hello world if you were to move to a
typical neighborhood in Tokyo what would
it be like
how would you get around what would you
see and do
today I'll take you around shinkoiwa
station which I recently found out is
the busiest train station in
katsushikaward with 154 000 daily
passengers
to talk about neighborhoods I feel like
I have to first explain about Tokyo's
wards
chica is one of Tokyo's 23 Wards and
each ward has its own mayor it's these
23 special awards that many often think
of as Tokyo City although there really
is no such thing there is however Tokyo
Metropolis which has a governor and is
made up of the 23 special words plus 26
cities five towns and eight villages
there are 13 million people living in
Tokyo metropolis and it has many
different geographies so while I am
trying to show you a typical
neighborhood it's obviously not going to
be exactly like other neighborhoods
which is why I find it fun to explore
different parts of Tokyo and Japan
and for clarity going forward when I say
Tokyo in this video I'm talking about
the 23 special Awards so today I'll be
showing you the area around Shin koiwa
station
the majority of what you'll see can be
found in other similar sized stations
around Tokyo
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moving on let's talk about how you move
around I think it's safe to say that
Japan and even more so Tokyo is centered
around train stations
every time I go to meet someone or go
somewhere directions always start from
the train station when you go to rent or
buy a home they always list the walking
time to the closest train station
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while I'm fairly sure the majority of
people get to the train station by foot
there are those that get there by car
get there by bus
or get there by bike bikes are in fact
so popular that the bigger stations have
dedicated bike parkades
when going up levels there's a handy
bike escalator you can use
this one's quite affordable the cost is
only 100 yen for the day for people who
commute daily they can buy monthly
passes which will get them better spots
but equally as important avoid the few
seconds it takes to pay the attendant
for those arriving by vehicle there's
usually a bus stop or Bus Loop plus a
taxi stand
for the bigger stations there could be
multiple sides so if you're meeting
someone at a station you might need to
specify which exit you're at
for simple above ground stations it may
be as easy as north or south
but for more complex underground
stations you may have so many choices
that they start numbering and lettering
them something that surprised me when I
first moved to Tokyo is that workplaces
pay commuting expenses it's expected
that an employee will commute by public
transportation so for many people a car
can be considered a luxury as opposed to
a necessity
for example among my 12 family members
that live in Tokyo only my father-in-law
owns a car which he mainly used to work
at a farm in another prefecture
he's now retired but still has the car
to generalize if you're going to work
you're probably going to take the train
or bus
and if you're going shopping for daily
stuff you'll walk or take a bike
so train stations are often the hubs of
Tokyo neighborhoods it's also where
you'll find the largest buildings and
biggest shops
you can find basically anything you want
here
hungry you have places to eat at like
restaurants cafes and izakayas which are
kind of like Japan's version of a pub
I especially enjoy establishments that
only make one thing like Ramen or soba
need something quickly you'll find many
convenience stores they in fact serve a
lot of functions from paying your bills
to picking up your deliveries to buying
lunch on the go
a lot of people make YouTube videos
about the food but I'll have to do a
video one day that shows the death of
everything that can be accomplished at a
Japanese convenience store
feeling bored there are many indoor
entertainment facilities like karaoke or
karaoke boxes and Pachinko parlors or
places that are healthier like fitness
centers
any of your daily Necessities can be
found near stations like grocery stores
for food and drugstores for cleaning
supplies toiletries and over-the-counter
drugs you'll need to go to a pharmacy
for your prescriptions
something that I enjoy about Japan are
the specialty stores you can find that
are usually owner operated like this
place that only sells tofu this one that
only sells rice
are this one that only sells tea
these can often be found in show 10 guy
which can be literally translated as
shopping street
shotengay are groups of independent
shops that have banded together to make
a small shopping district
actually has several Showtime guy
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however this covered arcade is the
largest
foreign
guy but that'll require another video
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stations will have koban which are small
local police stations or if We're
translating directly police boxes
they'll usually have some bikes as in
bicycles parked outside
when my wife and I found a wallet on the
street this is where we went to return
it
I can go on and on listing all the
services you can access but in a general
sense around the station you can find
everything you need for daily life
this is why you pretty much don't need
to own a car if you're living in a
typical Tokyo neighborhood you can
access everything by foot or bike
the latest stats reveal that there's
less than half a car per household in
Tokyo Metropolis but what about those
big items or when you have lots of items
delivery service is excellent sometimes
even same day and mostly free
you wouldn't need to rent a van or truck
to pick up a bed dispose of an old desk
or grab that new TV
these can all be picked up and delivered
foreign
like about neighborhoods in Tokyo is
that virtually everywhere has mixed use
zoning
what is mixed-use zoning you ask or not
mixed-use zoning means that the land can
be used for a variety of purposes from
residential to commercial
to Civic to Industrial
this is why in the same neighborhood you
can find a daycare right next to a
shrine which is right next to a house
which has a beauty shop on the bottom
which is next to a small Warehouse which
is next to a park
you'll find all the services and
Facilities you need scattered throughout
the neighborhood from doctors dentists
and hospitals to community centers
senior care homes and schools
waste energy plants or pumping stations
can be found within the neighborhood
complete with the parks that surround it
but zoning is another topic that I can
and will make an entire video on
what's important to know is that when it
comes to Tokyo the lowest level of
zoning you'll commonly find still allows
for mixed use multi-story apartment
buildings and for people to legally run
small businesses out of their homes
whether it be a little shop selling
Goods
our little workshop making them
The crucial reason I think it's
important to know about zoning is that
without these laws Tokyo and indeed the
whole of Japan wouldn't be able to have
such walkable and bikeable neighborhoods
that don't require owning a car to live
foreign
overwhelmingly feel when walking about a
neighborhood in Tokyo is a sense of
safety
the best example I can think of is
children you see children everywhere
from the age of six when children enter
Elementary School they learn how to walk
home from school by themselves
you'll also see them running or riding
around the neighborhood meeting up with
friends like how I remember growing up
in the 80s in Canada or what my daughter
and I see when watching stranger things
I mean the kids running around without
adult supervision Parts not all the
dangerous parts
foreign
why haven't the kids been locked up for
their own safety why do I keep on asking
questions that would require a dedicated
video to properly answer them
I'll just name a few aspects that relate
to the design of neighborhoods most
streets are small and have a speed limit
of 30 kilometers or 19 miles per hour
that's kind of slow slow enough that
kids can feel free to run around in the
middle of the streets and do as they
please
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it's the cars that watch out for the
kids not the other way around
of course there are bigger streets where
the speed limit is 50 kilometers or 31
miles per hour
typically have guard railings and
traffic lights so you'll also see kids
walking along these streets as well
although on the side not in the middle
if an area is close to a school zone
you'll find silver dinside
which are seniors that work in the
community that will be on crossing guard
Duty you'll also see these silver ginzai
at bicycle parking spots as well as at
parks
for kids they are familiar trusted
people that they can go to for help for
the neighborhood they act as a kind of
neighborhood watch
I would argue that the tightly packed
homes and businesses slow traffic and
walkable streets keep the areas busy
enough that there's always someone
around
These Eyes On The Street then make
people feel safe
which is why it's not at all uncommon to
see female high schoolers are office
workers walking home alone at 9 or 10 in
the evening hours after the sun is set
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speaking of sunset when it arrives
there's a special jingle that plays
which reminds kids they should be on
their way home
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our Tokyo's neighborhoods completely
safe and devoid of crime
no
for example a shockingly high number of
Japanese females I talked to have
experienced groping while riding on the
trains
on the other hand in terms of petty
theft and threat of assault I feel
confident that the raids are lower than
in Canadian cities
I would roll out a bunch of stats but
because of reporting differences and
under-reporting the best I feel
comfortable saying is that in Tokyo I
have a much bigger feeling of safety in
regards to my family and my possessions
than I did when living in Vancouver or
Winnipeg
is it not hectic living in a typical
Tokyo neighborhood I think what a lot of
people don't realize is that Tokyo's
Mori collection of neighborhoods than it
is a mega City you probably wouldn't
know it from looking across it from one
of its many Towers though
and even in the busiest of neighborhoods
there's usually some calmer spots which
you can find at parks at shrines
at temples and among many of the
Riverbanks
although not this particular part of
NACA River where they operate one of the
highways and a train line is crossing it
but hey they do have a nice park right
beside it and behind it public housing
run by the Tokyo Metropolitan government
and behind that it's a five minute walk
to the train station
however I agree that this area is a bit
hectic which is why within a 10 minute
walk from the station you can find a
river park like this
completely different atmosphere
in my Tokyo by bike video I highlighted
many of the spots around Tokyo where you
can find such Greenways
oh and if you're looking for an indoor
place to unwind you can try going to the
local bathhouse the sento
these local institutions are
disappearing at an increasing rate
even though you must be annoyed with me
saying this I filmed a day in the life
of owning a sento with Sakai song so
look out for that video
there are so many aspects of Japanese
life that I'll be digging deeper into so
if you want to make sure you'll see them
please subscribe to see those videos
when they come out
so yes even in busy Tokyo you can get
some relative peace
you're not going to find yourself
completely alone in the wilderness
but maybe in certain areas with the
masses of people you may feel that way
foreign
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foreign
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thanks for watching see you next time
peace