Living In Tokyo
I have been here for 8 months at this point, so here are 5 things I DON’T love about living in Tokyo.
Please read my post about 10 Things I Love About Living In Tokyo… here!
1. Public Transport
OK, so in my blogpost “10 Things I Love About Living In Tokyo”, my first point was how amazing public transport is here… And while I do find the public transport system in Tokyo to be better than anything I have experienced before, there are a couple of caveats to that observation.
Both very closely related, but firstly the public transport here can get VERY busy… I mean, sardine can-like busy!
If you suffer from claustrophobia, then peak-time public transport in Tokyo is NOT for you!
Then there are the buses. The buses in Tokyo are simply TOO small for the demand, and often only have single width seats for most of the length.
In Tokyo, the bus will NOT leave until it is scheduled to do so, and will allow on as many people as can squeeze in until the very second it is due to depart.
For some reason there is a distinct lack of double decker buses here. Back in the UK I would often see double decker buses with hardly any passengers at all, and here I often see small single decker buses with an over-crowded double decker’s worth of passengers all squashed in together.
I wonder, what would happen if there was a crash or sudden stop?… It does NOT seem safe… I do NOT feel safe when traveling in this way, and more often than not, opt to wait for the NEXT bus.
I wonder.. Why don’t they just have bigger buses here?
2. Phone Zombies
Frequently people slowly zig-zag mindlessly across the pavement, eyes glued to their phone, indifferent to the world and those around them. Walking into each other, stopping suddenly amongst other busy pedestrians to type out a message or whatever it is they are doing.
Perhaps there should be lanes for phone zombies and separate lanes for those of us who are more mindful of the world and those around us.
It is quite funny however, when sitting on the train and nearly every single other passenger is mindlessly staring at their phone screen.
I have even seen people just looking at the home screen, as if it is some kind of defensive shield with which to shut off the world around them.
I personally do not like to use my phone unless I have to. Smart phones can be very useful tools, but the act does run the risk of becoming a mindless reflex.
3. Cyclists On The Pavement
Firstly, let me make one thing clear… Riding a bicycle on the pavement (sidewalk) in Tokyo IS illegal…
“Japanese people always follow the rules”
Well let me tell you that many Japanese people unfortunately do NOT follow this rule.
The pavements here are extremely NARROW! In most of the residential areas of Tokyo, it is not possible for two people to pass on the pavement without one having to walk into the road…. The road, which has a dedicated cycle lane right there!
However, if someone riding a bicycle approaches YOU as a pedestrian, then it is YOU who has to step out into the CYCLE LANE to avoid them hitting you!
Nobody uses bells… They rarely ever say excuse me or thank you.. Often they silently ride up behind you at full speed and expect YOU to dive out of the way!… As if they expect you to have eyes in the back of your head.
Walking around Tokyo I have to keep my head on a swivel, purely to keep out of the way of illegal pavement cyclists!
Recently the government have claimed they are attempting to introduce laws to crack down on cyclists who use their phones while riding… They should simply crack down on those already breaking the law by riding on the pavement. Perhaps if they were forced to ride in the road as they legally should be doing, not so many would be looking at their phones while doing so!
4. Summer Humidity
It’s no surprise that a British man from the breezy and often overcast North West of England, struggles with the summer humidity here in Tokyo.
It’s hot, humid and the wind is barely existent for most of the summer.
The heat radiates from the concrete and the sweat pours from every part of the body.
Simply walking 5 minutes down the road to the convenience store and back requires a t-shirt change straight after.
There are many ways to stay cool during these months, but in-between the opportunities to do so can be quite uncomfortable.
Check out my blog post on keeping cool in the summer here.
5. Double Glazing
The astonishing lack of double glazing in rental properties here is alarming!
The only reason I can find is that the building code for energy efficiency, seems to be optional and as the tenants foot the bill for heating and cooling, the landlords and property management companies simply opt to save a bit of money in the construction, and only install single pane windows.
We all know that double glazing helps to keep things cool in the summer and warm in the winter, and also provides some much needed noise reduction.
I live in a ground floor flat next to a road, and the car noise is horrendous.
We have to run the air-conditioners constantly through the summer, and when winter hits we will have to run them on heating mode just as much.
With such a high population, I wonder why the government haven’t put more thought into how the city can be more energy efficient.
Bonus. Sausages and bacon!
The sausages and bacon here, to a British person, leave a lot to be desired.
The UK is known for it’s cooked breakfasts, and the foundation of that is the excellent range of delicious sausages and bacon available to buy.
Almost all of the bacon and sausages here are precooked and quite tasteless. No smoked back bacon, no thick seasoned sausages with herbs.
On a positive note however, the eggs here are really very good!
Please be sure to check out my previous post, 10 Things I Love About Living in Tokyo… here.
Thank you for reading.
