I take a medium-sized backpack with me when I go into town. I usually take a laptop and/or tablet, a bottle of water, and a few personal items, so there’s still

I take a medium-sized backpack with me when I go into town. I usually take a laptop and/or tablet, a bottle of water, and a few personal items, so there’s still space in it. Most things I’m likely to buy while I’m out—a magazine, a bento, etc.—fit into the bag with no problem. If I buy something bigger that’s not too heavy to carry, I’ll get it with a shopping bag with handles. Most people in Tokyo, I think, do something similar. 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.