>Anywhere inside the Yamanote line, there are generally no express lines; all the Tokyo Metro lines stop at every station. That makes sense, because it's the r

>Anywhere inside the Yamanote line, there are generally no express lines; all the Tokyo Metro lines stop at every station. That makes sense, because it's the ring line surrounding and regular lines serving historically dense portions of Tokyo. Express trains to what count as suburbs in Japan are efficient. The point is to keep commutes less than an hour each way (which is more tolerable than the ~30 min in America since you're not driving). >but it's almost impossible to do as long as car culture is so important and parking requirements exist. There's been movement on that front. But, again, the problem isn't the rules themselves, but the benefit people get from them being so widespread (essentially forcing other people to subsidize their lifestyle). The true culprit is that so many Americans profit from impoverishment (of their neighbors and municipalities).