Minimalists Will Love These Tiny Japanese Houses

Calling all city mice: Muji has released prototypes for three prefab houses designed with the weekend getaway in mind. Putting the retailer's trademark minimalism to work, signs on the houses invite viewers to “slip away from the hustle and bustle of the city to a place where you can feel instantly at home and at ease.” How do you say "I want to go to there" in Japanese? Each house was the creation of a different designer: Konstantin Grcic, Jasper Morrison, and Naoto Fukasawa. And like the homes of the three little pigs, each one is different. Grcic’s is the sparest, with two levels, an outlet, and a ladder — but no bathroom — for those who prefer to rough it.

For those who want a bit more glamp in their getaway, Fukasawa’s design offers a few more amenities, like a bathtub and floor-to-ceiling glass walls.

Finally, Morrison’s cork structure features separate "zones" for activities, like sleeping and eating, and even includes a small stove in its compact design.

This isn’t Muji’s first foray into housing. The company already makes larger prefab vertical houses designed to make the most of the limited space available in many Japanese cities. Sadly, there are no plans to bring any of Muji’s prefab homes stateside just yet.