Getting to Work: Japan vs USA

Let's compare the commutes of someone in the USA vs Japan. Special thanks to Lisa for helping me make this video!
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[@ruchan242]

The USA commute looks so depressing! I live in Europe and my commute is more similar to the Japanese one, with lots of small shops, cafes, schools and public transit options nearby. So, so grateful for this.

[@ShaferHart]

The US is even more depressing if you don't have a car. It's disgusting.

[@RealSergiob466]

@@ShaferHart yeah it’s like a punishment and especially kids don’t go out often and mostly isolated suburban areas

[@ThePerksdeLeSarcasmeSiorai]

Congratulations !!! Life is so blissful for you. Now leave us alone and so that we can make our own progress.

[@gelinrefira]

One thing people also frequently failed to point out is that American cities are nearly all the same. The strip malls you see, the bill boards, the type of businesses are all the same from Indiana to Texas, to California. They look the same, the function the same. For a country that is suppose to be innovative and creative, America is a place of depressing sameness. Ohh look, it's Olive Garden. You drove 1000 miles, it's the another Olive Garden as though you never left. Thousands of miles of road, save for the changing natural landscape, America is all the same.

[@jeffweingrad4658]

@@gelinrefira That's actually due to the market and people more than anything. From the invention of the chain and franchise, there's a whole psychological phenomenon of people only going to things that are familiar to them and consistent.

[@SonnyO]

The UPS thing at the end must be a UPS distribution center, and they hire a cop in the morning to direct traffic, or else those trucks making left turns would be super backed up and late before even starting.

[@thehangmansdaughter1120]

Thanks for the explanation. That scene makes sense now.

[@EntropyOfChaos]

I was going to say something similar. I’ve seen this before with other companies too.

[@JuffoWup78]

Yup, that was my thought as well. And also to be clear, it isn't always just for couriers like that. During the christmas peak times, amazon swells their worker counts in fulfillment centers. As such, they sometimes hire police to direct traffic at certain times to facilitate their workers getting in and out at reasonable times. On normal days outside then, the workers are left to themselves. And now that I mentioned that, I wonder if this is the same fact. The officer seemed to be bundled up a bit along with the fall colors suggesting colder times. Perhaps like amazon, ups is only bringing them on to direct traffic when they are running more delivery vehicles per day such as around christmas.

[@rocklolita]

We have that around Mega-Churches in my area too, on Sundays. Traffic gets so hectic when they let out that the cops direct to limit accidents and to keep the nearby intersections from becoming deadlocked.

[@kristinesharp6286]

@@rocklolita and high schools. There could be thousands of students and hundreds of teachers and staff on buses and in cars and walking.

[@RMTransit]

A delightful comparison! I love how you show that despite cars being very much present in people's day-to-day lives in Japan, people are not *forced* to drive, and have lots of great alternatives.

[@anubizz3]

One thing surprise me that non of the Tokyo shot have protected bike-line like most of the urbanist channel advocate, My guess is good public transport is the answer not more bike line.

[@thastayapongsak4422]

@@anubizz3 good public transport results in less cars, so people who bikes just do it on the side walk or on the road.

[@AshrakAhmed]

@@anubizz3 in Tokyo you are allowed to bike on the pavement/sidewalk as long you are being respectful towards pedestrians. so even on major road they hardly need bike lane as they have wide enough sidewalk for multi-use.

[@ProfessordevilL]

​@@anubizz3 And narrow streets and low speed limits. At 30 km/h it's closer to biking speed.

[@cabbage_cat]

@@anubizz3 there are bike lines in urban areas such as hokkaido, in the city, biking on the sidewalk is okay and people have developed a sense to subconsciously move away when there is a bike behind you might be confusing for people who visit japan for the first time

[@NotJustBikes]

This was a great video, as usual. One thing that wasn't mentioned about people with disabilities though, was that disabled people who cannot drive, are almost completely forgotten about in the US. Over 40% of physically disabled people cannot get a driver's licence, so in the US, they're completely dependent on other people. But these people *can* take a train, and many of them can ride a bicycle or tricycle too (but only if it's safe). There's this built-in assumption in America that disabled people need cars, and it's used as an excuse not to expand public transit or cycling. But I regularly hear from disabled people who contact me to tell me how much their independent mobility improved when they moved somewhere walkable and with good public transit. And here in the Netherlands I see elderly people cycling (there are even cane holders for bicycles!), people on tricycles and hand cycles, and lots of people in mobility scooters and microcars, all using the bicycle infrastructure. It's a bit shortsighted to suggest that the biggest problem for disabled people in America is a lack of disabled parking. That only covers the people who can drive. There's a whole other group that's just hidden in American society who aren't being serviced at all in a car-dependent environment.

[@LifeWhereImFrom]

Good point! I actually did a couple videos on my second channel about living with a disability in Japan. One of the interviewees was Canadian (now he's Japanese) and he did indeed find a lot more freedom in Japan, where he could travel by public transit. kzbin.info/www/bejne/rqrGlpaYrNV8sKc and kzbin.info/www/bejne/gXzVfYR6g9qApqs

[@NotJustBikes]

@@LifeWhereImFrom oh wow, that's really interesting! I'll watch those for sure. Thanks!

[@anubizz3]

I dont see any protected bike lines in his video. I assume you will make video of Tokyo lack of bike safety.

[@Komainu959]

@@anubizz3 If you look on his channel he has a video "Tokyo by bike" where he goes by bike all around Tokyo to the tune of about 70 miles in one long day. You can then judge for yourself how safe/unsafe it is. Since I've been to Japan and spent time in Tokyo I can say from my limited experience that there are LOTS more people walking and riding bikes than your typical city in the US. Even population dense ones like NY that are also very walkable due to the Metro.

[@Komainu959]

The problem is that you're trying to compare a very rural country like the US to European type countries. Generally speaking countries that have vast amounts of space...are less dense and so things tend to spread out more. I'm pretty sure the US and Canada are some of the least walkable countries I've been to with rare exceptions for extremely dense larger cities like NYC or Vancouver. But since my best friends Mother was wheelchair bound I can certainly understand and hope that US and indeed all countries increased the ease for those with disabilities are able to move about freely. That's one case where the US is actually better than Japan as the US has way more accessible doors, ramps, elevators etc. ONCE you get there.

[@GalladofBales]

I'm an American and I even find it very jarring that more and more schools are requiring parents to drive their kids to school. I'm only 27 so school wasn't that long ago for me, and for all my school years I had a bus to pick me up. I doubt that's gone away in my district because it is well-funded, which is probably why when I started hearing about this a few years ago my jaw dropped. It makes me want to cry; it's such a prime example of the horrible priorities the US has. I can only imagine what a hindrance that must be for parents with school children, but it's even worse for the kids. More time in/around cars for kids means way more instances for them to get hurt (if a car crashes into a bus the bus is fine). Perhaps even worse though, children in the US are losing any sense of independence. In Japan and Europe, kids can walk or bike to school and other places on their own because it is safe. In the US, we have created an environment so dangerous to human life that we could never let kids go unattended, and this is terrible for their development.

[@wturner777]

Growing up in a small car-dependent town, the school bus was my only method of transportation to school and back. It was really difficult to visit my friend's houses without transportation.

[@jackgawel9531]

??? this is only in crappy parts, most people I know walk to my HS. (i live in the suburbs)

[@Darkknight5x5]

@@jackgawel9531 this isn't the norm anymore. In fact, many new suburbs are designed in a way where kids wouldn't be able to walk to school as it's so far away. My elementary and high school were too far away to walk and were dangerous to bike to. Even my middle school, which was, less than a mile away was dangerous due to lack of sidewalks and street lamps during dark, early mornings.

[@wturner777]

@@Darkknight5x5 The fact of the matter is most cities and towns in the US and Canada have been bulldozed for the car on top of the rise of suburbia in the 1950s. It happened and sadly we all let it happen.

[@85AngelRogue]

@@wturner777 correct !

[@mrsideshowjack]

I recently moved to Tokyo, my commute is now only a 20 min walk through quiet backstreets. Its amazing!

[@AudieHolland]

I love the quiet backstreets and alleys in Japanese cities. But I could never get used to Japanese society. Then again I live in The Netherlands and our designated buslanes, trains and bikeways offer great alternatives to commuting by car. Train and busstations can be easily reached by bike, and once you're on the train, you can travel to any city center by train. Travelling by train is much more efficient and faster than travelling by car. And if your destination is in the same city, travelling by bike is much more convenient and faster than travelling by car.

[@mokisan]

If you dont mind my asking, do you have any idea on moving to netehrlands? I have been planning to move to there but finding no way.

[@AudieHolland]

@@mokisan Unfortunately, one requirement is that you have a job opportunity. This is why most foreigners living in The Netherlands are expats sent there for their work. Unless you're a refugee from a warzone, the next best option would be to marry a Dutch national.

[@mokisan]

@@AudieHolland well blimey. Thanks though. I guess i am lucked out. Apparently even if you get selected for a job, your pay should be €35k/year to get a visa in EU. As an non-eu national

[@AudieHolland]

@@mokisan Where are you at, Australia?

[@gebmart9957]

I used to live in Poland and I was walking about 3 miles a day just to and from the train. The ride was 32-35 minutes. Sometimes one had to stand all the time. In the States, in the area I live now, I need to make a special effort to walk. Otherwise, it would be just a few steps to my car and then out of the car. Actually, to go for a walk, I need to drive there first...

[@kb_100]

My sister in the US is in the same situation as you. When she wants to walk she has to drive to the waterfront area because her neighbourhood sucks for walking.

[@user-no2mz9hl4f]

I think this is a major flaw in urban design. Every city, town, and village should be designed with pedestrians and cyclists in mind.

[@LifeWhereImFrom]

A special thanks to Lisa for sticking with me on this project (we've working on it off and on for a year!) Originally it was comparing a city in USA vs. Japan, but there was too much ground to cover, so I decided to focus on the commute to start off with. Then I had all this intro about why the cities look different and I went on and on. I'd still like to cover other urban design stuff, but tackle it a video at a time vs. trying to make some mega hour-long video! Is there anything specific you'd like to see compared? - Greg

[@windymaharani4577]

Good to see fresh market comparison.. or mall comparison.. or foodcourt comparison

[@findtherightbeat]

Does Lisa have a KZbin channel?

[@alitabaker99]

Loved the video. Anything to get more information out there about how car-centric design is TERRIBLE for nearly every aspect of daily life. And how things could be so much better!

[@ropro9817]

Ugh... North American stroads... 😩 Looks like there's some beautiful fall foliage there though! 🍁

[@HomeDress50]

Where's Aiko, Mr ?

[@moth5799]

I'm not a commuter, but I have to go to school. My experience in the UK is pretty similar to the Japanese commute. I take a 19 minute train from my home to the nearby town, there's a Costa and a Ritazza if I need any food or want a quick drink. Then I have a 5 minute walk to the school. It's so much nicer than a 50 minute drive with my parents every day.

[@anasevi9456]

I grew up in a village in the east midlands, wish it was so convenient for me but my parents insisted I took the bloody bus to Lincoln to attend a grammar school.

[@moth5799]

@@anasevi9456 that sucks, I hope the grammar school at least gave you some career opportunities

[@MrA6060]

if you go to school you are a commuter, after all you are going to a place many times a week doing the same thing, so that is also commuting, and i 100% agree that the us has done it wrong for the lognest time.

[@anedgyweeb2703]

@@anasevi9456 Functioning transport in the eats midlands? In a village? wut, having grew up in a small town in the east midlands, the buses suckkkeeed

[@moth5799]

@@debesys6306 exactly why we need to fund better bus services

[@etherdog]

I used to live in Indianapolis (and live only an hour away now) and the contrast with Japan is about as stark as can be. We were shocked to see Indy featured in this video! So, Greg, your ability to surprise is still strong!

[@staceyn2541]

I love how we call it an hour away. Bloomington is 50 miles from Indy, but still call it an hour away. I have read that other countries think that is a curious American thing. It's true though. Mileage makes no difference, getting there takes as long as it's gonna take. When my folks lived in St. Louis, I could predict my arrival time within 4 minutes once I got onto the interstate.

[@woodtvnetwork]

I lived in fishers and Noblesville in Hamilton county for years. I remember always having to regret going downtown to the IUPUI hospital near there when I would have doctor's appointments. I wish we had transportation like Japan

[@seanthe100]

It's baffling that people think a place like Indiana with literally unlimited flat land should be built up like Japan where literally only 8% of land is flat and barley habitable

[@godmodeon666]

Why are all these commenters so delusional to compare the apple to orange.. it's not even apple to orange. It's apple to table comparison--not even the same realm of item at this point--that is Tokyo to Indianapolis. At least do Tokyo to NYC.

[@Strangleyourfriend]

The US comparison is so utterly depressing. Since I do live in rural Scandinavia I do rely on my car since public commutes aren’t vast due to small population, but the town I live in is no way near car centric. 30km/h restrictions for cars, wide and raised sidewalks with marked bicycle paths, large speed bumps that would destroy your car if you try to speed and etc makes it very walkable. Sometimes when just going buying something minor I take a detour just because I can and check out the town. Sometimes I meet a friend and chat for short while before continuing to the store. I honestly pity americans for missing out on that and are restricted to their cars and big box stores in strictly commercial areas. A walkable city is a liveable city. It’s been that way for thousands of years, and frankly car centric society is an abnormality.

[@kmo20794]

There are plenty of walkable cities in the US. This video was just cherry picking at its finest

[@WannaBeMx]

I love your Urban Planning related videos. It would be so cool to see some collaborations with other UP KZbinrs, because they tend to focus a lot on Europe for comparisons and not Asia or Japan.

[@LifeWhereImFrom]

Yeah, it would be cool. I don't claim to know much about urban planning, but the topic really fascinates me.

[@Amir-jn5mo]

@@LifeWhereImFrom Yeah I would love more Japan and in general Asia related urban planning videos. There has been a big boom of walkable/livable/15min city whatever you want to call it content on youtube. However 99% of the comparisions are with Europe and it makes me sad cause Asian cities also do great for more people friendly cities and they are not "preserving classic characters of city" so I want to have them showcased as well.

[@juminrhee4255]

Yes. City beautiful would be a great youtuber for comparisons.

[@justavideodiary]

The city design in Japan is insanely smart. We all should take a note.

[@mel-nq6re]

But I'm not necessarily a fan of some of the tradeoffs, like the limited amount of space in the average Tokyo living quarters, or the lack of green fields, green lawns, parks, and landscape that one would normally find in a suburban or rural area.

[@Brindlebrother]

@@mel-nq6re I fully support more green spaces. But the car-centric/suburban lifestyle is much worse for everyone and comes with MUCH worse tradeoffs. What he showed there of Japan is leagues better than the US comparison.

[@Pixel5564]

I don't want to be packed in like a sardine

[@NoName-rq6bg]

Nope

[@seanthe100]

Japan literally only has 8% of the country flat and habitable that's literally the only reason it's built like that out of necessarily. If Japan had space they would never choose to live like sardines

[@s70driver2005]

As someone who just got back from Japan 2 weeks ago and is a car/motorcycle enthusiast I never thought I'd miss the trains as much as I do now. I really wish America had better public transit in most cities but the problem is also our biggest benefit and it space. We have lower population density but it also makes it really hard to get anywhere (quickly) without a car.

[@whereaboutsunknown3822]

We may have space but we didn't need to build everything so spaced out. But I blame everything on the automobile industry lobbying our governments and people to cater to their car and road focused society.

[@kristinesharp6286]

I used to live in Chicago. In a single family house in the neighborhoods but within the limits. It was buses that ran 15 minutes and then a transfer to get to the train and then wait for the train and finally get there. No route was more than 25 minutes but combined it could take an hour. No where near enough parking to drive to the station and bypass the bus. Suburbs are much harder for public transit. Limited times of service too. Most kids walk to school in the city. I never got on a yellow bus except for a field trip. I took a regular city fare bus to high school, dropped me off a few blocks away.

[@s70driver2005]

@@whereaboutsunknown3822 you are 100% correct. Our abundance of space has been one of our greatest assets but also created what we experience daily. The struggle of getting around in that space.

[@s70driver2005]

@@kristinesharp6286 yep. I never took the bus to school because no routes ran near me and it was too far to walk.

[@lainiwakura1776]

@@whereaboutsunknown3822 Los Angeles used to have a nice trolley system that the car companies bought out and destroyed to make people buy cars. So there you go.

[@Keeperoffyre]

saw the video thumbnail and was "yeah....this is going to be fun showing my hometown." half an hour wait for the bus is IF it's even running. also, you don't get buses once you cross the county lines; might be lucky and have a county transit that can get you to an IndyGo stop or you'll have to park at a carpool lot. great video, once again!

[@ericniedzielski5259]

If US businesses had to pay for employee commutes, things would change real fast here.

[@wturner777]

Some businesses allow employees to drive their company vehicles for commute. Most other businesses won't even help you pay for gas, especially for low-wage workers. But I do agree with you on that.

[@NickCBax]

In Seattle at least, larger companies are required to have commute plans, which usually results in employers giving their employees free transit passes.

[@wturner777]

@@NickCBax That's pretty cool.

[@ndeertrack]

Portland has an employer tax that goes to the regional transit authority (Trimet.) The idea is that all businesses benefit from public transit, whether it is their workers or customers using the service. It can be frustrating for businesses in areas of the city where car dependent designs is a part of the city code.

[@kimberlydeverell2863]

When we lived in Tacoma/Gig Harbor in Washington state, my commute to work was bare minimum 1 hour and 45 minutes. One day it took 3 hours due to a bad accident on I-5. A lot of people commute from Tacoma to Seattle, and in the mornings it is an absolute nightmare. We now live in Indiana, about an hour north of Indianapolis and about 50 minutes south of Fort Wayne. Where we live, it's mostly rural, and I-69 is almost never busy. I love it. Though, now both my husband and I work from home, so our commute is about 30 seconds. When I have to go to the clinic though, it's a 50 minute drive into the north end of Fort Wayne. I miss the trains in Japan. Both times I visited the trains and buses are much more convenient.

[@Lee-ic8ln]

The reason we don't have trains, buses, sidewalks, etc. is basically because of three things: Car Lobby, Oil/Gas Lobby and people not wanting to pay taxes. Car lobby and oil/gas lobby is obvious why they don't want us to build trains, but the objection to taxes is a deep-rooted cultural phenomenon in America. American's just hate paying taxes even though we have the lowest among other relatively rich nations. I have no problem paying extra taxes if that means my city will build bus lanes, trains, other alternative transportation however I only represent 20% of the population whereas the other 80% don't want to see any tax increase. It is very annoying!

[@gytan2221]

You should move to NYC… or Chicago

[@kimberlydeverell2863]

@@gytan2221 You couldn't pay me to move to either of those places XD We left Washignton state for a reason...high taxes, heavy crime rates, high cost of living...etc... I hope to never live in a big city like that ever again. While places like Chicago and NYC may have "decent" public transit, Japan still has the US beat on all fronts as far as I'm concerned. I loved the transit system in Japan, but I couldn't live in Tokyo proper either. Its just too busy for me. I preferred the countryside in Kyoto to the big city. When I studied abroad in Kyoto, it was such a slower pace of life, and just felt more home for me. If I had my choice of where I would move to, it would be Kyoto outside the main city. I like my rural life now. No close neighbors, 5.5 acres of peace and quiet.

[@tagaarado6449]

Gig Harbor is a very nice place, just happened to be in a bad spot if you daily commute was to Seattle. First, that toll crossing the Narrows. Second, 99% of the time, that I-5 in either direction on ramp from Gig Harbor is a congestion nightmare and then this never ending construction. By the time you reach Fife, an hour have passed. Perhaps, taking a ferry was a better option.

[@gytan2221]

@@kimberlydeverell2863 lol you like rural life but you want public transit… aren’t you self conflicted? You do know that a good public transit system requires high density right? Because houses in America are so big (especially with the unnecessarily large lawn and everything is far apart from each other which makes it impossible to have a good transit… it’s much worse in rural areas.

[@floogulinc]

This really makes me miss the semester I spent in Japan. Just the general activities of daily life are so much more pleasant and as someone who doesn't drive the freedom of being able to get anywhere and do anything without a car is amazing.

[@shwetasonnyv]

Lived in Indiana for 4 years and I live in Japan now for the last 6, honestly prefer Japan, for me its more comforting living in Japan because I am an Asian.

[@nicolecampos3489]

US commute varies between each state and each city. Cities like San Francisco are similar to how you commute in Tokyo. Most people take trains or walk to work if they live and work in the city or outside the city in Oakland or Berkley.

[@wturner777]

True. I've been to SF and left my heart there. If it wasn't so expensive to live there, I'd still be there.

[@airops423]

Yes, I live in SF and bike to work!

[@Westlander857]

Correct me if I’m wrong, but one of the reasons the Japanese are some of the healthiest people on earth and have one of the highest life expectancies is because Japanese cities are so walkable, so most Japanese are always on foot. In my experience, if you live somewhere that’s very walkable, you don’t even need to hit the gym often. It’s amazing how walking so much can keep you in shape.

[@fixpacifica]

It's because they drink Yakult every morning. At least that's according to the Yakult commercials I used to see in the US long ago.

[@chickennoodle6620]

Yes, that's definitely true. So many problems in the US, Canada and Australia stem from suburban sprawl and zoning that makes work further from housing. There's the environmental cost of having to drive, the financial cost needed to own and maintain a car, the time lost to commuting (since you can't do anything but drive during the commute), and the health cost where lower levels of activity lead to obesity amongst adults and children (since they are driven everywhere).

[@staceyn2541]

People don't seem to realise that exercising is unnatural. Daily living used to be enough for fitness. Walking, cooking, getting water, growing crops, just life in general kept people healthier than modern living allows.

[@anubizz3]

If you want walkable city live in Africa alot of kids have to walk 10 km just to get water.

[@theendurance]

no, its mainly diet. Japanese are also very sedentary. other than going to work or school, they don't go outside much often (its a very computer-obsessed society).

[@kippshinabarger8110]

UPS Hub on 16th Street Indianapolis. Every morning when the UPS drivers head out, there is a policeman there to direct traffic so all of the UPS trucks can get out easily, without having to install a stop light that would be just a few hundred feet away from another stop light. It's usually around 9am, after most of the rush traffic has left the area.

[@AncloteLeviathan]

Also, a car is SO vital in most of the US. High school kids often drive themselves to school once they (or a friend) get a license, & a HS can have dedicated student parking (at my public HS school you had to enter a raffle & pay a fee to have a spot, because there weren’t enough parking spots). My college was considered a “commuter” style college, so everyone drove themselves to campus. We had huge parking garages, & you would need to leave at least 30-60 mins spare time just for “sharking” the lots for an open space. You also had to pay for a semester or 1-yr parking tag (which didn’t guarantee you a spot on the over crowded campus) Car insurance companies here also have an optional coverage level that will include a rental car if you have a car accident, so you can still get around. Otherwise you’d have to bug a coworker, call an Uber, or pay for a rental yourself which could get expensive.

[@acmulhern]

My commute is 15 minutes on foot, and that includes dropping my kids off to the local school. I used to have a long commute and I actively looked for an apartment closer to my work. And my husband has a 5 minute bus ride followed by a 5 minute walk through the pedestrian city centre streets. It's a real luxury and I wouldn't give it up to live in a suburban house, ever. Our local park is a good enough garden for us 😀

[@igbatious]

the suburbs is where dreams go to die

[@anubizz3]

Wait until you have kids. I see the evolution in my university friend and family.

[@acmulhern]

@@anubizz3 I literally said I have 2 kids. Less commute means seeing them more, which was one of the main reasons for leaving the suburbs and living in the city.

[@spindle7397]

@@anubizz3 err... they have kids mate. They literally said they did.

[@OldMan_PJ]

I used to live in San Jose, CA (Silicon Valley) and took a bus and light rail to work, it would take 1 hour 15 minutes each way. Then I bought a car and my commute went down to 10 minutes each way, I was fortunate to live near a freeway on-ramp. When I moved to Illinois my commute averaged 45 minutes by car no matter where I worked except when it snowed sometimes my commute would take 3 hours to go the same distance.

[@brianbuchmeier]

I'm going to guess that's just a high-traffic time and the UPS trucks would have difficulty getting out of their lot since there is no traffic light there. The company probably requested an officer to direct traffic in the mornings in order to get the trucks out on their routes in a timely manner. Again, just a guess.

[@astra4518]

Fun and great video as always! As someone into urbanism and doesn’t own a car - mobility can be tricky in most US cities so it’s cool to see more creators talk about and criticize car based infrastructure!

[@akirebara]

I live in Chicago & thankful for our ytrains & buses and bike paths by Lake Michigan. My commute when I go to the office is just a 45-minute bus ride, door-to-door. And my bus stop is literally half a block from my walk-up condo (I could also take the train, which a 7-minute walk to the station plus a 40-minute ride, then a 5-minute walk to the office).

[@bibby3027]

Yeah there's really no such thing as a "US commute" since its largely dependent on where you live here

[@gytan2221]

But Chicago is still awful to me… the L train is mostly designed for Suburban-Urban commute so if you wanna go from one suburb to the other, you’re gonna need to drive because you don’t want to go to another suburb thru the downtown, it’s a long journey since there aren’t trains that connect directly from suburb to suburb.

[@akirebara]

@@gytan2221 You're talking about Metra. Yup, it's a badly planned process. No train that goes from one suburb to another. Heck, it'd be great if there was a straight shot train from Chicago to the Starved Rock hiking trails. Those will bring in tourist money. The L train is the trains for Chicago plus a bit of Skokie and Evanston townships.

[@weenisw]

@@akirebara Peoria and the towns between there and Chicago are working on restarting passenger rail service which would include a stop at Starved Rock if they succeed. It will take years to begin service but I’m glad it’s in motion

[@weenisw]

@@akirebara kzbin.info/www/bejne/Y3Skamtuip1jiJI

[@reysustaita]

I can’t remember if you have done a video like this yet, but showing the public transportation between Tokyo and a city like Chicago/New York. Overall great video and it just really highlights how much of a pain it is sometimes in the States.

[@LifeWhereImFrom]

Never done it before. But it would be fun!

[@ericng5707]

While not a comparison, the "Tokyo's Urban Railways Explained" video from RMTransit is a good place to start.

[@jpg294]

@@LifeWhereImFrom I live in Chicago, and I would say there are more similarities between Tokyo and here compared to Tokyo and Indy.

[@potatoindespair4494]

A lot of people pointed out NYC as an exception to "the American city," but it's not the only one. Downtowns of other major cities like San Francisco or Chicago, or even Santa Monica (despite being in LA county) are also dominated by walking/biking/transit. The problem is that so few Americans get to experience a real downtown commute because the suburbs are so much bigger and cheaper

[@carydb]

Thanks for the nice video Greg. It brought back memories of when I had to commute by bus an average 25 minutes daily while I was in College in the US. Walking would take about 35-40 minutes. I've visited Japan and it seemed more peaceful and secure taking the train or bus and walking around the cities I've been to there. I'd very much like to visit again.

[@raytes14]

It might be more interesting to compare the same city types like Tokyo to New York city or San Francisco or Osaka to Indianapolis.

[@DavidJohnson-dp4vv]

A city like Fukuoka would a better city to compare to Indianapolis.

[@yuzu8483]

Okinawa to Hawaii?

[@fermatachambersoloists]

The difference would be negligible. Every Japanese city (and most first world cities around the world) have far surperior design and public transit and Indianapolis or and like depressing America city. Boston, Seattle, NYC, Chicago and SFO are rare exceptions.

[@RamSkirata]

Being from Europe, I may be in a good position to comment here, as both commutes compared here feel kinda foreing to me. Of course, the japanese commute is healthier in the end, because of the physical activity involed, not taking pollution in dense cities into consideration. But it also feels kinda depressing for me, only seeing dense city all the time and soo many people. What I loved about the US commute is, that the areads you go through are so much more roomy and scenic - the houses are more beautiful, you go through lots of nature, there are wide views, that sorta thing.

[@Elle0704]

I bet it was the start of the morning shift at UPS and because so many drivers are leaving the facility and there’s no stop light at that intersection, a police officer will direct traffic to make sure no one waits too long. I live in the suburbs of Atlanta and there are two schools on my street, so in the morning, there are police directing traffic for safety.

[@noodlery7034]

This really opened my eyes as a person who has always walked to school and work

[@scooooter]

I can offer some experience of living in a very rural area of Japan. It's little bit similar to life in Indiana actually if you go out of Tokyo. You drive 20 mins on a big road and you'll see big malls and supermarkets with a lot of parking spaces. Yet, compared to the States, the scale of the parking lot or the shop itself is rather smaller. Also, you'd still see a few pedestrians or cyclists. However, for most of the people, car is the main mode of transportation.

[@connorhay5823]

Japanese: Eats healthy due to easily accessible and affordable groceries, travels by foot and train, lives long and has independence for most of their life due to a healthy lifestyle. Americans: Eats fast food, drives everywhere, becomes obese, dies early and is disabled due to their health problems before their early death. Good city design is soooo important!!!!

[@kristinesharp6286]

There are year round produce and seafood options for most people in US and room to store it all. Delivery for groceries.

[@linalmeemow]

It's something of a myth that the Japanese eat healthily, lots of everyday Japanese food is pretty unhealthy (WAY more deep fried food than I ever expected). The main difference is portion size - most restaurant servings are a sensible size for a single person; combine that with lots of walking as part of a commute and you get a population that isn't typically overweight. On my visits to the US I couldn't get over how much food comes in a regular serving. Comfortably 2-3 times the amount you'd get in Japan. Eat all that and waddle back to your car, you have a recipe for obesity.

[@connorhay5823]

@@linalmeemow I've lived there for two years and of course there's unhealthy food, but like you said they eat less of it, and the majority of their food is actually pretty healthy. Especially their home cooking which is very healthy and I would say is night and day compared to American home cooking.

[@linalmeemow]

@@connorhay5823 Lived there for four years myself, and married a Japanese woman so we eat a lot of Japanese food at home. Agreed that home-cooked meals are often pretty healthy, but when I worked in Tokyo most of my colleagues would eat in restaurants / get takeaway food at least a few times a week. I don't have lots of experience of US home cooking as my family over there (I'm from the UK) are not cooks in any shape or form. What surprised me though was how much sugar was added to everything. The sliced bread tasted more like cake when compared to bread in the UK...

[@MrCliffWorks]

Wow! It was cool to see my hometown in a Life Where I'm From video. Keep up the great videos @Greg! Thanks, @Lisa!

[@emmac2274]

Amazing production and explanations as always

[@chloegregory-pendley8636]

I live and work in the Metro Detroit area and I'm lucky enough to live only about an 8 minute drive from the small business I work at, but my dad who works with me drives about an hour each way. It sucks up so much of your time, having affordable housing near work saves time and gas. Theoretically I could walk or bike to work but the area is pretty industrial and the drivers definitely do not go anywhere near our 35 mph speed limit!!

[@tea-and-biscuits]

thank you very much greg, for the wholesome and educational content. you make the world a better place

[@AudieHolland]

Having more buses and designated buslanes would help Indiana residents a lot. In The Netherlands, designated buslanes are often protected by special 'bus locks' that are concrete barriers low enough for a bus to pass over but if someone in a private car tries to enter via such a lock, his or her car would get stuck. If such an unfortunate event occurs, it will mean delays of course but such incidents almost never happen because most motorists have learned (sometimes the hard way) that they just cannot drive on designated buslanes.

[@subhadeepporel4919]

I am glad that you have made such a wonderful comparison of the commute. There is no other single video on YT of such. Thank you very much.

[@baumracist]

When was looking for apartments I've tried to reach as short commute time as possible. Ended up with 10-12 minutes from door to door. Overpaying for living in the center but having an extra hour per day is worth it.

[@qjtvaddict]

It’s cheaper to give up and live in another country

[@randomtravel4361]

That depends on how much space you want (ahem, not need). I'm 20 minutes driving from work and have a 2-bedroom apartment. My co-worker who lives 1 hour driving away from work on a good day, has a single house 4 times bigger than mine for the same cost.

[@rickiek]

When I used to live in Manhattan, NYC, my commute to work was a 20 minute walk - those were the best years! Or, a 7 minute bus ride if it was raining hard.

[@VashGames]

I wish we had a city plan like downtown Tokyo where public train and bus is nearby, frequent and dependable.

[@heavenly670]

This is amazing! I love the comparison and detail.

[@whereaboutsunknown3822]

Thank you so so much for this. I want more people to know how much transportation in the U.S. sucks. I want Americans to know what’s out there. After living in both Japan and U.S. I can say without a doubt, I much prefer trains, bikes, and walking as opposed to cars. And there’s a plethora of reasons why, but I’ll keep this comment short and end there.

[@kamakura9722]

Yes I agree, I think suburbs are too common for our own good. Because zoning sucks here, the roads are dangerous for us

[@lainiwakura1776]

Yes! When I see Japanese commutes, I get so jealous because it must be nice to have zoning laws that weren't put in place by NIMBY types and that favor cars. No one walks because everything is too far.

[@wturner777]

I agree. I prefer a city where a car is optional, but not needed just to go anywhere.

[@natebell5026]

Great video! I like the commentary in the second half. It’s interesting to see how both sides have benefits and drawbacks. Japan is an interesting study because while they make some of the best cars in the world, they haven’t designed their cities to be exclusively used by cars. You can drive if you’d like, but you can also walk safely and take the train to most destinations

[@WhiteMoose1]

Very cool video. I like the commentary demonstrating how city design can change how people in the cities think about things such as sending children to school. Makes me wonder what sort of contrasts you'd make if you looked at heavier road metropolis such as Houston.

[@ProfessordevilL]

Your urban planning videos are always a delight!

[@defunctchannel942]

Loved the comparison! Glad this became a video!

[@beastbike4570]

Nice video! It is great seeing more and more urbanist content online, especially some from Japan. People should see how Asian countries like Japan are also doing well in caring for their citizens.

[@amariafrost]

Lisa's comment about how kids get to school is a little odd to me. I live in another part of the U.S. and all the kids in my area use the bus to get to school. There's also an elementary school nearby and I see many kids walking in the morning/afternoon. While I live in a city now, I use to live in a more rural area and the school buses were highly used. Driving your kids to school is a sign of a higher income area.

[@spencers4121]

It really depends on the area, but for the most part kids are driven to school.

[@KokimoKandle]

Where I grew up in Canada, almost NOBODY was driven to school. It was a rural area and we waited for the bus without parents from when I was like 4 or 5 years old. It's been a shock moving to a city in Western Canada and almost everyone drives their kids to school because they don't run buses. School zones are an absolute nightmare if you get stuck in one when the school day ends. How do parents even have time for this?

[@pr0wnageify]

@@KokimoKandle Yeah, I live by a school, huge line of dropoffs down my street in the morning. The attitude of the parent drivers can be scary too, the way they drive they will run over their own kids one day.

[@kristinesharp6286]

Yeah I don’t understand the school is technically responsible for getting students to school. My son has does mix of bus and me driving or walking depending on grade and weather. Some schools closer and some farther from house. And that they put all the preschool kids in one school and put all the 6-8 graders in another and the high school students in yet another. They even divided the high school by grade as there are now two campuses. Even though we are in the suburbs if the local school was not just K-5 but p-8 and the local high school was 9-12 or if they had p-5 and then 6-12 he would never have needed a bus. Other would have needed I suppose a few pockets really not near a building. They really want students to branch out and make new friends every now and then. Driving to school hard for work, although there are before afterschool care hours you can pay for. Still with a 8 hour work day and 2 more hours for commuting and a five -seven hour school day it is a tough schedule. Some students get breakfast at school.

[@kristinesharp6286]

@@suspiciouspooh5988 Indiana does have less taxes than Illinois. Still someone should sue. Too much money goes to admin and not enough to each student. They had a year without needed to take anyone to school. Wait. I am Illinois. You probably had school. What a world and time to be alive to figure out if you want busing or you want to have in person classes for a year in the US of all places? Now some students pay for busing and for some students it is free. My son has an IEP so when I did not take him and he could not walk to school it was free. When I was 8 I would have had to walk along a busy street for school. Gram drove us until we were 11/13. I had been walking the three blocks to school without having to go near the busy street all by myself at age 5 with a 10 year old being the crossing guard but my parents pulled me and a lot of other parents pulled their kids cause the city wanted to bus a bunch of us randomly. My mom didn’t drive she wanted us to go to a school she could get to in walking distance for conferences and programs and besides religious school was the plan after they saved some money and could maintain the tuition for both of us. Very few nuns were teaching like when my parents went to parochial school and the prices just skyrocketed. It was the late 70’s, inflation and high mortgage interest. I loved walking 3 blocks away and coming home for lunch and watching tv before going back. It would have taken forever if I got picked up by car. Once the busy street was involved it was the car with gram and bringing a sandwich for lunch.

[@Zanncene]

Koiwa!!! Thanks so much Greg for this throwback to my life in japan :) amazing video as always!

[@zeitgeistzeku]

Total ridership of the NY subway system is about 3.5 million a day. That is equivalent to how many people use Shinjuku station alone in a day. And there are a couple of stations in center Tokyo as large as Shinjuku. There are 720 stations in Metropolitan Tokyo, and about 10 million have an access to Tokyo within an hour by public transportation in addition to the 14 million living in Tokyo.

[@rachelk7784]

I do think that comparing Indianapolis to Tokyo is a little unfair, we're talking a city that is not even a million people to a city of at least 13 million. The best example int he US would be comparing how people get to work in NYC and I think you'd see a lot more similarities, with people taking trains, subways, and walking. San Francisco also has a lot of people who get to work via public transit, walking and/or biking, as does Seattle, Boston, and Chicago. It's partially based on when a city developed and how densely it is packed.

[@dylanpotato8739]

nah, the cities in the US that have great walkability and public transit are exceptions. most cities in the US look like the one he shows in the video.

[@bubbledoubletrouble]

It’s funny that you complain about Indianapolis’s population: Of the five cities you named, three of them (San Francisco, Seattle, Boston) have a population _smaller_ than Indianapolis. And if you’d lived in San Francisco you’d know that anyone living on the west side pretty much needs a car. It can take as long-if not longer-to get to downtown via public transit than from the other side of the bay. Also, strange that you didn’t mention Los Angeles-which has a larger population than Chicago and still about 2/3 as dense-as a major city for comparison.

[@coomtard8218]

To be fair while SF Boston and Seattle have smaller city populations than Indy, the metro populations are way bigger

[@notthegoatseguy]

@@bubbledoubletrouble SF has less people but its also smaller in area. Indianapolis is over 400 square miles. SF is a bit over 200 square miles.

[@rachelk7784]

@@dylanpotato8739 , while many US cities do resemble Indianapolis more, there are also plenty of Japanese cities with poor transit once you are out of the city center. If you take say a city like Sendai and go 20-30 kms from Sendai Station, you will have a lot less public transit than in the Tokyo example and a lot more reliance on a car. I love Japan, I think they still kick the US' butt on public transit, but it seems odd to compare a super densely populated city of 13 million and compare it to a much less populated and much less densely populated city like Indianapolis. I'd love to see a comparison of say 20-30 kms from Sendai Station into Sendai proper to Indianapolis.

[@vailb91]

Subscribed! This is my new favorite channel. Thanks for the content, and this video reaffirms my taste in architecture, roadways, and lifestyle. I think I would much rather live in Japan! I wouldn’t know until visiting, but I’m so curious about the differences and similarities in lifestyle’s

[@clentmendelebar9634]

Great content as always!

[@charliebowles9456]

Not sure about the UPS at the end but it reminded me that my high school (in the United States) had so many students driving themselves that we had an SRO guiding street traffic in the afternoon. They basically worked as a stoplight that wasn't needed for the rest of the day or weekends because the street wasn't usually busy.

[@k3vink0ng]

I've seen police direct traffic outside a popular church during times when people are leaving the church. There are no traffic lights so it's probably to help allow people to leave safely. Just like in your clip, that police is probably there every day to help get the UPS trucks out during specific times.

[@iqiegraphy219]

It's always good to see this kind of comparison. I really love the way Japan build a very good walkable city compared to something we got in North America

[@FUnzzies1]

It's not that unusual compared to urban city centers in the US. Other than the very narrow streets. A more accurate description is "rural vs urban commute".

[@SeanJGreen]

@@FUnzzies1 within almost all US cities, the majority of people commute by car.

[@FUnzzies1]

@@SeanJGreen You missed the point completely.

[@dylanburston7453]

@@FUnzzies1 The US public transport is pathetic. Its easier for me to get on a train or a bus in the arse end of nowhere in England than it is in the centre of a US city. And US public transport seems to be where the asylums relocated their patients once they closed down

[@LifeWhereImFrom]

@@FUnzzies1 Honestly don't know the answer to this. Is the start point of the trip in Indy considered rural (roughly 82nd and i-69)? Here's the spot on Google Map goo.gl/maps/nYwMkfP6qGjGJYwE9

[@thifalrn]

I remember these kinds of topics on your channel made me interested in urban planning topic, how's city work, and stuff. And now I'm currently watching this video side-by-side with my urbanism course's assignment haha. Keep going, LWIF!

[@Llyd_ApDicta_Berlin]

More and more people are catching on by the day and I'm loving it...

[@Stache987]

Parking spaces for the disabled still require a large amount of walking,like at a hospital you're walking 300 feet just to the door. In a few cities kids ride yellow school busses, others they had to pay a city bus to take them to school. I went to Indianapolis for a overnight stay, I took a GPS, we kept passing Lucas Oil speedway, it wanted us on the road we passed under, this also happened in a suburb of Kansas City..

[@dyanalayng5507]

Is that the case everywhere about disabled parking? In Ontario, and probably across Canada, disabled parking at hospitals, GO train stations, malls, strip malls is always closest to a main door. It may be only 1 or 2 Accessible spots for smaller shopping areas, but it's there. Couldnt the Accessible Parking signage be relocated?

[@Stache987]

@Dyana Layng well, here's the answer I was given when I asked why spots closer to the gate were not built for "wheelchair use", not every state in this country requires a wheelchair to get disabled parking privileges.. I've had it for heavily arthritic and now can't walk for x# feet without rest. So yes they can put the stops as far away from the door if they want as long as the remainder of the path is accessible. I see this a lot at convenience stores.

[@elizabethdavis1696]

Please do a video on Kyoto train station I hear it has several grocery stores, a mall, a theater, a hotel, and a dozen ramen shops I have a theory that if train stations in the USA were more like malls they’d have better ridership

[@dbclass4075]

For the meantime, it would be likely more akin to park and ride. Sure, there is driving, but at least the distance is greatly reduced.

[@ZoomZip]

That is true. In fact, many big city train stations are large. They'll have grocery stores like you said, barbershops, convenience stores, clothes, etc. its pretty much like a mall underground. And i respectfully disagree with that theory about train stations in the US. people in the US dont take trains because how inconvenient they are and for the more likely to be late. I don't think people would care if their trains were like malls, they mainly care how fast can they get to their destination in comparison to a car.

[@Unchainedmaple888]

Haha it's not just Kyoto station that's like this. Most major city train stations in Japan are like that. America will never get there though as much as I would wish it so. In Seattle, it's taken more than 10 years just to connect it to it's neighboring cities and it's nowhere near done yet.

[@shirokumakogyo]

For the train companies in Japan, making effective use of the land in and around their stations is a way of subsidizing the train operations, which don't always make money on their own. Tokyu, for example, built housing all along their tracks, which has become a perpetual money-maker for them.

[@Blathers]

Wow what a great comparison. Eye opening

[@drippyred7387]

I used to watch your videos when I was younger I’m 18 now and I’m still watching your vids lols feels like I’ve been growing up with you guys haha. Keep up the good work! Also much Aloha from Hawai’i

[@davidalfaro1429]

Thanks for the video your awesome.

[@adrenalin4122]

I am from Austria but would i have to choose i think i would choose Japan. I would love to live in the US but it seems so hard to live there. And my live here looks more like the one in Japan, i can go easily everywhere by foot or bus/train.

[@bsfatboy]

this is awesome, this could be a series

[@katherinemantha1555]

As always your videos are awesome, and it's fun to see the differences between both Japan and USA. I'm from Canada and commute mostly sucks, so it's nice to see the japanese version of it since I want to move there :)

[@mycobacteriem2540]

tbh I live in philadelphia in the US and here train and bus commuting is common, we also have tap on tap off IC cards.. we also have regional trains that bring commuters in from all over the suburbs. mine was 45min (5min drive to train station 30min by train and a 10min walk to work). and the driving was just bc i had to be at the station by 530am and it's a 20minute walk i normally would take if it wasnt so early). downtown philly is also full or narrow one way streets with bike lanes on one side. i also lived in spain for a bit and madrid has a pretty common metro commuter network, most people dont drive there either

[@somecrazdude2412]

Honestly thinking of taking tons of videos like this along with other information to form a better plan for my city. Most commutes in my county are like the Indiannapolis one. What makes it worse is due to parking requirements, car culture, etc, someone wothout a car is completely economically screwed where I live. I can work, but the problem is our transportation systen is so dependent on cars that someone can be perfectly able to work, but due to a vision problem, be completely looked over due to not owning a car or being able to eveb if they wanted. I've heard people try to use visual disabilities to justify car-centered thinking and planning too often. Seeing a functioning train network and good mixed-use buildings makes me envious of having that where I live. Cars are first where I live, people, especially the disabled, are an afterthought if they are one to begin with.

[@DK-210]

In addition of not having enough disabled parking spots, they are taken up quite frequently by people who are not disabled (especially in California). The response is usually to ignore it because no one will do anything about it.

[@SkynetVortex]

Great video thanks!

[@thatonechick3602]

Good video! I feel like you need a video on travel in small towns in the US vs Japan. I drive to the next town over (about 25min) just for work! And my dad has an hour commute!

[@LifeWhereImFrom]

Yep, I hope I can do one!

[@dollbaby132]

Thank you for sharing.I have always enjoyed your videos so informative.I still prefer the life in Japan over the USA.🚖

[@highbrand]

Used to live near Koiwa JR station so many of the images of that area brought back fond memories. Even used that supermarket shown on a regular basis.

[@TheEftimies]

What a contrast! Just remembering when we were living in Dubai. It is so similar with the US. Thanks for showing on how it is in Tokyo. We have some friends who just moved jn there. They say they like it there. We are now so intrigued and wanted to visit at least…

[@shiran31]

First, a caveat, I am not an American People probably mentioned it, but I think that the comparison between Tokyo and an American city should be between a mega city, and even than you should take into consideration the difference between. For example L.A. and New York are two different entities when compared to each other.

[@planetary2180]

Actually almost every American city looks like this, other than maybe New York City.

[@potatoindespair4494]

@@planetary2180 Most American cities definitely look like this, but New York isn't the only exception. Downtowns of other major cities like San Francisco or Chicago, or even Santa Monica (despite being in LA county) are also dominated by walking, biking, and/or transit. The problem is that so few Americans get to experience a real downtown commute because the suburbs are so much cheaper

[@audiencemember26008]

My commute in Japan is much closer to your USA example. Buses only come twice an hour. Lots of big parking lots. Most people drive everywhere. The biggest difference is that there are shops and different house types all together here, and there are more trees and greenery over there.

[@LifeWhereImFrom]

Oh, what part of Japan are you in?

[@ZoomZip]

Sounds like a commuter town, or inaka with the buses only come twice an hour.

[@candygram4435]

And I’m in Chicago where it’s much more like Tokyo than Indy.

[@rachelcookie321]

When I went to Japan I visited Kurashiki which is a much smaller city. There was definitely a lot more people driving there as there was only a few train stations so taking the train is only good if you’re trying to get from the north of the city to the south or vice versa. Much of the city is not near a train station. But still most kids walked or biked to school and the city was pretty walkable. It didn’t have an urban sprawl like most American cities. I would say it was like a middle ground between the two cities shown in this video, leaning a bit more to the Japanese side. Compare that to the city I live in in New Zealand that is about the same size and it’s a big difference. My city here only has one train station which is for expensive scenic trains not for regular trains. And while I still think my city here is more walkable and easier to get around than many American cities (like most kids will walk to and from school), it’s definitely a lot less than kurashiki and has more sprawl. It’s more car dependent.

[@RAZGR1Z]

@@candygram4435 You don't need kevlar vests in Tokyo.

[@irregularmana6216]

I lived in Seattle, Los Angeles and Indianapolis for a few years each and while I did drive while I lived in Indianapolis. I liked the drive but my commute was like 10 min in car. In bigger more urban cities I took a bus because it saved me on parking fees and it saved me from finding a parking spot. Commuting in USA can look very different depending on which city/ state you live but I gotta say I love how convenient it looks like in Japan.

[@Llyd_ApDicta_Berlin]

It doesn't just look more convenient, it definitely, objectively is!

[@chexmix0101]

Cant wait to visit Japan next year!!

[@mucuts9505]

I started my first job out of school in August and am living in a major US metropolitan area. I'm lucky in that I live relatively close to my workplace (22 mi/36 km, 30 mins if I leave early enough); I have heard how some people in this area have a 1, or even 1.5, hour commute. Despite my commute being relatively short I get so tired on the days that I go in to the office; when I WFH I have a lot more energy at the end of the day. I think that driving really takes a lot out of you, especially if you're doing it every day to and from work. Back in school I lived right next to campus and could walk from my apartment to the classroom in about 30 minutes; it was not nearly as tiring and I was actually in decent (physical) shape.

[@demagab]

Same here, I wfh mostly, but when I drive to the office it can take almost 2 hours each way with rush hours traffic. I usually go there once a week, I like the interaction with colleagues (that are not at home or in another country), I also love driving, but at home I have much more energy and get much more done. I used to commute to campus by public transportation in a city and even though it didn't take too much, driving there was much better for me. i just don't like the overcrowded buses and trains

[@Meli1380]

Interesting. I can relate way more to the Japanese experience, coming from Europe. All the cities I have lived and worked in have mostly involved commuting using Public Transport. I used to live in zone 3 in London (kinda midpoint, zone 1 being city centre and zone 6 being almost countryside), and my commute took 1 hour door to door by underground train.

[@AncloteLeviathan]

This was fun, great video Greg! Thanks Lisa! I realize now I’d love to see more commutes, like Japanese parent & US parent taking kids to school. Or Japan countryside, & other countries. I wonder how a NY or Boston commute would be different with subways?

[@WubzZz-]

As a New Yorker it depends where in the state ur from. In NYC (where I'm at) the commute is much closer to the Japanese commute where most people rely on public transportation to get to and from work. In the more northern counties the commute is definitely more akin to what you saw for Indianapolis.

[@kristinesharp6286]

In the Chicago suburbs a lot of people come from Japan to work 3 years. Their kids go to a Japan funded school that works with the local school district to make sure everything is okay by our standards too but they are able to not get behind in the school system back home too. It’s not walkable for them. So a very different experience. I think one of the companies is a car company though. Arlington Heights Schaumburg area. Much like Indianapolis.

[@eve_exodus]

A lot of U.S. hospitals make employees pay monthly for parking. You pay them to go to work. 🙃

[@Barnabas64]

I would love if US cities would find something that blends the best of what's in Indianapolis and Tokyo. I love the open and airy feeling you get from some American cities with tree lined roads and corridors, but I also love the convenience of Japan with it's multitude of small shops and easy walk-ability.

[@HigherQualityUploads]

What you're looking for is called the Netherlands. Literally all their towns are like that.

[@rm9968]

your typical tokyo neighborhood video and this one explains it all. back in the old times (pre-covid) even on a motorcycle my commute was 30 minutes (mix of surface streets and a touch of highway). in the desert southwest all it is building out with pre-planned housing communities. right now my commute is 50 steps from the living room to the computer room (thank you covid?) but the train rides (for sigh seeing) was hella simple/easy to do.

[@GTXBOY1650]

Rm tansit and not just bikes are my other favorite channels and them commenting on this made it even better. It feels like all power rangers coming together from their universe.

[@ScarryGargoyle]

I’m from Indiana. And I’m inspired by the urban planning of Japan and other, progressive, countries.

[@MaxineNyanor]

Japan is not progressive.

[@waedidmyhandlechange]

So basically, the US is hostile to pedestrians and inconvenient to live in unless you live in a dense city like New York.

[@MrStark-up6fi]

You are correct, it’s also pretty depressing as you need to be in a small confined vehicle you need to take control of yourself in order to get around the country

[@romancorey6796]

I live in the US. The Indianapolis version is very familiar to me but the Japanese one is SHOCKING!

[@camagnuson6108]

It all depends on what you believe the norm should be. Your question shows much bias.

[@xenai.]

This is something I like about countries like the UK and Japan. Walking to your destination isn't hard. But in the US, the primary way to travel is by car. There are sidewalks, but... it's not walk friendly.

[@ashlashbash9238]

The way kids get to school in Indy is dependent on school district. Most kids in Indy still get to school by bus in a lot of districts. Source: I live in Indy and have kids in school.

[@FlywithmeNetAu]

I would much prefer the Japanese way, much more interactive than the sprawl of others cities including my own where it's a long way to the urban center.

[@ericng5707]

This is not really a country comparison, but a "X ward just outside the Yamanote Line vs. Indianapolis" comparison. If you lived out in the actual suburbs of Saitama/Chiba/Kanagawa, or even just the west end of Tokyo (Tachikawa and beyond), there is no way that your commute would be that quick and painless. Even now with supposedly more people working remotely, good luck even getting on the Saikyo line, Denentoshi line, or any of the other lines that easily exceed 100% capacity during morning rush hour.

[@LifeWhereImFrom]

Yeah, obviously depending on your start and end point, you'll end up with wildly different commutes. Ideally I would have used population sizes that are similar and also looked up the average commute time to try and recreate that. I'd like to do another video that does that.

[@qjtvaddict]

That’s what happens when in Japan you have no dedicated express network. USA is like many British colonies a car dependent hellscape

[@Rzrizaldy]

My case in Indonesia: Living in single family home on the suburbs of capital, Jakarta - 22 KM from the office. 30 min motorcycle ride to nearest MRT station, 20 min in MRT to central business district.

[@yaka169]

Getting to work in japan perspective looks fun, because you can see many things while you walk