Yeah, they live in walk in closets over there. There used to be a television channel here that showed Japanese programs with subtitles and some of them really educated me as to life in Japan. I remember one that focused on a group of twenty something men and women who were friends. I was like a soap opera only more believable than a soap opera, and one of them lived in an apartment that was not much bigger than one bedroom would be here and his kitchen, bathroom, living and sleeping areas were all in the same space and it was always cluttered.
Well, you are describing a standard 'studio' apartment, which are fairly common in cities. (I have a friend who has lived in three different studio apartments, including one where it was just like you describe: one big room plus a bathroom, with one part of the big room having tile floor with kitchen appliances on two walls.)
As for the 'living in a walk-in closet', I have heard of 'businessman hotel rooms' that really are just a closet. The room has a bed, and just enough floor space for you to walk in and close the door behind you. Heck, some of the newer luxury first class airline 'pods' have more space than some of those mini hotel rooms.
In the condo I lived in before my current house, the bedroom has a positively HUGE walk-in closet. It was so big that I considered making the closet my computer room, until I noticed that were no electric outlets in there. (The closet was 8x10, bigger than the 'master bedroom' of my current house, which is 8x9.)
