Direct to Tokyo station in 30 minutes, or Shinjuku in 20 - here we'd like to introduce Social Residence Nishi-Kawaguchi, which is in Kawaguchi city, right on the Tokyo border on the Saitama prefecture side, with 98 rooms. It has, of course, great shared facilities. What makes this house interesting is that it is divided into shared building and residential building. It has good access to the city, nice facilities, and plenty of room. Since the house opened and people spread word about it, it has become a house with a lot of workers and people on working holiday visas, making it an international kind of house.

A mixed-taste lounge to enjoy being by yourself, with someone else, or everyone

We visited the house on a weekday afternoon, when most of the residents are out at work, but as we were talking to the manager we smelled something delicious from the kitchen. We went to see who it was, and it was a French resident making some Asian cuisine. This was a perfect example of the international atmosphere waiting here. The house has antique Nordic furniture, and Japanese tatami mats for a nice mix of tastes. I particularly liked the hammocks!

3 kitchen units

Billiards, ping pong, a theater... a place to enjoy! And a gym!

This house has its own amusement center. Friends can play ping pong or billiards. I hadn't played for a long time but the paddle and cue felt good in my hands. Maybe you can pick up some techniques from your housemates!
The theater room is also perfect for watching movies, or maybe playing a game on the big screen.

There's also a serious gym space. It looks like it will be easy to keep up excercise if you have a gym right at home: no need for gym fees or going out of your way on the way home! Some residents were on the jogging machines while we were there.

The manager tells us what is great about this house

Womens dresser room and self aesthetic care!

Near the lobby is a women-only dresser room. There are hair dryers and curling irons and other beauty appliances and nail items. It's a good place to do your makeup in the morning, or take it off when you come home, and there's a women-only shower right here so you can take a shower right away. Plus, the mens and womens showers have a unit bath with bathtub too for when you need to get in a good soak!

Plenty of storage space! Walk-in closet size

We took a look at a simple room on the 5th floor, with a semi-double bed by the window. It's actually pretty big, and with a huge closet space. Even with a sofa there's plenty of room to walk around. This seems perfect if you have a lot of clothes or shoes. Nearly all the rooms are about 15㎡.
Also there are bathrooms and laundry rooms on each floor, and a women-only bathroom on the 5th floor.

Wide open skies - maybe see fireworks on a clear evening!

We also got to see the rooftop. Unfortunately today it was cloudy, but what a great open sky! There are not that many tall buildings around so it feels really open.
The manager told us that from here you can see the Todabashi Fireworks festival, and across the river you can see the Itabashi Fireworks Festival. They use the entire riverbank so it's like the whole sky is a canvas, shooting over 10,000 fireworks up into the sky. There is a clothes-drying space up here, and a simple wood deck for easy social gathering.

This is the 5th-floor smoking space. The residential building, other than these spaces, is geared as much toward "living" as possible, but you can still enjoy life at your pace here.

Postscript

Even though we visited SR Nishi Kawaguchi on a weekday afternoon when there weren't that many residents around, it was easy to imagine the level of freedom and relaxation to be found here. At this house there is a clear separation between the active community, and being able to spend your own time however you like. And the rooms are really spacious, which helps. We recommend taking a look for yourself and make a viewing appointment!

Writer : kana haruta Photos :YOSHINORI OHGA