{"id":2879,"date":"2020-03-24T11:43:11","date_gmt":"2020-03-24T02:43:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vhbloglive.wpengine.com\/?p=2879"},"modified":"2022-12-22T10:30:07","modified_gmt":"2022-12-22T01:30:07","slug":"understanding-a-japanese-style-kitchen","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/japanese-apartment-life\/understanding-a-japanese-style-kitchen\/","title":{"rendered":"Understanding a Japanese Style Kitchen"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p>A typical western style kitchen houses all of the amenities that a person\nor family could need. Not only that but it gives enough room to accommodate\npeople of most sizes and is usually separated from other rooms of the house.\nJapanese apartments tend to go in a different direction to use space as\nefficiently as possible. In a Japanese house, the kitchen is usually connected\nto a small dining room area for the family, and it can be the same for some\nlarger apartments. Other apartments, however, have extremely small kitchens\nthat try to use as little space as possible. This leads to very small cooking\nspaces which makes residents get creative with how they use it. Thinking\nsmaller and trying to reduce the space needed to prep food is key.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/vhbloglive.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/kitchen-1024x626.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2886\" width=\"768\" height=\"400\" title=\"\"><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Small Size for big Meals<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>When thinking about a typical Japanese apartment kitchen always go smaller\nthan the initial idea:<\/p>\n\n\n\n<ul class=\"wp-block-list\"><li>The sink is only about a foot across and it isn\u2019t very deep either. *Counter space is extremely limited and will fill up fast with seasonings and spices.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Some apartments come with single stove burners. Stoves can be electric or gas, with some electric stoves being IH versions. These stoves can only use IH pots and pans or they won\u2019t heat.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Storage space is also limited and leaves little space to hold more than a few days worth of food.&nbsp;<\/li><li>Sometimes there is only enough room for a small refrigerator or a mini-fridge, so it will constrict what you can hold.&nbsp;<\/li><\/ul>\n\n\n\n<p>*There may not be any kitchen drawers available as well.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Learning how to use space in new ways can will help alleviate some of the\nproblems associated with smaller kitchens. There are other times where the\nkitchen and the living room are in the same room. It is the best way to make\nthe most of such small living spaces. The rooms will come with a burner and\nsink tucked it the corner of the room. It takes a little thinking to get it\nsituated correctly but it can be done with great results.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.villagehouse.jp\/en\/?utm_source=vhblog&amp;utm_medium=display&amp;utm_campaign=2020&amp;utm_content=2019-12-16-static-property-768x300-v1-enhp-sitevisitors\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/vhbloglive.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/768x300-EN.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1862\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/768x300-EN.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/768x300-EN-300x117.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Using Space Wisely<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Having such a restricted area forces residents to think of new ways to\nstore, cook, and prepare foods. If that is the case, a crockpot can take\nadvantage of the area provided. It can cook easy meals, hold food for a while,\nand can be stored away easily. Meal prep is very easy when using this as well.\nYou can cook large amounts of food that can be frozen for later. Toaster ovens\ncome in wide varieties of sizes and designs. It becomes easy to find one that\ncan fit the small space allowed. Small appliances are what people usually use\nas there is usually no oven and only space for cooking for one person. There\nare ways to use the sink or washing machine as more counter space as well.\nBuying food daily instead of weekly helps out a lot too. Most apartments have\ngrocery stores near them, or near the stations. Picking up something every day\nis easy and convenient this way. It can ensure the smallest amount of space is\nused in the kitchen.&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/vhbloglive.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/conor-luddy-Pz3EHf-KJfc-unsplash-1024x683.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2883\" width=\"768\" height=\"400\" title=\"\"><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Another Language<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>To no surprise, everything will most likely have Japanese labels. Taking\nthe time to learn what those kanji mean will help make it easier, and safer, to\ncook and use your kitchen appliances. The easiest way is to use a translation\napp and label each one, or just study the kanji so you can read it anytime.\nThere are videos on the internet that can show a more in-depth view of small\nkitchen space in Japan as well. It will be tedious at first, but it will open\nevery kitchen when it becomes second nature. Be careful to do the same for the\nrest of the apartment, too. It not only makes cooking easier but general living.\nIt never hurts to learn more about the new country you are living in either.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter is-resized\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/vhbloglive.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2020\/03\/miguel-maldonado-qom5MPOER-I-unsplash-683x1024.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-2881\" width=\"768\" height=\"400\" title=\"\"><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><strong>Eating out<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>Because kitchen space is so restrictive most people figure out the cheapest\nrestaurants nearby and frequent them. Cooking can be a hassle sometimes after work,\nand the clean-up can take up more time than desired. Eating out every now and\nthen can help keep residents out of having to go through the trouble of\nprepping a meal. There are a ton of cheap options at grocery stores, and they\nall usually have bakeries in them that sell relatively cheap meals. Combine\nthem with the cheaper smaller restaurants and a typical meal can end up costing\n800 yen. With the new 10% tax, it may be easier to get take out since it lowers\nthe price by 2%. Not only does this give food options, but it also allows for a\nbetter understanding of the surrounding area.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div class=\"wp-block-image\"><figure class=\"aligncenter\"><a href=\"https:\/\/www.villagehouse.jp\/en\/?utm_source=vhblog&amp;utm_medium=display&amp;utm_campaign=2020&amp;utm_content=2019-12-16-static-property-768x300-v1-enhp-sitevisitors\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener\"><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" width=\"768\" height=\"300\" src=\"https:\/\/vhbloglive.wpengine.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/768x300-EN.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-1862\" title=\"\" srcset=\"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/768x300-EN.jpg 768w, https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/wp-content\/uploads\/2019\/11\/768x300-EN-300x117.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"auto, (max-width: 768px) 100vw, 768px\" \/><\/a><\/figure><\/div>\n\n\n\n<p>Finding what works best for an apartment will take some time. Some may cook\nexclusively at home after tailoring the kitchen to their liking. Others may\nskip cramped cooking altogether and go for the cheap restaurants and konbini\nmeals. Any choice can work as long as a plan is devised and implemented. Some\npeople will be surprised at what they could make in time.&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A typical western style kitchen houses all of the amenities that a person or family could need. Not only that but it gives enough room to accommodate people of most sizes and is usually separated from other rooms of the house. Japanese apartments tend to go in a different direction to use space as efficiently [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":5,"featured_media":2889,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-2879","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-japanese-apartment-life"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2879","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/5"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2879"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2879\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/2889"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2879"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2879"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/blog.villagehouse.jp\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2879"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}