Japan's Apartments / Nihon no Apato

Do you know that apartments in Japan are superb, yes tiny but wonderful at the same time. I wish there are small apartments like that here in Kuala Lumpur. I find them very practical for a single tenant, you don’t have to search for housemates (which often lead to various problems because you don't really know them). But off course it’s only an opinion from one person, others may find the small space a ridiculous thing.

Basically, there are different types of tiny apartment or apaato as they called it; 1K, 2DK, 2LDK and probably some more that I don’t know. The number signifies rooms, K means kitchen, D means dining room and L means living room. Want to know more about the different types of apartment, go here.

So basically 2DK apartments are 2 bedroom plus kitchen plus dining room (no living room, but I think the room can doubles as both). The shower room is separated with toilet because that’s the culture (very much same to Malaysia but modern houses nowadays combines them both). Most apartments also come with a fridge, a microwave oven, stove, washing machine, internet access and closet (sometimes TV).  Here are some pictures and videos, enjoy;

Key for the apartment, a very strange one in my opinion

Then you have Genkan which is a place where you take off your shoes because Japanese culture do not wear shoes inside the houses (same like Malaysia)

The basic Hallway that lead to your room. Most of the apartment layouts are toilet and shower on one side and kitchen, washing machine, closet/storage on the other side.

Among the cool thing about the toilet is the fact that a sink is placed on top of the water tank for the convenience of washing your hand after you're done and recycling the water for flushing, ain't that green?

Also a cool thing is the dryer in the shower which are meant to dry clothes. Just hang it and turn it on to the setting you want, it's that simple.

These are different interior that I found (it's not limited to only these). Personally prefer the top-left, seem so much bigger than the other. Here a tour video, credit to the owner (",)

Also, I find that apartment in Korea shares similar styles as these tiny apaato. Comparing the two, Korean use keypad thingy to replace key which are useful if you left your key in the apartment), the shower don't have tub, kitchen area is not in the hallway but integrated as part of the room, some have loft for sleeping area and some don't have specific sleeping area at all. Also, they have floor heat system which is important I guess. Whatever the differences, I love both Japanese and Korean apartment (",). Here is one video I found on youtube;

Furniture of the Future

Cool title right? So today I want to talk about some really cool furniture design that I found on youtube (off course, where else?) and I’ve been kinda obsessed about them these past few days. These are absolutely amazing furniture, some made by companies, some by individuals. Without further ado, lets take a look.

Resource furniture

A New York based company that have been around for more than 10 years, provides the solution to tiny spaces problems with a stylish design. According to the president of the company, his furniture serves double and sometimes triple purposes instead of conventional one purpose furniture. What I like about them is that they are very useful and practical and modern and maximize space at the same time. Check it out.

A coffee table transform into a dining table. Neat right?

 A desk which elevates when the hidden single bed opens

 A two seat sofa that later be revealed as bunk bed (I honestly didn't see that coming)

An end table doubles as extra dining table for guests or it could double as your work table, you choose

Hiddenbed
A company specializing in designing furniture that always transform into bed, usually a single bed. Everything stays on the desk while you pull the bed from the back.

Christy Oates

These are just plain awesome. The design concept totally blow me away. See for yourself. The pictures alone don't do justice, you need to see the video here to be totally amazed.

From the wall to a desk

The stool did come from the painting too (is it a painting?)

Yep, it doubles as a nice looking coffee table (how cool is that?)

I can obviously see that this is going to be hot item if it ever be marketed

Expandable table

Using some mechanism of gear i presume, it expand the square table which come in handy when you want larger table space.

With black glass top finish, you really can't complain

If that’s not enough, here some extras;

* Folding Bed 

* Folding Chair

* Folding Table

* Eco-furniture

* Portable bookshelves

The furniture are also eco-friendly and portable too! 

Although most of the stuff is not available in my country, I just want to appreciate just how creative one person can be and I am jealous by their thinking and creative ability. I hope someday I can contribute some useful ‘thing’ to the world like they had no matter how small the contribution is.

Nilai Syiling Lama

Hari ni nak cerita lagi pasal duit lama, buat yang baru singgah blog ni, apa kata gi ushar dulu post ni Duit oh Duit. Post tu pun pasal duit lama jugak – duit syiling.

Saje nak update info, dalam post yang terdahulu tu saya hanya bagi nilai UNC (Uncirculated) untuk semua duit syiling secara amnya, tapi dalam banyak-banyak syiling lama atau syiling 1^st series, ada yang mencecah ribuan ringgit. Yup, jangan tak percaya pulak. Syiling yang mana satu? Mari kita tengok sama-sama.

Okay, untuk maklumat yang lebih lanjut mengenai 1 sen 1976 (ini bukan syiling 1 sen yang biasa, jangan salah faham), dinasihatkan melawat web lunaticg. Beliau ada menceritakan tentang bagaimana duit 1 sen tersebut boleh bernilai hampir 3600 kali ganda dari nilai sebenar. Kalau kamu semua nak tahu, sebenarnya, lagi sikit keping syiling yang dihasilkan bagi tahun tersebut, lagi berlipat gandalah nilainya.

Daripada jadual tu, semua mesti perasan ada yang beratus ringgit kan? Semua tu ada kisah disebalik nilai tinggi diorang tu, nak tahu lebih lanjut mengenai sejarah atau cerita panjang lebarnya, sila klik link yang kat bawah ni. 

Syling 10 sen 1971 = klik sini 

Syiling 50 sen 1967, 1968, 1969 yang tiada benang sekuriti (atau garis keselamatan)= klik sini 

Syiling 50 sen extra dot = klik sini 

p/s = Cerita tu bukan saya yang punya, jadi hanya boleh letak link.