Slog - Comments on The Land of Japan http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_land_of_japan A deadly fire in downtown Osaka! A pre-dawn fire has killed at least 15 men and injured 10 others in a video rental shop in western Japan. The fire broke out at about 0300 (1800 GMT Tuesday) and swept through the 32 rooms of the first-floor premises. The business, in the city of Osaka, rented videos and DVDs and hired rooms where the customers could watch them. Such shops are often used by workers who have missed the last train home, as they provide a cheap alternative to hotel rooms. The store, called CATS, was on the first floor of... Copyright 2008 Thu, 02 Oct 2008 12:59:08 -0800 Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:46:50 -0800 http://www.movabletype.org/?v=3.34 http://blogs.law.harvard.edu/tech/rss Comment by Ryan I stayed at a few places like that when I was going to school in Tokyo. Some of them have rooms that are more cubicle-like, without even a full ceiling, while others are more like individual, complete rooms. Nearly all of them have confusing layouts (especially for non-Japanese speaking foreigners like me).

But they are definitely cheaper than the hotels.

]]> Ryan http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_land_of_japan#c1160311 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_land_of_japan#c1160311 Money Thu, 02 Oct 2008 13:44:27 -0800 Comment by josh b also worth noting, video rooms are often the refuge of the homeless in japan and i wouldn't be surprised to find out that the majority of deaths weren't salary men, but shoppingcart men.

]]> josh b http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_land_of_japan#c1160969 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_land_of_japan#c1160969 Money Thu, 02 Oct 2008 16:19:11 -0800 Comment by treacle RE: "production of space" comment.
But that seems obvious.
The US has much more space than tiny, tiny Japan. Space scarcity would seem to be a major factor there.

]]> treacle http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_land_of_japan#c1161146 http://slog.thestranger.com/2008/10/the_land_of_japan#c1161146 Money Thu, 02 Oct 2008 17:46:50 -0800