balconies in use

[mindstalk]

In my previous post, I got a comment questioning whether people really use balconies, based on his experience. Not sure where he's from, but I went on a Street View binge, as you can see in my reply. You can go there to see all the evidence, but in short:

Clear evidence for active use in Osaka and Tokyo is: clotheslines or racks for drying clothes, then plants. No definite chairs or tables to lounge in.

For Koreatown, Los Angeles: lots of plants, lots of chairs and tables, also some bicycle storage (plus one surfboard).

Neither sample is a rigorous report: I posted links to buildings that had interesting things, skipping over the ones that didn't. Still, I wasn't having to search hard to find stuff.

But on my walk today, I saw exactly three balconies or balcony-adjacent things, and all of them were in use!

The first one is arguably an upper patio, but anyway it has everything: table (and chairs, from another angle), bicycle, and lots of plants.

The second one is an open walkway, not a private balcony, but I'd still feel comfortable stepping out in my sleep clothes to greet the sun. At any rate it has a chair, two bicycles, and a plant, for two apartments.

The third is definitely a balcony, with plants and chairs.

So at least in these locations there's decent use, though Japan has a lot less signs of "sit outside" than I expected. Granted, summer in Japan is a lot less pleasant than in California.

There's also the passive or intermittent uses of balconies: providing shade from sun or rain for the unit below; providing access to the A/C compressor or easy installation of a satellite dish; beating out your futon, which might be important but not caught on camera; just stepping out for a bit of air or smoking.