Twitter Is (Understandably) Obsessed With this ‘Mushroom House’ in Japan

published Oct 7, 2022
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Akebono Children's Forest Park at Hanno City, Saitama, Japan

Japan is home to all kinds of stunning and unique architecture, with plenty of homes somehow marrying practicality and whimsy seamlessly. So when some of these unexpected structures go viral, it’s certainly unsurprising, as is the case in the “mushroom house” making waves on Twitter lately.

Writer Trishna Rikhy recently shared two photos of what appears, at first glance, to be a mushroom-shaped house in Japan, with Rikhy tweeting: “need to live in a Japanese mushroom house.” Thousands of fellow Twitter users seemingly agreed, sharing their thoughts by way of likes, retweets, quote tweets, and replies celebrating the fungus-shaped structure, which isn’t a house but a charming boutique.

Fans of the house in r/cottagecore found that it’s located in Sendai, Japan, the country’s second largest city north of Tokyo. The kinoko house (that’s mushroom in Japanese) is home to a local boutique, housing all kinds of festive items… and yes, plenty of them are mushroom-themed.

Not only are Japanese natives charmed by the mushroom house, but it’s developed a fanbase around the globe, frequently popping up on various subreddits and Twitter threads in recent years. And it turns out that the viral sensation isn’t the only mushroom-style house in Japan, with design firm Re・lation Nukumori Koubou Brand specializing in these custom whimsical spaces, which they call garden houses.

Loosely translated from Japanese, each one-of-a-kind design is completely handcrafted and can be tailored to each buyer’s needs and preferences. These garden houses have been used for all kinds of purposes, from restaurants and cafes to playhouses for kids, and some companies enlist the brand to spruce up their interiors. Now that Japan is inviting visitors from the U.S. to re-enter after closures due to the COVID-19 pandemic, it might just be your moment to go see these fairytale-inspired houses for yourself.