How to create a ruler-style office
~Until I met the office~

People often say that Monosus' office "doesn't look like a company."
The Monosus office is located a 10-minute walk from Yoyogi Station, in a corner of a residential area, surrounded by three wooden houses and a courtyard with a large avocado tree.

One of the employees who had known about this place for some time had secretly dubbed it "Totoro House" after seeing its exterior covered in thick ivy.

This building was built for a US military officer around 1951 and was later used as an architectural designer's studio and residence. It has a large skylight, terracotta floors, and shelves covering the entire wall. It is old, but it seems to have been well-used.

I myself was attracted to the office's appearance and decided to work at Monosus (though of course it wasn't just the building that drew me in). Now that I've actually started working here, I've found it interesting to discover the unique ways of spending time and daily habits that exist here.

But how did you come across this office, which doesn't feel like a company at all and feels more like home?
We interviewed Hayashi, the CEO who found the property, and Furuhat, who arranged the office furniture, to find out what happened back then.

What came to mind was an office that looked like a club room.

-How did you search for a property before you found this office?

Hayashi : At that time, I was inexperienced and didn't know what to do, so I just took a "shoot and see what works" approach and just looked into properties.
I narrowed down my search to within the Yamanote Line area and the size of the property, and spent quite a while searching for a place to live. Probably about two years. Eventually, I became as knowledgeable about property information as a real estate agent.
When I was meeting with the real estate agent and he introduced me to a property, he said, "I already know that building, so it's no good," which surprised me.

(Everyone laughs)

Hayashi: Finding an office is hard work, you really have to go out and do it yourself...
If you are particular about the interior design, it can easily cost tens of millions of yen, and in a well-located area like Aoyama, the price per tsubo is about twice as much as here. If you spend money, you can make a good office, but we don't have the money (laughs). So we walked around looking for a property that didn't need to spend money on the interior design and had an average price per tsubo...

- After more than two years, you finally found this place. What made you decide on this place?

The moment I saw the forest , I decided on this place. It made a huge impact on me. The plants growing at the entrance were lush, and I thought, "This is tropical!" (laughs).
I wasn't particularly keen on a single-family home from the start, but I thought it would be nice to have something that felt more like a home than an office. In fact, I hadn't even imagined a high-rise building.

The situation at the time of viewing

- Why did you think it felt like home?

Hayashi: When I had just started my company, I was feeling a bit weak and started to get fed up with a lot of things. One day, on my way home from a meeting, I got off the train and wandered into college to see the cherry blossoms. Then, I suddenly remembered my club activities in college.
People gather in the club room even though no one has asked them to. Everyone wants to come to the club room even though they have no business there. And they do as they please.

When I applied that to my own company,
"Does everyone want to come to work?
If possible, I don't want to be in the office (laughs). I think there are people out there who think like that."
I thought to myself. I think that was probably the case with me.

When I thought about it, I suddenly got the idea that it would be nice if the office was like a club room, a place that everyone wanted to come to. I think that's what led to the current "home-like office."

What I found...
I didn't have enough money to apply

Corridor between the East and West buildings

After searching for two years, he finally found this once-in-a-lifetime property. Luckily, he was also the first to apply. He wanted to sign the contract right away, but at the time, he didn't have the money to pay the contract fee in one lump sum... Even though the conditions were relatively good, he needed about seven months' rent in cash, including the deposit, key money, prepaid rent, and brokerage fee. Moreover, there were other applicants, so he couldn't afford to be careless.

Hayashi tried everything he could to scrape together the money, but there was no way he could gather such a large sum of money right away. He could usually make the arrangements in about a month, but if he couldn't get a good idea within a few days, the negotiating rights would be transferred to the second company. After thinking about what to do, he decided to take the plunge and ask the landlord honestly.

During the viewing, I was lucky enough to have the chance to talk with the landlord, and we had a lively discussion about how the university where he studied abroad and my university's college song have the same melody. Because of this connection, I thought that this landlord might be willing to listen to what I had to say.

So I talked for about 20 minutes about how much I loved this property (laughs). "I really want to move into this property, but I don't have enough money right now. I'm sorry, but could you please wait for just one month?" I honestly told them my feelings about the property and the situation of my company.
Thanks to the persistent negotiations by the person in charge at Tokyo R Real Estate who intervened, we were finally able to successfully conclude the contract, with the landlord finally saying to us, "I trust you."

- I think it was good that I asked honestly and sincerely. I'm glad my feelings were heard.

Hayashi : It's not a very praiseworthy way of doing things (laughs bitterly). But I was really happy when the deal was decided. I'm really grateful to the people at Tokyo R Real Estate who patiently negotiated with us, and above all to the landlord.

What's changed in an office that feels like a clubroom and a home?

The entrance

- You finally got your current office. There are a lot of things that don't look like an office here and there, like a large kitchen, a bar counter, a big sofa, and a darts board.
Has anything changed for you guys since you moved here?

HayashiIt 's interesting, because it's not a space created as an office, everyone starts thinking about "how to make improvements". When that happens, it fosters the awareness that it's okay to change existing things and the attitude of actively trying to use the blank space. This kind of thing can definitely be applied to any kind of work, so I think it's a great harvest in that sense as well.

- This is exactly what you're talking about in the gaps of Monosas . Has anything changed since you moved here, Mr. Furuhata?

Furuhata: I guess it felt different from going to a normal office. The fact that the container is here means that it doesn't feel like a company. No, it is a company (laughs).
Although it sometimes leaks and there are drafts, it's completely different from being in a room in a building. It feels like "our place." You can put things wherever you want.

Hayashi: Isn't that the club room? Club members might leave things there without permission.

Maybe a comic book that has been passed down for generations and is kept in the club room at Furuhat High School?

Hayashi : Exactly (laughs). But the club room is not your own place (personal property). It's neither public nor private.

- Perhaps it is because of this type of office that Monosus's current corporate culture, where everyone is always coming up with their own ideas, has developed.

Hayashi: Was it because I had that way of thinking that I came across this kind of office, or was it because of this office that I came to this way? In the end, I don't know which came first.
But it's true that I thought a space like a clubroom would be nice.

Summary: This place became the roots of Monosasushi DIY.

After thoroughly searching for a property, even surprising the real estate agent, they finally found their current office. Even though they didn't have much money, they were able to get the office they had envisioned through ingenuity and hard work.

Another thing that has changed since we moved here is the way everyone works.

The kitchen and bar counter create a space for communication, where people gather around the dining table and share drinks, while the large sofa and avocado tree in the courtyard provide a place for relaxation and respite from work. Some people display their hobby goods on the shelves that cover the entire wall, others feed their cats, and others decorate with their favorite plants. When fallen leaves pile up in the courtyard, someone takes the initiative to sweep them away, and when the sunlight coming in through the skylight is too bright, they sometimes make their own curtains.
In this way, the office has evolved from a place where people just work to one where they can devise ways to spend their time comfortably and enjoyably. It feels like "living" has become a part of "working" time.

This home-like office, where with a little ingenuity you can achieve a "work-as-you-live" style, may be the roots of "Mono-rusu-style DIY."

In the next issue, titled "How to Create a Ruler-Style Office: DIY for a Comfortable Work Environment," I would like to tell you specifically about the DIY that has been done in this office.