Japanese Women Create Roommate Real Estate Market

Kana Arai, left, and Kumi Tahara founded real-estate agency ‘Tokyo Girls’ Real Estate.’ By catering to working women in their 30s, the firm aims to capitalize on a rare real-estate market niche in Japan — apartments to share.

RedTracker| Japanese women are enjoying their independence, moving out of parents homes in the last decade and taking to the global road as avid travelers and lovers of the world’s top fashion brands.  Japan’s apartments are known for being small, due to the exhorbitant costs of real estate and the necessity of living well in a small geography zone.

The Wall Street Journal reports that Japanese women are now taking a new step on life’s journey, joining roommates and moving into spacious, prestigious apartments — some with six bedrooms. I smiled over the lineup of six washing liquids at the kitchen sink, as the women work out dynamics of effective sharing.

But the article gives us insights into the evolving lives of Japanese (and other) women who redefine the expectations around modern womanhood. Read: Sayonara to the Rabbit Hutch: Living with Rommates in Japan via Wall Street Journal