Hanare Zenzen(HANARE 禅zen)is a 91cm wide and 1.8m long detached office model, equipped with a power outlet, a work table in the form of a platform and a few other essential equipment. It will be built right next to your main house and will only take about two days to complete, weather-wise.
“Hanare” in Japanese means “separation”, and “Zenzen” is a combination of both the Chinese characters of Zen Buddhism and the Latin alphabet, a Japanese wordplay that means both “complete” and the serenity and tranquility of Zen.
Hanare Zenzen is designed for people who are having trouble finding a peaceful space to work at home without disrupting their family life.
A representative of KI Star Real Estate - a famous design company in Japan and also the unit behind this model, said: "We originally created Hanare as a storage space. With the current epidemic situation, this idea was born to develop Hanare Zenzen into a suitable workplace."
“The use of the word “Zen” in the name represents minimalism in every aspect of the house, from shortening the size to reducing the features to only what is truly necessary.”
Hanare Zen costs 547,800 yen and is available in Tokyo and surrounding prefectures.
For those with a bit more money to spend, these detached homes are a great value option as they come with high-quality flooring and wallpaper, and offer the same thermal performance as a regular home thanks to double glazing, which helps keep energy costs down. They are also designed to be air-conditioned if required.
The company's official website also introduces Hanare Zenzen: "If you don't need to work remotely, you can use it as a warehouse or storage place, when your children are older, this house will be useful for studying and reviewing for entrance exams."
Hanare Zenzen is said to be a smaller and simpler version of Hanare Study Version.(Hanare Office)- a separate isolated structure launched last May, which itself was a smaller version of Hanare launched in November 2020.
Hanare Study Version is also designed for remote working purposes with a home-like space including a desk, an inner window and sliding glass doors.
Hanare Study Version seen from the outside.
Interior space of Hanare Study Version.
For some people living in Tokyo apartments who cannot afford Hanare Zenzen, they choose to work in their personal cars in order to find a peaceful and quiet space to concentrate on their work. This need has led to a series of accessories to support working in the car, including computer holders that attach to the steering wheel, folding tables, mini fans, portable batteries, and window screens to block out outside events that may distract them from their work.
In Kawasaki, south of Tokyo, Tokyu Railways has also renovated old train cars to repurpose them into remote workspaces, renting them out for 200 yen an hour at its Train & Bus Museum. The company has converted some ticket booths at stations into shared office space, which it has rented out since July. The company has seen its passenger numbers and train ticket sales drop significantly due to the pandemic.
Based on a survey by the Mainichi Shimbun at the beginning of the year, even if the Covid-19 epidemic is controlled, 90% of Japanese corporations that still apply teleworking are expected to extend this policy.
Although Japan has not implemented a complete lockdown, the government has asked people to work from home as much as possible to avoid crowding on public transport and reduce the risk of infection in the workplace.
