Netaro contacted me last week about a tiny house he built in Japan. I was concerned about him and the earthquake and contacted him again yesterday and found out that he is OK so that was encouraging. Please remember our Japanese friends and donate to help them rebuild after this devastating disaster.
Netaro is not a builder but graduated with a Philosophy major and his english is limited but I will share with you what he told me about his tiny houses. He used only a hammer and a handsaw to construct his home and he built it alone. The building costs were around $1000 not including the photovoltaic system. He plans to live in the house full time or when not traveling around the country in his portable home. Netaro calls his home B-Life or Basic Life.
The cost for the portable house was $130 and it just has the bare necessities but he plans to use it to travel around Japan and see the country.
Netaro says that tiny houses are not famous like they are in other parts of the world but there is a growing interest. The cost of land is extremely high in Japan and also the cost of building materials. With the earthquake, I’m sure this will be even more so. You can view more pictures of Netaro’s homes here.
Very interesting take on how to live small and mobile. And very creative, if not very aesthetically pleasing. This is a great example of making something work for your lifestyle. The idea of living a very simple life….. and not being tied down to one place has been intriguing to me. The question is how to achieve this while making a living and maintaining balance. I guess it starts by having a piece of property of your own to put a tiny house on… then take it from there!
Thanks for sharing Kent….. I’m becoming a big fan of your site!
Netaro, you are an inventive man. Good luck with your travels and your tiny house. How did you get all that inside?
Aside from that, I am glad you are safe and well, and my heart aches for your countrymen who have suffered and continue to do so. Prayers are going out to your nation, and I hope things begin to get better soon. Please remember that people all over the world are wishing the best for Japan.
God bless. — Irene
Thank you very much, Irene and everyone.
Though the earthquake registered an intensity of 5 here, my house itself did not have a direct damage.
All Japanese including me worry about the living of many people in the refuges and the situation of nuclear power plants.
Good job and congratulations to Netaro for creating his own personalized lifestyle!
This is a little plain-looking but good show! I wonder what the insulation (R) value is like.
Insulators are put inside all of the walls (of the living area). It is too hot even in snowing winter with only a small oil-heater.
????? (Wonderful).
Natero,
My thoughts and prayers are with you and all your family and friends. May you stay safe and well and recover from this devastating event.
I love your bike camper setup. You have inspired me to create something similar.
Thank you for sharing your creations!
The trailer isn’t very secure but since he lives in Japan he’ll probably be fine. I would suggest that people in other countries should make the trailer out of something tougher.
I don’t know how true it is, but I recently read that people don’t need to lock their bikes in Japan. If this is so, I guess he doesn’t need to worry about security. As long as the roof keeps the rain out that’s what matters.
I wish all the people of Japan well in recovering from this horrible multiple disaster!
My trailer is too much secure in Japan. One can wonder with a sleeping bag. Of course, it might not go in other countries.
Netaro-san,
That is brilliant behind the super cub. I also like in Japan. Tokyo. and would love to have something like this to travel around Japan. I wonder how secure it would be in a typhoon though? I often go to Okinawa for the winter, and would need something much stronger maybe. How is it for going uphills behind the cub? I guess slow. lol.
VERY cool stuff and thank you for sharing.
David
Glad you are well over there. I love how basic it is. And the trailer too. Thanks for sharing!
I wish the best for your country and your people. God bless.
Irene I couldn’t have said it better. I hurt for them too.
inspiring stuff especially when this brave young man has no skills. Japan will recover rapidly with guys like this !
Must say, it looks brilliant.
But when I click on Netaro’s homepage link, my antivirus says link terminated, his website was trying to send me a trojan.
Can somebody please let Netaro know about this?
Thank you.
It is already restored.
Hi Tomoya
How did you get permision to live on this land? Did you buy it? This house is interesting.
Jamie
I am interested in moving to Japan, and I am also interested in building a tiny home.
I recently read this article: https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/asia_pacific/with-rural-japan-shrinking-and-aging-a-small-town-seeks-to-stem-the-trend/2015/05/26/3dac3d90-fa8a-11e4-a47c-e56f4db884ed_story.html
I was just wondering how Netaro is doing currently with his tiny home? Maybe connecting for advice in the future?
it really seems amzaing.