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It’s hard to imagine putting up with stuff like this when for the same amount of money it takes to do “van life” in Japan you could live quite well elsewhere.
by BizarreByte 4y ago
It’s hard to imagine putting up with stuff like this when for the same amount of money it takes to do “van life” in Japan you could live quite well elsewhere.
- bradleyjg 4y agoWhat does it cost to live in rural Japan? I was under the impression the countryside is depopulating, which I would think would mean reduced costs.
- rtpg 4y agoI have a hard time imagining it to be cheaper to live in this truck than most things. And the kid… I can’t imagine this is good for the kid. Obviously the point of the van is that you can move around a lot! Aside: vagrancy is illegal in Japan, so if you’re sticking to the law you probably need to rent somewhere (or use your parents) and have a registered address.
- jefftk 4y ago> I can’t imagine this is good for the kid. Why would you expect this to be a bad life for a 1.5yo? They get a lot of time with their parents, and a lot of time outside? I'd feel differently with, say, a 4yo where that this sort of life would mean not having friends, but a 1.5yo is too young for that to be an issue.
- scandox 4y agoThis is absolutely fine for a young kid. Kids are way less conventional than adults at that age. If a kid gets food, warmth and attention they're basically golden.
- dymk 4y ago[flagged]
- ym705 4y agoYou should probably go to therapy yourself
- prmoustache 4y agoTherapy from living in a van as a 1.5y old? really?
- dymk 4y agoDid the author indicate he's going to stop his van life anytime soon?
- Loughla 4y agoIt solidly depends on the age/stage of development of the child. When you say young, that really means like <3 years. Anything above that, and they really need stability, routine, and regular/stable interaction with individuals outside of the immediate family group to avoid long-term developmental and psychological issues.
- scandox 4y agoYeah I think one could quibble on the exact age...I think even up to 4 it would be OK. After that I think a more stable setup is definitely positive. I would say though that a stable environment where they get little attention from parents is not superior.
- ensignavenger 4y ago- vagrancy is illegal in Japan Is that why you don't see any homeless in Japan? They just arrest them for vagrancy and house them in jail?
- innocentoldguy 4y agoThere are homeless people in Japan. You'll see them sitting in alcoves by train stations or sleeping under a stack of umbrellas in parks sometimes. The places I've seen them most are in remote locations by rivers, where they'll set up tents or tie tarps to trees to live under. They aren't as ubiquitous as they are in the US though, and I've only seen a homeless person panhandling once in all my years in Japan.
- ensignavenger 4y agoYeah, I was doing more research and could not find anything to suggest that Japanese homeless are regularly arrested and housed in jails.
- ensignavenger 4y agoNote: I can't find any source to confirm that vagrancy is illegal in Japan- the Wikipedia article on homelessness in Japan makes no mention of it- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness_in_Japan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness_in_Japan
- tmtvl 4y agoAccording to a very untrustworthy source (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness_in_Japan https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Homelessness_in_Japan) the numbers of homeless people are somewhat low-ish, if those numbers are anywhere near accurate it may account for the low visibility of the problem.
- grozzle 4y agoThere are lots of homeless in Japan, and people do see them. Anyone living near Tokyo who has money, clothes, shoes, gas cans, batteries, shelter material, work opportunities etc they wish to pass on - please reply here or email i.am.grozzle at gmail, please. Or ask staff at Lavanderia cafe in Shinjuku ni-chome.
- duffyjp 4y agoI lived in rural Japan for two years as a single guy and it was very, very cheap. I was making ~30k USD and saved half of it without really trying. I didn't have a car, but you don't need one even in the countryside if you can bike. These days you could Uber etc too which didn't exist yet when I was there.
- vsareto 4y agoThese vans do seem reasonably priced compared to American living vans. I don't think you'd get much living for around $60k. Plus you could rent vs. buy.
- TylerE 4y agoAlso about 1/4 the size.
- dreamcompiler 4y agoThe author links to a van rental service. Looks like a van comparable to the author's van rents for ¥24,800/night. Ouch! You could get a very nice hotel room in rural Japan for that.
- Danieru 4y agoYou can buy vans from that company for 60k. Yes renting is more expensive than a hotel. But good luck taking your hotel room on the highway.
- dreamcompiler 4y agoFair enough. 60k would be impossibly cheap for a Class B conversion van -- even a used one -- in the US.
- more_corn 4y agoThey could have bought a house in rural Japan for peanuts. Probably less than they spent modifying the van let alone buying it. They did it to travel. Not what I’d choose, but interesting.