Net Cafe Refugees: Spending Nights In Internet Cafés in Japan

by Ira Swasti

Imagine if you wake up one morning to find that you’ve lost your job. You’re broke and homeless and don’t even have a family or friend’s place to go to. Where do you spend the night?

Think about it before you answer. We really want you to think about all your options. Maybe a bench in the park? The roadside pavement? How about the railway platform? A bus?

If you’re living in one of the world’s most expensive (and technologically advanced) cities in the world, it might as well be an internet café.

We recently stumbled upon this 10-minute documentary made by Japanese photojournalist Shiho Fukada titled Net Cafe Refugees that showcases the story of people living in internet cafés in Japan.

Tokyo is actually the sixth most expensive city in the world, after Singapore, Paris, Oslo, Zurich and Sydney. (Just last year, it was dethroned from the title of being the most expensive city in the world.)

That means, to live in Tokyo, you need to shell out about 150,000 yen (Rs 77, 793) a month to rent just a 30 square meter apartment. Now with these rents, if you find yourself caught in Japan’s economic recession, lose a steady job or become a part-time worker, you can’t quite afford to live in a house.

Plus, living in an internet café has its perks. There is 24x7 access to the internet (the most important thing you need to survive after food and water), a steady supply of Manga comics, a TV and a shower. You just need to be okay with spending the night in a 4.3 feet by 8.5 feet cubicle and wake up to greet a bunch of strangers in the morning. The other living options if you’re homeless in Japan don’t even come close.

Go check out the documentary and let us know in your comments: Where would you spend the night if you woke up broke and homeless one day?