely a place I’d love to see people from outside of Japan call home.
In actual fact Fukuoka is ranked 3rd among Japanese cities after Tokyo and Osaka in the world’s most livable cities ranking. In addition to being ranked among prominent asian mega cities Tokyo, Shanghai and Seoul, with the commencement of low cost carrier airlines connecting the city to places like Hong Kong and Bangkok, Fukuoka is a town of accelerating globalisation with a steady international vibe.

Fukuoka is a city bordered by mountains on one side and the ocean on the other. The area loves its with festivals with events held all year long including the Hakata Dontaku Festival and the Yamakasa fireworks display. A trip to one of the onsens scattering the island of Kyushu once in a while is also a great way to spend your time. There’s no way you’ll grow tired of interaction in this place.

Let’s have a look inside the house!!

※ Same Concept Share House will be open July in 2016 → 「Discovery Meinohama South」

「Discovery Hakata South」House Details Page

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Front entrance boasts comfortable leather sofa and stylish bulletin board

This relaxation space right inside the front door makes it easy to forget the time and spend ages talking with your housemates, and counts as one of the houses amazing common rooms.

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A shot from the outside. The wooden doors of the building set it apart from others.

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The entrance is back away from the road, which feels much safer than a front door opening straight out onto a busy street.

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The stylish nameplate. No corners have been cut in the creation of this home.

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A hand-drawn welcome board is displayed extravagantly in the front entrance overseeing the coming and going of the house inhabitants.

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Simple yet retro shoe lockers bring back old school memories and speak of strengthening bonds between housemates.

 
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Wide, open cafe-style dining room a gathering spot for housemates

The dining room is a warm, inviting place furnished in exquisite harmony with antiques where one can feel history through its wooden floorboards.

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In the center of the room is a large table created from antique pieces of wood.

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The kitchen is of a size unfathomable in a regular house, perfect for those who love to cook.

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This piece of furniture, built with personal storage space for each housemate, is a familiar, overwhelming presence in the room.

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These comfortable seats by the window transport you to an inner city cafe as you dine.

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Transform the dining room into a makeshift bar when the sun goes down with these wine glasses.

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It will please you to know that the kitchen is complete with plenty of bowls, pots and pans. Not much is needed when moving into a sharehouse.

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The color-scheme of the rubbish bins blends well with the overall theme of the house.

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Study room fitted with multi-purpose sofas and desks reminiscent of antique furniture shop

Beautifully designed rooms like this one with its beautiful colors will beautifully escort you through your sharehouse life.

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Full view of the study room. With a room like this one in your own home you might not even feel the need to hang out at a cafe on the weekends.

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The sofa area gives off an impressive vibe and could even be used to host a casual business meeting.

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Gathering around this circular table will bring you closer to your sharemates who were once strangers.

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Enjoy yourself stocking book shelves reminiscent of those found in a library. This sharehouse also shares books!

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2 sturdy desks. Take a seat here when you seriously want to get some work done.

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There are personal lockers for housemates in the study room too, so you can keep your study tools closeby.

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A stylish, artistic lamp adds a nice touch to the study room.

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This is a whiteboard used in English classes for the Japanese residents held on Wednesdays and Sundays. It is also available for use outside of class.

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A house with its stylish theatre room connecting the world through film

You’ll be drawn to spend time in this secluded, uniquely decorated room even if you aren’t coming to watch a movie.

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The theatre room is located at the back of the study room.

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The elevated seating arrangement is reminiscent of student life on campus and will surely make you and your housemates feel like a real group.

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You can hook up your personal computer to the room’s projector. Share what you can with each other to enrich your lives.

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The everyday bathroom sink is decorated with gold-colored hardware and framed mirror

This washstand is located beside the common area on the 1st floor. We should take care of the things we use the most!

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The white color-scheme of the showers behind the washstand suggests a clean and spotless environment.

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There are 5 showers in total and the shelving inside makes for ease of use.

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The gorgeous sofa chair in front of the showers is proof that every little thing has been thought of.

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A toilet on the 1st floor. With a total of 8 toilets, 2 on each floor, you’ll always be able to find a vacant one.

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The other toilet on the 1st floor.

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A 10m2 room, the perfect size for one person (Low Bed Room)

With everything you could possibly need already arranged, all you need to move in is yourself and your suitcase. That’s one of the privileges of living in a sharehouse.

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A High Bed Room-type room uses space economically to advance its storage capabilities.

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This is the tatami room. It has a free, unrestricted layout with 3 tatami mats laid out on the floor.

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Low Bed Room. Refrigerators have been prepared in every room.

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At a reasonable rate of 25,000 yen, the dormitory room is most suitable for those who love to communicate with others.

 

The owner of this sharehouse is Irodori Factory, a company looking after over 10 properties in the city and Yokohama.

This is their first Fukuoka property, creating a new type of house with English as its main theme in the cosmopolitan city brimming with people from all over the world. The interior design of the shared areas -the dining room and study room- overflow with an elegance one would be lucky to have in their own home. To top it off, there is even a theatre room! Oh, the luxury! With much knowledge and experience gained in previous endeavours poured into this house anyone can move right in without a thing to worry about.

We also asked the company about their goals in the future, and were told that they would ideally like to build houses in cities overseas and create a community that knows no bounds. It goes without saying that as barriers between countries are lowered people travel the world more and the opportunity to interact with a person from a different country and culture increase. This might be irrelevant, but I was reminded of something former Apple CEO Steve Jobs said at a lecture he gave at Stanford University. “You can't connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backwards.” Living life in many different cities may just be new way in which we will all be living in the near future.

This sharehouse may not be the place for everyone as it strives to become a home for people interested in the world and intercultural exchange. However, I believe a unique community will go on to be formed as housemates with the same interests, who start off as not family or friend, share their home and lives together.

Same Concept Share House will be open July in 2016 → 「Discovery Meinohama South」

/Author: Takahashi

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