Ki Star Real Estate (3465.T) announced the release of the latest offering in their Hanare series called the Hanare Zen; an air-conditioned, roofed cubicle that can sit in the driveway or lawn and act as a closed off teleworking space allowing for privacy and sustained periods of concentration. 

The Hanare Zen, the dark cubicle behind the plants.

Hanare means “get away” in Japanese, but not in the weekend getaway context; more like the “get away from me” or “I’ve got to get away'' nuance.  

The pandemic has brought on family related challenges with bringing literally all of your work home with you, thus creating some frictions.  Alleviating this pain point is the purpose of the Hanare Series of work boxes. 

The Hanare Zen has internal floor space of 91 centimetres wide by 1.8 metres long with electricity hook ups, a desk built into a wall and some small windows to let in light.  

According to Ki Star’s press release, the Zen takes 2 sunny days to build, is currently only being sold in the Greater Tokyo Area and is priced starting at 559,000 yen tax in, or roughly US 5,100 dollars at time of writing. 

The Zen's exterior and interior.

The Zen is the lower priced, smaller cousin to the initially released Hanare Shosaiban (or Hanare Study Version) which is larger in size, comes with an awning and small front porch outside the sliding glass doors. 

Ki Star Real Estate promotional video of the Shosaiban highlighting features, including the husband's 30 second commute to the office.

The Shosaiban’s internal floor space clocks in at 1.8 metres wide by 3.64 metres long, about double the Zen.  It comes with a larger desk, electricity hookups, a small storage closet in the back of the unit that can double as a delivery box, takes 8 sunny days to construct and retails at 1,980,000 yen tax in, or roughly US 18,100 dollars at time of writing. 

The Shosaiban can be had for a discount if one buys an order made home through Ki Star and like the Zen, is currently only being sold in the Greater Tokyo Area.

Further Reading

Ki Star Real Estate Hanare Series Press Release (September, 2021; Japanese Only)