Japanese Real Estate Company Gives Hermit Crabs A New Home

Japanese real estate company Suumo has introduced a revolutionary new housing solution: brand-new shells for homeless hermit crabs!

Suumo is a large real estate listings company that, for a change, found a completely new target group: hermit crabs. In case you didn’t know, hermit crabs are apparently famous for their habit of house-moving as they keep changing their home throughout their life as they grow. The crabs are having increased difficulty in finding new homes, though, as they usually inhabit shells that wash up on the shore. Japan is suffering from ‘shell shortage’ as the environment is changing.

The crabs are increasingly inhabiting unnatural objects, like trash on the beach. Devoted to facilitating suitable housing for literally anyone, Suumo decided to team up with Tokyo’s University of Marine Science and Technology to tackle the problem. They have created a cocoon-shaped design, made out of potato starch organic material. It is tough to protect the crab from enemies, light so it can move with ease, and soft on the inside to protect their delicate body. The design is made in a wide range of sizes so the crab can choose the one that matches the most.

This project is the first of its kind, but Suumo has stated it will continue to initiate projects that rethink the concept of ‘home’.