Tips for Apartment Search: Watch Out for Unit Baths

In Japan, many apartments have what's called a "unit bath" and this can be one of the point when you find an apartment.

The unit bath is a prefabricated bathroom which has the bathtub, shower, sink, and toilet are all installed together in a single waterproof room. It's designed to be compact, easy to clean, and prevent water damage. However, this might be too compact for you. Usually the sink is set over the bathtub, right next to the toilet.

In Japan, unit baths are often installed in compact apartments, such as studio layouts, or in cases where it is important to maximize the available living space. So it's sometimes too compact.

Typical unit bath in the studio type room.

When you look for your apartment, you should check the layout of toilet, bathroom and sink. Or, when you ask real estate agent to find a place, you can ask them to eliminate  those unit baths from their proposal.