Surprise, surprise! IKEA is offering a fully furnished apartment in Tokyo for just $0.86 (99 yen) per month! The tiny Shinjuku flat is just 107 square feet (10 square meters) and marks the start of IKEA’s new micro-living campaign.
So an apartment in one of the most densely populated cities in the world for just under a dollar? What’s the catch?
The Swedish furniture retail giant started renting this flat to prove an essential point for their business: Skillfully designed furniture can make small spaces appear bigger, comfortable, and functional. As mentioned, by renting out this apartment, IKEA is starting its small-space living (micro-living) campaign.
The campaign includes multiple YouTube videos in which their mascot Blahaj—a shark who is a real estate agent—and an IKEA designer explain how to create a more functional living space, even in cramped spaces. The advice is precious, especially for those living in such densely populated areas as Tokyo, which currently counts over 14 million inhabitants.
That said, modern homeowners already know a space-saving trick or two. Products like tankless water heaters and small-scale combo appliances like toaster ovens make things easier, but IKEA’s decor choices go one step further. This mini-apartment truly allows the company’s innovative customizable and multi-purpose items—e.g., the IVAR storage system—to shine.
Furniture on wheels is another prominent figure in this apartment, so the tenant can move it around and add space depending on what they’re doing. Besides this, IKEA’s interior designers suggest using the vertical space to a maximum as the ultimate space-saving trick, which they used to put a mezzanine-level bed in the apartment.
This is a very tempting offer—IKEA-supplied furniture in a Shinjuku apartment for under a dollar—especially given that an average Tokyo tenant pays around 150,000 yen per month for a one-bedroom apartment in the same area.
That said, only IKEA family members can rent the flat and live in it until January 15, 2023. So if you are interested and over 20 years old, you can apply by December 3rd. Good luck!
