I have a great affinity and admiration for small, efficient spaces. I even forked over 2500 yen for a magazine-style book in a fancy architecture shop in Aoyama on the (mostly modernist) wacky buildings scrunched into the tiniest bit of vacant lot in Japan. And there is no place where small and efficient is more fully realized than Japan, where 5 seat restaurants and full apartments half the size of Western one car garages are common.

When Trevor and I sold everything we owned and moved to Japan a few years ago (and then moved back almost immediately because we were unwilling to live double, schizophrenic lives as second-class citizens/rockstars), we vowed to never again live in a space dominated by stuff. We moved into a small but beautiful apartment (and even so, it still has a kitchen the size of our Japanese apartment), and decided to make our fantastic neighborhood our living room.

Well, 5 years, a bookstore job with a hefty discount, my rediscovery of vinyl record collecting, and bazillions of shoes later, our place gets a crammed-in feeling if we aren't constantly mindful. Fortunately, our recent acquisition of a platform bed (yay storage!) has remedied some of those problems.

My point with all of this? I am excited to have discovered Little Diggs: a chronicle of "the Big things that make Small spaces livable — 500 square feet or smaller."

Oi, the living spaces there are just dreamy! And many appeal to my outdoor and slow-living aesthetic: I could drop everything and move right now into the Beach Chalet or the Small Cabin For The Masses. But equally represented is the flipside for you sophisticates: check out this wine cellar.

Although two of the small spaces that immediately appealed to me were in the States, funny how so many of these places are outside the U.S., hmmm? No matter. I've been planning on buying a small house -- with land for building additional small work and play spaces -- forever, and these "little diggs" give me so much inspiration!

I’ve mentioned before how very seriously Japanese take their bathroom activities. From the ubiquitous Toto Washlet found in so many homes with heated seat, bidet, and blow dry, to toilets in even the most run-down mall that serenade you with chirping birds while you do your business (or, rather, serenade the people sharing the bathroom with you), to Starbucks loos that are more luxurious than my Japanese apartment ever was, Japan has the market cornered on toilet tech.
























If you are as fascinated with this as I am, check out the future wave of toire in today’s Japan Times.

A Toto darling is the advanced Apricot F5A featuring a fragrance dispenser, a light sensor so you know where to aim (an innovation for male users fumbling in dark bathrooms), a spotlight for reading (if you plan on a lengthy visit), and naturally, an embedded MP3 player.

A frikken mp3 player, yo. That cannot be good for you.

But watch out Toto!

Toto isn't the only Japanese firm hawking fancy toilets. Manufacturers like Matsushita and Inax have joined the battle to provide the most beneficial, hygienic, and luxurious lavatories. Some toilets take your blood pressure or conduct urine tests, then send the information to your family doctor. Other repositories blast cool air in summer and heat in winter. And still other highly superior sandboxes allow you to set the pressure of jet sprays designed to massage the rear.

I always thought the sexy toilets were only limited to “Western” style. Nope – this last trip I hunkered down in a train station WC over the traditional personal trough in the floor and lo and behold – soft music came out of nowhere to mask my tinkle. I looked around frantically to figure out how I triggered it, and my eyes finally settled on a metal plate anchored to the bottom of the trough. Stop tinkle, stop music. Genius! Well, except for what happens if it’s not a tinkle. And oh my, those poor repairmen.

Anyway, for future reading, Wikipedia has the BEST article on Japanese toilets around. Learn about toilet slippers and Otohime, and why no one seemed to care when some dude peed into the bushes next to where my hubby was sitting, in broad daylight in a crowded shopping area.

EDIT: OMG! You must see the Toto Washlet US website from the beginning. "Washlet is the bathroom feature with one fixation -- your happiness." Awesome.