Fridges for one or two in Japan: 5 picks from ¥34,800

Five refrigerators in Japan for one or two people, 152 to 274 litres
Freezers range from 49 L (Hisense HR-D16F) to 123 L (Iris Ohyama IRSN-HF24A)
Sharp SJ-TD15R: door rehangs left or right, about 21 dB

The five

Best for	Where to get it	Score	Street price, incl. tax
123 litres of freezer in 235 — the most room for bulk buys and batch cooking — if you can’t decide	Iris Ohyama 235-litre three-door fridge-freezer (IRSN-HF24A) See price	81/100	¥60,280 (street price)
152 litres at about 21 dB, with a door you can rehang left or right after a move	Sharp 152-litre two-door fridge with a swap-either-way door (SJ-TD15R) See price	81/100	¥47,996 (street price)
Fan-cooled for ¥34,800 on Rakuten, 481 mm wide, with room for a microwave on top	Hisense 162-litre two-door fridge-freezer (HR-D16F) See price	79/100	¥34,800 (street price)
62 litres of freezer in a small 160-litre body	Toshiba BP series 160-litre two-door fridge-freezer (GR-Y16BP) See price	77/100	¥37,999 (street price)
274 litres and a 100-litre freezer — enough for two, in 547 mm of width	Iris Ohyama 274-litre two-door fan-cooled fridge (IRSN-27A) See price	73/100	¥74,800 (street price)

These are sold on Rakuten Ichiba, which generally ships within Japan only, and they run on Japanese mains power (100V, 50/60Hz). They suit a home in Japan rather than a suitcase.

123 litres of freezer in 235 — the most room for bulk buys and batch cooking

Iris Ohyama 235-litre three-door fridge-freezer (IRSN-HF24A)

123 litres of freezer against 112 of fridge
563 mm deep, on the shallow side among the 230-litre-and-up models compared
Annual consumption 337 kWh, about ¥10,447 in electricity

See today’s price on Rakuten→

Why it made the five

123 litres of freezer, the largest of the ten we compared — more than half the total
33 litres of the freezer can be switched to fridge use
Fan-cooled, three doors, 562 mm wide and 563 mm deep
Right for: Living alone or as a couple and buying frozen food in bulk, or freezing what you cook ahead.
Not for: Keeping a lot of drinks and vegetables — the fridge section is 112 litres.
Worth knowing: The 112-litre fridge section is the smallest among the 230-litre-and-up models we compared. Iris Ohyama gives the 33-litre switchable compartment a three-star freezer rating.

Score breakdown — 81/100

Criterion	Stars	Why
Quality	★★★★★	123 L of 235 is about 52%, over 40%, so five stars; the bonus for a freezer of 80 L or more has nowhere to go above five. Thirty-three litres of the freezer switches to fridge use
Value for money	★★★☆☆	¥60,280 on Rakuten earns three; 337 kWh ÷ 235 L × 100 is about 143 kWh per 100 L, within 170, so no deduction. A year’s electricity is 337 kWh × ¥31, about ¥10,447
Easy to live with	★★★☆☆	562 mm wide, so no point; no official noise figure or heat-resistant top, so no points; fan-cooled, so no deduction
Trust	★★★★☆	70 reviews averaging 3.80 across the top 30 Rakuten listings found by model number — 50 or more earns four
Only here	★★★★★	The largest freezer of the ten (123 L) and the only one above half the total, and the only one with part of the freezer (33 L) switchable to fridge — two extra points

152 litres at about 21 dB, with a door you can rehang left or right after a move

Sharp 152-litre two-door fridge with a swap-either-way door (SJ-TD15R)

Inverter, and Sharp says no tedious defrosting is needed
Noise figure is for low-speed operation, measured to JIS C 9607
The top sits 1,203 mm up

See today’s price on Rakuten→

Why it made the five

The fridge door can be rehung to open from the right or the left
About 21 dB officially, at low-speed running
A 100°C heat-resistant top that takes a microwave, up to 30 kg
Right for: Living alone and moving often, or a one-room flat where the noise of the fridge matters.
Not for: Stocking a lot of frozen food — the freezer is 58 litres.
Worth knowing: Sharp publishes the steps for rehanging the fridge door on its site, and its customer helpline also does it for a fee. The 2026 model, SJ-TD15S, is listed on Sharp’s site with the same capacity and dimensions.

Score breakdown — 81/100

Criterion	Stars	Why
Quality	★★★★☆	58 L of 152 is about 38%, four stars; the freezer is under 80 L, so no bonus
Value for money	★★★☆☆	¥47,996 on Rakuten earns four, but 260 kWh ÷ 152 L × 100 is about 171 kWh per 100 L, over 170, so one comes off. A year’s electricity is 260 kWh × ¥31, about ¥8,060
Easy to live with	★★★★★	495 mm wide adds one, about 21 dB (JIS C 9607, low-speed running) adds one, and the 100°C heat-resistant top (30 kg) adds one — five, the maximum
Trust	★★★☆☆	12 reviews averaging 4.50 across the top 30 Rakuten listings found by model number — 10 or more earns three
Only here	★★★★★	The only one of the ten whose fridge door can be rehung to open left or right, and its official 21 dB is the lowest of those publishing a figure — two extra points

Fan-cooled for ¥34,800 on Rakuten, 481 mm wide, with room for a microwave on top

Hisense 162-litre two-door fridge-freezer (HR-D16F)

113 litres of fridge, 49 of freezer; the freezer has two tiers
Toughened-glass shelves and a one-piece interior wipe clean easily
Running noise published as about 23 dB

See today’s price on Rakuten→

Why it made the five

Fan cooling with automatic defrost, from ¥34,800 on Rakuten
481 mm wide and 1,277 mm tall, with a 100°C heat-resistant top for a microwave
A two-tier freezer and a pull-out fresh case
Right for: Living alone on a budget but wanting a fan-cooled fridge with no defrosting.
Not for: Keeping the electricity bill as low as possible — 306 kWh a year.
Worth knowing: At 306 kWh a year it uses more than the similar-sized Toshiba GR-Y16BP (269 kWh) or Sharp SJ-TD15R (260 kWh) — about ¥9,486 a year. The door alarm covers the fridge section only.

Score breakdown — 79/100

Criterion	Stars	Why
Quality	★★★☆☆	49 L of 162 is about 30%, three stars; the freezer is under 80 L, so no bonus
Value for money	★★★★☆	¥34,800 on Rakuten earns five, but 306 kWh ÷ 162 L × 100 is about 189 kWh per 100 L, over 170, so one comes off. A year’s electricity is 306 kWh × ¥31, about ¥9,486
Easy to live with	★★★★★	481 mm wide adds one and the 100°C heat-resistant top one; about 23 dB earns nothing; fan cooling with automatic defrost, so no deduction
Trust	★★★★☆	289 reviews averaging 4.18 across the top 30 Rakuten listings found by model number — 50 or more earns four
Only here	★★★★☆	The cheapest of the ten’s fan-cooled models on Rakuten (¥34,800) — fan cooling being the type that needs no defrosting — one extra point

62 litres of freezer in a small 160-litre body

Toshiba BP series 160-litre two-door fridge-freezer (GR-Y16BP)

13 litres more freezer than the similar-sized Hisense HR-D16F (49)
Annual consumption 269 kWh
Defrosting is automatic

See today’s price on Rakuten→

Why it made the five

62 of the 160 litres is freezer (about 39%)
¥37,999 on Rakuten, and about ¥8,339 a year in electricity
A 100°C heat-resistant table board that takes a microwave
Right for: Living alone with a lot of frozen food or frozen rice in stock.
Not for: Keeping a lot of drinks and condiments chilled — the fridge section is 98 litres.
Worth knowing: At 503 mm wide it will not go into a gap of exactly 50 cm. No noise figure appears on Toshiba’s dimensions and specifications page.

Score breakdown — 77/100

Criterion	Stars	Why
Quality	★★★★☆	62 L of 160 is about 39%, four stars; the freezer is under 80 L, so no bonus
Value for money	★★★★★	¥37,999 on Rakuten earns five, and 269 kWh ÷ 160 L × 100 is about 168 kWh per 100 L, within 170, so no deduction. A year’s electricity is 269 kWh × ¥31, about ¥8,339
Easy to live with	★★★★☆	503 mm is over 500, so no point; the 100°C heat-resistant table board adds one; no official noise figure, so nothing there; automatic defrost, so no deduction
Trust	★★★☆☆	32 reviews averaging 4.41 across the top 30 Rakuten listings found by model number — 10 or more earns three
Only here	★★★☆☆	Its 62 L freezer is second in the 150–170 L class (the Mitsubishi Electric MR-PX17N has 68 L); we found no figure or feature that belongs to it alone, so three

274 litres and a 100-litre freezer — enough for two, in 547 mm of width

Iris Ohyama 274-litre two-door fan-cooled fridge (IRSN-27A)

Iris Ohyama’s own page recommends it for one person or a couple
Slimmest of the 270-litre-and-up models compared
Annual consumption 339 kWh, about ¥10,509 in electricity

See today’s price on Rakuten→

Why it made the five

174 litres of fridge and 100 of freezer — the largest freezer of any two-door here
274 litres in 547 mm of width
Fan-cooled, so no defrosting
Right for: A couple who use both the fridge and the freezer heavily.
Not for: Wanting a low fridge — it is 1,800 mm tall.
Worth knowing: At 1,800 mm it is the second-tallest of the ten we compared. There is no separate vegetable compartment. It weighs 59 kg.

Score breakdown — 73/100

Criterion	Stars	Why
Quality	★★★★★	100 L of 274 is about 36%, four stars, and a freezer of 80 L or more adds one
Value for money	★★☆☆☆	¥74,800 on Rakuten earns two; 339 kWh ÷ 274 L × 100 is about 124 kWh per 100 L, within 170, so no deduction. A year’s electricity is 339 kWh × ¥31, about ¥10,509
Easy to live with	★★★☆☆	547 mm wide, so no point; no official noise figure or heat-resistant top, so no points; fan-cooled, so no deduction
Trust	★★★★☆	268 reviews averaging 4.28 across the top 30 Rakuten listings found by model number — 50 or more earns four
Only here	★★★★☆	The largest freezer of the two-door models compared (100 L), with close to 300 litres fitted into 547 mm of width — one extra point

Know before you buy

The freezer’s share varies more than the total suggests. Among the ten we compared it runs from about 28% of the total to 52% — 49 litres in a 162-litre Hisense, 123 litres in a 235-litre Iris Ohyama.
A year’s electricity runs from about ¥7,657 (247 kWh) to ¥10,540 (340 kWh), at the industry guide rate of ¥31 per kWh. Bigger fridges use more in total but less per litre: about 106 kWh a year per 100 litres for the most efficient, about 189 for the least.
Width decides whether it fits at all. The narrowest here is 444 mm, and you need clearance on top of the body — Sharp, for one, asks for at least 20 mm from a wall.
Fan cooling means no defrosting. Only one of the ten, the Iris Ohyama IRSD-17A, is direct-cooled; Hisense lists the defrosting on its own direct-cooled model as manual.
Few makers publish a noise figure. Among the ten, only Sharp (about 21 dB) and Hisense (about 23 dB) do.
A heat-resistant top lets you stack a microwave on the fridge — three of the five have one, which matters in a one-room flat.

How we chose: theme, conditions, scoring

How we chose

Candidates: 46
Met every condition below: 40
Kept: five, each the best at something different

Conditions (all of them, not most of them)

A two- or three-door household fridge-freezer with a rated capacity of 150–350 litres
Freezer capacity, annual consumption (JIS C 9801-3:2015) and body width published on the maker’s site
A new unit buyable on Rakuten Ichiba

Scoring

Five criteria, one to five stars each, weighted to one hundred points. Every star says where the number came from.

Quality25 pts
- Set by the freezer’s share of the rated total: under 30% two stars, 30–34% three, 35–39% four, 40% or more five. Add one if the freezer is 80 litres or more (to a maximum of five).
Value for money20 pts
- The cheapest new unit on Rakuten Ichiba: under ¥40,000 five stars, ¥40,000 to under ¥50,000 four, ¥50,000 to under ¥65,000 three, ¥65,000 to under ¥80,000 two, ¥80,000 or more one. Drop one if annual consumption exceeds 170 kWh per 100 litres of rated capacity (to a minimum of one).
Easy to live with20 pts
- Starts at three stars. Add one for a body 500 mm wide or less, one for an official noise figure of 22 dB or less, and one for an officially stated heat-resistant top that takes a microwave. Subtract one for direct cooling (maximum five, minimum one).
Trust15 pts
- Reviews across the top 30 Rakuten Ichiba listings found by model number, colours combined: 100 or more averaging 4.5 or higher five stars, 50 or more four, 10 or more three, 1–9 two, none yet one.
Only here20 pts
- Starts at three stars. Add one or two where a figure or feature belongs to this model alone among the ten compared, and where it bears directly on where it fits, bulk freezing, electricity or quiet.

What we dropped

Candidate	Verdict	Why
Iris Ohyama 170-litre two-door fridge-freezer (IRSD-17A)	Runner-up (74/100)	74 points, one above the IRSN-27A, but the 150–170-litre class already holds three of the five, and it is the only direct-cooled model of the ten.
Iris Ohyama 230-litre two-door fridge-freezer (IRSN-23B)	Runner-up (73/100)	73 points, level with the IRSN-27A, but the 230-litre slot goes to the IRSN-HF24A at 81, and its capacity, dimensions and split match the Sharp SJ-BD23R’s.
Mitsubishi Electric PX series 170-litre two-door fridge (MR-PX17N)	Runner-up (72/100)	The lowest annual consumption of the ten, but no Rakuten reviews yet and ¥62,835, for 72 points — and the 150–170-litre class already holds three of the five.
Hisense 295-litre three-door fridge-freezer (HR-D295KW)	Runner-up (68/100)	The only separate vegetable compartment and the lowest consumption per 100 litres, but 68 points, and the 270-litre-and-up slot goes to the IRSN-27A at 73.
Iris Ohyama 299-litre two-door fridge-freezer (IRSN-30A)	Runner-up (65/100)	The largest fridge section, but 65 points as the tallest, widest and most power-hungry of the ten, and the IRSN-27A takes the 270-litre-and-up slot at 73.
Panasonic NR-B16C4 / NR-B18C4	Held back	155 and 182 litres, 257 and 270 kWh a year and about 19 dB meet every condition, but Rakuten listings show them as new models released on 27 November 2026, with no reviews yet (as of 26 October 2026).
Sharp SJ-PD28R	Runner-up	A 280-litre two-door with a large 125-litre freezer and about 23 dB, but only nine Rakuten reviews, and 333 kWh a year (about ¥10,323).
Sharp SJ-BD23R	Runner-up	230 litres (143 fridge, 87 freezer) and 544 mm wide, the same split as the Iris Ohyama IRSN-23B. It uses less, at 281 kWh a year against the IRSN-23B’s 310, but has only three Rakuten reviews.
Toshiba GR-Y33SC	Runner-up	A 326-litre three-door (82-litre freezer, 70-litre vegetable compartment) using 325 kWh a year. ¥79,730 at its cheapest on Rakuten, with 15 Rakuten reviews.
Hisense HR-D1701W	Runner-up	175 litres (53-litre freezer) and 291 kWh a year, with a healthy 155 Rakuten reviews, but it is direct-cooled with defrosting officially listed as manual, and the IRSD-17A already covers a direct-cooled model at this price.
Iris Ohyama IRSN-32A	Runner-up	A 320-litre three-door with a 129-litre freezer, the largest of all the candidates, but 23 Rakuten reviews averaging 3.31, and ¥87,917 at its cheapest on Rakuten.
Panasonic NR-B253T	Runner-up	A 248-litre top-freezer (62-litre freezer) using 311 kWh a year, with nine Rakuten reviews.
Mitsubishi Electric MR-CX27N / MR-C33N / MR-CX33N	Runner-up	Three-doors of 272–330 litres that meet the conditions, but with no Rakuten reviews yet, and from ¥127,050 at their cheapest on Rakuten (as of 26 October 2026).
Hitachi R-27Y / R-V32Y	Runner-up	Three-doors of 265 and 315 litres, with no Rakuten reviews yet and from ¥119,820 at their cheapest on Rakuten.
Iris Ohyama IRSN-15A / IRSN-17A	Outside the theme	Two-doors of 154 and 171 litres, but we could find no annual consumption figure on the official product pages (condition 2).
Iris Ohyama IRSN-23A / IRSN-IC30A	Outside the theme	We could find no listing for a new unit on Rakuten Ichiba (condition 3).

Questions visitors ask

Which should I pick if I can’t decide?

The Iris Ohyama 235-litre three-door (IRSN-HF24A). It scored 81 out of 100 across the five criteria, the highest total, shared with the Sharp SJ-TD15R.

Which is the cheapest?

Of the five, the Hisense 162-litre two-door (HR-D16F), at about ¥34,800 street price as of 25 October 2026. Among the runners-up, the direct-cooled Iris Ohyama IRSD-17A was cheaper still at ¥31,941.

How current are the prices?

They are guide prices checked on the makers’ sites and Rakuten Ichiba as of 25 October 2026. They move with promotions and stock, so check the linked page before you buy.

Where can I buy one?

All of these are sold new on Rakuten Ichiba, which generally ships within Japan only, and the links go to the cheapest new listing we found by model number. They run on Japanese mains power, so they suit a home in Japan.

Which costs least to run for a year?

Of the ten we compared, the Mitsubishi Electric MR-PX17N (170 litres): 247 kWh a year officially, × ¥31, is about ¥7,657. Among the five, the Sharp SJ-TD15R (152 litres) uses least at 260 kWh (about ¥8,060) and the Iris Ohyama IRSN-27A (274 litres) most at 339 kWh (about ¥10,509). Bigger fridges use more in total, but per 100 litres the Hisense HR-D295KW (295 litres) is the lowest of the ten at about 106 kWh.

Which has the biggest freezer?

Of the ten, the Iris Ohyama IRSN-HF24A (235 litres), with a 123-litre freezer, 33 litres of which can be switched to fridge use. Next is the IRSN-27A (274 litres) at 100 litres, the largest freezer of any two-door. In the 150–170-litre class, the Mitsubishi Electric MR-PX17N has 68 litres, the Toshiba GR-Y16BP 62, the Sharp SJ-TD15R 58, the Iris Ohyama IRSD-17A 50 and the Hisense HR-D16F 49.

Which is the quietest?

Of those publishing a noise figure, the Sharp SJ-TD15R at about 21 dB (JIS C 9607 noise test, low-speed running); the Hisense HR-D16F and HR-D295KW are about 23 dB. The Iris Ohyama, Toshiba and Mitsubishi Electric models we compared had no noise figure on the official pages we checked, so we did not compare them. Among the other candidates, Panasonic publishes about 19 dB (JIS C 9607) for the NR-B16C4 and NR-B18C4.

What is the difference between direct cooling and fan cooling?

Iris Ohyama’s page for its 230-litre model (IRSN-23B) describes fan cooling as needing no defrosting. Hisense’s specification tables list defrosting as manual on its direct-cooled HR-D1701W and automatic on its fan-cooled HR-D16F and HR-D295KW. Of the ten we compared, only the Iris Ohyama IRSD-17A is listed as direct-cooled; the other nine are officially described as fan-cooled, as having automatic defrost, or as needing no defrosting.

Which fits a narrow kitchen?

The narrowest is the Iris Ohyama IRSD-17A at 444 mm, then the Hisense HR-D16F at 481 mm, the Sharp SJ-TD15R at 495 mm and the Toshiba GR-Y16BP at 503 mm. At 230 litres and up, the IRSN-23B (544 mm) and IRSN-27A (547 mm) are slim, and the IRSN-30A (299 litres) is 595 mm. You also need clearance beyond the body for heat and for opening the door: Sharp, for example, says the SJ-TD15R needs at least 20 mm from a wall.

Changes

2026-10-25　First published. Scored from 46 candidates.