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The story
A thread on 5ch’s Nanidemo Jikkyo G board asked whether it’s pathetic to be living in a 1K or studio apartment “at your age.” While some posters pushed back, arguing that “being single is the pathetic part—living in a 1K is still better than being a parasite still living with your parents (a ‘kodo-oji,’ slang for an adult man still mooching off his parents),” the discussion soon turned into an exchange of concrete housing details: a dilemma over choosing between a 1K at ¥30,000 and a 2K at ¥32,000 rent, a report of living in a 25-tatami-mat studio, and worries about eviction risk from a future rebuild while paying just ¥20,000 for a 1K. The view that cleaning effort matters more than room size also gained support.
What people said
Exactly this.
Below kodo-oji level and you're getting into unemployed/welfare territory.
Honestly, that setup is super livable though.
Seriously, I feel this.
1K for ¥30,000
2K for ¥32,000
I'm torn between these two—do I actually need the extra room?
Feels weird paying ¥24,000 a year for something I don't need.
If it's only a ¥2,000 difference, just go with the bigger place.
Depends on whether you'd actually have anything to put in it. I once downsized from a 2LDK to a 1LDK because I hated having extra cleaning to do for a room with nothing in it.
Seems like the AC efficiency would be terrible in a room that big.
Being single IS the problem though.
Feels like the only people bashing kodo-oji are guys whose sole selling point is 'I live alone'—which isn't really an accomplishment either.
I just built a custom single-story house, and yeah, I do look down on people living in apartment buildings.
A single-story house? Lame. My family home is a three-story place on '400 tsubo in Azabu-Nagasaka' (~1,320 m², one of Tokyo's most exclusive addresses). Oh, and my dad's an executive at the Tokyo Club (an elite members-only club).
That's all your dad's money though. What about you?
You call living in a room like a prison cell 'keeping your dignity'?
I've got a friend who's been a NEET for 27 years now. Good-natured guy, never asks me for money. Probably a huge headache for his parents, but he's always up for hanging out whenever I invite him, so I appreciate that.
A 1LDK is rough for full-on cohabitation.
Prison is basically a kodo-oji with zero freedom.
Same goes for a 'rabbit-hutch guy' (a usa-oji, someone living in a tiny cramped apartment).
Cockroaches don't even show up here. In rentals they show up constantly no matter how clean you keep your own room—you clearly haven't lived it (classic 'armchair expert' talk).
Even in rentals, once you're above a certain floor, they usually don't show up.
I think you should judge by cleaning effort rather than room size—if a Roomba alone can handle it, a bigger place is fine too.
That's helpful. I wouldn't call myself a minimalist, but I'm close to it—aside from kitchen stuff, all I've got is a bed and a PC desk. I ditched my TV when I moved and never bought a new one.
Treat him to a meal sometime.
He's got some kind of pride about it—if I invite him out and pay, next time we meet he always brings a bag of drinks and snacks worth about double what I spent, insisting on paying me back. It kept happening every time and felt pointless, so I stopped.
Guess he's just particular about that kind of thing… Well, he sounds like a good guy, so I suppose it's fine.
Columbia doesn't even have a 'top of the class admission' system.
At that price point, keep in mind you're at risk of getting kicked out for a rebuild sometime soon.
That's not the same 'top of the class admission' you commoners are imagining, lol. It's a totally different concept.
What concept is that exactly?
For reference, here's what ChatGPT said:
At Columbia University's undergraduate programs (the College, etc.), there's no system like Japanese universities have for announcing results by exam ranking (1st place, top of the class). American college admissions (holistic admissions) decide acceptance by comprehensively reviewing high school GPA, standardized test scores (or test-optional), essays, extracurricular activities, letters of recommendation, and more.
Background and Key Points of This Discussion
Mocking “1K/studio apartment living” is a perennial topic on 5ch, and this thread was no exception, turning into a debate less about square footage and more about life stage and values—comparisons with living at home with one’s parents (kodo-oji), and judgments about being single itself. A notable feature was the number of concrete, practical exchanges: a real dilemma over choosing between a 1K and a 2K in the ¥30,000 range (reply #25), a report of living in a 25-tatami-mat studio, and warnings about the risk of eviction for a rebuild when paying just ¥20,000 rent for a 1K. Opinions in the thread split along two main lines—”judge by cleaning effort rather than room size” versus “what matters most is being financially independent”—suggesting that a small room doesn’t automatically equal a pathetic life. Note that the boasts about family wealth and the story about admission to an overseas university that appear partway through the thread are exaggerations/jokes and shouldn’t be taken as fact.
※This article is excerpted and summarized from the 5ch (Nanidemo Jikkyo G) thread “Guys living in a 1K or studio apartment at their age lolllllllllllllllllllllllll.”
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