Tokyo housing huddle

Japanese houses, it has to be said, are lacking in longevity somewhat, with an average lifespan of around 25 years. A number that perhaps doesn’t paint the country’s construction companies in a particularly good light.

But whilst constructing things to last may be somewhere near the bottom of Japanese builders’ abilities, making the most of the meagre amount of land available is something they excel at.

Like the art of having houses so close together that if they weren’t different colours it would be hard to tell them apart, for example.

However the more experienced are able to cleverly construct round corners to create valuable extra space and rooms, with some of the latter big enough for a small child to lie down in, or even swing their arms about.

Albeit it in a rather restrained manner.