How Tokyo became an anti-car paradise
heatmap.news
heatmap.news
This is a bit of a stretch. There are cars everywhere you go in Tokyo, it's pretty well set up for driving given the size and population. That said, I've lived here without a license for years, and rarely had the need to hop into any cars. Speed limits are generally low, and lights are everywhere, which often makes the train or sometimes even a bike a faster option than a car or a bus.
It's only when you have multiple connections in your route or when you get well outside the city that you start to see consistent benefit from a car.
One reason it's so easy to get by without a car in most of Tokyo is that the shops and attractions are distributed well. Zoning means there are tiny shops everywhere, and the bigger shops are present at many of the train stations in the city. You are pretty much always within walking distance of everything essential. One more reason is that the postal system is excellent. If you order something from Amazon, you'll receive it about 24 hours later in most parts of Tokyo. Who needs a car when you pick up everything essential on a 10 minute walk from your house, and everything you want will be at your door tomorrow?
I can’t remember the last time I rode in a privately owned car in the Tokyo area. Fifteen years ago? Twenty years ago? I’m not sure. I think the last time I rode in a private car anywhere in Japan was in 2017, when I went to Hiroshima for work and my host picked me up at the station in his car.
I do take taxis occasionally, but mostly I walk or take trains. My three-year-old grandson, who lives with me, has yet to ride in any privately owned car. He has probably never even seen a child’s carseat.
If I buy something that’s too big or heavy to carry, I’ll have it delivered to my house a day or two later. All of the department stores, major electronic stores, etc. will deliver for their customers.
If I need to leave something someplace and pick it up later, most train stations have coin lockers. Some of the larger stations, as well as department stores, have temporary storage services for luggage and the like. (I have had problems sometimes finding a locker or storage service when I needed one, though.)
It’s not unusual to see people with wheeled suitcases on the streets and trains. Some of them are travelers, of course, but many of them are local people who have stuff that’s too heavy to carry.
These methods don’t work for everyone, of course. People who have to carry around large things—repair people, musicians with large instruments, etc.—drive cars, as do people who live far from train stations and shopping areas.
People without cars typically go shopping frequently and in small quantities. There are more than a dozen grocery and convenience stores within a ten-minute walk of my house, so shopping is not a problem for me. Most products are sold in small containers that are easy to carry. There are well-stocked convenience stores practically anywhere you go in Tokyo, so it’s easy to buy things when you need them.
So I suppose the answer to your question is that because millions of people live their lives in the city without cars an infrastructure—lockers, delivery services, convenience stores, etc.—has arisen to support them.
Some places have lockers, for example a concert hall or art gallery where they don't allow you to bring in various things.
That does mean I avoid buying something heavy unless I'm on my way home.
(I'm in Copenhagen, not Tokyo.)
> To be allowed to purchase a car, you have to be able to prove that you have somewhere to park it.
That's the main reason IMO. If you drastically limit the number of car, of course you don't need nearly as much curb-side parking, and can have much more real estate available for productive use.
>>>Life expectancy overall is 84 years old, one of the highest levels of any city on the planet. A good part of this has to do with the lack of cars. Air pollution is considerably lower than in any other city of equivalent size anywhere in the world.
This is a huge claim for which the otherwise-reasonably-sourced article doesn't cite a reference.
>>>Even a well-maintained car can cost 100,000 yen to inspect (or around $850).
Emphasis on can. I take my lightly-modified 2008 Evo through the inspection line myself and it typically costs me less than 50,000 yen. Double that is if you have a mechanic shop do it, AND there's stuff that needs to be fixed like replacing your brake pads.
>>>To be allowed to purchase a car, you have to be able to prove that you have somewhere to park it. This approval is issued by the local police, and is known as a shakoshomeisho, or “garage certificate.” Without one, you cannot buy a car.
Note: this isn't a nation-wide requirement, it's basically by city. Major urban areas have it. Often low-density rural areas do not.
The lack of street parking is definitely accurate and a huge boon to the livability of Japanese city environments, agreed on that one.
>>>wealthy friends of his owned a top-end BMW, which they replaced every few years, because they were car nuts. But because they did not have anywhere to park it near their home
They are wealthy enough to replace their M cars frequently but somehow can't get a condo with parking, or a house with a garage? That's.....odd to me. I think this anecdote is quite an outlier.
I like the overall observations about how to successfully build rail-centric development though, especially the point about rail companies building up the commercial/residential real estate immediately around their rail stations to drive profitability AND convenience for the population. I'm in favor of things that get "average commuters" off the streets, it makes driving a more enjoyable experience for the car aficionados too! And I'm okay paying a mild premium for car ownership to support all of that.
Cities aren't noisy; ICE cars are noisy.
ICE cars are noisy if you design them to be noisy. I remember Toyota's first or second hybrid car was almost completely silent.
It caused other problems, primarily the issue that they could sneak up on unaware pedestrians like myself.
Unless I am missing something. The only noisy cars I face these days are performance cars, some trucks, and that one ahole in a sports bike.
Since at higher speed, tire and wind noise drown ICE noise, you don't hear them and they feel nearly as quiet as electric cars.
ICE-only cars are definitely noisy. Though maybe you are used to that noise and it doesn't register (like a lot of people, me included), but they are definitely loud enough that a place without any car feels "quiet" (even if it's otherwise busy).
Tokyo (and many other cities, particularly in Asia) have all three.
It’s unlikely US cities can achieve all three. Reliability might be achievable. Cleanliness and safety I have my doubts.
Especially because many of the people most in favor of increasing transit and decreasing cars are the same who prevent cleanliness and safety from happening.
It had everything, insanely good transport, safe, some of the best food in the world, beautiful weather most of the year except for rainy season, incredible art, great mix of old and new, some beautiful parks, great for riding bikes, little traffic, clean air.
The only thing I’d say let’s it down and it does let it down a bit is the lack of greenery. I think it’s a known issue though.
It’s honestly the best city I’ve ever visited and I’ve been to a few.
New York is a close second for the history but it’s so dirty that it’s beyond charming.
I would say a few downsides are poor insulation from noise and weather in many buildings and expectation that children don't make much noise (it is really sad to see signs in small parks that say "no ball games"). I also echo bsaul's comment about the lack of terrace space for restaurants and cafes, those are great public socializing spaces.
From a european standpoint it makes it really hard to live.
Also, there are plenty of terraces to have a nice coffee on. The difficult thing in Tokyo is you need to search in advance for what you want. It's so crammed full of options, that you might never realize all the interesting things you're walking past. It's a very three-dimensional city, there's stuff hidden everywhere.
As for cycling, I can’t speak to it as much, but it seems like the cycling culture is much more casual. Tons of parents cycling their preschool children, people biking on sidewalks, etc.
That said, my best mate is an avid cyclist and worked bike shops most his life. He exclusively cycles here and always points out the sheer number of hobby (expensive? custom?) bikes casually posted outside shops.
But watching the public transport animation on https://minitokyo3d.com/ is amazing.
They also have links to live railcams.
Two of my favorite ones are:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=glw8cHPywtE exactly like the article describes, lots of bikes and some small cars. (It has several hours of buffer so you can scroll back if you happen to visit during Japanese night)
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tet7qKMUncA this is the impatient train spotter's paradise. It never takes more than minute until the next train comes. As a bonus for hackers there is automatic detection of the rolling stock type. Not sure whether the code is open source, did not see a github link. (This camera is not 24 hours, so you need to visit during Japanese daytime.)
I very recently moved to North America and was really taken by surprise in a lot of regards with care culture, primarily how "pedestrian hostile" the city is as a whole. Without a car you're really limited in where you can go and what you can do. In Hong Kong I felt a lot of freedom of movement, and even casual visits back to Australia the public transport is both safe and efficient (not compared to Asia but still in really good conditions).
Parking space was the big blocker for owning cars in Hong Kong too, not to the degree of Japan, but it certainly inflated that barrier.