Michelin food, no diapers - Life is BEA-utiful

A thick blue-and-grey carpet envelopes the floor. Dark brown sofas line the walls. Chandeliers overhead bathe the room in a warm, golden glow. A grand piano holds pride of place near the main door. A large painting shows a majestic Sakura tree in full bloom. Outside the floor-to-ceiling windows, reality mirrors art.Wedged between a granite fireplace and a pretty stained-glass plate emblazoned with a giant ‘M’, a sign on the wall proclaims – Life is Beautiful.

It offers spacious single rooms each with their own toilet and heated floors. Large windows ensure that even residents on wheelchairs can look outside. Gourmet meals are the order for the day with chefs who used to work for the legendary Michelin-starred Tokyo restaurant, Nadaman. The nursing home also has 60 care staff to serve its 73 clients. While the staff work in shifts like in any other facility, residents are assigned personal care managers who are responsible for their well-being and also liaise with the family. It even has a smoking area.

Attention to detail and individualised care are key selling points at Maihama Club, says its chief executive Gustav Strandell, a Swedish national who first came to Japan as an exchange student in 1992 and has been living there permanently since 2000. “We have a resident who likes to have her tomatoes peeled,” says Mr Strandell. “And the staff do so for her every time we serve tomatoes.” There is great attention paid to food, which he says is an older person’s biggest joy.

The nursing home sources the freshest seasonal produce and the Genki Kaki got to sample a regular meal when they visited. The home even provides the traditional Kaiseki meals, for a fee.

Each room also has a shower, which helps in continence care. The home has a continence care plan for all residents and focuses on weaning them off diapers. “When they have just come of diapers, leaks and accidents can happen – so the shower is most useful in helping clean up.”