Comments by "Jordan, inside-outsider in Japan" (@Jordan-inJapan) on "What a Typical Tokyo Neighbourhood is Like" video.

  1. This is so much more interesting to me than than seeing landmarks or flashy shopping districts. It’s just a totally different feeling than the rural part of Japan I live in. (Overall, I think I prefer living in “Inaka”, but I do crave urban stimulation now and then.) Anyway, thanks for the high-quality upload, as usual. Kp! 🍻
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  2. Just to put things in perspective, Japan’s planning isn’t really all that… planned. I mean some planning obviously does happen, regarding transportation lines etc, but I think that’s out of necessity rather than vision on the part of municipal governments or anything like that. Actually, making ANY changes to the layout of cities or towns here is really challenging for historical reasons. A lot places, for example, still have everything oriented around historical castles, resulting in road systems that are a tangled maze of one-way streets. My city. (The only truly “planned” urban areas are those that got bombed to nothing during WW2.) Oh, and that green space you see scattered throughout towns and cities here? Sacred groves surrounding Shinto shrines. Can’t be developed, ever. (Because God’s there.) Japan may have healthier and more ‘livable’ communities than a lot of other places, but the reasons are historical and cultural. We shouldn’t get too much credit on the planning side. 🍻
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  3. Agreed!
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  4.  @Nuvendil  Well, also remember that Japan is a society that values the good of the group/community over that of the individual. So even without strict government rules or guidelines, individuals are expected to make decisions along these lines, and not behave in a selfish or socially reckless manner. Hence we tend to just naturally end up with tightly-knit livable and functional communities. (Most of the time.) Oh, one more point I just thought of is that a lot of that organic growth that shaped modern Japanese cities and towns actually took place in the pre-automobile age. So yeah, a lot of places are easier to get around on food or by bike. Again no planning required!
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  5.  @pengajianrutin540  😂
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  6.  @Nuvendil  So the result is that Tokyo grew freely to become the amazing city it was destined to be. My cities (I live on the border between two of them) on the other hand are forever frozen in time as castle towns where change isn’t really considered an option. But I’m not complaining!
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  7.  @iamthinking2252_  It just means a rural area, “countryside” etc. Sorry. English speakers who’ve lived in Japan for a long time start to use these kind of words like they’re English. 😆
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  8.  @hypothalapotamus5293  good observations and description of rural Japan! (You basically described the area I live in.)
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