We live in one of a cluster of apartments in what is known as a nicer part of Tokyo. Most people here walk around in brand name clothes, drive expensive cars, and walk little dogs in outfits that probably cost more than anything I own.

In the apartment across from ours, there is one room that I’ve been really curious about. The room is piled almost to the ceiling with papers, boxes and other junk. If you looked out of our balcony, you’d spot it immediately. Apparently, this kind of abode is known as “gomi yashiki” or “garbage mansion” in Japan.

I saw one home on television that was unbelievable. A brother and sister in their 40s lived in a house that was little more than aluminum sheets held together. Inside were boxes, papers, and half-opened packages of food that have been around since god knows when. The kitchen had pots with leftover food from six months ago. The refrigerator had food from two years ago. The bathroom was disgustingly brown. The bathtub was in a state beyond words. An entire season of an interior remodeling show like “Trading Spaces” could be dedicated to this one house alone. The interior decorator/architect, who fixed up this dump, was amazing.

The really unbelievable thing with this house was that when a construction crew tore down a part of the house to redo it, they discovered even more garbage behind a wall, including an old guitar that the brother used to play when he was in middle school! Apparently, when the siblings’ parents hired someone to seal off a storage area, the crew sealed it off without emptying it first.

I’m dying to find out who lives in the gomi yashiki across from us.