Random Japan #31 :: Around the Neighborhood
Welcome to another edition of Random Japan, your look at completely random shots from Japan that seek to show more real daily life and less stereotype. Today I took a walk. I am a huge fan of photowalks and always advise them in my photography workshops and classes. I practice what I preach and try to do them as often as time allows.
I suppose there must be an open area inside to allow them to open the door. Even so, that's quite a tight fit, eh? Unless they're an excellent driver, I'm sure this tiny garage has resulted in more than a few scratches on the car.
A common sight. Few people want to buy used houses in this country. Because of this, houses have almost no value and are knocked down often to make way for new houses to be built. One benefit might be that newer houses are built to a stricter earthquake code—and in a land of constant earthquakes, that can only be a good thing. But otherwise this knowing down of old houses is a huge waste.
Older areas of town are somewhat unplanned—that is to say, there is no grid-like organization such as you would find in Manhattan. In the spaces that arise between houses and roads, you will find all kinds of walkways. I wonder what is up there... let's explore!
Another issue of Random Japan over and done with. Hope you had fun. See you tomorrow for more Random Japan fun!
If you like this random photo from Japan, be sure to check out @kaliju's great Random Korea series. The latest entry there is Random Korea #16 - Kali's Buddhist Path Notes in Pictures
Also be sure to follow @kafkanarchy84, @maxinpower, and @boxcarblue for even more random Japan fun! Also, follow the #randomjapan tag for more from Japan, #randomasia for random shots from the entire area.
Are you a Japan-based or Asia-based photographer who posts somewhat random photos from the country? If so, use the tag #randomasia, and #randomjapan (or randomASIANCOUNTRYYOUAREIN) on your posts. Also, join our Discord group. DM me on Discord for a link to the server.
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Index Post
Recent Posts
13. Abandoned and Overgrown
14. Ting Ting
15. Render Unto Caesar
16. Lotsa Bikes
17. Axis Chemicals
18. The Wide View
19. When Dinosaurs Rules the Earth
20. After the Fall
21. Crusin' Japan
22. Random House and Japanese Graveyards
23. Lion Dogs and Photo Booths
24. Rainy Day, Japanese Houses
25. The Heartfelt Life
26. O Weary Traveler
27. The Red and The Blue
28. Cars, Ugly Buildings, and Free Water
29. No Walking Without Hat
30. Kill it With Fire
 | David LaSpina is an American photographer lost in Japan, trying to capture the beauty of this country one photo at a time. |
Incredible shot. I just love it.
https://www.youtube.com/paulbegley34
LOL that car man. How does one fit the thing into a tiny space like that!
I can only assume they built the garage around the car.
haha maybe!
Very very carefully. I kind of want to stake out this house just so I can watch them get into this space
Hold on a second....but how, once parked, would you come out of the car????? Through the trunk?
Nice photos, there is some hidden beauty in every day situations
You may have gotten it the wrong way round.
If is correct what I have read in an urban planning blog then a house's worth is calculated at a fixed rate from building - e.g. after 30 years, the house has no worth (in the books, like in a company) and as such, by building new, you are not losing any money.
Having a house standing may actually lower the worth of your land when you want to sell.
You may be right. I really don't know the details. All I know is that in the US the used house market is very large, with most people buying and living in used homes and in many cases selling the homes for more money than they paid for them. Yet in Japan very few people buy used homes. They are worthless because no one wants one, so they are almost always knocked down as soon as the owned dies or sells.
The first photo got me so confused, how do they get into the car haha
Well I assume it is wider inside, or at least on the right side. But yeah, it looks very strange, doesn't it
What do you mean nobody buys used houses?! Is there no estate agency to be found in Japan? The ultimate disposable object?? I'm all for fresh starts but this is extreme! Then again, maybe not that extreme: that garage has to have been built around the car!
Love your random photowalks! The best introduction to a place for sure.
There is a used house market, but it is quite small. The general idea is that used houses are dirty, that only poor people want one, that they are nothing but trouble (from a home repair perspective), and that they are entirely undesirable. So nearly all old houses are knocked down as soon as the owner dies or sells. It's crazy and wasteful, but that's how it is. The government has been making talking about making a tiny effort to reverse this in the past few years, but so far they haven't done anything.
Glad you enjoy them :)
Nice to see japan from a fresh angle!