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A Day in the Life of a Japanese Homebuilder

This is a glimpse into the daily life of Yuya, a 25-year-old homebuilder living in Tokyo.

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Morning Routine

Yuya wakes up in his 1K apartment, which spans about 25 square meters, slightly below the average for a single-residence Tokyo apartment (27.4 square meters or 295 square feet). His rent is partially covered by his company’s jutaku (housing allowance), averaging around $150 per month in Japan. Conveniently, his employer, a major homebuilder, constructed the apartment building he lives in.

After getting ready, Yuya often skips a formal breakfast due to his early start. His apartment is relatively far from the train station by Tokyo standards, so he takes a bus to the station before boarding a train. Today, instead of heading to the office, he commutes directly to a construction site, as his commute varies depending on the project.

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Work at the Construction Site

Yuya works as a site manager for Daiwa House, one of Japan’s top home builders, constructing 7,000 homes annually with approximately 177,000 employees nationwide. A graduate of a four-year university with a focus on architecture, Yuya has been passionate about the field since elementary school, even noting it in his yearbook.

Upon arriving at the site, Yuya participates in the daily morning meeting, or chorei. This includes rajo taiso, traditional morning exercises to warm up and prevent injuries, a practice common in Japanese companies. Uniquely, Daiwa House connects this meeting to its headquarters and other sites, allowing workers across Japan to exercise simultaneously. The meeting also involves reciting the company’s philosophy, a moment of silent reflection on family and safety, and a uniform inspection.

Yuya’s responsibilities include guiding workers, including those from cooperative companies, to ensure the house meets specifications. Today’s project is a three-story rental home with an owner’s unit on the top floor, spanning 380 square meters of living space on 132 square meters of land, set to be completed in four months.

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Safety and Quality Control

Safety is paramount. Yuya uses a KY (Kiken Yochi, meaning “danger foresight”) form to prevent human errors like miscommunication or overexertion. Workers check in via facial recognition and have their temperatures taken to ensure they’re fit to work. Yuya inspects scaffolding and equipment, as he’s accountable for any on-site injuries. As a nikyu kenchikushi (second-class architect) licensed in Japan, he’s qualified to manage small housing projects, though a first-class license, with a 10% pass rate, would allow him to oversee larger structures.

Throughout the day, Yuya conducts junkai (site walkthroughs) to verify tasks meet Daiwa House’s strict guidelines. The company enforces three levels of inspection: daily by Yuya, by his supervisor, and by the quality assurance team. He also ensures compliance with Japan’s earthquake-resistant building laws (updated since 1924 under the Shin-taishin standard) and fireproofing regulations, which mandate that homes withstand fire for at least one hour. Features like X-shaped structural braces and fire-retardant materials are standard.

Waste management is rigorous, with garbage sorted into 19 recyclable categories. After the morning meeting, workers, including Yuya, spend 10 minutes cleaning the site.

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Breaks and Team Dynamics

Yuya takes a 30-minute break with the workers, picking up drinks for everyone to foster camaraderie. Japan’s construction industry has a history of overwork, so Yuya ensures his team gets adequate rest. At lunch, he visits a local soba shop, enjoying a specialty like chicken nanban soba, often eating alone, reflecting a common aspect of modern Japanese life.

Administrative Work

In the afternoon, Yuya prepares a sagyo keikaku form, detailing the next day’s tasks and required workers. As a younger employee, he manages one project at a time, building about three houses annually, but aims to handle multiple projects as he gains experience.

Daiwa House uses prefabricated construction, with materials pre-cut at factories for efficiency, minimal waste, and consistent quality. Later, Yuya heads to the office, which operates a free-desk system. He visits only once a week, a practice rooted in COVID prevention but now part of labor reform. At the office, he handles administrative tasks like vendor coordination, invoices, and change requests. He also meets with a designer to review site issues and consults a senior coworker for advice.

The office features a Smart Control Center, monitoring construction sites via 360° cameras, and a showroom where customers can test space configurations and materials. A jotto ceremony, involving sake, salt, and rice, is held when a house’s framework is completed to pray for safety and purity.

Evening and Personal Life

After work, Yuya stops at a bento shop for a katsu dinner. Before the pandemic, he often dined out with coworkers, but now they meet online for drinks, scheduled for tonight. With time before the call, he indulges in his hobby, photography, showcasing his creative side.

Yuya’s evening wraps up with the virtual hangout until around 10:00 PM, followed by bedtime at 11:00 PM. This routine captures the blend of discipline, responsibility, and personal moments in the life of a Japanese homebuilder.

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