Living in Towers

Although there is a strong market for detached single family houses (admittedly on extremely small lots), a lot of Japan's urban residential housing market is accommodated with multi-unit housing. In particular, large tower buildings greater than eight stories are a common site throughout Japan's cities.

Here's a few quick observations about these buildings, and a slideshow of (hopefully) a growing set of images.

Almost all of the towers have outdoor deck space available for each unit. These balconies can be small or large - but aside from providing a place to get fresh air and a view of the city - they are also used extensively to hang clothing to dry. (In Japan I'd guess that about 75% of household clothing is hung to dry instead of machine dried).

Most of the towers have external fire stairs winding down one or more sides of the exterior. I'm assuming this is the fire code here in Yokosuka, because nearly every tower has them - and they are exterior not interior stairs as is typical in the US.

Based on my interpretations of the graphics used in real estate ads, the amount of daylight, the depth of balcony, proximity to train stations, as well as the views provided from the unit are important considerations when buying or renting a unit.

Depending on the setting, some towers have commercial or retail uses in the lower floors.

New towers in Yokosuka appear to have more automobile parking than older towers. Often bicycle parking (on the ground floor, usually in a covered space) is more prevalent than auto parking.