Sign in for a personalized experience.
Travel
Living
A-Z
Forum
Friends
Jobs
Shopping
Meet new friends, find pen-pals and language learning partners, or meet your ideal match!
Mall specializing in Japanese products for people living outside of Japan
Buy Japanese Furniture!
Apartment Search
Area:

Monthly rent:
to Yen
Bedrooms (multiple selections possible):
Studio 1BED 2BED
3BED 4BED or more

Related Pages
Living in Japan
Etiquette
Travel

Tansu

Slippers
Bathroom
Toilet
Architecture

Related Questions
How to make a tokonoma/where to...
 1 reaction, last updated 74 days ago

Survey
How would you rate your experiences staying at Japanese hotels/ryokan?
Very good
Good
Neither good nor bad
Bad
Very bad
Never stayed at one
see results
Other Surveys:
Budget for ryokan stay
Next trip to Japan
Improvements to Tourism
Financial Crisis
Ski Destination
Preferred way to stay at a ryokan
Purpose of visit
Most popular region
Have you recently entered Japan?

japan-guide.com newsletter
Keeping you up to date on Japan travel and living related issues and site updates. Click here to subscribe!

Sponsored Listings
Car Rental
The cheapest rates in Japan!
Tour Packages
Guided and individual tour plans.
Japan - Order FREE Brochure!
About vacation plans and specialty travel.

Home - Living in Japan
Japanese furniture

Western style furniture, including beds, tables, chairs and sofas, are found in most Japanese households today. In addition, uniquely Japanese style furniture and household devices have survived or been introduced into the Japanese home.

You can see beautiful examples of this traditional
Japanese furniture at Greentea Design. Featuring antique and reproduction kitchen cabinets, hibachi coffee tables, dining tables and much more.

Japanese households often consist of both Japanese style rooms with tatami floors, and modern rooms with wooden or tiled floors. Tatami mats are made of straw and measure roughly 180 cm x 90 cm. You should always take off your slippers when stepping on tatami mats in order to protect them from damage.

Traditional tatami rooms have an alcove (tokonoma) in which a hanging scroll (kakejiku) and a flower arrangement (ikebana) or piece of pottery is displayed. The room entrances are sliding paper doors (fusuma) and sliding paper screens (shoji) which can be removed completely.

Tatami mats

Most Japanese kitchens are equipped with a gas stove, rice cooker, microwave oven, and refrigerator. The traditional Japanese bed is a futon which is laid on the floor only during the night and kept in a closet (oshiire) during the daytime. Consequently, the bedroom can then also function as a living or dining room.

Gas stove
Futon

Most houses in Japan do not have central heating. Instead, gas, oil and electric ovens and air conditioners are used to heat single rooms. The heating devices are turned off during the night and when nobody is in the room. In addition, heated tables (kotatsu) are a popular piece of furniture during the winter.

Kotatsu

Air conditioner and various other heaters

Please visit also our information pages about tansu chests, toilets and bathrooms.

English Links
Furniture Rental Tokyo.com
Furniture rental and sale in Japan. Asian, European and American furniture for expats is displayed near Tokyo Tower.
Online Stores:
Japanese Furniture
Japanese and Korean furniture. Antique and modern designs.

Product Links
Japanese Touch for Your Home
Japanese Touch for Your Home
Book by Koji Yagi
Traditional Japanese Furniture: A Definitive Guide
Book by Kazuko Koizumi
Shoji: How to Design, Build, and Install Japanese Screens in Your Home
Book by Jay Van Arsdale

Asian-inspired
living room furniture
Copyright © 1996-2009 japan-guide.com All rights reserved - Last Page Update: May 6, 2008
home - site map - privacy policy - terms of use - contact - L‚ɂ‚¢‚Ä - advertising