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Live in the ‘low city’ reminiscent of times past: Alpha Style Morishita

Caster Media — Fri, 07 Jun 2013 09:00:37 +0000

A neighborhood with good public transport access

During the Edo period, the merchants lived below the hilly ‘Yamanote’ where the samurai resided in an area where commerce and industry developed, and came to be called ‘Shitamachi’ or the ‘low city’.

Nowadays the low city is no longer the center of commerce and industry, however this area, where the traditions of old Edo remain strong, is the place to go to experience Japanese culture such as sumo wrestling and kabuki theater as well as gourmet dining.

Today we introduce to you a share house in the low city near Morishita station, Alpha Style Morishita.

Morishita station, which is serviced by the Toei Shinjuku and Toei Ōedo lines, has great access with it taking 13 minutes to Shinjuku and also within 20 minutes to Tokyo station, which those working in Tokyo would be happy to hear.

Let’s have a look inside!

「Alpha Style Morishita」House Detail Page

A stylish exterior makes a good impression

5 minutes walk from Morishita station. This building nestled in a quiet, residential area is Alpha Style Morishita.

Let’s open the glass door and head on inside, shall we?

This is the front hallway. Shoe lockers like the wall next to a door leading to the lounge room.

This phone is connected to all of the rooms. Convenient in times of emergency.

The lounge fosters an adult-like ambiance

This photo was taken of the lounge from the entrance. The renovated house is unified with a relaxing color-scheme.

The dining table.

The sofa and television. This area is mainly for relaxing.

The television is right in front of the sofa so you might end up lounging around and watching it all day if you’re not careful. Here is the kitchen located at the back of the lounge. Areas in the front and the back help keep hindrances to a minimum when more than one person is cooking at the same time. The refrigerator. There is also one upstairs.
The washstands on the 2-3F. Two people can use them at the same time with one in the front and one in the back. The shower room. There are 5 in total so you will never worry about someone else being in the shower. The washing machine. There a 4 installed in the house.

Private rooms with loft-style beds use space effectively

The private rooms are equipped with loft-style beds and you can even use the space below as a desk.

There is a phone in the room connecting to the one we saw before downstairs. The hallway coming out of a room. Now then let’s leave the house and take a look around the neighborhood of Morishita.
An intersection. The pole is decorated with the flag fireman used to use in the Edo period, called a ‘matoi’. When this photo was taken the Morishita Asagao Fair (the word for the Morning Glory flower) was about to take place. One of the best things about living in the low city is its festivals. You can see Tokyo’s number one sightseeing spot, the Sky Tree, from Morishita station.

Managing this share house is Alpha Style. Alpha Style provides comfortable, fully-equipped share houses with the concept of ‘adding charm and relaxation to the Tokyo lifestyle’. The company’s strong point is smooth interaction with its tenants, and as an example, at the moment in exchange for asking their tenants to conserve energy they are providing spices and condiments and such for cooking.

The low city is an area where you can enjoy a variety of gourmet foods. Wake up a little bit early and go out to indulge in a luxurious breakfast at Tsukiji, or satiate your hunger with a Monjayaki at Tsukishima. Enjoy the festivals held almost every month at Asakusa, and visit the Sky Tree to gaze at the night view. You can get to all of these locations within 20m by train.

With great access to the city, you can choose to go out or stay in without too much planning.

It is said that nowadays the personalities of different neighborhoods are being lost with increasing urbanization.

Living in the low city, you just might be able to come to experience a town as it was in the good old days.

/Author: Sekino

Share-co Monzennakacho: A house where the theme is ‘health’ and the motto is ‘feeling refreshed’

Caster Media — Tue, 27 Nov 2012 06:00:57 +0000

Eat, move and laugh often

A healthy lifestyle is something quite difficult to attain by yourself. This is because behind the word ‘health’ lies hidden the words ‘effort’ and ‘habit’. To top it off there is the temptation of all of the delicious food and beverages in the world. It takes great determination to work hard and overcome these hurdles every day. For a person going at it alone, that is.

So, I now introduce to you Share-co Monzennakacho, a female-exclusive sharehouse centered on health which opened this past October. Standing in a great location just 3-minutes walk from Monzennakacho station on the Tokyo Metro Tozai and Toei Oedo lines, this house is ideal for those working in the city with the Nihonbashi and Otemachi business districts 10 minutes away.

The theme of the house is ‘Health.’ That’s right, in this house you can work together with like-minded friends and encourage each other along the way. Feel encouraged by others working hard when you’re feeling a bit slack, or be scolded by them when you feel like giving into temptation. Refresh your body and mind by having fun and exercising together. A healthy lifestyle is within your grasp.

Without further ado, let’s head on inside!

「Share-co Monzennakacho」House Details Page

The Exterior

The bulky exterior may be a tad hard to approach, but you should never judge a book by its cover so let’s head on inside.

This white-colored room is the front entrance. Patterns reflected onto the wall by the light add a glamorous touch.

Right in front of the entrance is a storage room for everyone’s shoes.

Let’s first head upstairs and have a look at the main lounge on the 4F. There is no elevator, so you must use to stairs to get to the lounge.

Main Lounge

Stepping into the lounge you are greeted by the kitchen encircled by a circular wooden wall. This is the main feature of the sharehouse and leaves a big impact.

Space to sit back and relax. Stretch out on the sofa or even sit on the balance ball while chatting to others.

There is also a café-esque area with tables and chairs in the lounge. Tenants can enjoy eating breakfast while basking in the morning sun coming through the large window.

There is a TV directly in front of the sofa, its wires hidden from sight in a clean finish.

A different angle. Behind the sofa is a large storage cupboard for tenants to store things to share with others.

Yet another angle. Drinking fresh juice in the sun at this table would be such an indulgence.

Kitchen, Bathroom and Toilet Facilities

Let’s have a closer look at that kitchen that had entered our field of vision from the get go. Fully-equipped with all of the connections, this is the main feature of Share-co.

The bench with kitchen sink and induction cooktop with 2 burners. There is also a juicer for those to want to take their daily nutrients in one go. Pop in fruits and vegetables to make fresh homemade juice in a jiffy. Particularly great for busy mornings!!! Look up in this lovely kitchen to find a distinctly different scene with the appearance of exposed piping. It’s quite refreshing to see the backbones of the house like this.
The laundry room is on the same level as the lounge equipped with 3 washing machines. Toilets all through the house are Japanese-style smart designs with washlets. The bathroom sinks. The blue and red bowls add a splash of color to the interior.
The shower area. Similar to a public bath house, the dressing area is communal with shelving for tenant’s clothes and other items. The shower. Wash away all the sweat from your exercise in here. People who like a good soak can relax in the bath in this bathroom.

Private Rooms

Each room comes furnished with a bed and desk and has plenty of storage space. All are single rooms with stylish concrete flooring.

Room 101. This is the most spacious of the rooms. The lighting is a small fixture much like a spotlight, great for those wanting to spend the long autumn nights in a calm, relaxed atmosphere. And now for what we’ve all been waiting for! There is a fitness room on the 1F.
There are 2 exercise bikes and yoga mats in the exercise room, along with a television and DVD player so you can watch a movie while you exercise. Let’s now move onto the 2F. Looking down with all the doors open like this it is almost like a sliced lemon. This concept was apparently inspired by the layout. Room 203. Inside the fruit.. I mean, inside the room is an elegant table and chair as well as a bed working together to create a refreshing atmosphere.
Room 301 has a heavy-backed chair inside and great natural lighting coming in from outside. The table and chair in Room 303 is like a dressing table. There is even a mirror on the wall. A closeup. The dressing table is a both lovely and composed piece of furniture.
Heading back up bast the 4F lounge we finally get to the rooms on the 5F. Going up and down the stairs might be hard but these rooms do have great layouts. (Room 501) Fixed to the wall is a wire to hang curtains. Room 503 has a balcony so if you open the large windows you can most likely see the blue sky.

As well as taking care of this property the company managing this house are also involved in
developing community-driven real estate, including flexible-design apartments called collaborative houses, community rental properties with common rooms and share offices. The company is therefore very knowledgeable about shared living and in the creation of communities, which should give people thinking about living in a sharehouse the peace of mind to move in.

Effort and endurance are necessary in maintaining a healthy lifestyle, however I personally believe relaxation is also important for one’s health. If you’re sweating it out and counting calories all the time it doesn’t hurt to hang out with your friends eating and drinking without a second thought from time to time.

Refresh not only your body, but also your mind. Begin a healthy lifestyle having fun sharing the good times and the bad with your housemates at Share-co Monzennakacho.

/Author: Kagawa