The Building Looks Almost Too Thin To Be Real
Before Maya even stepped inside, the outside of the building already warned her that this would not be a normal apartment. It stands on a narrow piece of land, covered in bright yellow bricks and shaped in a way that makes it look more like a triangle than a regular home. From some angles, the building appears almost impossibly slim, as if someone pressed a normal apartment block flat and left only the thinnest part standing.
The narrow side is what catches people’s attention most. Passersby often look up and try to work out where the rooms could possibly be. At first, Maya felt a little embarrassed by that. She had not expected her home to become something strangers stared at on the street. But over time, she started to find it funny. Tokyo is full of clever uses of small spaces, and this building is an extreme example of that. It may not be spacious, but it turns a difficult leftover piece of land into a real place to sleep, study, cook, and live.
