I generally hold up Japanese cities as examples of ideal multi-mode transportation solutions. It's weird to me to call Tokyo ANTI-car though. The city has one o

I generally hold up Japanese cities as examples of ideal multi-mode transportation solutions. It's weird to me to call Tokyo ANTI-car though. The city has one of the most robust car cultures on the planet. And I wouldn't say the cars are "invariably tiny, quiet". I feel I see luxury sports cars and higher-spec German performance offerings (BMW M models, AMG Mercedes, etc.) in far greater rates than I see kei cars in Okinawa, for example. Most residential streets having little or no traffic is accurate, though. >>>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.