Hello and welcome. Stepping past the threshold, that is the genkan, that is the front entrance of any Japanese home. Ours happens to be old. Most of the time, you are greeted with cold hard lighting, matching the cold hard design sensibility. People are drawn to the simple ascetic. What they don’t know or see are piles and piles of stuff. Japanese live on an island with limitations. People live in Tokyo with limitations, building atop one another. Their homes are the same: piles of papers on tables, piles of stuff lining walls. Hoarders they may be, or it’s simply the limitation of space. It’s not our style; it’s not who we are. Opting for less convenience, our home is spacious, warm, inviting, and something quite special. Describing it in words is one thing; experiencing it is another. Our life is one of experience. We want to share it with others. Crossing the threshold of the genkan, You will know what I mean. Right away.
Feel free to leave a tip (PayPal) or Buy a coffee (Buy Me a Coffee). Or better yet, come for a visit and experience the genkan for real.
That looks very inviting!
I've always been intrigued by how the Japanese use this space. It can be cordoned off to greet strangers at the door while keeping prying eyes from peering inside past the sliding wall.
The sunken floor, which is actually at the same level as the outdoors, makes it possible to enter your home without taking off your shoes. That's convenient for quick deliveries. Only guests invited past this threshold into the rest of the home must remove their shoes.
By the way, I like the blue walls. There must be another story behind this choice of color.