While walking in Japan, I came across a few houses being framed. I’m jealous of the framing here, its like fine furniture. In the US, the beams are simply nailed together. Here in Japan, grooves are created where each beams come together and then nailed…everything is perfectly flush. The earthquakes codes are stricter here, so that may be the reason why. I’m still jealous.

One thing I don’t like about your typical new Japanese house is the outside siding. Its tends to look like plastic and cheap. This may be due to the strict fire codes. Custom build houses have nicer siding such as wood.