A comparison between Okinawa (built for cars) and the rest of Japan
A comparison between Okinawa (built for cars) and the rest of Japan
I'm not the author, I watched it, like it and thought it is related so I'm sharing.
I hope they can get the base relocated and that heavy rail project built. Once the main trunk line is done, the transport issues should start to be relieved quickly. When I visited Okinawa I was struck by how American it felt. I think it's a good experience to visit, it reveals how much of what we consider "Americaness" is derived from car centric infrastructure. At least Japan doesn't have batshit zoning laws like America, so it should be easier to fix.
I was really struck by the interviews asking whether people walk anywhere, and everyone was saying 'no, I even drive to the convenience store'
You wouldn't find that in most cities in Japan for sure. Even places with worse public transport, people still walk to the local stuff. Making it too easy to drive makes everything else suck
Here's the nebula link to this video, for anyone with a sub there
https://nebula.tv/videos/lifewhereimfrom-the-worst-traffic-in-japan-isnt-in-tokyo/
Average driving speed in Tokyo was only 3km faster, still insanely slow. Mainland Japan has a fuck ton of traffic as well, I can't imagine it without public transport. The population density is seriously high.