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For balance between work and play: Share Place Urawa

Caster Media — Thu, 27 Sep 2012 01:30:14 +0000

Quiet cafe accommodations with a touch of the city life.

Everyone who’s grown up in the country side, or perhaps even in the suburbs, has surely fantasized about life in the big city at least once. With the allure of a dazzling city skyline and a lavish lifestyle, who can resist the call of the metropolis. After experiencing life in the big city, however, it’s soon apparent that it’s not all glitz and glamour. The constant noise and hardships of urban living can leave even the most die hard lovers of city life longing for a break once in a while.

For a vacation it’s easy to get away from it all, but for a place to live you have to find balance. A place offering peace and quiet to clear ones thoughts after a hard day’s work, but with just enough of that city magic to entertain you on the weekends, or perhaps just a train to quickly get you to where the fun’s at.

About a half hour train ride from big city hot spots such as Shinjuku and Shibuya, and a 10 minute walk from Urawa Station. That’s where you’ll find today’s share house, Share Place Urawa. Located in a quiet neighborhood not too far from Urawa Station, Share Place Urawa offers all the peace and tranquility you could ask for, and with its sleek interior designing, you’re sure to relax in style. When you’re ready to go out and have fun, all you have to do is head near the station. There are plenty of restaurants, a shopping plaza, and even a movie theater, or if you prefer something closer to the heart of the city, places such as Shinjuku, Shibuya, and Ikebukuro are all within reach.

They have a saying about all work and no play, so if you’re looking for a place to give you balance between your daily grind and downtime, and you don’t want to end up like Jack, this is a share house you have to see.

So let’s get started!

「Share Place Urawa」House Details Page (*Available in Japanese only)

The Outside View

As mentioned earlier, the house is located in a nice quiet neighborhood 10 minutes from the station. With it’s “at home” atmosphere, the house blends in so well, we would have missed it if not for the orange sign.

Speaking of the orange sign, here we are arriving at Share Place Urawa. It’s hard to see, but off in the distance there’s parking for bicycles behind the house.

Every resident has a personal mail box, and there are also post boxes for package deliveries, so you’ll have no problems with your mail once settled in.

This is actually the lock to the main entrance of the share house. It looks like something out of a Sci-fi movie, but with unique features such as this, you can be sure they care about security here.

Once inside, one of the first things you’ll notice is the share house white board. Here everyone can write their name in the space matching their room to know who’s who, and leave messages for each other.

The Main Lounge

It looks like you’re walking into a Cafe, but no, this is the lounge where you can relax with your share mates. Whether you’re on the comfy sofa, or at one of the tables for a better view outside, all your troubles are sure to melt away after coming in here.

Connecting seamlessly from the main part of the lounge, this area also functions as the dining room. Here you can enjoy your meals or pull up a chair and read a book with the great lighting from outside.

　Here’s another shot of the living room from the kitchen. There’s a counter with a few extra seats as well as a laptop that’s free for everyone to use.

Here’s a closer shot of the house’s shared computer. Perfect for quickly checking your mail, and since it’s practically in the kitchen, it’s also great for pulling up recipes.

It’d be a waste to let such a great looking house get dirty, and with these vacuum cleaners on standby, keeping the lounge and even your room spotless is a snap.

Outside the sliding glass doors is a miniature wooden deck and the bicycle parking spaces.

The Kitchen

When your stomach’s rumbling, there’s no better place to be. With its IH stove tops, rice cookers, and wide array of kitchenware, there’s nothing you can’t cook here.

Here’s a shot of the kitchen in its entirety. A closer look at the sink. There are 3 in total so this kitchen is fit to handle a lot of people at once. The shelves opposite the stove tops house all the pots, pans, rice cookers, etc. Everything you need to cook is here.
No chef can cook without their secret seasonings, and every resident is given their own storage box to keep track of all their favorite spices. Stepping away from the kitchen for a moment, here’s one of the house’s wash stands and washing machines. The washing machine includes a dryer function and it’s free to use, so your wallet will thank you when it’s time to do laundry.
A quick look at one of the toilets. As you’d expect from a modern Japanese home, it includes a bidet. Here’s the bathing room. Here you can use simply use the shower head or take advantage of the bath tub. Either way, you’ll come out feeling refreshed. There’s also no worry of competing to use these facilities either. The house is divided into units, so the bathrooms and laundry rooms are only shared between three or four people!

The Private Rooms

This is what makes the share house feel like a home. All of the rooms are fairly spacious private rooms. They include all your essentials, sharing a bathroom and laundry room with only a few people, so it almost feels like an apartment.

No this isn’t a Sci-fi movie again, it’s the lock to one of the rooms. Again you can see the emphasis on security here. Here’s a shot of room 103. With light gently pouring in through the windows, this room has a very relaxed atmosphere. Here’s the staircase and a door to one of the units. This one in particular is for rooms 211 through 214.
While the staircase has sufficient lighting, the residents thought it’d be fun to brighten things up a bit more and painted light bulbs on the wall. Here’s room 205. The bed looks ready for someone to hop in. Looking up at one of the light fixtures, you can see the bare concrete ceiling, which contrasts nicely with the room for a slightly edgy feel.
Inside each unit every room’s number has been painted above the lock. Here’s room 206. Stepping inside you’ll find a room with great lighting. There’s also a rack in the corner to hang clothes. Room 213 has a unique shape compared to other rooms, but its quite spacious with a nice view of the outside.
Here’s what the unit’s hallway looks like. The doors of each unit also have different uniform colors, giving each one its own unique charm. When your laundry needs to be dried, come here to one of the house’s two roof terraces. The design of the racks is also perfect for drying a futon. Going up to the second roof terrace, you can enjoy a great view of the area. Perfect for a sunny day, or a few drinks in the evening with share mates.

Rebita, the owners of this share house, are known for their stylish and comfortable share houses and this one certainly won’t disappoint. The house’s quiet surroundings along with its sleek interior design make it the perfect place to relax, and simply heading near the station will ensure you can have a good time.

Taking the train, you can head to Saitama Shintoshin and Omiya to enjoy more great shops and restaurants, or head further down to the likes of Shibuya and Ikebukuro to get your fill of the city.

Balance is key to a rich and happy life, and a share house like this is the perfect way to have your cake and eat it too. So what are you waiting for? If you’re looking for a stylish place to relax and do a little socializing, but still have the option to go out and have fun without hassle, this could be the house you’ve been waiting for.

/Author: Paul

A place to meet people and maybe stir up some chemistry: Sharepanda

Caster Media — Tue, 05 Jun 2012 01:00:11 +0000

A place to relax, filled with the sounds of camaraderie

There are probably a lot of people who believe that being in a place away from the city, without the bothersome sound of cars and the bustling voices of people, one is sure to relax and feel at ease. However, as one continues to live such a quiet life without contact from other people, I’d like to think at least once in a while they will long for the presence of others they once felt accustomed to, or perhaps even thought to be annoying.

Come to think of it, although this is a personal experience, when preparing for high school and college entrance exams, rather than studying alone secluded in my room, I felt that I could concentrate much better in the living room amidst the talking and laughter of my family. I couldn’t understand why back then, but looking back on it now, I think that being surrounded by people I had a connection with and knowing they were there for me, gave me a great sense of stability.

Today I’ll be showing you “Share Panda”, just a minute walk away from Nishi-Kawaguchi Station along the JR Keihin Tohoku line. The company that manages Share Panda, Domingo , is filled with very considerate and generous people who support dedicated individuals working toward their goals with great enthusiasm. “If you’re proactive and hard working, you’re more than welcome.” As expected from such a straight forward remark, proactive people seem to be steadily gathering together.

If you think you’ll find a place to belong where the air is filled with the voices of busy people, where the warmth of others will be waiting for you when you get home, this place is perfect.

“In any case, if I’m going to live together with others, I want to it be active and fun!”

If this sounds like you, this is definitely a share house we want you to see. So let’s get started!

「Sharepanda」House Detail Page


Here we have the outside of Share Panda. The 1st floor is a pachinko parlor while the 3rd through 6th floors are for the share house. The surrounding area is also fairly quiet as well. This is the entrance. Each resident has their own mail box, so there’s no need to worry when dealing with mail.
The key is a non-contact type. Because there are so many people living together, they seem to be emphasizing security, and to unlock it from the inside, a button has to be pressed, which I thought may be important for the assurance of female residents. Here’s a shot of the lounge. It’s fairly spacious, and the occasional breeze through the window makes this space quite comfortable.
What I felt to be a distinguishing feature of the lounge is it’s color scheme, which has such a tranquil atmosphere despite being so colorful. With wood-grain flooring, I thought the room had a great look that didn’t overemphasize anything too much. This is the kitchen and dining room. The seats and shelves here have a very vibrant color scheme.
The red shelves on the right side are for each resident to freely store items as they please. A place to put your own seasonings, emergency rations, etc. certainly seems invaluable. The lounge is also furnished with two computers which anyone can freely use. Because they’re free to use for all residents, they’re obviously great for those who don’t own computers, but perhaps they’re also used as people plan holidays, trips, and other various things together.
Here’s a closer look at the kitchen. It’s been furnished with a 2 burner gas stove and 2 sinks. It looks like everyone takes care of dishes right after eating. This is the free space located on the outside of the dining room. The bright red vending machine is quite impressive, but it seems to be a unique area inside the building where one can smoke. Perhaps this is a place for those who smoke to get together.
This is the separate women’s only wash stand and washing machine. This washing machine can be used for free. There’s also a shower room equipped with a bathtub. However, this seems to be a women’s only room as well, so men can only use showers. I guess it really pays to be a woman living in a share house.
The wash stand, bathroom, and shower rooms are together in 1 unit on the 4th through 6th floors. Of course, men can use these facilities as well. There’s a laundry space on the 6th floor, but this one appears to require payment. (1 use of the laundry machine is 200 yen. 30 minutes in the dryer is 100 yen) Also, the door on the right side inside this space leads to an area on the roof to hang clothes to dry.
This is one of the rooms (room 305), with a cute polka dot design accenting one of the walls. Also, the room is 7 tatami (11.5m²) in size, so you could probably say it’s a relatively spacious private room compared to most share houses in the city. Here’s a look at room 304. The basic layout and furnishing of all the rooms is the same, and only the wall paper seems to be different.
The basic layout of each room is very simple, and although it’s a share house, this is your private room, so it could be fun to decorate it and create your own unique space. (This is room 303) This is room 405, furnished with a folding bed. When you’re not sleeping, it’s a great to make effective use of your space.
Here’s a shot of the closet space which can be found in every room. You can fit quite a bit into these closets, so I don’t think there will be any problems moving in if you have a lot of personal belongings.
The desks which can be found in every room seem to be custom made and are a part of the wall. Because the desk is place along the wall, you can not only make effective use of your room’s space, but it also has a very clean look. I like how it casually blends into the room.

Unfortunately, I wasn’t able to get any photos of the residents going about their daily routines, but Share Panda is a large scale share house accommodating up to 52 rooms, and there appear to be a variety of people from many different nationalities.

Whether they’re study abroad students who’d like to know more about Japanese culture, Japanese people who decided to move in for the chance to partake in culture exchange, men, women, students, or working adults, there seem to be people from all walks of life living together here under one roof.

Living together with a large number of people, you can’t say things will go swimmingly from the start, but this is an opportunity to spend time with people you’d never expect to meet if not for living in a share house. And by being in contact with these people who have different values and ways of thinking, you may find life leading you in a slightly different direction. From there perhaps there will be some unexpected chemistry as you find common interests with other residents. Just thinking about it you’ll be in a more pro-active state of mind.

Osamu Dazai once said “Every day we live is a miracle. No, life in itself is a miracle.” Years from now, if you can look back on your time in this share house and say “it was a blessing to have lived in a place like that,” there’s no doubt your life will be much more fulfilling for having had the experience.

“A first step taken from curiosity can lead to a world of possibilities.” If this phrase piques your interest, even if it’s just to take a look, please stop by.

/Author: Kagawa, Translation: Paul