Share Design! Not Just a Share House, A Community! | Guidable - Your Guide to a Sustainable, Wellbeing-centred Life in Japan

Share Design! Not Just a Share House, A Community!

By Alex Gray Aug 27, 2018

Are you planning to move to Japan, or is your apartment lease due to expire soon? Are you looking for somewhere cheap yet beautifully stylish? How about a globally diverse accommodation where you can learn about Japanese customs from native residents and still live together with people from many cultures? If your answer is yes, why not check out Share Design share houses?

 

What is Share Design?

 

Share Design is a close-knit company, who are always looking to put the resident first. The staff and residents of their share houses get on very well, in fact as most Share Design staff live onsite at their houses, many of them are housemates! They really do live and breathe Share Design so this is a company you know you can trust! Here at Guidable, we were invited to join an international party at Share Design’s Riverside Terrace Aoba Daikanyama. We picked-up a community vibe from everyone there, it was clear residents and staff treat each other like family.

 

Riverside Terrace

 

 

Riverside Terrace features two terraces, women’s only rooms on the third floor, a café open to the public (in fact, all Share Design residents are entitled to a whopping 30% off here, a great excuse to stop by and meet residents from other houses), and some of the rooms are even being used as company offices.

Now onto some of the “pick-up” houses from Share Design.

 

Share Residence Musaco

The newest share house from Share Design is Share Residence Musaco, 10 minutes’ walk away from Musashi-Nakahara station. Share Residence Musaco is not only stylish and spacious but has many exciting facilities including a music room, DJ deck, gym, oxygen tank and even a barber.

We talked to a resident of the sharehouse, so let’s see what she said she has to say.

Shizuka from Taiwan

Me: Why did you choose Share Design Residence Musaco?
S: I used to live in Share Design’s Tama Plaza sharehouse until recently. I choose to live there because I wanted to make new friends and live somewhere with really reasonable rent. I moved to Musaco residence two weeks ago to try the new exciting facilities and to improve my English because the ratio of Japanese to non-Japanese is half and half.

 

Me: What are the best things about living in your share house?
S: Even if my housemates don’t speak Japanese they still try really hard to communicate so we all get along well. There’s always someone in the living room so I never get lonely. The living room is very roomy, there’s a bar, study booths, karaoke room, and a terrace with hammock and tent.

 

Me: What makes Share Design share houses different from any you’ve seen or lived in before?
S: Share Design rooms are a lot cleaner, the community areas are cleaned regularly. The relationships are better too, everyone is like a community.

 

Me: Would you recommend Share Design share houses to your friends and why?
S: Yes! Come and join us!

 

Share Residence Kokubunji

Next, I talked to some residents of Share Residence Kokubunji. The Kokubunji residence is in a convenient location, 20 minutes from Shinjuku and has a casual cafe theme to the living room complete with a fancy coffee machine.

Momo from Taiwan

Me: Why did you choose Share Residence Kokubunji?
M: I was looking for somewhere cheap and I went to the room viewings I liked the style; it was spacious and light.

 

Me: How did you learn about the share house?
M: Through the Internet: I searched “Tokyo Share House” while in Taiwan and it came up.

 

Me: Why Share Design?
M: I wanted to live in a large sharehouse. I’ve lived in a small sharehouse with 8 people before but I feel like I can have more privacy in a bigger sharehouse because there’s more space.

 

Me: What are the best things about living in your share house?
M: My roommates are so friendly, we get on really well and I like to cook together and hand out after work.

 

Me: Would you recommend Share Design to your friends?
M: Yes! My friend came to visit before and she really loved it!

Wang from Taiwan

Me: How long have you been living in your sharehouse?
W: For about 1 year. I’ve been in Japan for 8 years and before I moved I lived in an apartment by myself.

 

Me: Why did you choose this share house?
W: When I was told I had to move offices, I looked up cheap places nearby and decided on Share Design straight away.

 

Me: Why did you choose Share Design?
W: I liked the look of the place, and it was really close to work.

 

Me: What are the best things about living in your share house?
W: The people are great! And I’m never lonely.

 

Me: Can you tell me about the facilities at Kokubunji?:
W: We have a coffee machine, a spacious kitchen, and a theater room!

Share Residence Aobadai

Finally, I had a chat with two residents from Share Residence Aobadai. Aobadai is a large share house with private showers and toilets in each room. The share house even features a karaoke room and snack bar! Due to popularity, there are no rooms currently open but feel free to keep checking back, just in case!

Owen from U.K.

Me: Why did you choose this share house?
O: I previously lived in the Tama Plaza share house. The reason I moved to Share Design is actually quite funny. I used to live in a share house managed by a different company in Tama Plaza. One day my friend split up with his girlfriend and had to sleep on my floor. He quickly had to search for a new place to live and found Share Design right nearby. He kept bragging about how good it was so, in the end, I moved in! I moved to Aobadai a year ago because it’s a better commute to work.

 

Me: What are the best things about living in your share house?
O: It’s a great atmosphere with a good mixture of Japanese and Internationals. Everyone gets along. The living space is beautiful, with a flawless design and the furniture is top notch.

 

Me: What makes Share Design share houses different from any you’ve seen or lived in before?
O: The other share house I was living in was too big, this one is more friendly so people get on really well.

 

Me: Can you tell me more about the facilities?
O: A huge kitchen, and a gym with an oxygen tank. There’s a karaoke room with a Japanese “snack” style bar, who else can say they have a Snack bar in their share house?! I love singing Japanese songs – it’s great practice.

Mourad from Tunisia

Me: Why did you choose this share house?
M: I like how I have my own bathroom and kitchen, it’s great because don’t have to wait and queue. And I thought it was really cool that there was a bar

 

Me: What are the best things about living in your share house?
M: Awesome facilities, and a good commute to work. The sharehouses are really in great locations.

 

Me: Would you recommend Share Design share houses to your friends and why?
M: Yes! 90 people live there but mostly only 30 of us hang out together and we’re really close.

 

Me: What did you think of the moving-in process?
M: It was so easy to apply. I searched online and found Share Design and filled in an online form. After I received an email reply I went to the office to sign the papers and pay, which only took one hour. The whole process was very simple, no hassle.

 

SHARE HOUSE INQUIRY!

Share Residence Musaco:

Closest Station: Musashinakahara Station (JR Nambu Line).
Rent fee: Ranges between ¥48,800 – ¥60,800
Utility Fee: ¥14,800
Minimum Rent Period: 3 months (negotiable)
Amenities: Fitness room, music room, living, kitchen, toilets, bathrooms, shower rooms, laundry, keypad entrance security, TV, DJ room, bar

 

 

Share Residence Kokubunji:

Closest Station: Hitotsubashigakuen Station (7 min walk)
Rent fee: Ranges between ¥39,800 – ¥47,800
Utility Fee: ¥14,800
Minimum Rent period: 3 months (negotiable)
Amenities: Main kitchen, floor kitchen, powder room, living room, laundry room, theatre room

 

 

The main thing I took away from my time at the Share Design party was everyone’s love for Share Design and their share house. Together with residents and co-workers, the staff at Share Design have built a community. Something the residents are proud to be a part of. This is something that became apparent in every interview, each resident I talked to was very enthusiastic about their accommodation and couldn’t wait to explain why everyone should join them in their home.

 

 

If you are looking for a new place to live, why not check out Share Design to see if they have something fit for your needs?

For more information check out the Share Design website.