all of the houses I've seen in Japan, at least middle and upper-middle class, are very much like what you'd find in California. Sure, the land is expensive, but the house will reflect that and have many rooms. An office room, just like a Californian's house, is not unreasonable. In fact, comparing Japan housing (cost and appearance) to California is probably a pretty close approximation...
though I haven't been to Japan since the 80's, everything I've read seems to confirm it.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
