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I live in Tokyo - on the surface certain lines have dated exteriors on their trains and stations, but they are maintained so much better and built with much mor
by presentation 5y ago
I live in Tokyo - on the surface certain lines have dated exteriors on their trains and stations, but they are maintained so much better and built with much more care to the surrounding environment that it's impossible for me to compare with NYC.
NYC's trains are constantly late, always go out of service, are deafeningly loud, incredibly slow, filthy, don't have great coverage outside of the Manhattan core and generally unreliable. Tokyo's are always on time, very clean, pretty silent, have incredible coverage of the entire metro area especially in combination with the bus networks (which also are efficient, clean, and don't hold lower-class stigma), and are super fast.
The lines that aren't underground in NYC tend to be depressing under the tracks and pretty unlivable around them, leading to tons of urban blight; the over-ground lines in Tokyo, thanks to their thoughtful design and reasonable noise level, are often full of shops, restaurants, bars, and walking paths that people actually use, positively contributing to their neighborhoods.
The main thing that feels "old" about Tokyo's trains is just that they look like they were decorated a long time ago or are kinda plain; but from a functional perspective they outclass practically any system on the planet, especially when taking into account the integration into the broader Shinkansen network. They have the best safety record of any rail system anywhere and are economically sustaining. The only major complaint I have is that it's relatively expensive fare-wise, especially considering transfers between different rail companies' lines/buses.
Also, it's worth checking out the pre-Olympics revamp of some lines - for instance Ginza Line (Shibuya station especially) and Odakyu Line (Setagaya Daita-Shimokitazawa in particular) got a lot of station and neighborhood renovations that give them that sparkly new shine.
Aside, I've also lived in Shanghai before - the rail network in China is something to watch, their high speed rail stations and urban networks are very nice as of late, although they need more express lines within city limits (Shanghai/Beijing are enormous so crossing the city by rail takes a long time).
- deleted 5y ago[deleted]
- m_mueller 5y agoI actually love the rugged but high quality stainless steel look of Japanese trains. I think Starship might bring this look back into fashion. Functional and extremely durable. Airstream caravans are another example of it and they’re beloved too.
- _RPL5_ 5y agoI have not been to Japan, but I have read several fairly detailed accounts coming from multiple travel bloggers. One thing they all pointed out is that Japan is full of what by our standards would be considered semi-antique technology like trolleys from the 1950s and computers and fax machines from the 1990s, that are all still being used, and maintained in really good condition. Living in Tokyo, do you notice this as well? I assume this sort of commitment to maintenance / "orderliness" must be cultural? What do the really bad parts of Tokyo look like?
- Clewza313 5y agoThere are no really bad parts of Tokyo. One of most economically deprived areas, Minami-Senju/Minowa, is popular with backpackers and doesn't really look much different from anywhere else in suburban Tokyo to the untrained eye. (The trained eye will spot quite a few aging day laborers drowning their sorrows in cheap sake and a lot of down-market brothels though.)
- presentation 5y agoOld technologies do stay in use for a long time, and while it’s annoying to need to send a fax occasionally, they’ve made it brilliantly easy to do by providing fax services for < $0.50 in any convenience store in the city (there are like 50,000+ of those). Generally don’t need to though and for the most part I’m using more advanced technology than in the USA (like the transit payment cards, which with Japan’s recent cashless push are accepted in most stores). Ikebukuro is the nearest place to where I live that has a reputation for being “dangerous”, with a homeless population and a large yakuza-dominated nightlife district, but by that I mean there’s like 20 harmless old drunk men around in the plaza sitting around, and a high concentration of sex shops - not dangerous at all though by foreign standards (small women can still feel safe walking around at 3am if they felt like it).