I've lived in Japan for quite a while, and to the degree I can judge (I'm not an architect or a civil engineer... :), the housing stock seems pretty good on average. While obviously there's a wide range of examples in all countries, certainly modern Japanese housing seems to be of far higher quality and far better finished than "equivalent" modern U.S. housing (U.S. housing from 100 years ago is a completely different thing).
It is very true that there is a somewhat different conception of what housing should be like, with Japanese housing being relatively small, compact, and lightweight (though there are those heavy tile roofs on more traditional houses...). The concept of "insulation" seems to be rather unknown in Japan, which is a real shame given their energy issues (I don't know the amount to which home heating contributes to energy usage though).
I think it's a mistake, though, to conflate all this with with a lack of quality, or to dismiss the cultural differences. Granted, if you, as a European, are trying to find housing, you're going to want what you want, not what the average Japanese wants, but your post does have a whiff of condescension about it ("These poor Japanese, how ignorant they are of our superior European practices!").
[I'll note that in my experience living in Japan, it's much quieter than urban living in the U.S., despite the higher densities and relative lack of insulation, simply because people take more care to not be obnoxious. There's some noise but it's more likely to be quiet conversation on the balcony next door, or children laughing as they play, and not so much douchebag-practicing-his-electric-bass-at-3am. The urban U.S. is noisy.]
I once visited a fairly wealthy Japanese family who had a big, newly built (and very cool) house in the countryside. It was a fairly cold windy winter's day when I visited, but the whole family was sitting in a small room with multiple glass doors to the outside wide open, with the wind blowing in, huddled around a portable electric heater watching TV...
I also totally disagree with your dismissal of the kotatsu; it's a fantastic invention (right up there with bathtubs you can easily completely immerse yourself in, with a friend), and there's very little more cozy and wonderful than snuggling up under a kotatsu on a cold winter's evening.... also, cats love kotatsus!! :] [and heating an insulated 0.5m^3 space is a lot more efficient than heating a whole house!]
I for one would prefer apartments to provide enough isolation that one could practice their electric bass at 3AM without bothering the neighbors. Society is prejudiced against night owls enough already ;-).
The movement of air by a speaker is not felt the same way as headphones. Your skin is responsible for picking up some frequencies. For this reason, most gigs have massive subwoofers and line array speaker stacks instead of a plethora of headphones :-)
I am a bass player and I sometimes have to use in-ear-monitoring to stop going deaf, and it isn't the same as hearing the sound from the speaker, particularly if you are counting on the response of the amplifier + speaker combination for sound. Try telling an electric guitarist to use headphones - half of the sound they get is from the combination of amplifier and speaker and the interaction between the two (amplifier sag, speaker cabinet resonance, angle of speakers etc.)
Again with the anti-nightowl-ism ;-). Society's prejudice against sufferers of DSPS and non-24-hour sleep cycles must end! That, or we can just build soundproof apartments and let us all choose our own schedules.
It's more anti-"being woken up by your neighbor being an asshole"-ism. I'm sure as a night owl you wouldn't appreciate having your neighbor play trumpet at 7am after your late night of jamming.
No, I wouldn't appreciate it, but if I complained about my neighbor being noisy at 10AM and someone else complained about their neighbor being noisy at 2AM, I'd get more strange looks.
I'm sure most of us could stand to be more considerate of our neighbors, but I'd prefer if soundproofing became common enough that we didn't really have to.
The same reason people prefer comfortable cars to bicycles (I commute by cycle myself).
Headphones are alternative solution to receive the sound with a pile of sacrifices, with the only advantage - not disturbing neigbhours. That is not a lie, you can feel the sound.
I actually understand your point of view, but I have a strong belief it is culture influenced (see side story).
If you want to save up, go for paper-thin walls. Some, like me, would rather pay extra for the comfort.
Side story: I spent my childhood in late soviet constructed building. These had impressively thick walls inbetween rooms and flats. Sadly not sound insulated, but by a degree better of what I have seen in UK so far.
Being a music lover, I would listen to a high quality (even had some of the rare DVD-Audio disks) on East EU-acceptable/West EU-loud volume every evening.
In a contrast, last five years I have been living in UK. Fully detached houses are heavily rare, people love to save money and go for semi-detached houses with thin walls. Being polite, the best I can hope for is watch movies with just enough volume to recognise the speech. In my hometown, I could get close to cinema (sound wise) experience without stepping out of home.
You would ask why I do not watch movies in headphones?
1. As mentioned earlier, low frequency soundwaves are received by the body, not ears.
2. That would be an awkward experienced watching a movie with (girl)friends, everyone wearing headphones.
3. Comfort of not having a piece of technology attached to your body.
4. I was exposed to a greater quality sound already.
England would be a hell, if everyone had loud speakers and used them at night. So, I am thankful and respectful to english-men prefering headphones.
Why not use a bicycle instead of a car? Headphones are a substitute for speakers in the same way a snorkel is a substitute for a submarine, or a spoon for an industrial mixer.
It is very true that there is a somewhat different conception of what housing should be like, with Japanese housing being relatively small, compact, and lightweight (though there are those heavy tile roofs on more traditional houses...). The concept of "insulation" seems to be rather unknown in Japan, which is a real shame given their energy issues (I don't know the amount to which home heating contributes to energy usage though).
I think it's a mistake, though, to conflate all this with with a lack of quality, or to dismiss the cultural differences. Granted, if you, as a European, are trying to find housing, you're going to want what you want, not what the average Japanese wants, but your post does have a whiff of condescension about it ("These poor Japanese, how ignorant they are of our superior European practices!").
[I'll note that in my experience living in Japan, it's much quieter than urban living in the U.S., despite the higher densities and relative lack of insulation, simply because people take more care to not be obnoxious. There's some noise but it's more likely to be quiet conversation on the balcony next door, or children laughing as they play, and not so much douchebag-practicing-his-electric-bass-at-3am. The urban U.S. is noisy.]
I once visited a fairly wealthy Japanese family who had a big, newly built (and very cool) house in the countryside. It was a fairly cold windy winter's day when I visited, but the whole family was sitting in a small room with multiple glass doors to the outside wide open, with the wind blowing in, huddled around a portable electric heater watching TV...
I also totally disagree with your dismissal of the kotatsu; it's a fantastic invention (right up there with bathtubs you can easily completely immerse yourself in, with a friend), and there's very little more cozy and wonderful than snuggling up under a kotatsu on a cold winter's evening.... also, cats love kotatsus!! :] [and heating an insulated 0.5m^3 space is a lot more efficient than heating a whole house!]