These tunnels stop part of Tokyo flooding

If you believe the hype, then the Metropolitan Area Underground Discharge Channel stops Tokyo flooding. It doesn't. But it is one colossal part of a huge network of flood defences that protect a city that would otherwise be... well, very wet.
MORE ABOUT THE DISCHARGE CHANNEL:
The Discharge Channel's site (in Japanese): www.ktr.mlit.go.jp/edogawa/gai...
Advice for English-speaking visitors:
matcha-jp.com/en/4002
REFERENCES:
"Below sea level" and "aging levees": www.kensetsu.metro.tokyo.jp/co... [PDF, parts translated in www.nytimes.com/2017/10/06/cl... ]
"All that protects the two and a half million people": mainichi.jp/english/articles/...
Discharge channel stats: www.japanriver.or.jp/EnglishDo... [PDF]
THANKS TO:
Local fixer: Yamada Masato
Post translator: Dominic Jacobs
Edited by Michelle Martin (@mrsmmartin)
I'm at tomscott.com
on Twitter at / tomscott
on Facebook at / tomscott
and on Instagram as tomscottgo

[@TomScottGo]

I made a brief stop on the way back from Australia.

[@lewislittledyke9817]

just brief ;)

[@GermaphobeMusic]

_goes to Saturn_

[@Nikkeloodeon]

Just to yell "echo" in a large tunnel. Tbf, I'd do the same.

[@moron3145]

I'd like for my "brief stops" to be as interesting and foreign as yours.

[@willg.8935]

JJ 4 Climate change is a big issue, Tom is just trying to convey the idea that it affects our lives in many ways

[@GermaphobeMusic]

This is where the boss battle takes place.

[@vignettetsukinoseapril]

+1

[@andymcl92]

*A wild Chris Joel has appeared*

[@beytullahberk3632]

balrog

[@TheGhostEU]

Basically meruem vs netero

[@qwertzy121212]

is this where they keep the giant enemy crabs now?

[@Kredige]

3:15 "Thank you to all the team here for letting me down" -Tom Scott, 2019

[@lynxfl]

i'd replace 'all the team' with life in my case

[@davidjatak9361]

Me in a group project

[@aidanwansbrough7495]

Brilliant!

[@nahiyan8]

I hope they let him back out.

[@thelastcube.]

Holy damn I didn't noticed that

[@Jesyx]

"Some parts are even under sea level" Dutch people: Hold my cheese

[@sirBrouwer]

Don't touch my cheese.

[@kevinmoore4887]

Who moved my cheese?

[@sirBrouwer]

@@kevinmoore4887 that is not your cheese. That is my cheese.

[@kevinmoore4887]

@@sirBrouwer Nacho cheese. My cheese.

[@thelastcube.]

Ah yes, the -reverse Atlantis- Dutch

[@Skittenmeow]

A government investing in protecting its citizens and land from disaster? How bizarre!!

[@khanch.6807]

When government is run by the educated and not the corporates.

[@davekp6773]

Got an extremely nasty scare in 2011.

[@erikjj235]

@@davekp6773 it was built WAY before 2011.

[@logana1999]

natural disasters are everyone's problem, has nothing to do with protecting anything besides the city itself

[@aqua-sama3861]

@@logana1999 but but.. in my country flooding is always a problem, our goverment do nothing about that

[@jammygiinger625]

Imagine being in these tunnels when a flood hits

[@ilyaholt8607]

Sorry to break it to you, but it most likely won't be a massive wall of water that instantly fills the reservoir. It would probably gradually fill over hours or even days, so it would just be wet and noisy.

[@GermaphobeMusic]

World's largest waterpark?

[@Token_Nerd]

@@ilyaholt8607 In the event of a squall, it wouldn't be hours, it'd be minutes.

[@Colopty]

"しょうがない"

[@insoYT]

@@ilyaholt8607 You're counting minutes actually. If you're a sewer worker in a city you're not allowed to work underground in those long tunnels if there is a possibility of raining that day. Scary stuff. It may not be a wall of water but it definitely will slow you down more and more while you're trying to get out...

[@AlRoderick]

Tom: Echo! Some random ghost that's been haunting the area since the 1600s yet unaccountably speaks English: No, it is Edo! Edo!

[@SonsOfLorgar]

Roflmao!

[@gino14]

No this is Patrick.

[@Zestrayswede]

Well, I learned a new word today. I was going to suggest using "inexplicably" instead of "unaccountably", but, as Wiktionary explains it, "unaccountably" is actually the perfect word to use in this case.

[@evanallaire2829]

Angry 1600s Japhnesse Yelling

[@Archangel71]

"いや、江戸だ。江戸！"

[@Onimirare]

this comment section has much less mirror's edge comments than I expected

[@fluffx6432]

haha i was looking for that xD when i saw the thumbnail i was like wait i know that

[@alexshadrake9615]

Came looking for that aha

[@bonnie9855]

Ye i was just saying that

[@sulphurous2656]

I just came here to post this.

[@josephjones2410]

So glad you yelled "ECHO" at the end, as the entire duration of the video I was wondering about the acoustics in there.

[@donaldpetersen2382]

I didn't watch the end until you mentioned it. Thanks

[@LunarSpotlight]

Hah, I was waiting for him to do that.

[@kevinmoore4887]

Yells Echo, echo is returned in Japanese. Dang they are good!

[@helphelpimbeingrepressed9347]

"Hey you guys!" would have been my choice but each to their own :P

[@ebinnisti1769]

You can hear it when he's talking

[@joestefanik6197]

This looks like that one mission from Mirror's Edge. Very cool, Tom!

[@Freaktacular]

That level is infact based on this storm drain.

[@matthewrice5004]

YES i legit saw the thumbnail and i immediatley thought of that

[@mikeyX101]

Was about to say

[@Cobalt985]

Haha, the only thing I thought of

[@Raspoberries]

Came here for this.

[@tsumikiminiwa4603]

0:25 "Which'll be fine... unless sea levels rise" *2.5 million people sweat nervously*

[@kirill429]

Uh you don't need to know my name billion*

[@games1004]

Many people shed doubt on the idea of sea level rise when climate-change proponents are the same people building multi-million dollar properties exactly in the areas supposed to be flooded. They've been continuously wrong since before the 70s... in all manner of directions. At one point they said we were going to have another ice age.

[@user-sf4fy8bq1h]

@@games1004 Sea-level rise is hard science. What civilians do with this information is not the fault of science. We're generally not the most charismatic people, so civilians often take up the torch to try to spread awareness. I'm not aware of any major climate-science activists building luxury properties, and even if your claim were true, it would not mean the science they're basing their arguments on isn't hard science with an enormous international consensus. If you want to make a more persuasive argument, I would suggest you cite credible sources to back up your claims instead of using vague terms like "they," as in " _they_ said we were going to have another ice age." Who said this? When? You might do the same thing for "in all manner of directions." Who specifically was wrong? About what? These simple changes would make your argument far more compelling. On a syntactical note, in English, one generally says "shed light" _or_ "cast doubt." To "shed" doubt makes it sound like one is getting rid of their doubts, which is the opposite of what I assume you mean.

[@wilfriedsteinbach8700]

@@kirill429 what? No

[@_karla._]

This is where some of the hunger games were filmed. Also the tank was almost identically recreated in mirrors edge.

[@princesidon]

I was just watching the movie and then saw this and remembered this video, so I came down to the comments to see if anyone noticed and you did!

[@marshmellowmoon7990]

This is where Netero fought Meruem.

[@JJRicks]

@@princesidon Same!

[@unirarhissa7697]

Is it the part in Mockingjay when they go through the Capitol's underground tunnels?

[@_karla._]

@@unirarhissa7697 Yes, indeed!

[@qam022]

gives me portal 2 aperture science vibes

[@imveryangryitsnotbutter]

You mean Aperture Fixtures?

[@tentringer4065]

Water based puzzles would be a good idea for Portal 3.

[@squatchjosh1131]

@@tentringer4065 It would be risking the curse of the water dungeon.

[@hexagonist23]

someone called me?

[@abramthiessen8749]

It is also similar to a stage in Mirror's Edge.

[@underpin_]

A whole section of the game Mirror's Edge was based on this place

[@BThings]

This isn't a super big deal, but I just wanted to thank you for making sure the subtitles were up long enough to be read. So many channels will subtitle people speaking foreign languages, but not leave them on the screen long enough.

[@DanteYewToob]

I could imagine something like this could be retrofitted to also make power. Like adding turbines to the inlets for when a storm comes to make backup power, or making large storage tanks above ground or uphill to be used for power later.. A system like this is intriguing and full of amazing possibilities.

[@_Featch_]

If it only runs seven times a year for a few days it might not be worth the energy and investment to install turbines to get energy.

[@techno1561]

​@@_Featch_It might also introduce a bottleneck into the system, causing problems.

[@wclifton968gameplaystutorials]

looks like something out of Mirrors Edge

[@irashmcfinglis2559]

I was about to say the same thing, do you think that level's design was inspired by this?

[@CathodeRayKobold]

@@irashmcfinglis2559 More than likely.

[@ImPDK]

Irash McFinglis no doubt. Looks identical

[@dxkaiyuan4177]

Was looking for this comment

[@Synthetica9]

It is, see the Wikipedia page for this structure.

[@mLiinkzin]

this is the kinda of work that makes me believe that something like NERV in evangelion could actually happen.

[@intheairex]

Tokyo already preparing for the Second Impact monkaW

[@Teampegleg]

@@intheairex They calling it the Tokyo 2020 Olympics, because it has the same impact on the places where it is held.

[@thelastcube.]

now the intro is stuck in my head

[@Snaakie83]

Just finishing episode 24...

[@valty3727]

now that war drum soundtrack is stuck in my head

[@12jojimbo]

Idk this doesn't seem all that bi- 2:10 OH HOLY HELL IS THAT A LADDER WHAT THE HELL THIS TUNNEL IS ENORMOUS

[@krashd]

18 metres is 60 feet, so 10 western males standing on each other's heads or 12 western females/asian males standing on each other's heads.

[@usagifang]

How i reacted to tunnels and mineshafts in minecraft. Then i get lost with no means out

[@ianmpurba620]

@@krashd so nice of you to make this comparation for the American viewer who only understand size of a thing if compare to other things familiar.

[@justiceh3599]

@@ianmpurba620 you sir must be correct because I can not understand half of what you just wrote. Cheers!

[@ZobmieRules]

The shot at 2:55 gave me the same feeling. Damn I want to go down there.

[@seanmaxwell3319]

Hi Tom! We read about this facility in our text books in Tokyo. Thanks for showing it in a more interesting way haha. Another fun fact, I think I heard about these places being used as emergency shelters as well. P.s. I hope you enjoyed Tokyo.

[@ivragi]

"And then the water rose". Well, that'd be truly terrifying series of events.

[@CarthagoMike]

inb4 Tom Scott visiting Akihabara

[@meowtherainbowx4163]

You mean Aokigahara?

[@tomkandy]

Way too normie. He's made his name going further afield than that.

[@AnimilesYT]

秋葉原は凄いです

[@columbus8myhw]

MeowTheRainbowX No?

[@CKOD]

"Here is all my Rin Tohsaka merch. I got it just because I liked the red shirt"

[@MilesFinder]

"It is almost impossible to convey the scale of this on camera" I, an Mirror's Edge fan: Trust me, we know.

[@JDMLUST]

Imagine how many diamond pics you'd go through to dig out all that

[@ZaHandle]

You get TNTs from diamond pick?

[@Xatzimi]

Next video: The Giant Underground Geofront Protecting Tokyo-3 From Angels

[@jakspack4545]

Nice one

[@Bamblagram]

Nice, well done

[@ZayanK]

Very nice.

[@-TheRF]

Kamen Riders love fighting under there. They've used those locations SO MANY TIMES for the fight scenes

[@usagiwang3872]

Is Faiz's last battle filmed there?

[@-TheRF]

@@usagiwang3872 Maybe not exactly there, but somewhere like that place that servers for the same purpose. Zi-O already had a couple fights there too, it's what I recall most recently

[@wilsonarilie4906]

faiz last battle,decade vs the bee,ibuki vs fish type makamou

[@andromedahavice9478]

OMG! That's what this was! I remember playing Mirror's Edge and wondering what the heck the giant holes and rooms were. It all makes sense now!

[@hamilpatel4025]

Wasn't on KZbin for a while, so glad to have opened the app and see a video from you! Always interesting

[@geekovishlord4778]

I'm in love with this channel. The videos are educational and straight to the point. Keep up the great work.

[@-4subscriberswithahammerad521]

well, they ARE an island nation surrounded by water it would only seem natural that they make preparations for floods but still smart

[@hungrymusicwolf]

Come to the Netherlands, we are so good at draining water in cases of a flood (or just in general) that now the hotter summers arrive our experts are complaining that we have forgotten how to RETAIN water. In other words: We in the Netherlands would like some more flooding (but not too much).

[@ERROR_-_404]

@@hungrymusicwolf wait what? the sea level has to rise 10 meters and the entire country is under water, but you have trouble with getting water?

[@tomberens571]

@@ERROR_-_404 Sea water isn't very good for watering crops and all that... For that we're reliant on river water from Germany. In dry seasons indeed we can have a lack of water.

[@fish9468]

Uh, everywhere is?? Japan's big, that's like saying it's natural for Africa to have flood preparations, it's not like the whole island is gonna sink

[@omegalul8861]

@Thomas Fish Are you seriously comparing Japan’s size to Africa, a whole continent?

[@mistaecco]

Oh my gosh, Tom is in Japan? Dream come true.

[@fresita_jugosa]

I've been waiting your video about the Tokyo water evacuation system for long. Thank you!

[@iamjimgroth]

That you keep finding new things to make videos about is amazing! Thank you for yet again succeeding to show me interesting stuff I didn't know.

[@Raykkie]

There used to be a similar issue in Paris (and still is, albeit on a way smaller scale than before), so the French government just built a gigantic artificial lake called the Lac du Der, near where I live. It now generates a lot of money and protects people living hundreds of kilometers away from it from floods increasingly bigger every years.

[@jocax188723]

Having visited the G-CANS project earlier last year, you’re absolutely right - you can’t convey the scale on video. It’s colossal. In the truest sense of the word. Also, Mirror’s Edge.

[@lebunn9236]

Even the unused underground tunnels in tokyo look clean

[@WegrennerX]

Just discovered Your Channel. I love it.

[@8BitMore]

1:20 Nah fam that's the sewer level from Mirror's Edge... No but seriously that looks exactly like it. 2:47 and that’s the entrance to the level, probably modeled after this real life place.

[@pompuslompus964]

Weird me being recommended this right after watching “weathering with you”

[@noogidoo2217]

i swear tom just teleports to interesting locations at this point

[@that_teegor]

These videos are always the highlight of my day. Or at least the hour when I play them, anyway. Thank you!

[@slothfulcobra]

Drainage systems fascinate me a lot, because they take up so much land and you see them everywhere, from the ditches going along the side of the road to the mysterious pits full of pipes and grates, and yet I know so very little about them. It's great to hear more about one of the systems.

[@mr_murphy5257]

The algorithm really threw you under the bus for this video, why am I only seeing it after checking your channel?

[@ToasterBurner35]

Awesome video Tom! Keep up the great informative content

[@derailedtrain2517]

more of those vids! so interesting and exciting your channel is

[@puppy0cam]

"there aren't many governments willing to do that" Oh how the turns have tabled

[@leonand42]

This channel deserves the bell button

[@FoxCutter]

This is a place I've been hoping to see in your videos. The whole system is just amazing.

[@IJustWantToUseMyName]

You have the world’s best job. Thank you for sharing all these amazing places with us.

[@NintendoNXT]

Fancy new profile picture Tom!

[@QuantumInteger]

This is the whole plot of Weathering With You.

[@strongestbadjao]

Mike the comment ive been looking for. Feels good hahaha

[@elzandi]

i watched the movie yesterday

[@zeropercent_]

so thankful that someone has done a video on this:)

[@bralex6669]

Geez, you have such an amazing job.

[@EdHarrisonMusic]

It would be amazing to have an impulse response recorded in that acoustic space. Even recording a single clap, allowing the full tail to complete, can give you a very nice impulse response to use as a reverb, allowing you to digitally replicate the acoustic properties of the space, for use in audio or music production. I think it's worth doing any time you are filming ecording in an acoustically interesting space!

[@joelatkinson4967]

Imagine having a government that puts the country into a recession because they want to save lives not just make a few billionaires a little richer, that would be nice

[@infochaser]

Excellent Tom.. Superb presentation. ..worth watching and really informative

[@stonedagain5191]

Good work mate, excellently explained.

[@marshallhill2283]

Japan has such unique history; I love seeing something about it's more-modern infrastructure. Great video Tom, thanks!

[@jordanlg520]

@3:20 "Thank you to the whole team for letting me down..." Now now Tom, I'm sure it wasn't that bad!

[@KhanivoreQniba]

This is extraordinary research, credit to you Tom!

[@bigbird447]

It always amazes me how many cool bits of info Tom jams into these 3-5min videos

[@toyuyn]

I've been to that very site and I must say the size of the system is insane. The area which Tom filmed in is nothing compared to the full size and length of the tunnels joining the rivers. (seriously, try googling for a diagram)

[@advanceringnewholder]

heyyyy, regular. didn't expect to see you here

[@fotzpatricio8720]

Damn I Remember "Tokyo Ghoul" Fighting in the Sewers

[@chimeragenesis361]

I think this is supposed to be where Miza's family lived to hide from the CCG.

[@-__-_-_--__--_-__-_____--_-___]

This was awesome! Thank you tom

[@danieldiaz6796]

Wow Tom. Just when I think you've stopped impressing me, you show us something else that blows my mind.

[@GoldSrc_]

Everybody gangsta in the control room until Shinji refuses to get in the robot. I thought this was a tiny room until you put the humans for scale there, yikes.

[@madensmith7014]

Asians are just small, probably around the size of a classroom

[@weebmedaddy1919]

dunno why but im here after watching weathering with you

[@rest.jailbreak]

literally thinking about that

[@chelsey8737]

I love these short informational tidbits

[@RenzVC]

your app series is interesting. i love your idea about an app that spurs out interesting trivia about where you are.

[@freazywarr]

Mirror's Edge :)

[@spookyboob5611]

1:28 *Mirror's Edge flashbacks intensify*

[@bonnie9855]

I played it after this

[@FlyingTurtleLP]

Thank you for your awesome content.

[@BlakieTT]

Tom almost always comes up with these really really interesting video ideas O.O

[@canalinhom9371]

imagine being an employee doing a check inside that place and the lights suddenly turns off.. OH BOY

[@SilverMe2004]

Surly that would be something OH&S would have take into account?

[@kyrla]

It's official, Tom picks subs over dubs

[@raisschultz420]

Had the amazing oppurtunity to visit these tunnels on a school trip when my parents where stationed in Tokyo. Amazing place.

[@Anairofdeath]

you know what tom...ive only recently got on your videos on i must say they are very informative and interesting.... some really unusual facts in there ...... good job buddy

[@ChrisMo44]

2:26 Black Mesa Facility

[@finmueller7827]

Blast pit vibes

[@ilikecars4966]

Tom Scott Is my favourite Anime

[@Oscar4u69]

best anime ever

[@martiddy]

The manga is better tho

[@MiseFreisin]

トム・スッコト２：ドント トラスト ミー was an excellent second season

[@mcblahflooper94]

Thanks Tom, very cool!

[@richb313]

Great job Tom.

[@shan_singh]

3:24 I wanted you to do the exact same thing when you showed the tunnel 😂

[@nobodypersonsomeone]

Wow, I feel like I've been there. Mirror's Edge was my favourite game for a long time, I reckon the designers must have based the game level on this. What an impressive engineering feat.

[@deathcore420]

Thank you to all the team letting me down

[@shan_singh]

Thanks Tom for fascinating me !

[@kagitsune]

So is this the geofront where they construct NERV and Tokyo-2? 😁

[@unofficialleeds9084]

Nice to hear a government willing to make short-term economic sacrifices for the long-term benefit of the country. So often governments only care about the 5 or so years they are in power and nothing beyond that.

[@windhelmguard5295]

i think you misinterpreted what tom was saying. the project was started precisely to help the economy in a short term kind of way, during the recession construction companies would have been going bankrupt left and right (along with industry supporting construction like machine manufacturers, concrete and steel factories and so on) so the government started this huge construction project precisely to help said companies through the recession so there wouldn't be a massive amount of unemployed construction and heavy industry workers asking for welfare which would have been expensive AND pointless, whereas the tunnel system was expensive but actually served a purpose.

[@Tom_Hadler]

Windhelm Guard Yes much like the Hoover dam

[@Red-pv3tw]

John Peric na

[@Alexander-xq8bd]

Now I really want to see this in action now thanks! Now I got to spend hours looking for a video.

[@greenplastikme]

Thanks for uploading this at 50fps!

[@PTNLemay]

I sometimes listen to Tom's videos a bit like a podcast. Playing it in the background while I do other things. Sadly that really won't work here, because I don't speak a word of Japanese.

[@trashheapian]

Mirrors edge anyone?

[@PherotoneStudios]

Another incredible video

[@freekboy658]

You might be interested in the Red River Floodway in Winnipeg, Canada - after a devastating flood in the 1950s, the city built a massive gated diversion channel that goes around the entire city and can move 140,000 cubic feet of water per second.

[@peathyyy]

Seems I had the same thought as a lot of others; instantly my mind went "MIRROR'S EDGE!"

[@hermdude]

People here gets reminded of Mirror's Edge, while I got reminded of the battle against Caster in Fate/Zero.

[@VladToronto]

You should check out the tanks in Hamilton, Ontario, Canada. Half the city is below the mountain and would regularly flood during summer rainstorms. Now there are tanks across the escarpment that hold the water and slowly release it after rainfall events.

[@babelKONI]

Yes! This thing's been on my mind for days.

[@cry0lite800]

No floods means more anime gets produced right?

[@incription]

Straight to the point

[@vignettetsukinoseapril]

Perhaps

[@App24_]

Anonymous6978 lets flood tokio so there is less anime

[@GumSkyloard]

I love me some Anime, but nothing beats Japanese commercials.

[@thelastcube.]

probably, we might even hit the ending of One Piece and -Hiatus x Hiatus- Hunter x Hunter one day

[@eugenebebs7767]

Next video: "Geofront And Its Giant Robots Protecting Tokyo-3 From The Third Impact"

[@Mart1031y]

In anime Assassination Classroom S2 there is an episode with one of these... Only now, seeing this video, made me realize what that scene/place was. Thank you! (Always good to learn something new!)

[@TheXev]

1:30 The series finally of Kamen Rider Fiaz was filmed in a place like this! Seeing people on the ground and then looking up... it's amazing.