Inside Japan’s CAPSULE Tower | 140 TINY Tokyo Apartments

The Nakagin Capsule Tower in the heart of Tokyo is iconic, featuring 140 retro tiny apartments built in the 1970's. Sadly, the future of the capsule tower isn't looking so great and this time next year it may be lost forever. Let's go inside and take a look while we still can.

🗼NAKAGIN CAPSULE TOWER

⭐ THANKS to Alex @TokyoPortfolio for joining!

⭐ALSO thanks to Alex Lee for filming

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**FOLLOW THE ADVENTURE**
► Instagram: @abroadinjapan

**EQUIPMENT I USE**

[geraldsoon]

Cant believe Too Much Volcano is such a massive hit that when Chris turned on the radio, TMV was blasting on radio!

[SheKnives]

Whenever the tower does come down. I hope they manage to keep the original capsule intake. It'd be cool to have in a museum.

[lynnj]

When I lived in Tokyo in the 80s I had a friend who owned one of these apartments and I got to stay there from time to time. The bathroom was the smallest I'd ever seen but super-efficient. There was a platform bed so you could look out the window in the morning. The only thing I ever worried about was getting out in case of an earthquake. I wasn't sure that the structure would hold together. Thanks for this wonderful memory!

[kittikat]

I hope that when this building eventually comes down, a capsule or two is saved. Especially that original 70s capsule, it is such a good visual of the time period

[Patterrz]

Sad to see so many interesting looking buildings get torn down and replaced with generic towers

[cabbage_cat]

the inside really does look futuristic, it's like the inside of a spaceship cabin

[kugelblitzkrieg]

The capsule rooms genuinely look like something out of a sci-fi space movie like “Alien, ” especially that modular cabinet area. The retro-futuristic look is really appealing to me, which makes me sad that it’s likely not going to be around much longer.

[IanCunningham]

As an architecture student, I appreciate you making a video about this fascinating building. It was a big culture shock for me when I realized that historic preservation and adaptive reuse are not as commonly practiced in Japan as they are in Europe or even the U.S. It was tragic how they demolished Harajuku station, which survived the Great Kanto Earthquake and WWII bombing only to be torn down for expediency's sake. There is, however, a longstanding ethos in Japan that stresses impermanence and continual renewal, epitomized by the shrine at Ise that's torn down and rebuilt every 20 years, that is very much antithetical to the western impulse to preserve everything in perpetuity. The metabolist movement was very much in line with that ethos and was very influential globally. We tend not to think of houses as being disposable, but then nowadays more and more things are being designed to be replaced periodically, such as cell phones. With the Nakagin Capsule Tower the idea is that the structural core containing the stairwell would serve as a more permanent 'megastructure' while the capsules are replaced more frequently. Maybe if there had been more towers like it built it would've been economically feasible to manufacture capsules from an economy of scale perspective. The modular prefabricated home is still very much alive and Muji even sells their own minimalist versions, just without the fixed megastructure core. The capsules themselves are not what is architecturally significant about the Nakagin Capsule Tower. It's the whole system.

[CoffeehouseCrime]

Really enjoying this format Chris! Very fascinating to learn about Japan’s quirky architecture and your video was spot on. I can imagine the residents back in ‘72 felt like they were part of the cutting edge trend living here.

[billdong]

*Turns on radio*

“A. S. O. Too much volcano!”

*Chef’s kiss*

[Eli_B]

That man is a Japanese national treasure caring so much about the future of the building like that. Great video.

[Crystan]

I've seen this building so often in shots of Tokyo, and it's great to finally see what it's like from the inside. Definitely one of my favourite Abroad in Japan episodes so far, and I hope they're able to preserve some of that history.

[Hmuda]

I remember this one from Transport Tycoon. There was a tall building modeled after this one in it that grew in successful cities. Thanks for showing off the original. :)

[CHEFPKR]

I swear you up your game every video, well played sir. Story telling is *chefs kiss*

[pattisimmons]

This building has always intrigued me. I find it both sad and frustrating that Japan, like so many other countries around the world, is abandoning it's heritage and distinctive architecture and replacing it with non-descript dull grey prison looking buildings. I have always loved the unique beauty of Asian design. It's a shame to see it being lost to the buildings of today.

[ewilliamson]

The "cage" apartments in Hong Kong makes the cube apartments luxurious.

[brucetownsend]

“Jenga with washing machines” is brilliant! What a great turn of phrase Chris has.
Just one of the many great reasons to watch this channel.

[ZuKuPLayer]

As a foreign tourist travelling alone, this could be a perfect substitute for a capsule hotel. I'd love to stay in such place. Too bad they won't preserve it, nor recreate it with eliminating the flaws of it's predecessor. It's a shame that new generations won't ever see buildings like this with their own eyes anymore.

[secretscarlet]

Fascinating! While the building might be gone in the next years, at least you fulfilled your dream and captured it on video forever. 😊

[RainMakeR_Workshop]

As someone who loves Tiny Houses and wants to live in Japan. I would love to live in one of these. Doubt it would be possible though. Or that it will even exist by the time I can go.