{"id":2143,"date":"2025-05-21T16:39:05","date_gmt":"2025-05-21T07:39:05","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/?p=2143"},"modified":"2025-05-21T20:32:26","modified_gmt":"2025-05-21T11:32:26","slug":"enjoying-the-modeling-hobby-in-japan-despite-cramped-living-spaces","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/2025\/05\/21\/enjoying-the-modeling-hobby-in-japan-despite-cramped-living-spaces\/","title":{"rendered":"Enjoying the modeling hobby in Japan despite cramped living spaces"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

Living in smaller living conditions in Japan, there is an art to maximizing the space you have. I found these pictures on Pinterest and found them interesting. One thing to note is the absence of the “carpet monster” that Western modelers often complain about. Homes in Japan may have area rugs, but do not have permanently-carpeted rooms. You’ll see tatami<\/em> rooms, but not carpet. I don’t like carpet, nor tatami for that matter. Anyhow, check out these pictures.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This fellow has a bunk bed and uses the bed on top as a place to stash his models. The model workbench fits underneath that nicely. The extractor booth’s air hose seems permanently attached to the window. Very clean and orderly, with a convenient L-shaped desk.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This is pretty incredible. This person turned a closet into a workbench! Very adequate lighting, and the tiny video screen for entertainment or whatever is a nice touch. No idea what it’s hooked up to, but that would be perfect for a Raspberry Pi computer, I think.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Holy cow! This is a chaotic mess, yet I admire how much stuff he’s managed to cramp into this small space. I’m about halfway to this guy’s level. Unlike the pictures above with the clean floors, if this guy loses a small piece on the floor, he’ll have quite a task on hand to find it. I like his poster of a Mitsubishi F-2 on the wall. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\n
\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n\n\n\n
\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

I also came across these photos on Pinterest and realized that they belong together. Here are four tall shelf racks. I love his tastes in models! It’s all character modeling. Can you spot what you like? I see Knight Rider, Mad Max, Gachaman, Star Wars, plenty of Gundam, Yamato, Battlestar Galactica, Star Trek, plenty of Gerry Anderson stuff, Votoms, and of course Macross. He even has that big Mega Force kit! Bonus points for keeping model categories together like that. (Click the images to expand, then open them in a new tab in your browser to see even closer detail to see the boxes.)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Again we see air hoses permanently attached outside. This is a nice idea. I have to crack my window and hang the air hoses out, but that means that mosquitos can come in unless I spray mosquito repellant onto the curtain. Speaking of which, I should buy some now that the weather has warmed up.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This is a bit too claustrophobic for my tastes. This guy is working on a Ma.K kit. He’s got paint bottles to the right. What’s in those boxes? It looks like the room is larger beyond those boxes. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

This is pretty cool. A nice modeling workbench in the corner of the room. With that plastic drawer there though, where does his legs go? It’s packed solid underneath. Nice extractor though. It’s illuminated within. Nice.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Incredible. This guy obviously likes a lot of Gunpla.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Good golly, that’s a lot of resin garage kits! Super cramped work area too. At least there’s anime to watch.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Alright, this is not cramped at all. Just lots of neat stuff going on all at once. Nice window to let in plenty of light, too. Looks cozy.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"\"\n\t\t\t\n\t\t\t\t\n\t\t\t<\/svg>\n\t\t<\/button><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

Nothing says “modeling in Japan” more than sitting on a small table on a tatami<\/em> mat floor. Oh yes, and with a blanket for your lap.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

I’ll take pictures of my own workbench. Currently it’s just a big mess at the moment. I’ll put that in another post later.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Living in smaller living conditions in Japan, there is an art to maximizing the space you have. I found these pictures on Pinterest and found them interesting. One thing to note is the absence of the “carpet monster” that Western modelers often complain about. Homes in Japan may have area rugs, but do not have … <\/p>\n

Continue reading “Enjoying the modeling hobby in Japan despite cramped living spaces”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"om_disable_all_campaigns":false,"_monsterinsights_skip_tracking":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_active":false,"_monsterinsights_sitenote_note":"","_monsterinsights_sitenote_category":0,"spay_email":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[17,4],"tags":[268,267],"class_list":["post-2143","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-japan","category-modeling","tag-japan","tag-plastic-modeling"],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","jetpack-related-posts":[{"id":2342,"url":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/2025\/07\/11\/a-look-at-modeling-magazines-and-books-at-bookmans-academy-in-maebashi\/","url_meta":{"origin":2143,"position":0},"title":"A look at modeling magazines and books at Bookman’s Academy in Maebashi","date":"2025-07-11","format":false,"excerpt":"On the last Friday of June, after dinner in Maebashi we went to Bookman's Academy, a nice two-story bookstore on the road straight south from the sushi restaurant we ate at. This bookstore not only has a great selection of modeling magazines, but upstairs in the \"subculture\" category, there are\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "books"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/07\/KIMG0725-rotated.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1217,"url":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/2023\/09\/30\/delorean-replica-spotted-at-aoshimas-booth-at-the-2023-all-japan-model-hobby-show\/","url_meta":{"origin":2143,"position":1},"title":"Delorean replica spotted at Aoshima’s booth at the 2023 All-Japan Model Hobby Show!","date":"2023-09-30","format":false,"excerpt":"This time machine replica was on display at Aoshima's booth. Unno-san has made a completely all-new tooling for a new model Delorean! It will feature gull-wing doors that can be opened and closed. They will be hinged with pins so that you can position them as you like. Fantastic! I'll\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "modeling"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/09\/IMG_0377.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1938,"url":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/2024\/12\/30\/a-treasure-trove-of-modeling-found-at-sanyodo-bookstore\/","url_meta":{"origin":2143,"position":2},"title":"A treasure trove of modeling stuff found at Sanyodo Bookstore","date":"2024-12-30","format":false,"excerpt":"In Komagane City, Nagano Prefecture there is a bookstore called Sanyodo with a fantastic modeling section. There I spotted Aoshima's new Back to the Future Delorean from the 2nd movie! The first Delorean was released earlier this year. This is the first time seeing this second kit at a store.\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "anime\/manga"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/12\/KIMG2409-rotated.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":802,"url":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/2023\/04\/06\/nazi-r2-d2\/","url_meta":{"origin":2143,"position":3},"title":"Nazi R2-D2","date":"2023-04-06","format":false,"excerpt":"This bizarre plastic model kit by Imai comes from the days when Japan blatantly plagiarized stuff. Here is the \"Command Robot VR-1\" kit from their \"Star Command\" series, also known as \"Nazi R2-D2.\" I've actually seen this kit in person (at an IPMS show in Phoenix) and it comes with\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "humor"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2023\/04\/Nazi-R2D2.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":2427,"url":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/2025\/08\/28\/andys-hobby-headquarters-in-glendale-az\/","url_meta":{"origin":2143,"position":4},"title":"Andy’s Hobby Headquarters in Glendale, AZ","date":"2025-08-28","format":false,"excerpt":"Many years ago, I wrote an essay on my history of the plastic model hobby. I mentioned how it was my wife Mayu who got me back into the hobby. Although I had bought a couple of models here and there, she is the one who came home one day\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "modeling"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i1.wp.com\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/IMG_1594.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]},{"id":1455,"url":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/2024\/04\/28\/hasegawas-big-172-macross-queadluun-rau-model-kit-spotted-in-yodobashi\/","url_meta":{"origin":2143,"position":5},"title":"Hasegawa’s big 1:72 Macross Queadluun Rau model kit spotted in Yodobashi","date":"2024-04-28","format":false,"excerpt":"Yesterday I went to Yodobashi Camera in Utsunomiya with my friend Lou who is visiting Japan. Here is me in the Macross section of the model department. This is the first time seeing the new Q-Rau model in-person. Wow, what a big box! I have enough Yodobashi points that I\u2026","rel":"","context":"In "anime\/manga"","img":{"alt_text":"","src":"https:\/\/i0.wp.com\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/wp-content\/uploads\/2024\/04\/me-with-Q-Rau-model.jpg?resize=350%2C200&ssl=1","width":350,"height":200},"classes":[]}],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2143","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=2143"}],"version-history":[{"count":8,"href":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2143\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":2190,"href":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/2143\/revisions\/2190"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=2143"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=2143"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/stevethefish.net\/stuff\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=2143"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}