It is perhaps not only my favorite building in all of Tokyo, but in all Japan.

And while I'd like to tell you a happy story about how next year it's his 50th year anniversary.

Unfortunately its future.

It's not looking so good.

Yeah.

Uh huh.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Mhm.

Mhm.

You don't know.

It may look like Jenga with washing machines but don't be fooled.

These are 140 tiny capsule apartments, but why was it built?

What's it like inside and who has called it home these past 50 years?

We're going inside the neck again, capsule tower to take a look at the past, present and future of this incredible building.

There's nothing else quite like it.

There may never be again and this time next year it may be lost forever.

All right.

Uh Tokyo, the center of Japan, both industrially and politically.

Mhm.

In the 1960s and 70s Japan's Postwar economy was experiencing explosive growth in a period referred to as the economic miracle?

The country was becoming a dominant player in the export of high tech electronics and rapid urbanization was sweeping the country.

In 1945 50% of the nation's population lived in rural areas, but by 1970 that figure was less than 30%.

And Tokyo is very much at the epicenter of the migration, unsurprisingly affordable living space became increasingly elusive.

It was against this backdrop of economic prosperity and rapid urbanization that a group of Japanese architects birth.

The metal is a movement, a design philosophy that incorporated aspects of organic biological growth in the same way an organic life form grows changes and adapts with its surroundings.

Why shouldn't a building One of the first buildings to follow this philosophy was the Yamanashi Press and Broadcast center, built 1966 with its exposed pillars allowing future floors to be added above 1967 came the Shizuoka Press and Broadcasting tower, which looks more akin to a plant than a building with its cantilevered floors protruding outwards.

But it was the knack again, capsule tower opened in 1972 and designed by visionary architect Kisho Kurokawa that went on to become the iconic symbol of the metal is um philosophy with the capsules prefabricated outside of Tokyo.

The assembly of the tower itself was completed in just 30 days with 140 capsules measuring 2.5 m wide and four m long and just like a regular apartment.

The capsules could be bought and sold.

One man lucky enough to own his own capsule since 2000 and 10.

His Tatsuki Maida.

Come on little buddy uh studies the sad irony of the nextgen capsule tower, is that the building that was meant to adapt and last forever likely be gone in the next 2 to 3 years When the tower was built.

The original plan was to replace all the capsules every 25 years, effectively dismantling the entire structure and reassembling it.

However, to do that required not only money, but the permission of all the owners of all the capsules.

Given the removal of just one capsule, would require many other capsules to be removed.

A pretty big floor in the grand scheme of things.

Perhaps unsurprisingly then, none of the capsules were ever replaced and the building has fallen into disrepair.

Underneath the impressive exterior, the building of tomorrow is a crumbling asbestos filled mess and today only a handful of residents actually live in the tower.

The second house.

The sad truth is, in recent times, Tokyo has faced a great deal of gentrification and many of the historic buildings with unique architectural characteristics are disappearing during the economic miracle.

Architects could get away with pretty much anything, not so much today, You only have to look at the bland, forgettable buildings that crowd around the neck.

Dragon capsule tower to get a sense of where things are headed joining us inside.

Today is my good friend and Tokyo real estate expert Alex Shapiro, who can attest to the rapidly changing skyline over the last decade.

They have a very kind of utilitarian mindset towards architecture in Japan for the most part, particularly in cities, right?

I just want it up.

They want to get the job done around here.

This is generic buildings, you know, you could be anywhere in the world at all in the same until you see quite a few buildings disappear in recent years, right?

Yeah.

So you've had the Sega building over in Akihabara, you also had hard expression which was one of my favorite buildings in Tokyo actually is this old, it looks like a house summer.

Remember what they looked like?

It was chaotic going through it.

But look nice.

I think that's the thing, right?

They sort of think, well let's just make something that's more easy and usable people but you don't do it at the cost of design.

So I'm looking forward to going in there.

I wanted to go in this building for nine years now and I've stood at this spot many times and taking photos and wanted to go in.

So I'm very excited.

Let's go do it, go check it out.

Mhm.

Minor sound is taking us on a tour of three separate capsules and the first one is the original untouched room.

I know, you know florida, I'm not coming initiated.

You want to give you a mother That's good.

Uh huh.

You know like that.

What do you want something?

That's my job.

I think you're gonna No, no, no, no, no, no, no.

And then over the body must go, you know, they were just running a kid.

We watched some of it.

Okay.

of course described by opening up six email.

No, there you go.

You know what I must that's going in the money.

You put it on, your staying at this hard.

The guys are contact Snyder describing only to a little bit about the steps banks.

Now I'm gonna get one marry you on.

That took me most of it's good so I don't know.

Yeah wow.

Oh my God.

What an incredible being one incredible rib.

Pretty crazy.

Huh?

It is as small as I imagined.

So it's 9m square.

Right?

Yeah and that's including all of everything here like all of the cabinets and everything but I love the way it's also built into it.

We've got TV got a phone this what's this?

Well this is a reel to reel tape deck.

This is original from 1972.

All right so before they had cassettes and cds and all that these guys and you've probably seen this import fiction actually.

Yeah when she starts dancing exactly in the house before she over days.

Exactly.

The tv might not work.

It might not work at least might not work the right egg works that wasn't there.

Yeah not very well but oh that's the maximum volume, maximum volume.

It's only coming from this speaker.

This guy's broken sadly.

But yeah thank you se mi built to last the bed was here.

Right?

The bed was right here you would sort of just sit on the floor, maybe bash out a script, listen to your music and then you know you're yeah I forgot your reel to reel and just pop into bed.

I wonder what would have been like the baby's here.

You got a short look up at the T.

V.

A little bit.

Oh yeah, I don't even think about some criticism, especially since this is supposed to be the head.

Yeah.

How does that work?

It's like it's like four in the grand flour, but let's look at the bathroom.

Yeah, it's so small but it kind of works.

Yeah, it's a nice deep bath.

You could actually you could sit in that and have a nice sort deep bathroom to stretch her legs.

God forbid.

But no, no, this looks very seventies.

I like this dish and the color very seventies.

It looks like somebody was smoking in here for a long time.

They definitely work.

It's very minimalistic, isn't it?

I don't know if I could live in a room this big maybe for like a few weeks, you know, kind of fun.

You can sort of sit by the window like at night.

I think this would be an incredible view, sort of sitting on the bed looking out over the, take your dialogue and also if you like cooking, I would not recommend this place for you because there's no kitchen, there's no kitchen.

Do you think about a communal kitchen?

I don't think so.

Okay.

Yeah.

Donald's every day basically while you're in the middle of Mcdonald's Mcdonald's Yoshinoya familymart chopped down.

Who needs a kitchen.

Anyway, the second room that medicine shares with us as his own private space, which he's modernist and turned into a room for social gatherings and events.

Come on in.

Okay.

Oh, no, A little bit of a junior junior high, wow!

Okay.

Yeah.

I can't think of 10 people into this place.

That is crazy.

And again with this one, there's no kitchen, but there is actually a little fridge and microwave over there.

So you could do some mentos or something like that if you have them pre made.

The final room is the most modern and stylish in the three.

It was a collaboration between the new keegan capsule tower and Muji, a popular japanese brand associated with selling household goods with a minimalistic aesthetic.

I'm cool during the korean and jewish culture.

This Mhm.

Course two.

No, This room is nice.

It is very nice, very nice.

Yeah.

This goes to show you can do with this kind of space.

Yeah.

I mean, 9m squared.

Right?

Again, a frighteningly small space to live in By taking out the whole modular 1970s space.

It does kind of work.

My only criticism is it almost just feels like a generic room, right?

Yeah.

Without the Sony Kind of Tech Retro Tech.

It's kind of, it misses some of the magic.

It does.

And you don't have the carpet either.

You have these nice wood floors.

I will say it's very nice.

It feels a lot bigger actually, in my opinion.

Could you live here now?

I could totally live here.

You could you could you could you could have all my four items of clothing on the wall and yeah, I get all the live here.

So you're gonna stay the night.

I would love to.

And that's the only thing I will say is damp.

That's kind of old little missy.

Yeah, it could be the air con, could be the fact this building is like 50 years old.

It's very stale in here.

I can get over, get some incense sticks jobbed up.

Yeah, one night I get asthma, your class.

But if you're very, very short lived to stay in the room I think yeah, especially You have to wonder how the capsule has been built to last and not be replaced every 25 years.

Perhaps the building's future would have been secured.

And it's fun to imagine a Tokyo where the economic boom never ended and eccentric architects were given unlimited budgets are allowed to throw practicalities out the window.

Who knows what the Tokyo skyline might have looked like.

But unfortunately Japan's economic bubble did burst in the early nineties.

In 2000 and seven, Kisho Kurokawa, the designer of the capsule tower passed away and in recent years any hopes of receiving unesco world heritage status or any government protection have faded.

But there is a ray of hope.

Recent crowdfunding efforts have been launched to try and preserve several capsules when the building is inevitably demolished.

The uh uh uh uh, uh, my finger mm B scan demo.

Those citizens, I have to say that original capsule was so damn cool.

I imagine going back to 1972.

Everything brand new shiny white the panels, the Sony equipment that's like the T.

V.

The radio and everything.

Yeah.

No it is awesome.

And still today I think it's really cool but at the same time I know you like it all shiny and new looking but at the same time I love it.

Old ends like dilapidated, decrepit and rusty and all that kind of stuff.

I mean it is one step away from being a hike your Japanese abandoned buildings.

But there's been a very successful crowdfunding campaign which you can find in the description box below.

We're gonna try and preserve a few the capsules, right?

Yeah we're gonna be in probably museums all around the world.

Hopefully, hopefully.

So that's pretty promising.

But thank you Alex for coming today.

Check out Alex's channel Toko portfolio also linked in the description box below.

But for now guys, always many thanks for watching.

Broad Japan will see you right back here all over again in the next episode.

Bye for now, take it away.

Yeah.

Mhm.

Yeah.

Mhm, mm hmm.

Mhm.

Yeah.

Yeah.

Yeah.