Apartment for wine lovers unveiled in Tokyo

A new wine apartment with a temperature and humidity-controlled basement that can hold 10,000 bottles of wine is now available to rent in Tokyo.

The 18-unit, 10-floor apartment block, in Tokyo’s Shibuya district, has been designed “for wine connoisseurs who have trouble finding a bigger space to store a large collection of wines”.

Each unit measures around 42 to 46 square metres and costs 239,000 yen to 258,000 yen (£1,513 to £1,632) a month. This is around 30% more expensive than other apartments in the Shibuya area.

Aside from the monthly rent, tenants pay a monthly storage charge to put up to 300 bottles in the wine cellar; they may pay extra for larger collections.

During the weekends, a sommelier will be visiting the block to advise tenants on how to pair food with wine.

Also, a popular bistro will be opening a branch in November on the first floor, where residents can bring their own bottles, with a 2,000 yen (£13) corkage charge.

Takayuki Suzuki, the president of property developing company, said: “We wanted to create a residential space that gives joy to your life, and that’s why we created this Wine Apartment. We hope this new apartment can fulfil the desire of those crazy wine-lovers who praise wine all the time.”

Around 70% of the units have already been taken. “Tokyo is a unique market for wine lovers”, added Suzuki who said he believes that this there is a huge market for wine apartments in Japan.