I've been to Tokyo few years back, and I can confirm that the public transport there are really great. it is so easy to navigate between places even if you have language barrier, to the point I'd say you almost couldn't get lost if you navigate in Tokyo.
That's true. Being Tokyo in the first time it was really scary to me but during my the two week trip i never get lost. It was really easy to navigate in the town.
That's why Japanese let their kids to school and back home all along even in the young age! It is designed in such a way that even Kids can navigate without getting lost.
As someone from Tokyo, please remember that there are hard working people behind the safe and precise transportation in Japan. Their service should not be taken for granted.
As someone living in Tokyo, the train is always the preferred method. However, I use my car to reach places trains cannot outside the greater tokyo area. Besides, everything you need is almost always around a train station. Since drinking and driving is illegal, this also forces everyone who wants to enjoy the night life to take the train since most bars are around train stations. Also, the majority of train stations have a shopping mall built on top of them or very near to them.
How are the train rides with the pandemic on going? I was there prior to the pandemic and I rode the train everywhere I went. I’m just curious how different it is today. Also, I cannot wait to visit Tokyo again.
@@joevang475 living in Tokyo rn- nothing is different from what I can tell. They open the train Windows a bit so the air is flowing, and everyone wears masks
I've lived in Tokyo for 3 years and I can say it is outstandingly well designed and highly livable. Tokyo is a city you can just walk for hours, and given its density, you always have access to shops, restaurants etc. The train system is also basically the best in the world.
@@American_2 Yes but sometimes there are baka nihonjin's too...everyone is entitled to think what they want but generally Japanese are polite and respectful
I’m a native New Yorker born and raised. I now live in Tokyo permanently I find it absolutely amazing and a beautiful experience every day. To get from downtown Brooklyn to canal street in Manhattan took me 40 minutes on the N line only one stop. It takes me 15 minutes from Asagaya to Shinjuku. The distance is exactly the same.
@@breakingdragon22Im looking to travel to Tokyo eventually. Which airbnb or hotel you recommend to stay in? I will also will like to live there for some time. What your suggestions?
I don't know about ab&b in tokyo but if you're looking for economic there are a lot of what are considered buisness hotels . Not big and flashy but conviniently located with small rooms the are clean and comfortable as well as very affordable
@@davidturner4076 Nah I'm good. I hate driving. Just because you like doesn't mean it should be the only way to get around. And cars are not cheap. Spending 400-500 dollars a month for 7 years to drive yourself around is crazy expensive. Not including Gas, tolls, parking, maintenance, and insurance. Oh in the name of "Freedom".
@@alfrredd yes, I am. The car makes it possible for the people of my city to have quick commutes while still being able to live in large and relatively affordable homes with big yards, very close to nature.
The most notable memory from my brief time in Tokyo was when my dad accidentally left his backpack (with our passports) on one of the trains. We went to lost and found and told them what had happened, and in 15 minutes the backpack was returned. Incredible
@@apollo2744 it was indeed a little scary but my mom who had lived in Japan for a semester in grad school told us that they’d find the backpack. Of course my dad and I were skeptical since that would never happen in America
Great video but must nitpick a quick fact correction, the Tokyo subway system is only a small part of the train system and only covers a small part of the city. There are about 8 other train systems in the Tokyo metro area including the huge JR East train system which has elevated lines throughout the metro area. The subway only covers a small part of central Tokyo. These are all separate systems but share a same payment mechanism the Suica card which also makes transferring between systems easier.
An additional point about this is that most of these "train" services are very similar, subway or metro-like services with short headways and trains with many doors, to facilitate large passenger volumes. In fact, a lot of services actually are interlined, sometimes running a metro train and a JR train on the same track, which increases flexibility a lot.
@@primastanislaus9184 It's kind of both, but the service patterns and rolling stock (i.e. how frequent the trains are and the types of trains) are more similar to a metro or subway in the West, than normal commuter rail.
Not only that, but the infrastructure allows some trains to use tracks from "rival" companies thus allowing a greater coverage and a smoother experience. So you can see for example trains from the Keikyuu line to continue its travel through the Asakusa line tracks and stations.
Been living in Tokyo since I was born but never thought of these stuff. What I love about Tokyo the most is the number and cleanliness of the public toilets, and all kinds of food you can choose to eat, for a fairly cheap price
You can even eat for free since some places offer "free rice, self service" :D Not that I would do it, but technically it's possible. Yes convenience, comfort and food prices are really good.
Additional things the video doesn't touch: - Tokyo's many transport hubs came about from a previous ban on railways from going inside the Yamanote Loop, so they all terminate on the Yamanote Line and the areas became CBDs. Kinda like how London's King's Cross, Euston, Waterloo, London Bridge came to being. - Zoning, which the video almost touches. Japanese zoning is way more flexible, and allows for mixed use by default, thus making doing chores really convenient. In this regard it's actually less designed than the overly rigid Euclidian zoning that pervades America. - Transit service patterns, which should be more important than the trains as the video focused heavily about. While the metro stops at all stations, JR has some express services on the commuter lines. The private rail companies have even more express service patterns. - And the creme de la crop that makes Tokyo's transit network #1 is the integration in infrastructure. Many private railways have compatible track gauge, loading gauge, and electrification with each other and the metro, or rather, the metro specced their lines to be compatible with the private railways on the periphery. This allows the metro to physically connect and integrate their lines and stations with the private railways, resulting in through running between the lines. Therefore, metro trains can run beyond their trackage and onto the private railways and goes into the suburbs, and likewise private railway trains can go beyond their termini and into the metro tunnels in the center of the city, oftentines to the other end and onwards onto a _third_ railway company's tracks. This reduce the need to transfer between trains, thus help avoid overcrowding on stations. Not that those didn't happen though. On the Asakusa Line, you could have like 6 companies using the metro tracks, including the inter-airport service between Haneda and Narita simply because the rails are physically connected via the Asakusa Line. - Lastly, let's touch on storm management. Edogawa River was manmade, diverting water from Sumida River which flows through the city center. Further upstream, they diverted the majority of the flow from Tone River eastward to Ibaraki instead of southward to Edo Bay, artificially making Tone River the longest in Japan. And, of course, the giant underground cistern. That said, parts of Tokyo are actually below sea level and would be affected by sea level rise.
Single family house zoning is the bane of US/Canada. The average Suburbia is nothing but endless rows of McMansions combined with a huge mall somewhere in the outskirts(+massive parking lots). It's almost as if the country is built exclusively for cars and not humans.
We are likely on the same page in general, but I have to nitpick on "less designed" as to me it sounds way worse than you probably intended. Being flexible in zoning is and has always been better by design, and has nothing to do with being "less" designed. Flexibility is a choice that gives more freedom to design. You don't get as much say on what the exact end result is but you get better results as flexibility allows for change over time unlike the rigid zoning that never changes - until made flexible out of necessity.
Having lived in Tokyo I can clearly tell you that rail companies weren't blocked but more like didn't have the land to build into the inner core. A list the following lines that travel inside the Yamanote sen: The JR Chūō-Sōbu sen with both local and rapid service The Toei Asakusa sen The Toei Mita sen The Toei Shinjuku sen The Toei Oedo Sen The Tokyo Metro Ginza sen The Tokyo Metro Marunouchi sen The Tokyo Metro Hibiya sen The Tokyo Metro Tozai sen The Tokyo Metro Chiyoda sen The Tokyo Metro Yurakucho sen The Tokyo Metro Hanzomon sen The Tokyo Metro Namboku sen The Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin sen The Toden Arakawa sen And as you stated, many lines are running on some of these Toei and Tokyo Metro lines as well. In fact you can take a single Keisei sen train from Haneda Airport and go right through Metro Tokyo (there is no such thing as a city called Tokyo) using the Toei Asakusa sen and arrive at Narita Airport.
I agree, zoning is also a hugely important factor that contributes to Tokyo's success. It's such simple common sense when you think about it. Looking at the very rigid zoning that happens in many other countries, you can see why cars become an absolute necessity.
Ironically cities often benefit by disasters. THE San Francisck earthquake of 1906 allowed for a lot of redesign. The great Chicago fire destroyed a lot of slum livestock areas and helped Chicago become a leading center of urban architecture. Tokyo was largely destroyed in 1944-45 and that allowed a lot of newer redesign. This isn't saying those events were good, its just a fact that sometimes events that destructive lead to amazing rebirth. If you watch a forest over time after a fire, its the same effect.
The forest fire analogy is great. Of course, none of those disasters were good and we would definitely not want things like that happen to us. Like the forest fire however, the good thing is the plants that don't get sunlight are able to grow and a new ecosystem is born.
Nice video, but I do have one major issue: the title is totally misleading. You focused entirely on describing general aspects of the public transport system , but that does not tell me why Tokyo is well designed. At most, what one can gather from this video is that they have a good public transport system. I expected you to talk about urban planning, how the layout of the subway lines and the location of the stations make for a more efficient operation of the subway system, how other means of public transportation make up for the deficiencies of cars and subway (beside cost), city regulations regarding location and size of certain types of buildings, placement of public areas, etc.
Same. So many other videos already exist that praise the various aspects of Japan's rail system, so I was hoping for the backstory on how it came to be. Maybe something along the lines like the government's decision to privatize the system (+ the reasons for such), the various companies and their dealings with each other (+ their reasons for such), etc. Instead, there is nothing new in this video that you can't already find somewhere else... Too bad.
@@_Meng_Lan I think if you have everything close by and you have an excellent rail transport system, you don't need a car. Not to mention that the cyclist there is respected, so you still have the option of getting around by bike.
I lived in Tokyo before the 2011 earthquake. I went home drunk one time, took a seat on a beach when I got off the train. When I arrived home, I realize my bag was missing. I went back hurriedly and found my bag on the same beach. Tokyo subway is the best - efficient, clean and safe.
This also really is not limited to Tokyo. I stayed with a friend in a suburb (a subway accessible suburb, of course) outside of Osaka a couple years back. It was just so easy to get anywhere . When we took a trip to Tokyo, I was amazed that the same card worked. Imagine that in America
@@MM-gt9uy America wouldn't even make it on a top 50 list of best/most efficient public transportation systems in the world. America is continuously making its way into the spotlight for having some of the worst public transportation out of developed countries. Its a shame. Annually, hundreds of millions of dollars wasted if not billions depending on state and yet it's a disaster. Japan, singapore, hong kong, etc... is an entirely different realm of ease of transport.
I worked as an intern at a public train company in southern Brazil. There is also preventive maintenance here. Every 6 months a composition is dismantled, parts documented and the entire train is reassembled. Culture inherited by a partnership with Japanese private companies. Thanks for this video.
In my opinion, São Paulo has one of the best Metro systems in the world. Albeit very busy, it is very efficient and clean. It rates right up there with Madrid, Moscow or Tokyo.
As a resident of Tokyo, i have to say that it's way more expensive to own a car. In Tokyo, we must have a proof of parking lot in order to literally buy a car. The parking garage or lots are super expensive. Almost the price of a Studio apartment. On top of that, insurance, tune ups, oil changes,monthly payments and gasoline ⛽ or electric car charges. In other hand, in Japan, companies pay your monthly public transportation fees as a part of your employment benefits. So it really doesn't matter where you live, and majority of married or families live outskirts of Tokyo where housing are affordable. So it was common for people to commute 2 hours each way to their jobs. But things changed with COVID, and now a lot of people can telecommute and want to live further.....for better lifestyle, more spaces and nature.
Private vehicles are only really needed the public transport is utter sht. Good thing the Japanese government is doing a lot of right things in comparison to other nations where the government just eats up it's own people, pocketing most of the money, with little to no development or improvements in infrastructures. Yeah, I live in one, Philippines. But it's getting better now with the new President Duterte and about to go even better with the future President Marcos.
As a non-Japanese speaking visitor, Japan public transportation is one of the best and visitor friendly. Its so easy to use and navigate. I freaking love it!
I was in Tokyo at the end of a two-week trip in Japan. I didn't feel like I HAD to see any more sights, so me and my friend just split and each went our own way. Getting on random metro's and wandering the streets of Tokyo was an absolutely magical experience. You'd think a city of that size would be overwhelming, but you turn one or two corners from a busy street, and it's so quiet it feels like a provincial town
This video doesn’t really get into what about the design of the city makes it more efficient and brilliantly built. It simply goes into information about various means of transportation and rigorous maintenance of trains and their tracks and tunnels. There is also no data to provided to establish how the system compares to others.
I also expected a detailed explanation of what on the design makes it great. I know USA is a trafic nigthmare a has really poor design were streets are anti-human so I think it isn't a fair comparison. I know 8 minutes are not much but it could have been better than just say "its gud bc yes"
There could have been more detail but I don't think it failed to explain what makes the design efficient. Basically 1) reliable, comprehensive public transport with a simple, unified system for using it, 2) tolls (and historical circumstances) that disincentivize car use and keep the roads friendly for walking and biking, and 3) good zoning so that one rarely needs to travel far from a station (versus in the US where things tend to be spread out because it's assumed people have cars)
It's so interesting how Tokyo, Japan has so few cars in comparison to its population, when Japan itself has a booming car manufacturing industry with Honda, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Suzuki, and so many more car companies.
My entire life I grew up in the US seeing cities as chaotic messes that were noisy, crowded, and dangerous. I saw public transit as inefficient, irregular, and similarly unsafe. Then I lived 4 months in the largest megacity in the world, and realized within a week that I was falling in love with an urban center for the first time. Everything was efficient, and for the first time in my life I found myself in a place where there were locations I wanted to go to, and I actually had the means and freedom to go there. Public transit was cheap, easy, and stress free (as long as I didn't need to travel during the morning rush). I wasn't bound by a car, or traffic, or parking spaces, or the fear that I was going to get into an accident. On top of everything else streets were also very clean despite there being far fewer trash can than anywhere I had ever been to in the USA. I wanna add a disclaimer here that I'm not just a starry eyed foreigner who only sees the good in Japan. The society has as many issues as any other in the world. There are many legitimate reasons why many young (and now aging) people become hikikomori and just don't want to have to go outside and deal with the stresses of the outside world. On the topic of urban planning, however, Japan just cannot be beat -- Tokyo cannot be beat (although people I know who have been to Osaka scoff and beg to differ).
@@crobatgaming5661Well I assume it’s even worse in India, from the videos I’ve watched on TH-cam. I swear I haven’t seen any traffic lights on any Indian road
I absolutely hate how you need a car in the US just to 'live'. I studied abroad in Asia for a while, and the transportation could get you anywhere. I could play with my friends till 11pm and get home before midnight (cross-city). Everyone got on the same trains and you often could share a majority of the ride home. Making nightlife in the city very accessible and safe. If you wanted me to give a downside, that is, during rush hours it's absolute hell. You could have to wait 1-2 trains because they are full. They do come every 5 minutes though, which is still better than me waiting 20 minutes in the US just to go 6 blocks. Speaking of the US, this video reminded me of how horrible public transit is here... just going to a comicon without a car feels like I'm doing a cross country ride :/ I feel hermitted and trapped. I really hate how the system here is structured. Not only do you have to pay for a car, the gas, and maintenance, learn to drive, and insurance, you also need somewhere to park everywhere you go. You have to do everything AND pay for it. Contrary to Japan (and many other Asian cities), I feel the US wants the public transit to be less appealing :/ Just my opinion though.
well said! Just want to add a point about rush hour. If they had to rely on car, I guess the rush hour would be far worse, given the population density.
Because a lot of choices made in america were car centric. They give you freedom to go where you want when you want after all. Such freedom, just don't get stuck again on the 9 line highway you do everyday. It seems that the solution in american governments minds for problems is always, more roads... Not, better train connections, not green zones that keep cars out of areas so they are easy walkable instead, nope.. more cars! More roads!
That's exactly what it felt like being there. I found the Tokyo metro to be easier to use and navigate (even with the language barrier) than the Oslo metro in my own capital which is way smaller yet i can never find my way there. Japan seemed like a nice place to commute in, i was impressed by the railways as they even had any railways built outside of occupation... we have not (very few at least).
Wow I guess you either lived really close to your office or your commute didn't include standing in jam packed trains during rush hour (even during the pandemic) and walking on a 1.5 hr commute one way. For most normal Japanese people in the Kanto region the reality is that commuting is absolute (*)(($#?!.
As a Tokyo resident, I agree with everything stated in this video. One thing to add though is that the pandemic of the last couple of years has tested the usage of public transport as a main transportation mode. Of course it helps that good zoning means that outside of commuting to work you can mostly do all your daily necessities within walking distance.
Yup. For most of the last two years during the pandemic I've worked from home out in the suburbs of Katsushika, and for months at a time I wouldn't have travelled more than a couple of kilometres away from home by foot. Supermarkets, electronic stores, DIY, restaurants, they're all scattered around nearby due to the really nice zoning laws. :)
Are public transportations during COVID empty? We all know how crammed subways are or were before covid. Curious if they had max limit on how many passangers can use the subway at once.
I think it's underappreciated how typical Japanese train stations (the larger ones) are also shopping centers. For example Osaka Station and its surroundings are just mind blowing. What I found confusing though is to figure out which type of train to take - so many different ones.
Oh, make no mistake it is intentional. These big train companies would buy those lands around the planned station and build their own shopping centers. Ever wondered why the Odakyu mall in Shinjuku shares the same name as the Odakyu train company...? yeah...
Ive always said: if the entirety of america could use Japan's transit system for a day or two, there would be overwhelming support to support train building in every city and a national line connecting these cities.
@@cirasarc4413 but thats a symptom of car dominated suburbia where its hard to walk anywhere and the vast majority of people who walk only do so cause they have no choice.
@@FlipsyFiona US suburbs are not designed for walking for sure. But my point is I still don't think people would immediately adapt to an efficient public transport right away. People would still be a bit lazy unless you make driving alot more costly and much much less efficient.
@@cirasarc4413 Sure. But you can't make change if nothing changes. A lot of the perceived 'laziness' of americans is once again due to the fact that its difficult, and sometimes even 'outright impossible', to walk places safely. Basically, Americans aren't lazy but rather, the environment that has cultivated a culture of 'laziness'. Before I left Bremerton, WA, it was a fantastic place to live and the closest thing to a 'walkable' suberb that I could think of. Wide sidewalks, bars and grocers no more than a 30 min walk max, and a ferry that connected Bremerton to Seattle. And it showed: people walked and biked all the time. I loved my 20 minute walks to the local bars or arcade or any one of the restaurants I liked to eat at. And when I worked at the shipyard there, it was a 30 minute walk to work. And getting to the airport was a solo adventure that didn't require me to get a taxi, friend, or car storage. I could literally just get on the ferry to seattle then take the lightrail train to the airport. When you give people a reason to walk or bike or take public transport, they will. When you force peeps to drive, they will.
I feel qualified to speak on this as a Japanese American who was raised in NYC and has now lived in Tokyo for over 7 years. Agreed with what was said here but if I may add/clarify some points: 1) Tokyo’s subways and trains stop running every night sometime between midnight and 1am. First train is around 5am. So all the inspections and cleaning are done when trains aren’t running and stations are empty. NY’s subway system technically runs 24 hours. Tokyo provides night buses but people also literally sleep in the streets (and you don’t have to worry about being killed or raped or even have your stuff stolen) or in Internet cafes so the whole “stranded” issue doesn’t really present a problem. You can’t do the same thing in NY since sleeping in the streets is too risky and there aren’t cheap, safe, clean places to spend the night. 2) a big reason why Tokyo’s public transportation system can run on such tight schedules is because of manners. No one throws trash on the platforms or onto the tracks, so no accidents or fires occur because of trash. People get on and off in an orderly fashion so trains can arrive and leave very quickly. On buses, people follow the “use this door to get on and the other door to get off” rule to a T so buses can depart and leave efficiently too. If NY changed nothing in terms of infrastructure but just changed behavior, it would see dramatic improvements in timeliness. 3) working for Japan Rail is a respected and competitive job, and even if your aspirations lie in other areas of JR’s business (like land management or corporate strategy or whatnot) everyone is made to work as station staff in the first part of their career. So stations are staffed by college educated, future potential leaders of one of Japan’s biggest companies. No disrespect to the MTA station staff but the caliber of staff is different. 4) I do agree that NY is more walkable than Tokyo. Like Tokyo is very walkable and cars being quiet (better roads, newer cars, no honking) make it a more pleasant walking experience but the roads are rather a maze and traffic lights can be insufferably long so I do miss those days of walking around manhattan where if you are going north/south you hardly ever have to stop to cross the street and you never need a map to know where you are going. Tokyo is simply impossible to navigate without maps because of the maze like quality of its streets and as someone who loves to walk but hates having to look at a phone, I do miss that about NY. EDIT: been getting some questions and will answer two of them: 1) cost of living and air pollution is BETTER in Tokyo compared to NY. These are factual things you can research so won’t go into detail here but let’s suffice it to ask: what kind of place can you live and what would the commute into Manhattan be like if your budget was $1000? In Tokyo that is very average, normal and doable. As for the air: newer cars and fewer cars. ‘Nuff said. 2) the packed trains. I don’t commute to work so I can’t tell from personal experience, but I agree that the commuter from the UES to midtown was never jam packed. I think the issue with this may be Japanese corporate culture where everyone has to start their work at 9am. Whereas in NY, there is more diversity of what time jobs start, thus dispersing the crowds. But the biggest reason is sheer size - the Tokyo metropolitan area (the area where people commute into central Tokyo to work) is the largest in the world by both size and population. NY is rather dinky in comparison. 3) a lot of people are claiming Tokyo has a lot of rape but can these people actually come with data? I would be shocked if Tokyo has higher or even the same number of rape cases per capita compared to NY. If we include dating and marital rape and start to debate “oh well it’s not reported in Japan because blah blah” then that’s a different issue - we are literally talking about how safe and warm (literally, temperature wise) Tokyo streets are compared to NY. So yeah if you want to claim Tokyo has high rape rates, come with data.
@@lakzerk2344 Would say there are safer places to spend the night at low cost, provided you've not been spiked, followed, or taken elsewhere. Think we should be careful of creating a false sense of security and safety for visitors to Tokyo and Japan more broadly. Not being able to get home without an eyewatering taxi fare after last public transport certainly doesn't help.
Japanese pond house is something I have always wanted to make. I think that is the name a pond in the middle and house around it. Japanese people have really good designing skills.
My first night in Tokyo (with serious jet-lag) I walked everywhere, all night long. I had no idea where I was going. I just walked. And in retrospect, I did it right, staying on well-lit commercial nightlife streets and crowded ally-ways. I played Pachinko in a colorful bright-lights gaming area straight out of Blade Runner. I ate snacks from carts. I passed many Izakayas and bars, as well crowds, couples, singles and hawkers. At one point I even entered an area filled with strip clubs and little hotels. If it was a red-light district then it was like none I'd ever seen: no street walkers, no adult bookstores, and no porn-movie screening-bunkers. But it was lively so I went into a club. I won't describe what I saw, but the scene was loud, crowded and crazy. After that I continued my walk until dawn, when I ended up at a Shinto Shrine set in a huge beautiful garden-park. I rang the bell, ate a snack at a noodle cart, and took the METRO back to my hotel where a morning buffet awaited (along with my mother). Later, after reviewing a map, I realized that I had covered many miles and numerous designated areas; even though it was just a tiny portion of Tokyo Metropolitan. So, is Tokyo a good walking city? For me it was. It really was.
@@catholicfemininity2126 Yeah man, our focus should be to live a fulfilling life for the sake of God. A lot of men taken victim by lust and they go no where in life.
Totally agree, Japan's mass transit system is total genius. I've been stationed here for 3 years, and totally love it. You really do not need a car to get across Japan at all. The way their system is interconnected, you could get across the entire country in a day just from how efficient it is.
I lived in Japan for a year and went to Tokyo twice. I ended up being the one in charge of getting myself and my fellow friends around where we wanted to go because they didn’t feel comfortable trying to interpret the language barrier in order to get from point A to point B. Well, in fact, Tokyo is incredibly easy to get around even if you don’t know how to speak or read the local language because they usually have a lot of English accommodations, but most importantly the color coding system they use is incredibly intuitive. I thoroughly enjoyed mapping our way around and it was such a pleasurable experience navigating through such a profound metropolis. My wife and I have plans in the future to visit Tokyo, and I can’t wait to go back and show her the unrivaled joy that is experiencing Tokyo. From the countless convenience stores with really yummy snacks and foods, to the endless amounts of goods and services that are also provided along the way, all with a hospitality that is a novelty in and of itself, it is by far one of the best experiences I’ve had in my 27 years of life. I love Tokyo.
I love the trains in Japan. Doesn’t take too long to figure out and so convenient. Plus, the bullet trains are AMAZING. Despite their speed, it’s such a smooth ride! It kills me knowing that we’ll probably never have train systems even CLOSE to Japan’s (Or China or Germany’s) in the US thanks to lobbyist and oil companies. 🙄
Funny to read that about Germany haha. Im from there and nearly everyone here talks about how bad the train system works here. Japan and China seem to do it really well tho.
I think the main reason the US wont ever have anything like that is not because of lobbyists or oil companies but for a reason a lot more simpler and that is it wouldn't be profitable. Americans love their cars and freedom too much.
@@johnmknox The idea that americans prefer cars and that cars=freedom is a massive lie thats been pushed on us by big oil and car corporations since 1910. And I'm not just saying that, its something that actually happened. They spent millions and millions of dollars to kill inner city trams and trains and to convince you that owning a car was some kind of status symbol, all so they would make more money. Cars shackle you to car payments, car insurance, gas prices, maintenance and rush hour traffic. They are the opposite of freedom. Ask anyone in Japan or China what they think of their highspeed rail systems, they love them. They're efficient, fast, green and reliable.
I love Japan. Rail way is affordable and easy to use - directional signs are intuitive and visible from afar. Public toilets are clean. Fancy restaurants are more affordable than most metropolis cities - no need to pay for extras like service or tax in addition to the prices displayed on the menu. I can have decent and healthy meals for a day for less than USD$12. Houses/apartments may be small but well-equipped with amenities to make living comfortable. There are all types of shops in a nieghbourhood to make your living easy - groceries, optical, gym, parks, cafes, pet/human clinics, drug store etc. I'm staying in Tokyo for 3 months and can settle in so easily.
what feels so great about Tokyo is that you are capable of getting/doing almost everything you need/want with your two legs, within easy and short walking distance. the world at your finger tips. I felt so empowered when I lived in Tokyo and could walk everywhere.
@al First, I know how to spell, "spoiled". And it isn't "spoilt", lol. Second, I live in a city of nearly 600,000 and metro area of nearly 1.5 million, but we're not conditioned to believe it's awesome to be stacked on top of each other in 700sf cubes just because we we think it's hip that we can walk to the Starbucks. I value not being jammed together 15K-30K people per square mile and not living on top of each other in conditions no human being was created to live in. You've given up all the normalcy of what it is to live as humans with any kind of personal space and you think that's a positive. It's sad.
When I got off the airplane at LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) and then walked down to the make-shift tents to wait for my uber or to a dystopian-looking bus stop to catch a bus, I felt like a second-class citizen. Tokyo and LA are night and day.
Living in LA, I can agree with you. Granted, LAX as a whole is being renovated, with the finished product still being almost four years away, but I completely agree. It's a testament to just how bad American transit infrastructure is.
@@TornaitSuperBird Dear god it’s actually going to take that long? That is absolutely ridiculous. American transit infrastructure really is appalling. It takes so long for even the smallest changes to happen. Even construction here in the UK seems to be faster.
@@danielwhyatt3278 Blame regulations and bureaucratic work. Even when we reached out to European and Asian companies to help build up our infrastructure they ultimately bailed out because they realized how much regulation is in the system. In the end countries in Europe and Asia had a much easier time to build up infrastructure due to the lack of political discourse in such discussions, big unions, and the fact that well majority of Asia and Europe was burned down during WW2.
Tokyo’s train network is astounding. I was able to use it to get home after many nights of drinking and partying in different parts of the city. The Yamanote line is very special to me as if you fall asleep on it you might wake up just before your station, having unknowingly ridden the whole loop.
Oh man. That has happened to me on the Yamanote Line. I was clubbing in Shibuya and then hit up at bar for a small after party at 5am. Walked to Don Quijote and got some hydrations then took the Yamanote at 6am and woke up at 8am, confused as hell. The workers who woke me up thought I was shit faced and had a medic on hand. I explained to them in my best Japanese that I was just super tired (wasn't wasted at all, thankfully). Man, I miss Tokyo, I miss Japan so, so, so much.
I was only in Tokyo for two weeks but I took the subway everyday to go 2 hour round trips at least. It was so convenient and reliable, I’d absolutely prefer it over my own car any day if it exists where I live.
its amazing that Japan still has a well known and celebrated car culture despite all this, truly a demonstration of how making sensible decisions doesn't mean your hobby is ruined, because the sensible decisions don't restrict peoples freedoms, it grants everyone more freedom.
Very true, plus public transit benefits those who do drive, by having less traffic. In America people assume that people who advocate for public transit are trying to take cars away, but in reality it's about allowing different options that benefits everyone.
@@toffeebeanzI honestly want to feel the same, but after conversing and seeing with some people advocating for public transit and bash cars, it doesn't seem to be that way. Some people seem to be vehemently against cars and want them erased. I hope that some context is lost and that my perception is mistaken. Heck, some people absolutely adore a "No cars" policy. The topic has become very polarizing, almost like American politics. It seema like you cannot be in between like a boring moderate.
Your experience might be different, but I have never heard anybody on the right push against public transport. Many I'm sure would love to use and see your public transport system function well. But that is IF it can compete with car use fairly without throwing every possible restriction and tax against the car user they can to make the public system work. That is what they oppose. Even supposedly the greatest public transport system in the world (as seen in this video) needs to heavily penalize car use to tilt the system in its favor to make it work. On the other side however I see more and more frequent expressions of absolute hatred of car users and increasing efforts for their complete eradication with many anti-car laws and restrictions already well under way.@@toffeebeanz
To further explain why the trip from Boston to Washington DC takes that long: In the USA, passenger trains actually have to yield to freight trains since a lot of the rail ownership that Amtrak uses belong to the freight companies. There will be periods in the trip where the train will crawl to 10 mph or come to a complete stop, and most of the time, that's freight traffic ahead.
By federal regulation, Amtrak is priority traffic even if over traffic from the company that owns the line. By saying Amtrak is "yielding" it implies that Amtrak is allowing a freight train priority to the right of way. When, i think what you mean is, Amtrak is stuck behind slower moving traffic due to (intentional or not) scheduling issues. I think the term Amtrak uses is "freight interference" End result to the consumer is still effectively the same, but one set of terms is accusing the freight companies of doing something illegal (which amtrak has very much publicly accused) instead of a more nefarious and frustrating loophole the freight companies think theyre utilizing This does get a less believable over time as all the major railroads have switched to precision scheduling, so they shouldve sorted that out. Its a whole pissing contest
And from my tiny experience, the US generally has 1 track that is used for trains going in both directions and Japan (in which I only know through videos) tends to have 1 track per direction. All this to say that the US passenger rail system isn't efficient.
You're true about Amtrak having to yield on most lines, but here's the issue: The Boston to DC trip is on the Northeast Corridor, almost exclusively operated by Amtrak and local government passenger services. They have full control over operation, and large freight hasn't existed on the line since the 1980's. Small freight trains exist, but they don't have higher priority. Amtrak has the highest priority here. Even with this in mind, Amtrak's service is much slower and expensive on the corridor than a plane. Maybe it has to do with Amtrak having no rail competition due to it being a government monopoly, thus is unwilling to make service faster and cheaper.
@@BalticoYT The trains are capable of doing 150mph, which they reach in rural Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and Amtrak is planned to replace them with a 180mph capable train this year. The main problem would be the age of the track and it’s many curves that limit the train to an average speed of 80mph on the route. New York to Boston is much slower than New York to DC because the track north of NY is much older and less straight. Straightening the track would require cutting through neighborhoods, a legal nightmare in many places.
As a Japanese, I'm happy to receive praise for our city's railways. But you should know a fatal problem (or you may already know it, but), the deadly crowd of the morning and the evening. It's a hell time of the day.
@@vinogs651 but you dont get packed as Sardines like they do in Japan. they packed the trains so much that they need to push people in order for the door to barely even close
Still boggles my mind why we decided to put the most important city for commerce and economic activity on the east coast… on a goddamn island with only three entry’ ways to and from NJ 😑
Used to be that most commerce was with Europe, so that's why New York developed as it had. On the other hand, Los Angeles is now a major commercial center, and it's even worse designed than New York
The west coast of Japan used to get two metres (yards) of snow every winter. Not powder, but the wet heavy variety of snow. That's why most of the commerce decided to locate on the less snowy side of Japan.
And Erie Canal, which connected the Midwest and its vast oceans of grain to the Atlantic and the manufactures made in Europe and the US East Coast via the Hudson River
It is ridiculous, families that create future tax payers are more likely to use those systems, cities are where the population dies, there is no sustainability in that.
What amazed me during my sojourn in Tokyo was the ease of getting around even without understanding much Japanese. The system almost aligned with human intuition, once you grasp the underlying design principle. Japanese common sense delivers results that other developed countries often throw money and technology at with inferior results. I think Asia has a lot to learn from the US and the US also has a lot to learn from Asia, particularly where sustainability is concerned.
I can say this because I'm Japanese, but the big stations in Tokyo are really labyrinths. The first time I went to Shibuya, it took me about an hour to get out of the station. I felt like I was playing an escape game or something.
No offense to Tokyo but the metro system was extremely difficult to work with and involves walking a lot, in my experience. I imagine people from the US or London are not used to seeing a transportation system that works.
@@mango-strawberry Yes. I said "transporportation system that works" going into the London tube is like walking into a third world country. It's hands down the worst public transport I've ever suffered through.
Tokyo trains and stations are clean, safe, efficient. With my asuica card loaded in my hand and a good app in my mobile I travelled all over Tokyo with confidence.
I always thought we had a HUGE over population problem in Canada living in my city. ONE WEEK IN TAIPEI and I realized we don't have a population problem, we have a population management problem in Canada. I have great respect for how cities on that side of the world are built and designed to handle large, dense populations without the city (not the people, the city) being hostile to living there the way North American cities are.
Total Canadian population = 38.01 Million, Total Tokyo population = 38.47 Million. Canada = 9.985 million km²; Tokyo = 13,500 km2. No indeed Canada the second largest country in the world does NOT have an "over population" problem. Greater Tokyo has more people in it with perfect sanitation, sewage, and traffic systems. Big population are not a problem, but greedy rich, selfish, lazy, destructive, criminal people and the like are a problem. Billionaires and Mega Companies buying up all the available land is a problem, rich countries buying up all the oil, water and food are a problem which is creating inequity, scarcity and poverty throughout the world.
Yes, a mild one. I am aware were doing much better than the places with Over Population Disasters or Over Population Catastrophes. But we need to recognize that we have issues in Canada too and take the steps to address them sooner rather than later. While Canada can fix our issues with changing city design and dont have to go to extremes like the one child policy China instituted for a while.
LOL Population density of Canada = 3.92 people per km2. Canada is the 10th least densely populated country in the world. Our urban population is no more than 3 to 5% of our total land mass. The rest is agricultural or wilderness.
Apart from insane toll, finding an affordable place to live with enough parking space is also not ideal in Tokyo. That's why having a car is not always a benefit which makes public transportation in Tokyo even more valuable.
@@PRT976 those tolls aren't insane, they just reflect the true cost of driving more accurately. Those of us in the US are too used to the fact that our roads are (mostly) free, which means they need a shit-ton of subsidies.
I was told that Central J-Rail (tokyo's J rail operator) makes a significant percentage of its profit from the rentals on properties it owns, and that when it and other sections of JRail were privatised it only got the land that the track and stations are on hence why many surface stations (such as on the Yamanote line) have multi-level buildings with shopping and office space above them and that also encouraged them to build the huge underground shopping malls that nominally act as undercover pedestrian access but in reality are huge shopping malls some of which I've gotten lost in, not just once but several times (the best example I recall was the one under Osaka's main station that seem to go on for miles) not complaining - I lived near Ebisu station and I could almost do everything shopping or dining wise from a full grocery shop to beer and burger between getting off my train and leaving the station grounds for my 5 minute walk home
I used to live in Osaka and worked in Umeda where the maze of underground tunnels and malls is. I love it. Japanese cities make such fantastic use of space. Now I’m in Shanghai and I often think about how much subway station space is wasted and how sterile and characterless they are in comparison. Give me a labyrinth of restaurants, bars, shops and bookstores any day. I miss Osaka so much.
@@earthenjadis8199 if it's the same ramen place as Im thinking of that's quite an achievement 1 bowl was pretty filling two would have been... belt busting
Actually the main rail company in The Kanto area is JR East. The main urban area covered by JR Central is Nagoya. The Shin Kansen service from Tokyo to Osaka is operated by JR Central, that heading north from Tpkyo by JR East.
Tokyo traffic in my experience isn’t nearly as bad as you’ve made it out here. Also never heard of an expressway pass and I have driven from one end of Honshu to the other. Expressways are also completely optional and are only marginally faster than taking other roads when commuting. Long distance they are much faster, but less scenic and ultimately, less fun. You also can often travel between certain destinations quicker by car than by rail in Tokyo and the greater Tokyo area in general. I commute by car. 20 minutes by car, 45 by train/walking.
you commute using the central tokyo highway? doesn't that make it super expensive? from the times you explained I'm assuming you're commuting from one side of tokyo to the other, in which case i agree it's much faster (and the highways in tokyo have a great view) but the price of them makes it not worth it for me.
Ok yes, but I think what the video and also you forgot to say it's how expensive it is to simply own a car, parking lot spaces being as expensive as studio apartments (in Tokyo, not sure about other cities) and of course insurance, gasoline, maintenance... With the fact that usually your employer pays for the Suica/Pasmo subscription no matter where you live, it's easily understandable why people choose to take the metro/train. I am also with you on the fact that expressways are really not that fun. But of course, if you can afford and you like to drive you do you :)
The expression “city of Tokyo” usually refers to the 23 wards (ku) that constitute the city proper. In 1943, however, this city ceased to exist as an administrative unit and was subsumed within the larger Tokyo metropolis, which includes rural and mountainous regions west of the city and the Izu Islands, stretching southward from the mouth of Tokyo Bay, and the Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands, some 500 miles (800 kilometres) to the southeast in the Pacific Ocean. (Source: Encyclopedia Britannica).
I think its also notable that English terminology and usage towards Tokyo is going to be inconsistent because Tokyo is not an English speaking city, nor are most English speakers interested in Japanese municipal systems. English speakers, when we say Tokyo, usually refer to the Greater Tokyo Area, or Shutoken, and absolutely not Toukyou-shi (City of Tokyo) nor Toukyou-to (Metropolis of Tokyo). Any expectation for an English video to use Japanese terminology (which frankly the Japanese often call the whole thing Tokyo as well) correctly for prefectures, is frankly preposterous. It just doesn't matter at all for the target audience.
@@SilverDemon456 Perhaps, but a lot of things are interesting to know, when you make an educational video you inevitably have to decide what it is your teaching and what is important to say. Personally I'd of used "Greater Tokyo Area", but really, no one is confusing Tokyo for anything but that anyway.
The exception to this, is when you try to use it pushing a stroller with a baby in it. Getting out of Shibuya station, requires taking 3 different elevators in completelly different areas AND you need to wait a couple of turns at least for each elevator.
Yeah, that's one of the problems with Japanese thinking. They are generally not very considerate to people who are different or have special needs. To their credit, everyone else tries their best to fit-in, so in that sense (as in when you go with the flow), their system is very efficient.
Yes, even single line subway stations often have only one elevator in an inconvenient location. It's great for adults to get exercise but not parent friendly, And heaven forbid one of your kids starts to cry or go fussy on the train. (That's not a problem with the transportation system, though.)
Same here. I was laughing when the video said train is faster than cars. It took my family of 4 20 minutes to walk to/from the platform because of the elevators. I even need to carry the stroller down the stairs at times otherwise I would need to go to a different exit and walk 15 more mins ...
Yes Tokyo and other Japanese cities had the golden opportunity to rebuild after being razed to the ground during WW2, but let's not overlook the impressive foresight they had in rebuilding their cities to be WALKABLE, dense, sensibly zoned, and not overly dependent on super wide roads and car traffic. Also they did well to build a massive amount of housing to meet (and in some cases exceed) postwar demand.
It was more because of the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 that almost leveled the entire city. This gave the opportunity to really start with a clean slate. The Yamanote loop was started in 1927 and finished by 1932. Many of the private rail lines made their connections around that time with the restriction that they were not allowed to expand inside the Yamanote loop. That's why, until recently, all private lines terminated at Yamanote line stations.
This video only really scratches the surface of the greatness of Tokyo. The video doesn't mention other rapid transit systems in Tokyo, through service, zoning and transit oriented development. This is what really makes Tokyo great.
Tokyo has the best transport system I've ever experienced. Also, people always show videos of Shinjuku or Shibuya, that are crowded because it's the business center, but if you go anywhere else, it's way less crowded. I was surprised how peaceful and empty it was. And the best part is that even when it's crowded, for example in the train during rush hour, it's still quiet!! People respect the right for others to be able to relax or sleep or just have peace. Amazing times, and I'll definitely go back ASAP.
I’m visiting Tokyo, and it’s exactly how you said. People in the west often mention about the videos we see on tv of people being crammed by staff inside a crowded train, but so far I’ve been traveling at all hours and no crowd at all, it’s just efficient and fluid. Japanese people are so well behaved too, they form lines at the moment without being asked anytime there’s a need to organize multitudes. It’s my favorite public transportation experience and I’ve visited many large European cities like Paris or London.
3 หลายเดือนก่อน
@@brmbkl ...ruining the fun of forming strong and beautiful communties.
@@OBFYT Good video, but why do you keep on comparing with New York. The NY system is really bad. London is a lot better with similar Stations to the Japanese ones. Like Kings Cross St Pancras on about 6 different levels. With local, and Inter city trains, plus Eurostar continental. You've got cut and cover subway and deep underground lines, Victoria, Piccadilly, and Northern. Local buses, regional, and National buses and the black London taxis. There's many other Stations like Kings Cross, set in a circle serving the whole Country. Euston, Paddington, Victoria, Waterloo, London Bridge, and Liverpool Steet to name but a few. There's the Tube, Overground, Docklands Light Railway, Cross Rail, Buses, and Taxis as well as a massive road system and some Tramways. All overseen by Transport for London TFL. It trumps NY many times over and would compete with Tokyo.
This deserves part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, ... It's a series that shows literally what good transport systems should be. We need true learning material like this.
Whats so good about it? The way people who want to profit from it will make you dependable on them and force you to pay extra if you try to live with just a slight bit of independence (thats what paying for every km driven is essentially). Edit: the only upside is you can get home when youre drunk at night without needing an expensive taxi and then to return for the car on the next day. Thats it, the only good argument for mass transportation and probably not even that because someone will try to steal shit from you.
I have lived in Tokyo for a few months and fell in love with the city. Even pedestrians use lanes on sidewalks making moving around the city efficient and pleasant. Trains arrived within seconds precision and my personal favourite, you have tables to what car to embark for a more efficient exit at each station on the route 🥰. Not to mention the cleanliness and respect of travelers ❤.
This is full of major mistakes and misunderstandings. There are 882 stations and 85 rail lines in Tokyo, more than double the number claimed for New York that the video says is bigger. PASMO is only the card for the Tokyo Metro (one small part of the system), and you didn’t have to buy separate tickets even before the cards. This looks like the author just read the Wikipedia page for “Tokyo Metro” and assumed that covered the whole system. I see that mistake everywhere. Traffic is also much much better than any other major city I’ve driven in. People certainly don’t ride public transport because traffic is bad or slower; it’s just that trains are usually more convenient and cheaper.
I had the same thought about just copying Wikipedia. I am not an expert but i can even tell this is super misleading. It’s that bad. A middle schooler can make a better video. It’s crazy to see so many viewers saying this video is great quality.
Technically, PASMO wasn't the card only for the Tokyo Metro from the beginning. It was more like replacement for the existing Passnet, which contained rail lines outside of Tokyo, plus bus lines. In my opinion, the author should have used SUICA over PASMO, but at this point it doesn't matter which card you use because for the most part, both cards are supported all around the Kanto Region. I do agree with convenience of trains especially if you live in the city.
7:05 A small correction: the Green train on the left is technically not a subway, but a train. It's the Yamanote Line (山手線) operated by JR, even though it does operate like an inner-city metro in many ways. I'm not the most hard core railway fan so feel free to correct if I made any mistake.
Yeah, what's interesting about Tokyo and Japan in general is their commuter train pretty much operate like metro/Subway once in the city or surrounding town/city. Technical distinction is there but for everyday commute, the service feels the same. From point a to point b, you may be already taking different train services without being too much aware of it. Unless you ride very obviously different vehicles like Shinkansen or Monorail or tram.
@@kornkernel2232 IIRC in a lot of cases there isn't even a technical distinction, other than the logo on the side of the train; they often interline trains on through services on Tokyo Metro and various other railways in the region.
@@SevenandForty for example; Keikyū, a private rail company, operates a line from Hanada Airport to Shinagawa. Keisei, another private rail company, operates lines from Tokyo's North East to Narita Airport. The Toei Asakusa Subway Line runs between a Keisei terminal (Oshiage) and runs near Shinagawa. There is a spur line off the Asakusa Line near Sengakuji Station that connects to the Keikyū line at Shinagawa. This allows both Keikyū and Keisei to run trains through the Asakusa line and the other companies track between both Tokyo airports. If you didn't pay attention to the logo and colours on the train or the formatting of the info displays on board, you wouldn't be able to tell that 3 different companies operate on that same line.
@@magical_catgirl i used to commute from Tokyo (Shinjuku-Sanchome) to Yokohama (Minato-Mirai). This involved 3 different train lines: Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line, Tokyu Toyoko Line, and the Minatomirai line. Thanks to a collaboration between these companies, though, it was the same train. Where one line ended (Shibuya), the other one started. This line also goes further north, with a collaboration with the Tobu Tojo line and Seibu Ikebukuro line. And now they are planning collaborating with Sotetsu down in Yokohama. Basically, 6 different private companies (!) all working together to maximize efficiency. You don't see that in many other places in the world!
"It's a nation within a city" Vatican City: We will watch your career with great interest You have to keep in mind that Tokyo was rebuilt, while NYC just grew like any other city would. Here's the thing about NYC, Tokyo's subway may have bigger numbers in terms of passengers but you also have to know why NYC's subway is like this. Like Tokyo, NYC's Subway was once operated by different companies. That's why the subway is the way it is. Because of these competing companies. Eventually they were all unified under the city's board of transportation which then became the NYC Transit Authority (now part of the state-owned MTA). Plus if you consider the commuter rail lines, light rail, ferries, and even bus rapid transit within the NY Metro, the metro area still stands out especially in terms of North America. People in Jersey City and NYC still prefer to take public transit because it is that convenient
Another fun fact, Tokyo has the Key design, the same way the Vatican does- or should I say it’s the other way around. Vatican adopted the key design for its front courtyard, which contains a vault beneath. Hence the key reference. The vault contains all the knowledge the Christian Ity (Masonic state) striped from the world when it had its military Branch, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, conquest. The Christian Ity didnt spread because of western colonialism, western colonialism spread because of the Christian it. Oh and beneath the Vatican is also the Temple of Vatika which its named after, the Etruscan version of the Greek Goddess Persephone who is the daughter of Djous Pater (Zeus) and wife of Dis Pater (Hades). Her temple has been corrupted by the debauchery of the Christian Ity that is Romes 4th attempt in creating a Monotheistic religion as a state that is based off of Persian Zoroastrianism.
As someone who was born from East Asia where public transport is the norm just like Japan, I could never understand North American's addictions of car dependent cities, especially when most people seems to actually hate driving there.
One thing I admire about Japan - as an outsider of course - is that a lot of things seems to be well thought out - no random stuff and "well'll see if it works". And also a lot of emphasis on the "collective" vs "personal" good, perhaps to a fault.
In Japan, I've seen so many things with little details planned, so they are as useful as they can be, it's amazing. On the other hand, it is nice thinking as a collective but sometimes that it's a problem (IMO), especially to take some decisions.
Great content! As someone who has had the experience of visiting Tokyo, I genuinely can't see LA or another major city outside of maybe NYC or Chicago fulfilling the "last mile problem" so well. In Tokyo like you said basically everything is at your fingertips once you step out of a shop. Not so in the US, where for the vast majority of localities its inconvenient at best to walk or bike to your final destination.
NYC is the easiest city in the world to navigate. There are so many options for transportation. NYC is designed in street blocks not random roads like Tokyo. NYC has Helicopter and boat ferry transportation as well. not sure why the video over looked this
@@ryanm9371 Ferry is very much point to point (really only viable to/from Statan Island), and helicopter transport is the domain of those with money.. There's a reason companies eventually stopped service from Connecticut for all but top C-Suite execs.
This is by design in the US, unfortunately. Things used to be closer to Tokyo, but cities were bulldozed and retrofitted to be suitable for cars, not people. US cities are so dependant on cars it's INSANE
@@ryanm9371 Also the NYC subway runs 24/7 (of course not all stops are open after certain hours). It is one of the few in the entire world. The Tokyo Metro stops after midnight or so.
The last point is so true - when I was in the heart of Tokyo, despite the sheer number of people and things going on, it never once felt chaotic or overbearing to me. London's West End in comparison does though. It's horrible. There's something about the fact that in Tokyo even crowds of people make sure to walk in such a way that it's not manic - as in one direction keeps to one side of the pavement and the other keeps to the other side and queuing at the crossings etc. It's really quite something, you have to experience it firsthand at least once.
Resident of Tokyo here! Just want to say that the Tokyo train system is not smaller than New York’s. The “Tokyo Metro” system is smaller than the MTA but that does not account for all of the train lines available in the Tokyo metropolis, which seems to be more what this video focuses on. The NYC metropolis has 47 lines including LIRR but Tokyo metropolis has over 150! The complicating factor is that all of the trains in the Kanto region are operated by different companies and therefore it’s difficult to find a comprehensive list of all the Tokyo metropolis area lines.
I live in Tokyo and I can confirm. I had a car for a couple of years and most of the time I just couldn’t be bothered to use it because the transit is so much faster and cheaper. That’s one reason why many JDM import cars have such low mileage.
It’s only dense up to a point due to “sunlight” laws zoning codes. This results in Tokyo having the densities of Brooklyn or Queens and never Manhattan or Hong Kong. It’s still a fairly dense city (as is Brooklyn) but there could be a lot more density in high demand neighborhoods where the city is forced to sprawl out and commuters riding long commutes. The choice of living in a 30 story apartment building is not there and most such buildings in Tokyo overlook river areas or parks where they wouldn’t be in violation of the sunlight laws. The other 98% of the city is fairly low rise 2-5 story row houses and apartments.
@@CheapCharlieChronicles True, and overall I agree, but imo the fact their zoning code is permissive for dense housing (which is still possible with low profiles of 2-5 story buildings) almost everywhere (including quasi-industrial zones) overall despite the sunlight plane laws/ordinances I think is what makes it still more advantageous than zoning in say, dense places like NY. For one, those buildings in NY are mostly illegal to build now, thanks to their downzonings in the 60s.
Single family house zoning is the bane of US/Canada. The average Suburbia is nothing but endless rows of McMansions combined with a huge mall somewhere in the outskirts(+massive parking lots). It's almost as if the country is built exclusively for cars and not humans. Infact, in vast majority of towns it's illegal to build anything other than single family homes.
@@unassumingaccount395 I'd say the biggest factor here is mixed use more than density, that allows to have shops at the street level and apartment building on the floors above so everything you need is just a couple blocks distance really. Again none of that is exclusive to Tokio or Japan for that matter, most of the world build cities this way. It's just the US and Canada that don't for some reason
Meanwhile we have two metro lines (with one station that connects both lines), trams, and the Korean State Railway to connect the people of Pyongyang and its metro area together. A lot more simple and easier to traverse compared to Tokyo. There are hardly any cars because people prefer to take public transit due to how convenient or it is. Or would rather ride a bike or walk for good exercise. But alas you won't see any praise towards us from a Western source Also, at 7:05 that is the Yamanote Line which is not a subway. It's an above-ground loop service
Shinjuku station is no joke if you've never been there before. Even with google Maps telling me exactly what train to catch on which platform, I got hopelessly lost in there.
A few comments. 1. Tokyo has way more of a rail network than New York I dunno how you squared that 2. 200b is 4% not 40% of Japanese GDP 3. Acela is pronounced Assella, not Akeela
For point 2 it would have been more precise if he had said the "budget" but even then his statement would have been off by about 20% since the the approved budget for fiscal 2021 was $930 billion.
The public works budget was $60 billion, not $200 billion, as well. Where are those numbers from? And I don't really know how you can read "x budget is *40%* of the country's GDP" out loud and not do a double take!
Also the railway companies own the stations and therefore they can rent parts of it out to other companies. This makes stations act like malls and they themself becomes a destination
@@jmstransit maybe or maybe the diversity comes from the mane restaurants and the culture of eating out more then making your own food. Either way i love how easy and cheap it is to eat at a restaurant there. Even as a tourist its not hard to figure out
Very well presented & researched... nice work! A few corrections/additions... 1. Average car ownership of 0.56 / household...? I think this is probably realistic if you take into account the rather large and suburban Tokyo Prefecture (東京都) as a whole. However, even though I don't know the real figure, if you only look at 'central Tokyo' aka the '23 wards' (23区) I'm almost certain the figure is lower. 2. One critical factor that is not mentioned to discourage people from using cars is quite simply... parking space. There are not that many places to park you car if you move somewhere (and they're quite expensive to use too)... and this is even worse for your 'permanent parking' (monthly fees for these can be as expensive as a small apartment rent). 3. Taking the train/metro in Tokyo is not particularly expensive, but not that cheap either, especially if your route uses more than one transportation company (you CAN use your Pasmo as mentioned, but have to pay separate ticket fees for each of them). 4. One of the key factors that made the whole transportation infrastructure successful (and profitable) was opening it to private investment.
I arrived Tokyo for the first time during evening rush hour in Shinjuku. Despite the hundreds of thousands of people, it was a BREEZE! I was marveling at how incredible their public transit system works! Only thing to keep in mind is that they do not run 24hrs which was a bummer since I am a night owl. But there's so much to see even within the district that you are in that the need to travel is greatly reduced. Excellent city planning!
I drove cars in Tokyo for a decent period of time during my 4 years there, and while I agree that the costs are exorbitant, it is factually untrue that Tokyo's traffic is a nightmare. Also if your parking is sorted, often door to door times for a car are significantly faster.
Sure but I’d take public transport all day. Specially the bullet trains. Wish the us of a actually invested in that for its people since it would help low Income people and give actual freedoms unlike a car. Freedom ain’t a car. To be free you shouldn’t have to be stuck with payments, insurance, and many more payments just to get around. Freedom is trains that let you be anywhere in ur city and beyond for cheap.
@@georgec9384 yes, I agree with your thoughts. My point is that Tokyo traffic is some of the most linear and smooth flowing for a megapolis of its size and population density. So when I hear people saying that Tokyo traffic is a nightmare, I know that they have never actually driven in Tokyo. But otherwise this video is very factual and on point.
@@daos3300 try taking the odakyu line from Shinjuku to Atsugi during rush hour and compare the times for the same journey by car. Then see if the train is faster.
Imperfect is an understatement for the bike infrastructure. There is a huge issue with bike parking, it doesn't exist for road bikes. If you ride even a moderately expensive bike you are limited to using it for exercise only as shopping or going anyone on it is basically banned. The only bike parking available has no security at all and there is nothing to actually lock a bike to. Not to mention that most parking requires your bike to have its own built in stand. On top of this is the total lack of bike lanes with the nearest thing being cyclist chalk outlines on the side of the road where cars are meant kill cyclists on, or maybe they are meant to be actual bike lanes, hard to tell. There are two dedicated cycling paths in Tokyo that I am aware of, both feature metal barricades along the path to keep you from actually riding there. If those barricades weren't there you it would be dangerous for all the joggers and dog walkers the cycling roads were actually made for.
Riding my road bike around Tokyo has been my main mode of transportation for over 10 years and I have never encountered any problems, I actually enjoy it a lot! While it isn't strictly permitted, you can lock your bike to any roadside fence or post in the city and not give it a second thought as there is basically no bicycle theft at all in Japan. While bicycle parking wardens may occasionally attach notices to the bike requesting it to be moved, they have never cut the lock to impound mine. I think they basically wouldn't have the authority to do this as they would be damaging your property (the lock). I also parked my bike in a large underground bicycle park right next to my office nearly every weekday for four years, as they had a special area reserved for road bikes without built in stands. While these underground bike parks are not very clearly signposted I think there are quite a few scattered around the city. As for riding a bike around the city, it's not exactly the Netherlands for having exclusive bike lanes in every direction, but Japanese drivers are very conscientious of other people on the roads and hardly anyone speeds. There have only been a very few occasions in those ten years when I haven't felt completely safe.
I think it is important to mention with respect to the statement “public transport can’t be profitable” that individual motorised transport has a lot of hidden costs. If you take all the time spent in traffic jams, if you put a price tag on air and noise pollution, if you consider all the money invested in vehicles that stand around useless 95% of the time, and if you put a price on the space that is used by these parked vehicles and also by the roads then one should come to the conclusion that cars are probably one of the most inefficient, costly and unprofitable products that most US Americans own.
The data on this proves exactly the opposite. After all costs are accoundated for the average American profits $1400 a month from ownership of an automobile. Those without their own transportation have greater difficulty getting and keeping jobs.
@@codyvandal2860 That's because of the lack of transit infrastructure in most cities in the US. If the system had been designed as it was in Tokyo, they wouldn't have the difficulty keeping a job.
@@mikehibbs13 No, its because not everyone lives like a human insect in vast metropolises. Much of the US is rural or suburban and its not practical to build "transit" that also reduces the freedom of movement of individuals by making them reliant on a service for transportation.
it only takes like 10-15 mins to drive from the outskirts of Tokyo(say setagaya or shinagawa) into the heart of Tokyo or even Chou city a lot of times when i went, their traffic isnt so much a jam as a backp that slows....unlike america....id perfer the drive that takes the same amount or less time than just the walk and wait to get on a train anyday! And most of my commutes were less than half that
this is nice and all but it only highlight the public transportations when I read the title I expected an actual city design: how they divide the districts, where the industrial areas at, where the urban areas at, the park, the forests, the residential areas, how they prepare for disasters, the amazing designs of tokyo canals, the megastructures, dams, underground rivers, etc
Tokyo's peak hour is so amazingly quiet. There is the sound of footsteps, the trains, the station chimes, but there is hardly any traffic so virtually no traffic noise. It's impolite to talk on the subway, so there's no sound of voices. There are no useless announcements on trains or at stations such as in most countries. This all makes it a very low-stress environment.
@@samuelitooooo Friends can talk to each other just fine, they just do so at a casual low volume. It's not as strict as it sounds, anecdotally speaking there are the occasional phone talkers or drunk companymen. There is still a responsibility to not drown out the actual train announcements.
I had a week long trip to Tokyo where I used metros 4 times a day. Only 2 occasions I noticed someone speaking to their phone. One guy clearly had something very important to handle and he was apologizing when he spoke. Other dude was wearing punk clothes and he didn't care what others around him though of him. Usually people were just playing with their phones, reading books or sleeping.
The train depicted at 6:35 - 6:45 is a French TGV in a French railway station (SNCF logo and colours on the train, screen on the platform using the French template).
The great thing is if you want a personal car or to take a taxi those options are always there, its just that the trains are always better, they’re faster and cheaper.
@@CheapCharlieChronicles I would love to live in a city like that. You’re often faster here if you use a bike or car or even by walking, since the bus system is so centralised.
Airlines are still a necessity in Japan for medium sized hubs not covered by Shinkansen. They also help out when earthquakes damage shinkansen infrastructure.
@@mate5791 you'd love the Netherlands, Tokyo has great rail and walking but horrible bicycle infrastructure and don't get me started on the apartments there
Unless you're navigating Hokkaido (it lost 20% of railway miles since 1987, and another 767 miles could possibly close if a third-party don't choose to manage the lines), Chūgoku region (sankō line closed recently) or Okinawa (just a monorail serves the main island) then you'll need to rely on other forms of transportation rail don't cover.
What I like the most about Tokyo and Japan in generally is obviously how great their transportation is and what drives the most curiosity is of course their public transformation and I'm in love with it.
I'm jealous that they got to have their city setup with such effective public transportation, and that in america we got tricked into tearing up all of our electric train lines and built disgusting highways and parking lots everywhere the eye could see taking up soooo much room in otherwise nice cities and creating so much pollution in air quality and noise.
Me too, but they had the advantage of building their city in the mid-20th century, while most American major cities are a lot older. It's very difficult and expensive to work around existing infrastructure when compared to just building from scratch.
@@timeluster Tokyo has been a city way longer than the United States has even been a country, but in the mid-1900s, the entire city was made of wood. During WWII, it was torched by American fire bombings, and rebuilt from scratch, giving us the modern-day Tokyo. So, yes, it has been inhabited as long as American cities, but the modern city of Tokyo wasn't actually constructed until shortly after World War 2
Boo hoo. Keep crying about it. The demand for this stuff just isn't here, and until us owning cars becomes a serious enough problem, don't expect any changes.
Unlike in America, cities in Europe and Japan knew the value of having a well designed and integrated public transport system in their cities. They really do make cities better. New York (and to a lesser extent Washington DC) both know this. Sadly, the same can't be said for the majority of US cities - wedded to the car and in danger of being left behind as they're trapped in 20th century planning and a mindset to go with this.....which still exists
You are absolutely right. Unfortunately, California had crash dummies in office during the era when it came to mapping out public transportation. Especially in Los Angeles.
@@ghostpro1293 ...only because you probably live in a city with lousy or no public transport network in place. That's why you HAVE to drive Believe me, when a city has a good public transport network that is well thought out, the different parts of it integrate with each other (rather than compete), and the key main areas of a city are all covered then it is very good indeed. Take a city like London for example. It has the world's oldest underground railway (railroad) network, but it's constantly being added to, enhanced, and modernised. It still works well after nearly 160 years. That is an achievement to be proud of. It really made London a complete city that's easy to get around. It adds value to London, in the same way the New York subway does to NY. If you can look beyond some train carriages scrawled with graffiti. It makes NY more navigable. It's pretty shocking that a city like LA doesn't have an underground railroad network. It's why it will eventually get left behind. Once the power of Hollywood wains (it's already beginning to) long term, then what? LA needs to have other things besides Hollywood. Without this, the city will look very one dimensional. The only reason people visit LA is because if Hollywood. It's a 'one industry town' whose industry has long past it's golden days. But if LA invested more in public transportation then it would give the city an added dimension and open up new possibilities for it.
@@robtyman4281 eh I still would rather drive. Rather be in something clean than public transport that Portland has to offer. Plus the freedom to travel anywhere any time. Don’t have to wait. Besides I much rather be away from the city than in it. Portland is filthy as is. But if you don’t have your license just say so we get it. But I plan on to never use public transport. Got plenty of cars and trucks to move around
@@ghostpro1293 most of the reasons you just listed go back to your area's public transportation being bad. if the system is well maintained and well organized, cleanliness and wait times shouldn't even be a consideration. ideally you should be able to drive because you like driving not because it's strictly the better option
I lived near Tokyo and I didn't know anyone with a car. It was amazing to navigate (minus the crowds during peak hours). It is clean, prompt, easy to navigate (mostly), and far superior than any other rail system I've encountered.
Have been using the Tokyo and regional train system since my first visit in 1973... never had anything but wonderous pleasure using the systems. Latest visit was with my wife in 2019... we traveled with ease around Tokyo and off to Hiroshima and Kyoto, taking local buses and trams in those lovely cities.
A few points that I missed in this otherwise well made documentary: One of the reasons why they railway companies are profitable on Japan is because the own the properties around the stations. Japan East Railway is one the biggest landlords ok the countries. Not surprisingly the properties around railroads is wry attractive for business depending on walk in clients. When you have to drive and use the highways while having to pay they are amazing. In 30 min you get from Shinjuku to the outer rings of the city. Traffic jams comparisons to LA are not justifiable as there are barely ever any in Tokyo.
Fun fact, in Canada, or at least in Toronto, we also check the subway tracks and tunnels every single night. My father worked at the TTC (Toronto Transit Comission) and had to walk from one end of the system to the other in order to ensure the entire track and infrastructure is safe to take commuters in the morning.
Future tip, Acela is pronounced like Asela, because YAY ENGLISH LANGUAGE! Also, is the Japanese Pasmo system as well integrated or more compared to the Dutch OV pass? Because the Dutch OV can be used on trains, trams, trolleys, ferries (not all), rental cars, buses, and bikes. You can get anywhere in the Netherlands with this pass. Except the military base where they keep the nukes.
While not rental car, Pasmo cards can be used not only for public transport but vending machines, shops, convenient stores,... not all, but a lot, especially shops near train stations.
@@bmp456 no. He’s just not American. However he’s a native English speaker so he should know how to pronounce the soft “c”. No tea no shade, just ✨phonetics✨.
Yes the pasmo can be used for pretty much all public transit in Tokyo. It can also be used in other cities in japan since cards in all major cities can be used interchangeably.
I lived in Tokyo around two years while working for an American car company, and decided early on that having a car there would be insane, despite the fact I could have leased a car fairly inexpensively and would have had free parking at work and at my apartment. The subways, trains, and buses were just so damned convenient!
As a Tokyo resident, I am envious of NYC subway's quad track lines which enables separation of express and local operations, and of Paris Metro's and London Tube's density and proximity to nearest stations. Each city has its good and bad.
A few years ago I went to Tokyo (from Los Angeles) for the first time and it was so easy riding the subway from the airport to my hotel and visiting other spots during my trip. I was also impressed with how clean everything was. In LA there’s human waste on the trains.
Having visited Japan before I can say that public transportation in Japan is AMAZING, every train or bus always arrives on time and it's super easy to use!
Just reasonably priced. Everywhere else car infrastructure is paid by the state, and so all people, even those that don't own cars. In Japan, where few drive in Tokyo, that'd be unfair and distort actual competition. Now price of public transport and cars are actually about matched (as it should be). And also payment is not that bad with suica cards so it's barely an inconvenience if you NEED to take a car
Japans rail system is definitely something to be admired. When I was there for a few months I was able to get around across the country by rail with minor difficulty. However there are some things not mentioned here. The random city comparisons kept changing to better paint a better comparison e.g., the car to person ratio is .23 in NYC vs the .54 in Tokyo. In order to do that nightly Maintenance in japan all rails in major cities tend to shut down around midnight. NYC is 24/7 as to allow people who work or just need the train overnight access. Furthermore japan charges by distance. Not great for those living in the outskirts who tend to have lower incomes vs NYC that has a flat rate no matter where you live. NYC rails are generally much cheaper to ride if you travel over 15 mins by rail.
It's worth noting that most companies cover employee transportation costs, as long as it's within a reasonable level. i.e. living in Nagano and commuting via express to Tokyo wouldn't fly. A flat rate would still be better for lower income folks in the outskirts I agree.
The Shinkansen bullet train was amazing when I went to Japan in 2018. I went from Osaka down to Hiroshima and back up to Kyoto via the train. The smoothest train you’ll ever ride and the videos I recorded facing out of the window were unbelievable from the sheer speed you travel past houses and buildings.
The Shinkansen is a train that is matched in comfort and speed by other foreign trains. The high speed train in Spain is basically just as good. I think the one in France is just as good too. What really surprises me is how good urban transportation in Tokyo is, this is what is bonkers. I live in a somewhat touristy town in Spain that coincidentally has a high speed train station (which is very convenient tbh, not many towns have one since it’s mostly limited to larger cities) and I see plenty of Japanese tourists coming from Barcelona to stay for a day. I’ve always wondered that they must feel pretty at home with the nice modern trains, but the contrast must be pretty wild considering how dirty and inefficient the streets are compared to theirs.
@@jmiquelmb oh definitely wild. Especially Paris as east Asian media tend to worship the French vibe. Look up how East Asians tourists suffer from Paris Syndrome.
I've been to Tokyo few years back, and I can confirm that the public transport there are really great. it is so easy to navigate between places even if you have language barrier, to the point I'd say you almost couldn't get lost if you navigate in Tokyo.
That's true. Being Tokyo in the first time it was really scary to me but during my the two week trip i never get lost. It was really easy to navigate in the town.
And google map navigated the underground lines so well for me, I just walk a little to my pllace of interest
That's why Japanese let their kids to school and back home all along even in the young age! It is designed in such a way that even Kids can navigate without getting lost.
@@TrungNguyen-uf8cv Yeah i used that too. Google maps was really effective in japan.
Have to agree with that.
As someone from Tokyo, please remember that there are hard working people behind the safe and precise transportation in Japan. Their service should not be taken for granted.
true
नमस्ते टोक्यो के मेहनत करने वाले लोगो को🙏🏽
आप लोगो के काम मैं श्रद्धा और मेहनत, टोक्यो की सुंदरता मैं झलकती है❤
@@PradhanmantriBruhh what do you mean?
🙏🏾
oh thx
@kushagra892
As someone living in Tokyo, the train is always the preferred method. However, I use my car to reach places trains cannot outside the greater tokyo area. Besides, everything you need is almost always around a train station. Since drinking and driving is illegal, this also forces everyone who wants to enjoy the night life to take the train since most bars are around train stations. Also, the majority of train stations have a shopping mall built on top of them or very near to them.
AND THEY CONTROL WHERE YOU GO.
How are the train rides with the pandemic on going? I was there prior to the pandemic and I rode the train everywhere I went. I’m just curious how different it is today. Also, I cannot wait to visit Tokyo again.
How much for a parking space of your own?
neat.
@@joevang475 living in Tokyo rn- nothing is different from what I can tell. They open the train Windows a bit so the air is flowing, and everyone wears masks
I've lived in Tokyo for 3 years and I can say it is outstandingly well designed and highly livable. Tokyo is a city you can just walk for hours, and given its density, you always have access to shops, restaurants etc. The train system is also basically the best in the world.
Do you ever think that some think of you as a baka gaijin?
@@American_2 Yes but sometimes there are baka nihonjin's too...everyone is entitled to think what they want but generally Japanese are polite and respectful
I’m a native New Yorker born and raised. I now live in Tokyo permanently I find it absolutely amazing and a beautiful experience every day. To get from downtown Brooklyn to canal street in Manhattan took me 40 minutes on the N line only one stop. It takes me 15 minutes from Asagaya to Shinjuku. The distance is exactly the same.
@@breakingdragon22Im looking to travel to Tokyo eventually. Which airbnb or hotel you recommend to stay in? I will also will like to live there for some time. What your suggestions?
I don't know about ab&b in tokyo but if you're looking for economic there are a lot of what are considered buisness hotels . Not big and flashy but conviniently located with small rooms the are clean and comfortable as well as very affordable
If a city is car dependent, we should consider it a complete failure. Walkability, cycleability and public transport is where it's at.
I live in a car dependent city and I LOVE it!
@@davidturner4076 because you are a car user
@@davidturner4076 Nah I'm good. I hate driving. Just because you like doesn't mean it should be the only way to get around. And cars are not cheap. Spending 400-500 dollars a month for 7 years to drive yourself around is crazy expensive. Not including Gas, tolls, parking, maintenance, and insurance. Oh in the name of "Freedom".
Tell me how i know you are a government dependent drone without telling me
@@alfrredd yes, I am. The car makes it possible for the people of my city to have quick commutes while still being able to live in large and relatively affordable homes with big yards, very close to nature.
The most notable memory from my brief time in Tokyo was when my dad accidentally left his backpack (with our passports) on one of the trains. We went to lost and found and told them what had happened, and in 15 minutes the backpack was returned. Incredible
that must have been scary 👁👄👁
@@apollo2744 it was indeed a little scary but my mom who had lived in Japan for a semester in grad school told us that they’d find the backpack. Of course my dad and I were skeptical since that would never happen in America
my mum left her phone once, we had to buy a new one because apparently nothing gets found in our train systems
@@soomiko Things get found but not returned 🤣
@@plasticpalace that is racially motivated
Great video but must nitpick a quick fact correction, the Tokyo subway system is only a small part of the train system and only covers a small part of the city. There are about 8 other train systems in the Tokyo metro area including the huge JR East train system which has elevated lines throughout the metro area. The subway only covers a small part of central Tokyo. These are all separate systems but share a same payment mechanism the Suica card which also makes transferring between systems easier.
An additional point about this is that most of these "train" services are very similar, subway or metro-like services with short headways and trains with many doors, to facilitate large passenger volumes. In fact, a lot of services actually are interlined, sometimes running a metro train and a JR train on the same track, which increases flexibility a lot.
Hmm... Why not say it commuter line rather than Metro or Subway or monorail?
@@primastanislaus9184 It's kind of both, but the service patterns and rolling stock (i.e. how frequent the trains are and the types of trains) are more similar to a metro or subway in the West, than normal commuter rail.
@ZPK huge fact😁
Not only that, but the infrastructure allows some trains to use tracks from "rival" companies thus allowing a greater coverage and a smoother experience. So you can see for example trains from the Keikyuu line to continue its travel through the Asakusa line tracks and stations.
Been living in Tokyo since I was born but never thought of these stuff. What I love about Tokyo the most is the number and cleanliness of the public toilets, and all kinds of food you can choose to eat, for a fairly cheap price
You can even eat for free since some places offer "free rice, self service" :D Not that I would do it, but technically it's possible. Yes convenience, comfort and food prices are really good.
Tokyo=🤮🤮 Seoul is the best city
damn i've always wanted to visit , one day!
Additional things the video doesn't touch:
- Tokyo's many transport hubs came about from a previous ban on railways from going inside the Yamanote Loop, so they all terminate on the Yamanote Line and the areas became CBDs. Kinda like how London's King's Cross, Euston, Waterloo, London Bridge came to being.
- Zoning, which the video almost touches. Japanese zoning is way more flexible, and allows for mixed use by default, thus making doing chores really convenient. In this regard it's actually less designed than the overly rigid Euclidian zoning that pervades America.
- Transit service patterns, which should be more important than the trains as the video focused heavily about. While the metro stops at all stations, JR has some express services on the commuter lines. The private rail companies have even more express service patterns.
- And the creme de la crop that makes Tokyo's transit network #1 is the integration in infrastructure. Many private railways have compatible track gauge, loading gauge, and electrification with each other and the metro, or rather, the metro specced their lines to be compatible with the private railways on the periphery. This allows the metro to physically connect and integrate their lines and stations with the private railways, resulting in through running between the lines.
Therefore, metro trains can run beyond their trackage and onto the private railways and goes into the suburbs, and likewise private railway trains can go beyond their termini and into the metro tunnels in the center of the city, oftentines to the other end and onwards onto a _third_ railway company's tracks. This reduce the need to transfer between trains, thus help avoid overcrowding on stations. Not that those didn't happen though.
On the Asakusa Line, you could have like 6 companies using the metro tracks, including the inter-airport service between Haneda and Narita simply because the rails are physically connected via the Asakusa Line.
- Lastly, let's touch on storm management. Edogawa River was manmade, diverting water from Sumida River which flows through the city center. Further upstream, they diverted the majority of the flow from Tone River eastward to Ibaraki instead of southward to Edo Bay, artificially making Tone River the longest in Japan. And, of course, the giant underground cistern.
That said, parts of Tokyo are actually below sea level and would be affected by sea level rise.
Single family house zoning is the bane of US/Canada. The average Suburbia is nothing but endless rows of McMansions combined with a huge mall somewhere in the outskirts(+massive parking lots). It's almost as if the country is built exclusively for cars and not humans.
@@wigglyk2796 I absolutely agree, it was one of the factors that made leave North America
We are likely on the same page in general, but I have to nitpick on "less designed" as to me it sounds way worse than you probably intended.
Being flexible in zoning is and has always been better by design, and has nothing to do with being "less" designed. Flexibility is a choice that gives more freedom to design. You don't get as much say on what the exact end result is but you get better results as flexibility allows for change over time unlike the rigid zoning that never changes - until made flexible out of necessity.
Having lived in Tokyo I can clearly tell you that rail companies weren't blocked but more like didn't have the land to build into the inner core. A list the following lines that travel inside the Yamanote sen:
The JR Chūō-Sōbu sen with both local and rapid service
The Toei Asakusa sen
The Toei Mita sen
The Toei Shinjuku sen
The Toei Oedo Sen
The Tokyo Metro Ginza sen
The Tokyo Metro Marunouchi sen
The Tokyo Metro Hibiya sen
The Tokyo Metro Tozai sen
The Tokyo Metro Chiyoda sen
The Tokyo Metro Yurakucho sen
The Tokyo Metro Hanzomon sen
The Tokyo Metro Namboku sen
The Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin sen
The Toden Arakawa sen
And as you stated, many lines are running on some of these Toei and Tokyo Metro lines as well. In fact you can take a single Keisei sen train from Haneda Airport and go right through Metro Tokyo (there is no such thing as a city called Tokyo) using the Toei Asakusa sen and arrive at Narita Airport.
I agree, zoning is also a hugely important factor that contributes to Tokyo's success. It's such simple common sense when you think about it. Looking at the very rigid zoning that happens in many other countries, you can see why cars become an absolute necessity.
Ironically cities often benefit by disasters. THE San Francisck earthquake of 1906 allowed for a lot of redesign. The great Chicago fire destroyed a lot of slum livestock areas and helped Chicago become a leading center of urban architecture. Tokyo was largely destroyed in 1944-45 and that allowed a lot of newer redesign. This isn't saying those events were good, its just a fact that sometimes events that destructive lead to amazing rebirth. If you watch a forest over time after a fire, its the same effect.
I know you aren't implying this but I'd imagine with how much infrastructure cities have setup now, that it wouldn't have this effect.
The forest fire analogy is great. Of course, none of those disasters were good and we would definitely not want things like that happen to us. Like the forest fire however, the good thing is the plants that don't get sunlight are able to grow and a new ecosystem is born.
…. And then destructive again
@@SideSwipe239 I live in a place with lots of active volcanoes, earthquakes and tsunamis. That's always a possibility. That's nature.
Yeah, at the cost of millions of life.
Nice video, but I do have one major issue: the title is totally misleading. You focused entirely on describing general aspects of the public transport system , but that does not tell me why Tokyo is well designed. At most, what one can gather from this video is that they have a good public transport system.
I expected you to talk about urban planning, how the layout of the subway lines and the location of the stations make for a more efficient operation of the subway system, how other means of public transportation make up for the deficiencies of cars and subway (beside cost), city regulations regarding location and size of certain types of buildings, placement of public areas, etc.
Same. So many other videos already exist that praise the various aspects of Japan's rail system, so I was hoping for the backstory on how it came to be.
Maybe something along the lines like the government's decision to privatize the system (+ the reasons for such), the various companies and their dealings with each other (+ their reasons for such), etc.
Instead, there is nothing new in this video that you can't already find somewhere else... Too bad.
@@_Meng_Lan I think if you have everything close by and you have an excellent rail transport system, you don't need a car. Not to mention that the cyclist there is respected, so you still have the option of getting around by bike.
Yeah. What the hell? Leaving a dislike
Damn I thought that’s what this video was going to be about
Well one thing can be answered:
Japan doesn't look like a concrete desert full of empty parking lots.
I lived in Tokyo before the 2011 earthquake. I went home drunk one time, took a seat on a beach when I got off the train. When I arrived home, I realize my bag was missing. I went back hurriedly and found my bag on the same beach. Tokyo subway is the best - efficient, clean and safe.
Surely you meant bench 😂
@@destituteanddecadent9106 Dude is still drunk writing the comment 😅😂
This also really is not limited to Tokyo. I stayed with a friend in a suburb (a subway accessible suburb, of course) outside of Osaka a couple years back. It was just so easy to get anywhere . When we took a trip to Tokyo, I was amazed that the same card worked. Imagine that in America
@@arturobuco Which 3rd world countries exactly? Genuinely curious.
@@MM-gt9uy America wouldn't even make it on a top 50 list of best/most efficient public transportation systems in the world. America is continuously making its way into the spotlight for having some of the worst public transportation out of developed countries. Its a shame. Annually, hundreds of millions of dollars wasted if not billions depending on state and yet it's a disaster. Japan, singapore, hong kong, etc... is an entirely different realm of ease of transport.
@@alexfrank5331 Uruguay.
one thing gm and insurance companies are afraid of
Even worse than Pyongyang. Pyongyang transportation still way cleaner and better than any US public transport.
I worked as an intern at a public train company in southern Brazil. There is also preventive maintenance here. Every 6 months a composition is dismantled, parts documented and the entire train is reassembled. Culture inherited by a partnership with Japanese private companies. Thanks for this video.
In my opinion, São Paulo has one of the best Metro systems in the world. Albeit very busy, it is very efficient and clean. It rates right up there with Madrid, Moscow or Tokyo.
Pq vcs dois brs conversando em inglês mkkk
@@tioroquisem1 'cause they can...
@@zacky5315 Ketoreli niijas moin te kar😆
@@edinnorthcarolina--ovelhog5786 Yeah but in comparison, Sao Paulo traffic is HELL
As a resident of Tokyo, i have to say that it's way more expensive to own a car. In Tokyo, we must have a proof of parking lot in order to literally buy a car. The parking garage or lots are super expensive. Almost the price of a Studio apartment. On top of that, insurance, tune ups, oil changes,monthly payments and gasoline ⛽ or electric car charges. In other hand, in Japan, companies pay your monthly public transportation fees as a part of your employment benefits. So it really doesn't matter where you live, and majority of married or families live outskirts of Tokyo where housing are affordable. So it was common for people to commute 2 hours each way to their jobs. But things changed with COVID, and now a lot of people can telecommute and want to live further.....for better lifestyle, more spaces and nature.
...and shaken (safety inspection tax)
how about motorcycles? is the situation same with owning cars?
Private vehicles are only really needed the public transport is utter sht. Good thing the Japanese government is doing a lot of right things in comparison to other nations where the government just eats up it's own people, pocketing most of the money, with little to no development or improvements in infrastructures.
Yeah, I live in one, Philippines. But it's getting better now with the new President Duterte and about to go even better with the future President Marcos.
I was curious about the cost of using the trains, you say your employer usually pays for that? that's great
So to quote the environmentalists: "reject car, embrace bike"
As a non-Japanese speaking visitor, Japan public transportation is one of the best and visitor friendly. Its so easy to use and navigate. I freaking love it!
Singapore is technically better, but that's because it's really small and is an entire independent country
Contrast that with the trains in Vienna, which are so confusing that it has to have been intentional.
I was in Tokyo at the end of a two-week trip in Japan. I didn't feel like I HAD to see any more sights, so me and my friend just split and each went our own way. Getting on random metro's and wandering the streets of Tokyo was an absolutely magical experience. You'd think a city of that size would be overwhelming, but you turn one or two corners from a busy street, and it's so quiet it feels like a provincial town
true
I feel very happy to hear that ... although I'm a random Japanese who do not contribute to the transportation system at all ^^
This video doesn’t really get into what about the design of the city makes it more efficient and brilliantly built. It simply goes into information about various means of transportation and rigorous maintenance of trains and their tracks and tunnels. There is also no data to provided to establish how the system compares to others.
I also expected a detailed explanation of what on the design makes it great. I know USA is a trafic nigthmare a has really poor design were streets are anti-human so I think it isn't a fair comparison.
I know 8 minutes are not much but it could have been better than just say "its gud bc yes"
There could have been more detail but I don't think it failed to explain what makes the design efficient. Basically 1) reliable, comprehensive public transport with a simple, unified system for using it, 2) tolls (and historical circumstances) that disincentivize car use and keep the roads friendly for walking and biking, and 3) good zoning so that one rarely needs to travel far from a station (versus in the US where things tend to be spread out because it's assumed people have cars)
Because it’s 9 minutes.
@Yeheng Music This is bait right?
@@Lucho2112 maybe that person is blind? He's not blind right?
It's so interesting how Tokyo, Japan has so few cars in comparison to its population, when Japan itself has a booming car manufacturing industry with Honda, Toyota, Mitsubishi, Suzuki, and so many more car companies.
Let me just add Isuzu, Nissan, Subaru, Mazda, Lexus and more.. 😁
That, along with a very strong IT sector and heavy trade with the world, explains why Japan is such a wealthy country.
"if it bothers you, make it a sale item."
ironic that japan is one of the biggest at exporting cars ,contributing to car dependency in other countries
@@berkexan4117 😂 Lmao... But on a side note, they're also one of the biggest manufacturers and exporters of trains. 😊
My entire life I grew up in the US seeing cities as chaotic messes that were noisy, crowded, and dangerous. I saw public transit as inefficient, irregular, and similarly unsafe.
Then I lived 4 months in the largest megacity in the world, and realized within a week that I was falling in love with an urban center for the first time. Everything was efficient, and for the first time in my life I found myself in a place where there were locations I wanted to go to, and I actually had the means and freedom to go there. Public transit was cheap, easy, and stress free (as long as I didn't need to travel during the morning rush). I wasn't bound by a car, or traffic, or parking spaces, or the fear that I was going to get into an accident. On top of everything else streets were also very clean despite there being far fewer trash can than anywhere I had ever been to in the USA.
I wanna add a disclaimer here that I'm not just a starry eyed foreigner who only sees the good in Japan. The society has as many issues as any other in the world. There are many legitimate reasons why many young (and now aging) people become hikikomori and just don't want to have to go outside and deal with the stresses of the outside world. On the topic of urban planning, however, Japan just cannot be beat -- Tokyo cannot be beat (although people I know who have been to Osaka scoff and beg to differ).
I'm from India I consider USA's Public Transport amazing also the infrastructure seems good too
Haha come to Bangladesh brother 😂
@@crobatgaming5661Well I assume it’s even worse in India, from the videos I’ve watched on TH-cam. I swear I haven’t seen any traffic lights on any Indian road
@@jmiquelmb 🤣🤣
I absolutely hate how you need a car in the US just to 'live'.
I studied abroad in Asia for a while, and the transportation could get you anywhere. I could play with my friends till 11pm and get home before midnight (cross-city). Everyone got on the same trains and you often could share a majority of the ride home. Making nightlife in the city very accessible and safe.
If you wanted me to give a downside, that is, during rush hours it's absolute hell. You could have to wait 1-2 trains because they are full. They do come every 5 minutes though, which is still better than me waiting 20 minutes in the US just to go 6 blocks.
Speaking of the US, this video reminded me of how horrible public transit is here... just going to a comicon without a car feels like I'm doing a cross country ride :/ I feel hermitted and trapped. I really hate how the system here is structured. Not only do you have to pay for a car, the gas, and maintenance, learn to drive, and insurance, you also need somewhere to park everywhere you go. You have to do everything AND pay for it. Contrary to Japan (and many other Asian cities), I feel the US wants the public transit to be less appealing :/ Just my opinion though.
well said
well said! Just want to add a point about rush hour. If they had to rely on car, I guess the rush hour would be far worse, given the population density.
the public transit system in the US used to be a lot more reliable in the early 1900s, and then the car companies took over.
the US sucks thats why
Because a lot of choices made in america were car centric.
They give you freedom to go where you want when you want after all. Such freedom, just don't get stuck again on the 9 line highway you do everyday.
It seems that the solution in american governments minds for problems is always, more roads...
Not, better train connections, not green zones that keep cars out of areas so they are easy walkable instead, nope.. more cars! More roads!
That's exactly what it felt like being there. I found the Tokyo metro to be easier to use and navigate (even with the language barrier) than the Oslo metro in my own capital which is way smaller yet i can never find my way there.
Japan seemed like a nice place to commute in, i was impressed by the railways as they even had any railways built outside of occupation... we have not (very few at least).
Well the signs do have English translations
@@miliba It's not a question of language. It seems Tokyo's rail network is physically easier and more logical to navigate.
As an American, I would be happy to have even a difficult metro system. Most of our cities don't have one at all.
Wow I guess you either lived really close to your office or your commute didn't include standing in jam packed trains during rush hour (even during the pandemic) and walking on a 1.5 hr commute one way. For most normal Japanese people in the Kanto region the reality is that commuting is absolute (*)(($#?!.
How did you have a hard time navigating the oslo metro. Its really easy
As a Tokyo resident, I agree with everything stated in this video. One thing to add though is that the pandemic of the last couple of years has tested the usage of public transport as a main transportation mode. Of course it helps that good zoning means that outside of commuting to work you can mostly do all your daily necessities within walking distance.
Yup. For most of the last two years during the pandemic I've worked from home out in the suburbs of Katsushika, and for months at a time I wouldn't have travelled more than a couple of kilometres away from home by foot. Supermarkets, electronic stores, DIY, restaurants, they're all scattered around nearby due to the really nice zoning laws. :)
Are public transportations during COVID empty? We all know how crammed subways are or were before covid. Curious if they had max limit on how many passangers can use the subway at once.
@@timbocracy It’s still going but all the windows are open so it’s very very noisy in the trains.
Can you explain more? Are there new rules about who can travel and when? Or do people just choose not to travel because of fear?
@@codeyfox622 it's basically a free for all. Everyone wears masks but the trains are still packed during rush hour.
I think it's underappreciated how typical Japanese train stations (the larger ones) are also shopping centers. For example Osaka Station and its surroundings are just mind blowing.
What I found confusing though is to figure out which type of train to take - so many different ones.
Oh, make no mistake it is intentional. These big train companies would buy those lands around the planned station and build their own shopping centers. Ever wondered why the Odakyu mall in Shinjuku shares the same name as the Odakyu train company...? yeah...
Ive always said: if the entirety of america could use Japan's transit system for a day or two, there would be overwhelming support to support train building in every city and a national line connecting these cities.
But that'd involve walking more than the 5 steps it usually take for people in get in their cars though so probably won't work as well in the states.
PREACH!! Even major European cities. Most people have no idea though :/
@@cirasarc4413 but thats a symptom of car dominated suburbia where its hard to walk anywhere and the vast majority of people who walk only do so cause they have no choice.
@@FlipsyFiona US suburbs are not designed for walking for sure. But my point is I still don't think people would immediately adapt to an efficient public transport right away. People would still be a bit lazy unless you make driving alot more costly and much much less efficient.
@@cirasarc4413 Sure. But you can't make change if nothing changes. A lot of the perceived 'laziness' of americans is once again due to the fact that its difficult, and sometimes even 'outright impossible', to walk places safely.
Basically, Americans aren't lazy but rather, the environment that has cultivated a culture of 'laziness'.
Before I left Bremerton, WA, it was a fantastic place to live and the closest thing to a 'walkable' suberb that I could think of. Wide sidewalks, bars and grocers no more than a 30 min walk max, and a ferry that connected Bremerton to Seattle.
And it showed: people walked and biked all the time. I loved my 20 minute walks to the local bars or arcade or any one of the restaurants I liked to eat at. And when I worked at the shipyard there, it was a 30 minute walk to work.
And getting to the airport was a solo adventure that didn't require me to get a taxi, friend, or car storage. I could literally just get on the ferry to seattle then take the lightrail train to the airport.
When you give people a reason to walk or bike or take public transport, they will. When you force peeps to drive, they will.
I feel qualified to speak on this as a Japanese American who was raised in NYC and has now lived in Tokyo for over 7 years. Agreed with what was said here but if I may add/clarify some points:
1) Tokyo’s subways and trains stop running every night sometime between midnight and 1am. First train is around 5am. So all the inspections and cleaning are done when trains aren’t running and stations are empty. NY’s subway system technically runs 24 hours. Tokyo provides night buses but people also literally sleep in the streets (and you don’t have to worry about being killed or raped or even have your stuff stolen) or in Internet cafes so the whole “stranded” issue doesn’t really present a problem. You can’t do the same thing in NY since sleeping in the streets is too risky and there aren’t cheap, safe, clean places to spend the night.
2) a big reason why Tokyo’s public transportation system can run on such tight schedules is because of manners. No one throws trash on the platforms or onto the tracks, so no accidents or fires occur because of trash. People get on and off in an orderly fashion so trains can arrive and leave very quickly. On buses, people follow the “use this door to get on and the other door to get off” rule to a T so buses can depart and leave efficiently too. If NY changed nothing in terms of infrastructure but just changed behavior, it would see dramatic improvements in timeliness.
3) working for Japan Rail is a respected and competitive job, and even if your aspirations lie in other areas of JR’s business (like land management or corporate strategy or whatnot) everyone is made to work as station staff in the first part of their career. So stations are staffed by college educated, future potential leaders of one of Japan’s biggest companies. No disrespect to the MTA station staff but the caliber of staff is different.
4) I do agree that NY is more walkable than Tokyo. Like Tokyo is very walkable and cars being quiet (better roads, newer cars, no honking) make it a more pleasant walking experience but the roads are rather a maze and traffic lights can be insufferably long so I do miss those days of walking around manhattan where if you are going north/south you hardly ever have to stop to cross the street and you never need a map to know where you are going. Tokyo is simply impossible to navigate without maps because of the maze like quality of its streets and as someone who loves to walk but hates having to look at a phone, I do miss that about NY.
EDIT: been getting some questions and will answer two of them:
1) cost of living and air pollution is BETTER in Tokyo compared to NY. These are factual things you can research so won’t go into detail here but let’s suffice it to ask: what kind of place can you live and what would the commute into Manhattan be like if your budget was $1000? In Tokyo that is very average, normal and doable. As for the air: newer cars and fewer cars. ‘Nuff said.
2) the packed trains. I don’t commute to work so I can’t tell from personal experience, but I agree that the commuter from the UES to midtown was never jam packed. I think the issue with this may be Japanese corporate culture where everyone has to start their work at 9am. Whereas in NY, there is more diversity of what time jobs start, thus dispersing the crowds. But the biggest reason is sheer size - the Tokyo metropolitan area (the area where people commute into central Tokyo to work) is the largest in the world by both size and population. NY is rather dinky in comparison.
3) a lot of people are claiming Tokyo has a lot of rape but can these people actually come with data? I would be shocked if Tokyo has higher or even the same number of rape cases per capita compared to NY. If we include dating and marital rape and start to debate “oh well it’s not reported in Japan because blah blah” then that’s a different issue - we are literally talking about how safe and warm (literally, temperature wise) Tokyo streets are compared to NY. So yeah if you want to claim Tokyo has high rape rates, come with data.
@@missplainjane3905 do your own homework
1 About sleeping on the street is not true, Tokyo does have a lot of rape cases
@@lakzerk2344 Would say there are safer places to spend the night at low cost, provided you've not been spiked, followed, or taken elsewhere. Think we should be careful of creating a false sense of security and safety for visitors to Tokyo and Japan more broadly. Not being able to get home without an eyewatering taxi fare after last public transport certainly doesn't help.
@@F30_bpdr Geez, that's harsh. Those questions were just asking for someone's opinion. Try to relax.
@@Daisy-el4tr Quite a few female have been stalked in Japan/Tokyo while live streaming it
Japanese pond house is something I have always wanted to make. I think that is the name a pond in the middle and house around it. Japanese people have really good designing skills.
Just consider how much of a waste of space that is.
@@carlosandleon but it’s nature you are brining into the house. It’s like leaving green space in front and behind the house but in the middle.
@@Thebreakdownshow1 I would put a second story and use the space. The ground floor can have the pond.
@@carlosandleon fair enough the. We can be neighbours lol
If you were to build that within a short commute of Tokyo you'd have to be a USD multi-millionaire, if not billionaire to afford it.
My first night in Tokyo (with serious jet-lag) I walked everywhere, all night long. I had no idea where I was going. I just walked. And in retrospect, I did it right, staying on well-lit commercial nightlife streets and crowded ally-ways. I played Pachinko in a colorful bright-lights gaming area straight out of Blade Runner. I ate snacks from carts. I passed many Izakayas and bars, as well crowds, couples, singles and hawkers. At one point I even entered an area filled with strip clubs and little hotels. If it was a red-light district then it was like none I'd ever seen: no street walkers, no adult bookstores, and no porn-movie screening-bunkers. But it was lively so I went into a club. I won't describe what I saw, but the scene was loud, crowded and crazy. After that I continued my walk until dawn, when I ended up at a Shinto Shrine set in a huge beautiful garden-park. I rang the bell, ate a snack at a noodle cart, and took the METRO back to my hotel where a morning buffet awaited (along with my mother). Later, after reviewing a map, I realized that I had covered many miles and numerous designated areas; even though it was just a tiny portion of Tokyo Metropolitan. So, is Tokyo a good walking city? For me it was. It really was.
You're not gonna get mugged too.
I wish street walkers were punished more in the U.S. Can't stand the mortal sin of lust.
Now that's the way to travel and explore!
@@catholicfemininity2126 Yeah man, our focus should be to live a fulfilling life for the sake of God. A lot of men taken victim by lust and they go no where in life.
That sounds really fun, I wish to go there someday 😕
Totally agree, Japan's mass transit system is total genius. I've been stationed here for 3 years, and totally love it. You really do not need a car to get across Japan at all. The way their system is interconnected, you could get across the entire country in a day just from how efficient it is.
@@JessieR2023
Actually, Japan is about the size of California in comparison. The smallest state in the US is Rhode Island.
Great, allow people to actually use their cars and the story will be much much less in favor of mass transit.
@@dell051lt Which RI happens to be about the size of greater Tokyo, funnily enough.
@@MisoElEven If I had access to public transit that good, I'd give up my car in a flash. I hate driving.
@@teneillesw.4312 plus it’s much cheaper
I lived in Japan for a year and went to Tokyo twice. I ended up being the one in charge of getting myself and my fellow friends around where we wanted to go because they didn’t feel comfortable trying to interpret the language barrier in order to get from point A to point B. Well, in fact, Tokyo is incredibly easy to get around even if you don’t know how to speak or read the local language because they usually have a lot of English accommodations, but most importantly the color coding system they use is incredibly intuitive. I thoroughly enjoyed mapping our way around and it was such a pleasurable experience navigating through such a profound metropolis.
My wife and I have plans in the future to visit Tokyo, and I can’t wait to go back and show her the unrivaled joy that is experiencing Tokyo. From the countless convenience stores with really yummy snacks and foods, to the endless amounts of goods and services that are also provided along the way, all with a hospitality that is a novelty in and of itself, it is by far one of the best experiences I’ve had in my 27 years of life.
I love Tokyo.
Yup Madison, NJ to Manhattan tooks 1-3 hours.
I love the trains in Japan. Doesn’t take too long to figure out and so convenient. Plus, the bullet trains are AMAZING. Despite their speed, it’s such a smooth ride! It kills me knowing that we’ll probably never have train systems even CLOSE to Japan’s (Or China or Germany’s) in the US thanks to lobbyist and oil companies. 🙄
Funny to read that about Germany haha. Im from there and nearly everyone here talks about how bad the train system works here. Japan and China seem to do it really well tho.
@@butzschelle2799 You can take solace in knowing that your train system is still better than that of the U.S.
Man, imagine if there is a bullet train across America, that would be amazing
I think the main reason the US wont ever have anything like that is not because of lobbyists or oil companies but for a reason a lot more simpler and that is it wouldn't be profitable. Americans love their cars and freedom too much.
@@johnmknox The idea that americans prefer cars and that cars=freedom is a massive lie thats been pushed on us by big oil and car corporations since 1910. And I'm not just saying that, its something that actually happened. They spent millions and millions of dollars to kill inner city trams and trains and to convince you that owning a car was some kind of status symbol, all so they would make more money.
Cars shackle you to car payments, car insurance, gas prices, maintenance and rush hour traffic. They are the opposite of freedom. Ask anyone in Japan or China what they think of their highspeed rail systems, they love them. They're efficient, fast, green and reliable.
I love Japan. Rail way is affordable and easy to use - directional signs are intuitive and visible from afar. Public toilets are clean. Fancy restaurants are more affordable than most metropolis cities - no need to pay for extras like service or tax in addition to the prices displayed on the menu. I can have decent and healthy meals for a day for less than USD$12. Houses/apartments may be small but well-equipped with amenities to make living comfortable. There are all types of shops in a nieghbourhood to make your living easy - groceries, optical, gym, parks, cafes, pet/human clinics, drug store etc. I'm staying in Tokyo for 3 months and can settle in so easily.
what feels so great about Tokyo is that you are capable of getting/doing almost everything you need/want with your two legs, within easy and short walking distance. the world at your finger tips. I felt so empowered when I lived in Tokyo and could walk everywhere.
Yeah, you get that benefit when you train people that having no personal space and living on top of each other is somehow ideal.
@@sweatpants235 ??
That's literally any major city. Here in NYC, walking IS how we get around.
@al First, I know how to spell, "spoiled". And it isn't "spoilt", lol. Second, I live in a city of nearly 600,000 and metro area of nearly 1.5 million, but we're not conditioned to believe it's awesome to be stacked on top of each other in 700sf cubes just because we we think it's hip that we can walk to the Starbucks. I value not being jammed together 15K-30K people per square mile and not living on top of each other in conditions no human being was created to live in. You've given up all the normalcy of what it is to live as humans with any kind of personal space and you think that's a positive. It's sad.
This probably why Japan has a low obesity rate cuz people walk everywhere
When I got off the airplane at LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) and then walked down to the make-shift tents to wait for my uber or to a dystopian-looking bus stop to catch a bus, I felt like a second-class citizen. Tokyo and LA are night and day.
Living in LA, I can agree with you. Granted, LAX as a whole is being renovated, with the finished product still being almost four years away, but I completely agree. It's a testament to just how bad American transit infrastructure is.
@@TornaitSuperBird Dear god it’s actually going to take that long? That is absolutely ridiculous. American transit infrastructure really is appalling. It takes so long for even the smallest changes to happen. Even construction here in the UK seems to be faster.
When I got back to LA I was embarrassed
Absolutely agree. US infrastructure is just shameful.
@@danielwhyatt3278 Blame regulations and bureaucratic work. Even when we reached out to European and Asian companies to help build up our infrastructure they ultimately bailed out because they realized how much regulation is in the system. In the end countries in Europe and Asia had a much easier time to build up infrastructure due to the lack of political discourse in such discussions, big unions, and the fact that well majority of Asia and Europe was burned down during WW2.
Tokyo’s train network is astounding. I was able to use it to get home after many nights of drinking and partying in different parts of the city. The Yamanote line is very special to me as if you fall asleep on it you might wake up just before your station, having unknowingly ridden the whole loop.
Oh man. That has happened to me on the Yamanote Line. I was clubbing in Shibuya and then hit up at bar for a small after party at 5am. Walked to Don Quijote and got some hydrations then took the Yamanote at 6am and woke up at 8am, confused as hell. The workers who woke me up thought I was shit faced and had a medic on hand. I explained to them in my best Japanese that I was just super tired (wasn't wasted at all, thankfully). Man, I miss Tokyo, I miss Japan so, so, so much.
@ Erik Campbell where are you from??
What? It closes at 12AM. I lived on the outskirts (Kawagoe) and we usually had to party till morning when the trains started back.
Tokyo=🤮🤮 Seoul is the best city
I was only in Tokyo for two weeks but I took the subway everyday to go 2 hour round trips at least. It was so convenient and reliable, I’d absolutely prefer it over my own car any day if it exists where I live.
You can go to NYC and you can travel anywhere by the subway too.
@@RiseUpToYourAbility As long as you can cope with a 20 minute delay, piss puddles, giant rats, followed lastly by getting pushed onto the tracks.
@@AlCatSplat along with mass shooting maniacs prowling in the trains
@@AlCatSplat We can all tell you're not from NYC
I was also in Japan for two weeks (5 diff cities tho) and the transit system was the best!
its amazing that Japan still has a well known and celebrated car culture despite all this, truly a demonstration of how making sensible decisions doesn't mean your hobby is ruined, because the sensible decisions don't restrict peoples freedoms, it grants everyone more freedom.
Very true, plus public transit benefits those who do drive, by having less traffic. In America people assume that people who advocate for public transit are trying to take cars away, but in reality it's about allowing different options that benefits everyone.
😢
@@toffeebeanzI honestly want to feel the same, but after conversing and seeing with some people advocating for public transit and bash cars, it doesn't seem to be that way. Some people seem to be vehemently against cars and want them erased. I hope that some context is lost and that my perception is mistaken. Heck, some people absolutely adore a "No cars" policy.
The topic has become very polarizing, almost like American politics. It seema like you cannot be in between like a boring moderate.
@@madensmith7014 Only the right pushes against public transit why don't they stop
Your experience might be different, but I have never heard anybody on the right push against public transport. Many I'm sure would love to use and see your public transport system function well. But that is IF it can compete with car use fairly without throwing every possible restriction and tax against the car user they can to make the public system work. That is what they oppose.
Even supposedly the greatest public transport system in the world (as seen in this video) needs to heavily penalize car use to tilt the system in its favor to make it work.
On the other side however I see more and more frequent expressions of absolute hatred of car users and increasing efforts for their complete eradication with many anti-car laws and restrictions already well under way.@@toffeebeanz
To further explain why the trip from Boston to Washington DC takes that long: In the USA, passenger trains actually have to yield to freight trains since a lot of the rail ownership that Amtrak uses belong to the freight companies. There will be periods in the trip where the train will crawl to 10 mph or come to a complete stop, and most of the time, that's freight traffic ahead.
By federal regulation, Amtrak is priority traffic even if over traffic from the company that owns the line. By saying Amtrak is "yielding" it implies that Amtrak is allowing a freight train priority to the right of way. When, i think what you mean is, Amtrak is stuck behind slower moving traffic due to (intentional or not) scheduling issues. I think the term Amtrak uses is "freight interference"
End result to the consumer is still effectively the same, but one set of terms is accusing the freight companies of doing something illegal (which amtrak has very much publicly accused) instead of a more nefarious and frustrating loophole the freight companies think theyre utilizing
This does get a less believable over time as all the major railroads have switched to precision scheduling, so they shouldve sorted that out. Its a whole pissing contest
And from my tiny experience, the US generally has 1 track that is used for trains going in both directions and Japan (in which I only know through videos) tends to have 1 track per direction. All this to say that the US passenger rail system isn't efficient.
You're true about Amtrak having to yield on most lines, but here's the issue:
The Boston to DC trip is on the Northeast Corridor, almost exclusively operated by Amtrak and local government passenger services. They have full control over operation, and large freight hasn't existed on the line since the 1980's. Small freight trains exist, but they don't have higher priority. Amtrak has the highest priority here.
Even with this in mind, Amtrak's service is much slower and expensive on the corridor than a plane. Maybe it has to do with Amtrak having no rail competition due to it being a government monopoly, thus is unwilling to make service faster and cheaper.
@@BalticoYT The trains are capable of doing 150mph, which they reach in rural Rhode Island and Massachusetts, and Amtrak is planned to replace them with a 180mph capable train this year. The main problem would be the age of the track and it’s many curves that limit the train to an average speed of 80mph on the route. New York to Boston is much slower than New York to DC because the track north of NY is much older and less straight. Straightening the track would require cutting through neighborhoods, a legal nightmare in many places.
@@BalticoYT to be fair, local flights in Japan are cheaper than the fast long distance trains too
As a Japanese, I'm happy to receive praise for our city's railways.
But you should know a fatal problem (or you may already know it, but), the deadly crowd of the morning and the evening. It's a hell time of the day.
Same in every country in the world.
@@vinogs651 but you dont get packed as Sardines like they do in Japan. they packed the trains so much that they need to push people in order for the door to barely even close
"Tokyo Compression"
you can say that again.
@@vinogs651 no you cant actually.
Still boggles my mind why we decided to put the most important city for commerce and economic activity on the east coast… on a goddamn island with only three entry’ ways to and from NJ 😑
Used to be that most commerce was with Europe, so that's why New York developed as it had. On the other hand, Los Angeles is now a major commercial center, and it's even worse designed than New York
The west coast of Japan used to get two metres (yards) of snow every winter. Not powder, but the wet heavy variety of snow. That's why most of the commerce decided to locate on the less snowy side of Japan.
And Erie Canal, which connected the Midwest and its vast oceans of grain to the Atlantic and the manufactures made in Europe and the US East Coast via the Hudson River
hope these kind ppl in da comments unboggled your mind on the matter B)
Yes, this was totally something that the entire country planned out and definitely didn't arise naturally. 🤦♂️
Btw highway pricing is not ridiculous. It's what the roads really cost! It's surprising how expensive road infrastructure is to build and maintain.
Yes, especially once you take away subsidies from the cities
right! idk if expressways are free in other countries but here in my country, we definitely have to pay for it, same rate as the one in Tokyo.
Exactly a lot of countries use it... In France it's called "péages routiers" don't know why it was that important as a "disadvantage"
It is ridiculous, families that create future tax payers are more likely to use those systems, cities are where the population dies, there is no sustainability in that.
The problem is that the state makes you pay a lot of taxes "to sustain the roads" also. At least in my country, Spain, they say that. So you overpay.
What amazed me during my sojourn in Tokyo was the ease of getting around even without understanding much Japanese. The system almost aligned with human intuition, once you grasp the underlying design principle. Japanese common sense delivers results that other developed countries often throw money and technology at with inferior results. I think Asia has a lot to learn from the US and the US also has a lot to learn from Asia, particularly where sustainability is concerned.
exactly
Yes Japan got no corruption in these projects and so was able to put the right people in charge, so they made the city transportation system so well.
I can say this because I'm Japanese, but the big stations in Tokyo are really labyrinths.
The first time I went to Shibuya, it took me about an hour to get out of the station.
I felt like I was playing an escape game or something.
No offense to Tokyo but the metro system was extremely difficult to work with and involves walking a lot, in my experience. I imagine people from the US or London are not used to seeing a transportation system that works.
@@RevolutionaryLoser London has tube lol
@@mango-strawberry Yes. I said "transporportation system that works" going into the London tube is like walking into a third world country. It's hands down the worst public transport I've ever suffered through.
@@RevolutionaryLoser ahh well
Tokyo trains and stations are clean, safe, efficient. With my asuica card loaded in my hand and a good app in my mobile I travelled all over Tokyo with confidence.
@@MM-gt9uy Looks like you’ve never seen Gare du Nord in Paris huh…
@@MM-gt9uy Have you ever been to the train stations in New York? Its scary to say the least. Dirt, grime, and crime.
It's exactly the same in the netherlands
I always thought we had a HUGE over population problem in Canada living in my city. ONE WEEK IN TAIPEI and I realized we don't have a population problem, we have a population management problem in Canada. I have great respect for how cities on that side of the world are built and designed to handle large, dense populations without the city (not the people, the city) being hostile to living there the way North American cities are.
Which Canadian city do you feel has a population problem?
Total Canadian population = 38.01 Million, Total Tokyo population = 38.47 Million. Canada = 9.985 million km²; Tokyo = 13,500 km2. No indeed Canada the second largest country in the world does NOT have an "over population" problem. Greater Tokyo has more people in it with perfect sanitation, sewage, and traffic systems. Big population are not a problem, but greedy rich, selfish, lazy, destructive, criminal people and the like are a problem. Billionaires and Mega Companies buying up all the available land is a problem, rich countries buying up all the oil, water and food are a problem which is creating inequity, scarcity and poverty throughout the world.
over population in canada? lmao
Yes, a mild one. I am aware were doing much better than the places with Over Population Disasters or Over Population Catastrophes. But we need to recognize that we have issues in Canada too and take the steps to address them sooner rather than later. While Canada can fix our issues with changing city design and dont have to go to extremes like the one child policy China instituted for a while.
LOL
Population density of Canada = 3.92 people per km2. Canada is the 10th least densely populated country in the world. Our urban population is no more than 3 to 5% of our total land mass. The rest is agricultural or wilderness.
Tokyo traffic actually isn't a nightmare at all, due to the very low rate of car ownership. It's actually easy to drive all over the city.
The 'nightmare' of Tokyo traffic is not the number of car on the road but the number of toll. Go watch again.
Apart from insane toll, finding an affordable place to live with enough parking space is also not ideal in Tokyo. That's why having a car is not always a benefit which makes public transportation in Tokyo even more valuable.
It can feel like a nightmare to people used to how quickly you can make the same trip with the train.
@@PRT976 those tolls aren't insane, they just reflect the true cost of driving more accurately. Those of us in the US are too used to the fact that our roads are (mostly) free, which means they need a shit-ton of subsidies.
@@davm6505 yeah true, but just as far as regular urban big city traffic goes, Tokyo is pretty good.
As a person living here for a pretty long time (around 10+ years) I can confirm most comments and it’s nice to see the love for Japan.
I was told that Central J-Rail (tokyo's J rail operator) makes a significant percentage of its profit from the rentals on properties it owns, and that when it and other sections of JRail were privatised it only got the land that the track and stations are on hence why many surface stations (such as on the Yamanote line) have multi-level buildings with shopping and office space above them and that also encouraged them to build the huge underground shopping malls that nominally act as undercover pedestrian access but in reality are huge shopping malls some of which I've gotten lost in, not just once but several times (the best example I recall was the one under Osaka's main station that seem to go on for miles)
not complaining - I lived near Ebisu station and I could almost do everything shopping or dining wise from a full grocery shop to beer and burger between getting off my train and leaving the station grounds for my 5 minute walk home
Ah yes, I love that maze under JR Osaka. I once at two bowls of ramen at a restaurant there and basically shocked the master of the establishment.
I used to live in Osaka and worked in Umeda where the maze of underground tunnels and malls is. I love it. Japanese cities make such fantastic use of space. Now I’m in Shanghai and I often think about how much subway station space is wasted and how sterile and characterless they are in comparison. Give me a labyrinth of restaurants, bars, shops and bookstores any day. I miss Osaka so much.
Ow...so that's why🤔.
@@earthenjadis8199 if it's the same ramen place as Im thinking of that's quite an achievement 1 bowl was pretty filling two would have been... belt busting
Actually the main rail company in The Kanto area is JR East. The main urban area covered by JR Central is Nagoya. The Shin Kansen service from Tokyo to Osaka is operated by JR Central, that heading north from Tpkyo by JR East.
Tokyo traffic in my experience isn’t nearly as bad as you’ve made it out here. Also never heard of an expressway pass and I have driven from one end of Honshu to the other. Expressways are also completely optional and are only marginally faster than taking other roads when commuting. Long distance they are much faster, but less scenic and ultimately, less fun. You also can often travel between certain destinations quicker by car than by rail in Tokyo and the greater Tokyo area in general. I commute by car. 20 minutes by car, 45 by train/walking.
you commute using the central tokyo highway? doesn't that make it super expensive? from the times you explained I'm assuming you're commuting from one side of tokyo to the other, in which case i agree it's much faster (and the highways in tokyo have a great view) but the price of them makes it not worth it for me.
I imagine that the 'expressway pass' was an ETC subscription.
That's the whole point tho, if not for the huge investment in public transport all those people would also be driving cars.
Ok yes, but I think what the video and also you forgot to say it's how expensive it is to simply own a car, parking lot spaces being as expensive as studio apartments (in Tokyo, not sure about other cities) and of course insurance, gasoline, maintenance... With the fact that usually your employer pays for the Suica/Pasmo subscription no matter where you live, it's easily understandable why people choose to take the metro/train. I am also with you on the fact that expressways are really not that fun. But of course, if you can afford and you like to drive you do you :)
Thank you!
The expression “city of Tokyo” usually refers to the 23 wards (ku) that constitute the city proper. In 1943, however, this city ceased to exist as an administrative unit and was subsumed within the larger Tokyo metropolis, which includes rural and mountainous regions west of the city and the Izu Islands, stretching southward from the mouth of Tokyo Bay, and the Bonin (Ogasawara) Islands, some 500 miles (800 kilometres) to the southeast in the Pacific Ocean.
(Source: Encyclopedia Britannica).
I think its also notable that English terminology and usage towards Tokyo is going to be inconsistent because Tokyo is not an English speaking city, nor are most English speakers interested in Japanese municipal systems. English speakers, when we say Tokyo, usually refer to the Greater Tokyo Area, or Shutoken, and absolutely not Toukyou-shi (City of Tokyo) nor Toukyou-to (Metropolis of Tokyo). Any expectation for an English video to use Japanese terminology (which frankly the Japanese often call the whole thing Tokyo as well) correctly for prefectures, is frankly preposterous. It just doesn't matter at all for the target audience.
@@fearedjames It's still interesting to know.
@@SilverDemon456 Perhaps, but a lot of things are interesting to know, when you make an educational video you inevitably have to decide what it is your teaching and what is important to say.
Personally I'd of used "Greater Tokyo Area", but really, no one is confusing Tokyo for anything but that anyway.
I cannot possibly love Tokyo and Japan more than I already do, it’s the perfect place to live a safe yet exciting life.
The exception to this, is when you try to use it pushing a stroller with a baby in it. Getting out of Shibuya station, requires taking 3 different elevators in completelly different areas AND you need to wait a couple of turns at least for each elevator.
Yeah, that's one of the problems with Japanese thinking. They are generally not very considerate to people who are different or have special needs. To their credit, everyone else tries their best to fit-in, so in that sense (as in when you go with the flow), their system is very efficient.
Yes, even single line subway stations often have only one elevator in an inconvenient location. It's great for adults to get exercise but not parent friendly, And heaven forbid one of your kids starts to cry or go fussy on the train. (That's not a problem with the transportation system, though.)
Same here. I was laughing when the video said train is faster than cars. It took my family of 4 20 minutes to walk to/from the platform because of the elevators. I even need to carry the stroller down the stairs at times otherwise I would need to go to a different exit and walk 15 more mins ...
Yes Tokyo and other Japanese cities had the golden opportunity to rebuild after being razed to the ground during WW2, but let's not overlook the impressive foresight they had in rebuilding their cities to be WALKABLE, dense, sensibly zoned, and not overly dependent on super wide roads and car traffic. Also they did well to build a massive amount of housing to meet (and in some cases exceed) postwar demand.
@@MM-gt9uy You invented trains, true. Your trains however are straight garbage compared to Japan's 😂.
@@MM-gt9uy The Brits invented trains...(I hope you're British)
@@MM-gt9uy Americans didnt invent the trains lol
It was more because of the Great Kanto Earthquake of 1923 that almost leveled the entire city. This gave the opportunity to really start with a clean slate. The Yamanote loop was started in 1927 and finished by 1932. Many of the private rail lines made their connections around that time with the restriction that they were not allowed to expand inside the Yamanote loop. That's why, until recently, all private lines terminated at Yamanote line stations.
@@MM-gt9uy Japan is at least 10 years ahead into the future. The US ironically 10 years behind...
This video only really scratches the surface of the greatness of Tokyo. The video doesn't mention other rapid transit systems in Tokyo, through service, zoning and transit oriented development. This is what really makes Tokyo great.
Tokyo has the best transport system I've ever experienced. Also, people always show videos of Shinjuku or Shibuya, that are crowded because it's the business center, but if you go anywhere else, it's way less crowded. I was surprised how peaceful and empty it was. And the best part is that even when it's crowded, for example in the train during rush hour, it's still quiet!! People respect the right for others to be able to relax or sleep or just have peace. Amazing times, and I'll definitely go back ASAP.
individualism in the west = the right to annoy others.
I’m visiting Tokyo, and it’s exactly how you said. People in the west often mention about the videos we see on tv of people being crammed by staff inside a crowded train, but so far I’ve been traveling at all hours and no crowd at all, it’s just efficient and fluid. Japanese people are so well behaved too, they form lines at the moment without being asked anytime there’s a need to organize multitudes. It’s my favorite public transportation experience and I’ve visited many large European cities like Paris or London.
@@brmbkl ...ruining the fun of forming strong and beautiful communties.
Thank you for your content, OBF!
Thank you for your support!
@@OBFYT Good video, but why do you keep on comparing with New York. The NY system is really bad. London is a lot better with similar Stations to the Japanese ones.
Like Kings Cross St Pancras on about 6 different levels. With local, and Inter city trains, plus Eurostar continental. You've got cut and cover subway and deep underground lines, Victoria, Piccadilly, and Northern. Local buses, regional, and National buses and the black London taxis.
There's many other Stations like Kings Cross, set in a circle serving the whole Country. Euston, Paddington, Victoria, Waterloo, London Bridge, and Liverpool Steet to name but a few.
There's the Tube, Overground, Docklands Light Railway, Cross Rail, Buses, and Taxis as well as a massive road system and some Tramways. All overseen by Transport for London TFL. It trumps NY many times over and would compete with Tokyo.
This deserves part 1, Part 2, Part 3, Part 4, Part 5, ...
It's a series that shows literally what good transport systems should be. We need true learning material like this.
Whats so good about it? The way people who want to profit from it will make you dependable on them and force you to pay extra if you try to live with just a slight bit of independence (thats what paying for every km driven is essentially).
Edit: the only upside is you can get home when youre drunk at night without needing an expensive taxi and then to return for the car on the next day. Thats it, the only good argument for mass transportation and probably not even that because someone will try to steal shit from you.
He could make a video out of every station.
@@MisoElEven western cultural issues. Tokyo doesn’t suffer from that as badly
@@MisoElEven the tolls are only for expressways.. you can always use normal public roads
Japan has the longest commutes of developed countries. This shows that the very best public transit is still not great.
I have lived in Tokyo for a few months and fell in love with the city. Even pedestrians use lanes on sidewalks making moving around the city efficient and pleasant. Trains arrived within seconds precision and my personal favourite, you have tables to what car to embark for a more efficient exit at each station on the route 🥰. Not to mention the cleanliness and respect of travelers ❤.
Not only that, but Google maps in Tokyo is very good tbh, it even tells you the cost of the trip and the best train cars to commute faster.
As a Malaysian guy, i love the design of japanese cities. It was a great honor to be able to visit Japan
"As a Malaysian guy" was unnecessary to qualify your statement
AHAHAAHAH funny guy
This is full of major mistakes and misunderstandings. There are 882 stations and 85 rail lines in Tokyo, more than double the number claimed for New York that the video says is bigger. PASMO is only the card for the Tokyo Metro (one small part of the system), and you didn’t have to buy separate tickets even before the cards.
This looks like the author just read the Wikipedia page for “Tokyo Metro” and assumed that covered the whole system. I see that mistake everywhere.
Traffic is also much much better than any other major city I’ve driven in. People certainly don’t ride public transport because traffic is bad or slower; it’s just that trains are usually more convenient and cheaper.
I had the same thought about just copying Wikipedia. I am not an expert but i can even tell this is super misleading. It’s that bad. A middle schooler can make a better video.
It’s crazy to see so many viewers saying this video is great quality.
I was in Tokyo and was thinking the same thing.
Technically, PASMO wasn't the card only for the Tokyo Metro from the beginning. It was more like replacement for the existing Passnet, which contained rail lines outside of Tokyo, plus bus lines. In my opinion, the author should have used SUICA over PASMO, but at this point it doesn't matter which card you use because for the most part, both cards are supported all around the Kanto Region.
I do agree with convenience of trains especially if you live in the city.
passmo can be used on all lines, not just the metro system.... awkward.
Pasmo and Suica can be used on most of the train systems across the country, not just Tokyo Metro.
7:05 A small correction: the Green train on the left is technically not a subway, but a train. It's the Yamanote Line (山手線) operated by JR, even though it does operate like an inner-city metro in many ways. I'm not the most hard core railway fan so feel free to correct if I made any mistake.
Yeah, what's interesting about Tokyo and Japan in general is their commuter train pretty much operate like metro/Subway once in the city or surrounding town/city. Technical distinction is there but for everyday commute, the service feels the same. From point a to point b, you may be already taking different train services without being too much aware of it. Unless you ride very obviously different vehicles like Shinkansen or Monorail or tram.
@@kornkernel2232 IIRC in a lot of cases there isn't even a technical distinction, other than the logo on the side of the train; they often interline trains on through services on Tokyo Metro and various other railways in the region.
@@SevenandForty for example;
Keikyū, a private rail company, operates a line from Hanada Airport to Shinagawa.
Keisei, another private rail company, operates lines from Tokyo's North East to Narita Airport.
The Toei Asakusa Subway Line runs between a Keisei terminal (Oshiage) and runs near Shinagawa.
There is a spur line off the Asakusa Line near Sengakuji Station that connects to the Keikyū line at Shinagawa.
This allows both Keikyū and Keisei to run trains through the Asakusa line and the other companies track between both Tokyo airports.
If you didn't pay attention to the logo and colours on the train or the formatting of the info displays on board, you wouldn't be able to tell that 3 different companies operate on that same line.
@@magical_catgirl i used to commute from Tokyo (Shinjuku-Sanchome) to Yokohama (Minato-Mirai). This involved 3 different train lines: Tokyo Metro Fukutoshin Line, Tokyu Toyoko Line, and the Minatomirai line.
Thanks to a collaboration between these companies, though, it was the same train. Where one line ended (Shibuya), the other one started. This line also goes further north, with a collaboration with the Tobu Tojo line and Seibu Ikebukuro line. And now they are planning collaborating with Sotetsu down in Yokohama.
Basically, 6 different private companies (!) all working together to maximize efficiency. You don't see that in many other places in the world!
@@SevenandForty The distinction to me is trains or lines that never go underground like JR (green one mentioned) versus ones that do
"It's a nation within a city"
Vatican City: We will watch your career with great interest
You have to keep in mind that Tokyo was rebuilt, while NYC just grew like any other city would. Here's the thing about NYC, Tokyo's subway may have bigger numbers in terms of passengers but you also have to know why NYC's subway is like this. Like Tokyo, NYC's Subway was once operated by different companies. That's why the subway is the way it is. Because of these competing companies. Eventually they were all unified under the city's board of transportation which then became the NYC Transit Authority (now part of the state-owned MTA). Plus if you consider the commuter rail lines, light rail, ferries, and even bus rapid transit within the NY Metro, the metro area still stands out especially in terms of North America. People in Jersey City and NYC still prefer to take public transit because it is that convenient
Another fun fact, Tokyo has the Key design, the same way the Vatican does- or should I say it’s the other way around. Vatican adopted the key design for its front courtyard, which contains a vault beneath. Hence the key reference. The vault contains all the knowledge the Christian Ity (Masonic state) striped from the world when it had its military Branch, the Sovereign Military Order of Malta, conquest. The Christian Ity didnt spread because of western colonialism, western colonialism spread because of the Christian it. Oh and beneath the Vatican is also the Temple of Vatika which its named after, the Etruscan version of the Greek Goddess Persephone who is the daughter of Djous Pater (Zeus) and wife of Dis Pater (Hades). Her temple has been corrupted by the debauchery of the Christian Ity that is Romes 4th attempt in creating a Monotheistic religion as a state that is based off of Persian Zoroastrianism.
Well said
@@NarasimhaDiyasena what?
As someone who was born from East Asia where public transport is the norm just like Japan, I could never understand North American's addictions of car dependent cities, especially when most people seems to actually hate driving there.
One thing I admire about Japan - as an outsider of course - is that a lot of things seems to be well thought out - no random stuff and "well'll see if it works". And also a lot of emphasis on the "collective" vs "personal" good, perhaps to a fault.
In Japan, I've seen so many things with little details planned, so they are as useful as they can be, it's amazing.
On the other hand, it is nice thinking as a collective but sometimes that it's a problem (IMO), especially to take some decisions.
you may be admire more about china, if you come china,
Their engineers are good, their decision makers are suck.
It hasn’t changed from the military in world war2 !
@@rilee1800
OK China is the best in the world. No doubt.
Case closed.
Great content! As someone who has had the experience of visiting Tokyo, I genuinely can't see LA or another major city outside of maybe NYC or Chicago fulfilling the "last mile problem" so well. In Tokyo like you said basically everything is at your fingertips once you step out of a shop. Not so in the US, where for the vast majority of localities its inconvenient at best to walk or bike to your final destination.
NYC is the easiest city in the world to navigate. There are so many options for transportation. NYC is designed in street blocks not random roads like Tokyo. NYC has Helicopter and boat ferry transportation as well. not sure why the video over looked this
@@ryanm9371 Ferry is very much point to point (really only viable to/from Statan Island), and helicopter transport is the domain of those with money.. There's a reason companies eventually stopped service from Connecticut for all but top C-Suite execs.
This is by design in the US, unfortunately. Things used to be closer to Tokyo, but cities were bulldozed and retrofitted to be suitable for cars, not people. US cities are so dependant on cars it's INSANE
Chinese cities are better
@@ryanm9371 Also the NYC subway runs 24/7 (of course not all stops are open after certain hours). It is one of the few in the entire world. The Tokyo Metro stops after midnight or so.
The last point is so true - when I was in the heart of Tokyo, despite the sheer number of people and things going on, it never once felt chaotic or overbearing to me. London's West End in comparison does though. It's horrible. There's something about the fact that in Tokyo even crowds of people make sure to walk in such a way that it's not manic - as in one direction keeps to one side of the pavement and the other keeps to the other side and queuing at the crossings etc. It's really quite something, you have to experience it firsthand at least once.
Resident of Tokyo here! Just want to say that the Tokyo train system is not smaller than New York’s. The “Tokyo Metro” system is smaller than the MTA but that does not account for all of the train lines available in the Tokyo metropolis, which seems to be more what this video focuses on. The NYC metropolis has 47 lines including LIRR but Tokyo metropolis has over 150! The complicating factor is that all of the trains in the Kanto region are operated by different companies and therefore it’s difficult to find a comprehensive list of all the Tokyo metropolis area lines.
I live in Tokyo and I can confirm. I had a car for a couple of years and most of the time I just couldn’t be bothered to use it because the transit is so much faster and cheaper. That’s one reason why many JDM import cars have such low mileage.
@@MM-gt9uy only in NY lmao
@@MM-gt9uy in like 98% of the US a car is absolutely necessary
I'd also talk about their zoning, which allows for dense (more sustainable/efficient) development everywhere in Tokyo. This is a good video overall
It’s only dense up to a point due to “sunlight” laws zoning codes. This results in Tokyo having the densities of Brooklyn or Queens and never Manhattan or Hong Kong. It’s still a fairly dense city (as is Brooklyn) but there could be a lot more density in high demand neighborhoods where the city is forced to sprawl out and commuters riding long commutes. The choice of living in a 30 story apartment building is not there and most such buildings in Tokyo overlook river areas or parks where they wouldn’t be in violation of the sunlight laws. The other 98% of the city is fairly low rise 2-5 story row houses and apartments.
@@CheapCharlieChronicles True, and overall I agree, but imo the fact their zoning code is permissive for dense housing (which is still possible with low profiles of 2-5 story buildings) almost everywhere (including quasi-industrial zones) overall despite the sunlight plane laws/ordinances I think is what makes it still more advantageous than zoning in say, dense places like NY.
For one, those buildings in NY are mostly illegal to build now, thanks to their downzonings in the 60s.
Single family house zoning is the bane of US/Canada. The average Suburbia is nothing but endless rows of McMansions combined with a huge mall somewhere in the outskirts(+massive parking lots). It's almost as if the country is built exclusively for cars and not humans. Infact, in vast majority of towns it's illegal to build anything other than single family homes.
@@unassumingaccount395 I'd say the biggest factor here is mixed use more than density, that allows to have shops at the street level and apartment building on the floors above so everything you need is just a couple blocks distance really. Again none of that is exclusive to Tokio or Japan for that matter, most of the world build cities this way. It's just the US and Canada that don't for some reason
Meanwhile we have two metro lines (with one station that connects both lines), trams, and the Korean State Railway to connect the people of Pyongyang and its metro area together. A lot more simple and easier to traverse compared to Tokyo. There are hardly any cars because people prefer to take public transit due to how convenient or it is. Or would rather ride a bike or walk for good exercise. But alas you won't see any praise towards us from a Western source
Also, at 7:05 that is the Yamanote Line which is not a subway. It's an above-ground loop service
hey pyongang railway is awesome. I'm one of the north korean citizens that defected the country. You're so right about it.
@@hidum5779 if the train system is so great why did you defect? I might move there if its so great
No cars cz people in n korea can neither afford them nor is free to use them.
North Korea is the best
@@CoBy_CoBy-97 You base a move entirely on a train system??
Shinjuku station is no joke if you've never been there before.
Even with google Maps telling me exactly what train to catch on which platform, I got hopelessly lost in there.
A few comments.
1. Tokyo has way more of a rail network than New York I dunno how you squared that
2. 200b is 4% not 40% of Japanese GDP
3. Acela is pronounced Assella, not Akeela
Bruh... I was freaking out when he said that composed about 40% of GDP. Xd
For point 2 it would have been more precise if he had said the "budget" but even then his statement would have been off by about 20% since the the approved budget for fiscal 2021 was $930 billion.
Video wasnt even including Tokyos regional rail network which is also impressive
The public works budget was $60 billion, not $200 billion, as well. Where are those numbers from? And I don't really know how you can read "x budget is *40%* of the country's GDP" out loud and not do a double take!
I'm pretty sure he meant subway/metro not rail in general
Also the railway companies own the stations and therefore they can rent parts of it out to other companies. This makes stations act like malls and they themself becomes a destination
There have been claims that having a more diverse cuisine in Japan contributes greatly to the variety and number of restaurants/fast food available
@@jmstransit maybe or maybe the diversity comes from the mane restaurants and the culture of eating out more then making your own food. Either way i love how easy and cheap it is to eat at a restaurant there. Even as a tourist its not hard to figure out
Very well presented & researched... nice work!
A few corrections/additions...
1. Average car ownership of 0.56 / household...? I think this is probably realistic if you take into account the rather large and suburban Tokyo Prefecture (東京都) as a whole. However, even though I don't know the real figure, if you only look at 'central Tokyo' aka the '23 wards' (23区) I'm almost certain the figure is lower.
2. One critical factor that is not mentioned to discourage people from using cars is quite simply... parking space. There are not that many places to park you car if you move somewhere (and they're quite expensive to use too)... and this is even worse for your 'permanent parking' (monthly fees for these can be as expensive as a small apartment rent).
3. Taking the train/metro in Tokyo is not particularly expensive, but not that cheap either, especially if your route uses more than one transportation company (you CAN use your Pasmo as mentioned, but have to pay separate ticket fees for each of them).
4. One of the key factors that made the whole transportation infrastructure successful (and profitable) was opening it to private investment.
I arrived Tokyo for the first time during evening rush hour in Shinjuku. Despite the hundreds of thousands of people, it was a BREEZE! I was marveling at how incredible their public transit system works!
Only thing to keep in mind is that they do not run 24hrs which was a bummer since I am a night owl. But there's so much to see even within the district that you are in that the need to travel is greatly reduced. Excellent city planning!
I drove cars in Tokyo for a decent period of time during my 4 years there, and while I agree that the costs are exorbitant, it is factually untrue that Tokyo's traffic is a nightmare. Also if your parking is sorted, often door to door times for a car are significantly faster.
Sure but I’d take public transport all day. Specially the bullet trains. Wish the us of a actually invested in that for its people since it would help low Income people and give actual freedoms unlike a car. Freedom ain’t a car. To be free you shouldn’t have to be stuck with payments, insurance, and many more payments just to get around. Freedom is trains that let you be anywhere in ur city and beyond for cheap.
for a car by car for car by a car?
@@georgec9384 yes, I agree with your thoughts. My point is that Tokyo traffic is some of the most linear and smooth flowing for a megapolis of its size and population density. So when I hear people saying that Tokyo traffic is a nightmare, I know that they have never actually driven in Tokyo. But otherwise this video is very factual and on point.
'door to door times for a car are significantly faster by car' lol
@@daos3300 try taking the odakyu line from Shinjuku to Atsugi during rush hour and compare the times for the same journey by car. Then see if the train is faster.
Imperfect is an understatement for the bike infrastructure. There is a huge issue with bike parking, it doesn't exist for road bikes. If you ride even a moderately expensive bike you are limited to using it for exercise only as shopping or going anyone on it is basically banned. The only bike parking available has no security at all and there is nothing to actually lock a bike to. Not to mention that most parking requires your bike to have its own built in stand. On top of this is the total lack of bike lanes with the nearest thing being cyclist chalk outlines on the side of the road where cars are meant kill cyclists on, or maybe they are meant to be actual bike lanes, hard to tell.
There are two dedicated cycling paths in Tokyo that I am aware of, both feature metal barricades along the path to keep you from actually riding there. If those barricades weren't there you it would be dangerous for all the joggers and dog walkers the cycling roads were actually made for.
Cycling isnt a big thing in japan.
Buying a bike while knowing that there is so little infrastructure around it is pretty dumb.
Riding my road bike around Tokyo has been my main mode of transportation for over 10 years and I have never encountered any problems, I actually enjoy it a lot! While it isn't strictly permitted, you can lock your bike to any roadside fence or post in the city and not give it a second thought as there is basically no bicycle theft at all in Japan. While bicycle parking wardens may occasionally attach notices to the bike requesting it to be moved, they have never cut the lock to impound mine. I think they basically wouldn't have the authority to do this as they would be damaging your property (the lock).
I also parked my bike in a large underground bicycle park right next to my office nearly every weekday for four years, as they had a special area reserved for road bikes without built in stands. While these underground bike parks are not very clearly signposted I think there are quite a few scattered around the city.
As for riding a bike around the city, it's not exactly the Netherlands for having exclusive bike lanes in every direction, but Japanese drivers are very conscientious of other people on the roads and hardly anyone speeds. There have only been a very few occasions in those ten years when I haven't felt completely safe.
Cycling is huge in Japan, but folks don’t use expensive road bikes to do it with.
Folks use low cost mamachari bikes to get around, which don’t need to be securely locked up.
I wonder if it would be frowned upon to use an EUC in the bike lanes.
I think it is important to mention with respect to the statement “public transport can’t be profitable” that individual motorised transport has a lot of hidden costs. If you take all the time spent in traffic jams, if you put a price tag on air and noise pollution, if you consider all the money invested in vehicles that stand around useless 95% of the time, and if you put a price on the space that is used by these parked vehicles and also by the roads then one should come to the conclusion that cars are probably one of the most inefficient, costly and unprofitable products that most US Americans own.
The data on this proves exactly the opposite. After all costs are accoundated for the average American profits $1400 a month from ownership of an automobile. Those without their own transportation have greater difficulty getting and keeping jobs.
@@codyvandal2860 That's because of the lack of transit infrastructure in most cities in the US. If the system had been designed as it was in Tokyo, they wouldn't have the difficulty keeping a job.
@@mikehibbs13 No, its because not everyone lives like a human insect in vast metropolises. Much of the US is rural or suburban and its not practical to build "transit" that also reduces the freedom of movement of individuals by making them reliant on a service for transportation.
it only takes like 10-15 mins to drive from the outskirts of Tokyo(say setagaya or shinagawa) into the heart of Tokyo or even Chou city a lot of times when i went, their traffic isnt so much a jam as a backp that slows....unlike america....id perfer the drive that takes the same amount or less time than just the walk and wait to get on a train anyday! And most of my commutes were less than half that
this is nice and all but it only highlight the public transportations
when I read the title I expected an actual city design: how they divide the districts, where the industrial areas at, where the urban areas at, the park, the forests, the residential areas, how they prepare for disasters, the amazing designs of tokyo canals, the megastructures, dams, underground rivers, etc
Tokyo's peak hour is so amazingly quiet. There is the sound of footsteps, the trains, the station chimes, but there is hardly any traffic so virtually no traffic noise. It's impolite to talk on the subway, so there's no sound of voices. There are no useless announcements on trains or at stations such as in most countries. This all makes it a very low-stress environment.
That sounds like an absolute treat, compared to Dutch public transit. .-.
It's impolite to talk even in the subway *stations*? (Platforms, specifically, but generally anywhere outside the train)
@@samuelitooooo Friends can talk to each other just fine, they just do so at a casual low volume. It's not as strict as it sounds, anecdotally speaking there are the occasional phone talkers or drunk companymen. There is still a responsibility to not drown out the actual train announcements.
I had a week long trip to Tokyo where I used metros 4 times a day. Only 2 occasions I noticed someone speaking to their phone. One guy clearly had something very important to handle and he was apologizing when he spoke. Other dude was wearing punk clothes and he didn't care what others around him though of him.
Usually people were just playing with their phones, reading books or sleeping.
Then why do they suicide this much
The train depicted at 6:35 - 6:45 is a French TGV in a French railway station (SNCF logo and colours on the train, screen on the platform using the French template).
What i really love about Japan mobility!
Instead of personal cars and jetliners, they chose trains and even faster trains.
The great thing is if you want a personal car or to take a taxi those options are always there, its just that the trains are always better, they’re faster and cheaper.
@@CheapCharlieChronicles I would love to live in a city like that. You’re often faster here if you use a bike or car or even by walking, since the bus system is so centralised.
Airlines are still a necessity in Japan for medium sized hubs not covered by Shinkansen. They also help out when earthquakes damage shinkansen infrastructure.
@@mate5791 you'd love the Netherlands, Tokyo has great rail and walking but horrible bicycle infrastructure and don't get me started on the apartments there
Unless you're navigating Hokkaido (it lost 20% of railway miles since 1987, and another 767 miles could possibly close if a third-party don't choose to manage the lines), Chūgoku region (sankō line closed recently) or Okinawa (just a monorail serves the main island) then you'll need to rely on other forms of transportation rail don't cover.
What I like the most about Tokyo and Japan in generally is obviously how great their transportation is and what drives the most curiosity is of course their public transformation and I'm in love with it.
Top notch content as always, easy to understand, entertaining to watch
I'm jealous that they got to have their city setup with such effective public transportation, and that in america we got tricked into tearing up all of our electric train lines and built disgusting highways and parking lots everywhere the eye could see taking up soooo much room in otherwise nice cities and creating so much pollution in air quality and noise.
Me too, but they had the advantage of building their city in the mid-20th century, while most American major cities are a lot older. It's very difficult and expensive to work around existing infrastructure when compared to just building from scratch.
@@guccilibrarian4728 I don't think that is right, Tokyo has been a well populated city for as long as many of the big US cities.
@@timeluster Tokyo has been a city way longer than the United States has even been a country, but in the mid-1900s, the entire city was made of wood. During WWII, it was torched by American fire bombings, and rebuilt from scratch, giving us the modern-day Tokyo. So, yes, it has been inhabited as long as American cities, but the modern city of Tokyo wasn't actually constructed until shortly after World War 2
Boo hoo. Keep crying about it. The demand for this stuff just isn't here, and until us owning cars becomes a serious enough problem, don't expect any changes.
@@guccilibrarian4728 Shortly before. Modern Tokyo was built mostly after the 20s when an earthquake leveled the city.
Unlike in America, cities in Europe and Japan knew the value of having a well designed and integrated public transport system in their cities. They really do make cities better. New York (and to a lesser extent Washington DC) both know this.
Sadly, the same can't be said for the majority of US cities - wedded to the car and in danger of being left behind as they're trapped in 20th century planning and a mindset to go with this.....which still exists
You are absolutely right. Unfortunately, California had crash dummies in office during the era when it came to mapping out public transportation. Especially in Los Angeles.
I rather drive.
@@ghostpro1293 ...only because you probably live in a city with lousy or no public transport network in place. That's why you HAVE to drive
Believe me, when a city has a good public transport network that is well thought out, the different parts of it integrate with each other (rather than compete), and the key main areas of a city are all covered then it is very good indeed.
Take a city like London for example. It has the world's oldest underground railway (railroad) network, but it's constantly being added to, enhanced, and modernised. It still works well after nearly 160 years. That is an achievement to be proud of. It really made London a complete city that's easy to get around. It adds value to London, in the same way the New York subway does to NY. If you can look beyond some train carriages scrawled with graffiti. It makes NY more navigable.
It's pretty shocking that a city like LA doesn't have an underground railroad network. It's why it will eventually get left behind.
Once the power of Hollywood wains (it's already beginning to) long term, then what? LA needs to have other things besides Hollywood. Without this, the city will look very one dimensional.
The only reason people visit LA is because if Hollywood. It's a 'one industry town' whose industry has long past it's golden days. But if LA invested more in public transportation then it would give the city an added dimension and open up new possibilities for it.
@@robtyman4281 eh I still would rather drive. Rather be in something clean than public transport that Portland has to offer. Plus the freedom to travel anywhere any time. Don’t have to wait. Besides I much rather be away from the city than in it. Portland is filthy as is. But if you don’t have your license just say so we get it. But I plan on to never use public transport. Got plenty of cars and trucks to move around
@@ghostpro1293 most of the reasons you just listed go back to your area's public transportation being bad. if the system is well maintained and well organized, cleanliness and wait times shouldn't even be a consideration. ideally you should be able to drive because you like driving not because it's strictly the better option
I lived near Tokyo and I didn't know anyone with a car. It was amazing to navigate (minus the crowds during peak hours). It is clean, prompt, easy to navigate (mostly), and far superior than any other rail system I've encountered.
Tokyo blows my mind, it could literally be a country, would love to visit there one day!
Literally 4x as many ppl as Sweden
More people in the city of Tokyo than the entire country of Canada. It's wild.
@@LeonDractus Nah not true.
Have been using the Tokyo and regional train system since my first visit in 1973... never had anything but wonderous pleasure using the systems. Latest visit was with my wife in 2019... we traveled with ease around Tokyo and off to Hiroshima and Kyoto, taking local buses and trams in those lovely cities.
A few points that I missed in this otherwise well made documentary:
One of the reasons why they railway companies are profitable on Japan is because the own the properties around the stations. Japan East Railway is one the biggest landlords ok the countries. Not surprisingly the properties around railroads is wry attractive for business depending on walk in clients.
When you have to drive and use the highways while having to pay they are amazing. In 30 min you get from Shinjuku to the outer rings of the city. Traffic jams comparisons to LA are not justifiable as there are barely ever any in Tokyo.
wry: using or expressing dry, especially mocking, humor.
stop mocking me
I've lived in New York, Paris, Montreal, and Seoul, and I can say this with certainty. "Only in Japan is this possible."
True but Korea is doing a pretty good job in terms of public transportation. Singapore, Taiwan and mainland China as well.
Which one was the worse between NYC, Paris, Montreal and Seoul?
Fun fact, in Canada, or at least in Toronto, we also check the subway tracks and tunnels every single night. My father worked at the TTC (Toronto Transit Comission) and had to walk from one end of the system to the other in order to ensure the entire track and infrastructure is safe to take commuters in the morning.
Wow amazing
As an indian living in delhi. Tokyo is the ideal city model for us. We hope to become anything like it one day🥲🥲
Future tip, Acela is pronounced like Asela, because YAY ENGLISH LANGUAGE!
Also, is the Japanese Pasmo system as well integrated or more compared to the Dutch OV pass? Because the Dutch OV can be used on trains, trams, trolleys, ferries (not all), rental cars, buses, and bikes. You can get anywhere in the Netherlands with this pass. Except the military base where they keep the nukes.
It’s also pronounced A-Joke
While not rental car, Pasmo cards can be used not only for public transport but vending machines, shops, convenient stores,... not all, but a lot, especially shops near train stations.
@@bmp456 no. He’s just not American. However he’s a native English speaker so he should know how to pronounce the soft “c”. No tea no shade, just ✨phonetics✨.
@@kendellfriend5558 hes a dane so not native but he has proberbly had english from 3rd grade
Yes the pasmo can be used for pretty much all public transit in Tokyo. It can also be used in other cities in japan since cards in all major cities can be used interchangeably.
I lived in Tokyo around two years while working for an American car company, and decided early on that having a car there would be insane, despite the fact I could have leased a car fairly inexpensively and would have had free parking at work and at my apartment. The subways, trains, and buses were just so damned convenient!
china is more convenient now
@@rilee1800 i saw a video of China train with lots of people. Too crowded.
@@japanese_flashcard_channel I saw some too, in 2020. Very crowded, people fleeing, curious.
As a Tokyo resident, I am envious of NYC subway's quad track lines which enables separation of express and local operations, and of Paris Metro's and London Tube's density and proximity to nearest stations. Each city has its good and bad.
A few years ago I went to Tokyo (from Los Angeles) for the first time and it was so easy riding the subway from the airport to my hotel and visiting other spots during my trip. I was also impressed with how clean everything was. In LA there’s human waste on the trains.
Having visited Japan before I can say that public transportation in Japan is AMAZING, every train or bus always arrives on time and it's super easy to use!
you just be like a frog at the bottom of a well，you maybe come to china to see。
Car tolls are crazy expensive in japan, you might as well use a train even if you own a car unless you have your whole family in it.
Can also argue that it costs just as much to take a low cost airline/shinkansen and save a few hours compared to cars
Just reasonably priced. Everywhere else car infrastructure is paid by the state, and so all people, even those that don't own cars. In Japan, where few drive in Tokyo, that'd be unfair and distort actual competition. Now price of public transport and cars are actually about matched (as it should be). And also payment is not that bad with suica cards so it's barely an inconvenience if you NEED to take a car
Imagine the air pollution if it wasn't.
Japans rail system is definitely something to be admired. When I was there for a few months I was able to get around across the country by rail with minor difficulty. However there are some things not mentioned here. The random city comparisons kept changing to better paint a better comparison e.g., the car to person ratio is .23 in NYC vs the .54 in Tokyo. In order to do that nightly Maintenance in japan all rails in major cities tend to shut down around midnight. NYC is 24/7 as to allow people who work or just need the train overnight access. Furthermore japan charges by distance. Not great for those living in the outskirts who tend to have lower incomes vs NYC that has a flat rate no matter where you live. NYC rails are generally much cheaper to ride if you travel over 15 mins by rail.
It's worth noting that most companies cover employee transportation costs, as long as it's within a reasonable level. i.e. living in Nagano and commuting via express to Tokyo wouldn't fly.
A flat rate would still be better for lower income folks in the outskirts I agree.
The Shinkansen bullet train was amazing when I went to Japan in 2018. I went from Osaka down to Hiroshima and back up to Kyoto via the train. The smoothest train you’ll ever ride and the videos I recorded facing out of the window were unbelievable from the sheer speed you travel past houses and buildings.
you just be like a frog at the bottom of a well，you maybe come to china to see。
The Shinkansen is a train that is matched in comfort and speed by other foreign trains. The high speed train in Spain is basically just as good. I think the one in France is just as good too. What really surprises me is how good urban transportation in Tokyo is, this is what is bonkers. I live in a somewhat touristy town in Spain that coincidentally has a high speed train station (which is very convenient tbh, not many towns have one since it’s mostly limited to larger cities) and I see plenty of Japanese tourists coming from Barcelona to stay for a day. I’ve always wondered that they must feel pretty at home with the nice modern trains, but the contrast must be pretty wild considering how dirty and inefficient the streets are compared to theirs.
@@jmiquelmb oh definitely wild. Especially Paris as east Asian media tend to worship the French vibe. Look up how East Asians tourists suffer from Paris Syndrome.