The show "Junnin Jyuuni-iro ~As many family forms as there are houses~" (MBS, Saturday 5pm, Kansai local and other channels) hosted by talent Mika Mifune and actor Taro Suruga will feature the "Tunnel House" in Takasaki City, Gunma Prefecture, where the "husband who wants to open up and the wife who wants to close up" is featured on the show on October 18th.
The owners are a family of three, a couple and one child. They built a new home in 2023 in his wife's hometown. The exterior is a single-story house covered with a galvalume steel roof. There are no windows, and the roof hangs down 50 centimeters from the ground. It's a unique home that the child describes as "like a tunnel."
The couple says they have completely opposite tastes, with the husband wanting an "open house with large windows" and the wife wanting a "closed house that protects privacy." They came up with a compromise: a 17-meter-long "tunnel-shaped" house, which combines the ideals of both parties by leaving the entrance and exit open and closing the sides.
The center of life is the dining kitchen next to the living room. The earthen floor makes it easy to clean, and the kitchen is attached to a long, narrow wall along the tunnel shape, with the refrigerator, sink, and induction cooktop positioned to minimize traffic lines. Behind the 8-meter counter that continues from the kitchen is a sink, family closet, laundry room, and bathroom. The space with a large window on the exit side is designed as a future children's room.
The contradiction between open and closed creates a comfortable space. Two years after they started living together, the husband says, "Through building our home, we have come to understand each other better."
"Jyunin Jyuiro" is a program that visits homes all over Japan and introduces the residents' preferences and charms for their homes. After broadcast, it will be available on TVer for one week.
