They really aren't. I used to wash all my clothes by hand every day. If you don't know how to do it, though, it might take longer for trousers to dry.

Just in case anyone is interested, wring out the water reasonably well from your clothes. But don't be too harsh because you will rip them eventually. Instead, lay them out on a fluffy towel. Roll the towel up. Step on one end and then twist the other end until you can't twist any more. Unroll. Hang up everything including the towel.

As I used to do my wife's clothes as well, don't do this with a bra with an underwire ;-) The best thing I found was to fold the towel over the bra and step on it. Bras dry pretty quickly anyway.

I've done the hand washing thing off and on for several years. I think the longest stretch was 8 months. The only reason we have a washing machine now is that my wife does the washing and doesn't like washing by hand. But if you do it every day, I don't think it takes any more active time than washing dishes by hand. If you let the clothes pile up for a week, though, you are in for a long day ;-) (clothes take considerable strength compared to dishes).

I think the main problem in Japan is during the rainy season (now). It can take quite a long time for clothes to dry. As the parent says, you can get by without washing trousers. If I was working in an office, I would be hard pressed to go without 4 shirts. Either that or occasionally go in with a damp shirt...