Capsule Micro Apartments

A 13 floor tower consisting of 140 micro apartments.

Nakagin Capsule Tower in Tokyo, Japan consisting of approximately 100 square feet units built in 1972. Photos by Noritaka Minami. More info. here.

19 comments

  • Honor says:

    Sorry… thinking “Fifth Element” here

  • Cap'n Frank says:

    BS!!!!! This is what the UN has in store for us under Agenda 21!!! If I go Tiny it will be for ME for freedom, not by Government mandate.

  • Cass says:

    Wow, these are terrible. Nothing at all like the other tiny houses. For me one of the main draws to a tiny house is to not be cramped in (butt)hole to elbow with other people and be outside in nature. Geeze, this is my nightmare.

  • Tamie says:

    I can think of several times in my life that this would have been preferable to the way I had to live.

  • Cynthia says:

    Get a grip. Tokyo is very crowded and very expensive. This is no worse than living in a tiny apartment in a New York high rise apartment. It is probably cheaper for the people living in them than living in bigger places in Tokyo. In this case, housing is relative.

    As for the political comment, are you serious? Agenda 21 (for the 21st century) was proposed through consultation and negotiation among non-profit organizations for the benefit of humanity–that is for the ability of humanity to continue to live on the earth. It is voluntary, not mandatory. No one is forcing anyone to do anything. Nonetheless, those who are conspiracy theorists (and there are more of them every day) believe that the UN is trying to regulate their actions ad deprive them of their freedom. If freedom is your goal, then being an animal is your desire because they have full freedom to do whatever they want. If humanity is your goal, then we all need a few rules that we have agreed upon to help us to exist together. Agenda 21 is a PROPOSED set of rules, not mandatory ones.

  • Eva says:

    They look like front-loading clothing washers circa the hatch in Lost.

  • Yojimbo says:

    Now that’s livin’!

  • dew says:

    I wouldn’t like to live in something like this long-term. But if someone could come up with something similar that was fairly easy AND quick to manufacture, transport, and build for disasters that displace people, I’m thinking they wouldn’t mind something like this for a short-term solution while recovering from the immediate after-effects. Then as people moved out to stay with relatives or friends, the remaining people could be given a 2nd unit based on need (larger family).

  • Brian says:

    This was constructed as a part of the Metabolism movement of architecture in Japan during the 60s.

  • ImReady says:

    Each capsule measures 2.3 m (7.5 ft) wide × 3.8 m (12 ft) long × 2.1 m (6.9 ft) high. These were built, originally, for bachelor salarymen…(that’s what the article said!) The compact apartments included a wall of appliances and cabinets built into one side, including a kitchen stove, a refrigerator, a television set, and a reel-to-reel tape deck. A bathroom unit, about the size of an aircraft lavatory, is set into an opposite corner. A large circular window over a bed dominates the far end of the room. I, ImReady, never found a picture of a view from the round window, namely the other side of the room, where the “Airplane type Lavatory” is located.

  • ImReady says:

    Whoever is moderating this site, maybe you know why my post came up as Brian. then, my birthday is listed after the name of Brian. I guess you, Brian, must be the moderator. Probably! Take Care. Love the small living space.

  • Ceci says:

    For those who left silly comments: these apartments are not the contemporary tiny houses you are used to, given that the whole skyscraper was built and completed in 1972, yet they’re more contemporary than any other microhouse of nowadays: just look at their bathrooms, to see how much the whole capsule could have been perfectly functional tiday with a modern “upgraded” furniture. It’s a pity that a masterpiece of futuristic architecture like the nakagin capsule tower is abandoned and left like an old useless steel container, because its a piece of historical and artistic japanese heritage. So sad.

  • bernie says:

    am I the only one seriously reminded of the movie 5th dimension and bruce willis’ tiny apartment?

  • Jack says:

    Wasn’t this shown in The Wolverine?

  • Nivek says:

    Oooh my new stackable washer dryer set came!

  • Maria says:

    Been living in a place the same sort of size for 3 years now. And I work from home! Maybe I’d be a good candidate for Mars …

  • James says:

    I’m still trying to figure out how you would actually get inside one of them…

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