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If you live in Tokyo or Osaka you really shouldn’t own a car

by cammikebrown 2mo ago

zdragnar 2mo ago
What about the parent comment implied Tokyo or Osaka residence?
cyberax 2mo ago
Hence nobody should live in Tokyo and Osaka.
klempner 2mo ago
And one of the points that's a little more obvious living here: Japan is a remarkably car centric culture. Not quite to the extent of America, but in much of the country you really do need a car. If anything the main exceptions to that are exactly the places tourists are most likely to go.
- happosai 2mo ago
  I disagree, I lived a year in a small town near Osaka far from any tourist attractions and never did I wish I had a car. Public transport was ubiquitous and walking infrastructure excellent. Lots of people on bikes. Roads were tiny so cars on them are tiny and driving slowly, making it feel safe to share the roads with them. Maybe the most clear indication that Japan isn't a car centric culture was the complete lack of FREE parking space.
  - tonyedgecombe 2mo ago
    Japan has 670 cars per 1,000 people, the US has 779. Not a huge gap.
    - happosai 2mo ago
      Which shows that you can have lots of cars without having a cars-only culture. Freedom of choice of the mode of transport, and pay for privilege vs externalizing the costs of cars.
  - klempner 2mo ago
    So, yes, the extreme pedestrian hostility that is sometimes normal in the US isn't around, and there's more likely to be a viable transit system. That's especially the case if you're in the outskirts of a major metropolitan area where there are going to be commuters into the core transit network. Still, if I hop on an express train for an hour away from central Tokyo, every house has a car park and most significant stores have dedicated parking spaces, and I get a vibe of "suburbia with narrower streets". Heck, I get some of that even as close as Kawasaki or southern Tokyo once you're away from major train stations.
mc3301 2mo ago
If you live in New York City or San Francisco, you really shouldn't own a car.
- deleted 2mo ago
  [deleted]

If you live in Tokyo or Osaka you really shouldn’t own a car

zdragnar 2mo ago

What about the parent comment implied Tokyo or Osaka residence?

cyberax 2mo ago

Hence nobody should live in Tokyo and Osaka.

klempner 2mo ago

And one of the points that's a little more obvious living here: Japan is a remarkably car centric culture. Not quite to the extent of America, but in much of the country you really do need a car. If anything the main exceptions to that are exactly the places tourists are most likely to go.

happosai 2mo ago
I disagree, I lived a year in a small town near Osaka far from any tourist attractions and never did I wish I had a car. Public transport was ubiquitous and walking infrastructure excellent. Lots of people on bikes. Roads were tiny so cars on them are tiny and driving slowly, making it feel safe to share the roads with them. Maybe the most clear indication that Japan isn't a car centric culture was the complete lack of FREE parking space.
- tonyedgecombe 2mo ago
  Japan has 670 cars per 1,000 people, the US has 779. Not a huge gap.
  - happosai 2mo ago
    Which shows that you can have lots of cars without having a cars-only culture. Freedom of choice of the mode of transport, and pay for privilege vs externalizing the costs of cars.
- klempner 2mo ago
  So, yes, the extreme pedestrian hostility that is sometimes normal in the US isn't around, and there's more likely to be a viable transit system. That's especially the case if you're in the outskirts of a major metropolitan area where there are going to be commuters into the core transit network. Still, if I hop on an express train for an hour away from central Tokyo, every house has a car park and most significant stores have dedicated parking spaces, and I get a vibe of "suburbia with narrower streets". Heck, I get some of that even as close as Kawasaki or southern Tokyo once you're away from major train stations.

mc3301 2mo ago

If you live in New York City or San Francisco, you really shouldn't own a car.

deleted 2mo ago
[deleted]