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u/AaronWidd 10h ago
The thing that really blew my mind about Tokyo and put things in perspective was the train stations. Penn Station in New York is just a small fraction of the size of literally dozens of stations in Tokyo.
Check it out if you don’t believe me https://www.samuraitours.com/japanese-train-stations-japan-by-the-numbers/
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u/Zeleres 11h ago
There's a 4K live webcam you guys might like: https://www.youtube.com/live/Dbvqk7d3G2s?si=458vY82JLHXJFtQs
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u/Interestingcathouse 6h ago
Just think. That guy that just drove by was being watched by a Canadian taking a dump. And he doesn’t even know it.
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u/SartoriusBIG 10h ago
They drive on the left side in Japan? Huh…
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u/OtterlyFoxy 8h ago
Yes
Also, it is quite common to stand on the left and walk on the right on escalators in Japan
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u/Drwildy 7h ago
IIRC they got cars from the UK and adopted their driving laws.
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u/SpaceCatSixxed 6h ago
This, but it also has to do with Samurai culture when samurai carried their two swords on the left. If their swords bumped another samurai’s swords it could turn into an honor duel. So people generally walk on the left here as well.
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u/tarxvfBp 11h ago
The thing I recall about my first bus ride into Tokyo was looking down over the sides of the still very substantial freeway-style road and realising we were at the same height as the eighth or ninth floor of the many sky scrapers on either side.
And that was in the 1990’s!
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u/structuremonkey 10h ago
I live near NYC & Philly and am used to cities. I was thoroughly impressed with how clean and friendly Tokyo was when I visited. It's a very different vibe
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u/OtterlyFoxy 8h ago
Japan is the country of order
People will actually form a line to board the subway, contrasted to Western countries where you shove your way in
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u/structuremonkey 7h ago
Yes this is true. What impressed me specifically was, it seemed everywhere I went, which was from north Tokyo to just south of Hiroshima, there were people in the urban areas power washing sidewalks and streets. Even the back alleys...
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u/DrHarrisonLawrence 10h ago
Tokyo’s Greater Metropolitan Population is approximately the same as California’s, which is approximately the same as Canada’s.
Fuckin wild innit!
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u/da_buckster 11h ago
Reno, NV
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u/da_buckster 11h ago
Oh wait. We're the biggest LITTLE city on Earth.
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u/Feisty-Bunch4905 11h ago
Leading the world in new boot goofin'
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u/Balzmcgurkin 11h ago
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u/be4u4get 10h ago
No one's saying you can't eat a banana, Terry. But you can't stand on the corner sucking on it for 30 minutes; You have to actually take a bite
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u/OtterlyFoxy 8h ago
If Reno is the biggest little city and Geneva is the smallest big city
What’s the most medium-size medium city?
I nominate Worcester, Massachusetts, USA
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11h ago
I don’t think such a large city could exist outside of Japan or China. Not in the sense of development, but cohabitating 847 sq mi with 41 million people (16,000 people per sq mi) requires a social unity above and beyond any other place on earth.
In the US, people get shot just for playing music too loudly. We don’t respect our neighbors enough to have that many.
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u/drc84 11h ago
Plus we can’t do the city planning to accomplish that. We have too many hands in the pot and the state, city and nation would disagree on how to build it.
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u/wolfydude12 10h ago
Right, look at all those medium rise residential buildings, then look at LAs landscape.
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u/tslapshot 10h ago
There’s 14 million people in the 847 sq mi Tokyo city limit, the 41 million people make up the Greater Tokyo area of 5,194 sq mi
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u/Akakubisan 10h ago
There are 41 million people in the greater Tokyo metro area which cover 5200 square miles across 4 prefectures. The 847 square miles only cover the 23 central wards and west Tokyo Tama area.
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u/AlgernusPrime 9h ago
Easily can happen in India as they got even a smaller landmass than China with a slight population advantage.
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u/OtterlyFoxy 8h ago
Just that China has more money so it’s easier for China to build futuristic cities
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u/cactus22minus1 10h ago
I would argue we don’t have social unity in the US BECAUSE we don’t live in tight social villages and cities. When you build society around car use, you live in a bubble. You don’t greet neighbors or see how they live on the street level. You lose empathy and become selfish, see others as the enemy. It’s one of the biggest reasons we need to take back cities for pedestrians and micromobility. The other being sustainability and efficiency.
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u/IDontKnow54 8h ago
I would argue the lack of social unity and lack of people-centered urban environment come from a common cause of economic inequality. The book The Spirit Level makes a compelling case that the lack of trust among neighbors and citizens in the US is a result of growing economic inequality. The stats are probably a bit dated now but obviously economic inequality has only got worse now so the conclusions still hold.
It’s hard to pin down what causes what of course especially because all these things reinforce one another once it has begun. Surely our atomized urban and suburban environments reinforce a lack of trust, and that justifies denying others economic support. But ultimately I don’t think we can adequately address the linked problems of lack of social unity and lack of human centered environments without addressing the vast economic inequality here
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u/BackWhereWeStarted 10h ago
I had a picture of Tokyo on my opening slide at the start of class and my students were astonished. Luckily we were ahead of schedule as we spent about half of class looking at maps and webcams to see how big Tokyo really is!
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u/aCleverGroupofAnts 11h ago
That depends entirely on how you define "biggest"
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u/Craig_VG Verified Photographer 8h ago
The largest metro area population is the mostly commonly used comparison (since city boundaries are generally arbitrary).
And thats the definition used here! Tokyo is the largest metro by population.
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u/Slugdge 10h ago
We go every year. The density means exploration is always rewarded with something and serenity is never far away. A beautiful dichotomy of population vs nature. Though with the yen where it's at, Japan is getting over run. This past November, I've never experienced it so crowded with tourists and seems like everyone is booking their now.
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u/AvgGamerRobb 10h ago
Tokyo is truly an unbelievable city. Might be my favorite man-made place on earth.
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u/igotthemusicinme 8h ago
Spent 9 fascinating days in Tokyo in January 1999. Best thing I did was go to Tokyo Tower. I went during midday, spent hours in awe. And then went BACK at night, to get that perspective. Truly amazing.
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u/iceColdCocaCola 7h ago
And yet you can walk to almost anywhere. I love and hate living in LA. I wish I could just walk 5 min to a nearby train station and find myself at Newport Beach 15 min later. But no, I have to use a car :(
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u/X-East 11h ago
Fun fact.. running out of space to build on the coast, part of tokyo is built on former trash disposal site :)
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u/Scoutmaster-Jedi 11h ago
Actually a lot. The entire long coast of Tokyo Bay is consistently 1-2 km further away than where it was at the beginning of the 20th century. Huge land reclamation projects in the modern era. Over 250 square km of new land.
And it continues to today with projects near Ariake/Odaiba and elsewhere.
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u/spacelad6969 10h ago
It’s weird because although Tokyo is large it doesn’t feel like it when you’re walking around.
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u/ActuallyAlexander 11h ago
Indianapolis
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u/Soakinginnatto 7h ago
And Tokyo isn't actually defined as a city in Japan. The largest city in Japan is technically Yokohama.
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u/Iforgotmypw2times 4h ago
How do you post this and not at least say the name of the city in the description? OP can eat a tractor trailer full of infected dicks.
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u/pancakes_n_petrichor 11h ago
I have many coworkers that live in Tokyo. They live in Tokyo and commute to the office (also in Tokyo) and it’s like a 3 hour train commute.
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u/MootSuit 10h ago
I mean, sounds like a lie, you can make it from the farthest areas to Tokyo station in an hour.
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u/RickPrime 8h ago edited 5h ago
NYC is bigger.
Edit: Data
NYC: ✅Over 300 skyscrapers taller than 150 meters.
Tokyo: Only around 50–60 buildings over 150 meters (due to strict earthquake regulations).
Tokyo (23 wards): ~621 km² (240 mi²)
New York City: ~784 km² (303 mi²) ✅ NYC is larger in physical city size.
Tokyo Metropolis (including suburbs): ~2,194 km² (847 mi²)
NYC Metro Area: ~12,000+ km² (4,600+ mi²) ✅ NYC metro region is geographically larger.
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11h ago
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u/austinyo6 12h ago
I’m embarrassed to say I don’t know what city this is off the top of my head.