Lessons on public transport

I came into Japan pretty unaware of operations such as transport and community and I came out very surprised. Osaka, Tokyo and Sendai are all cities which  proved, at least to me, that they had established a strong strategy in the transportation sector, where it is easily accessible and usable by many, both locals and visitors. Even though I was new to the region and not able to speak Japanese, it only took a couple of days and common sense. I found the train networks very workable without assistance. Tokyo’s centre station is truly a sight to behold, with over three million commuters passing through it daily according to the tour guide Kit. He also touched on a concept I was uncommon with, that has since resurfaced during our time in Portland, USA which is the concept of agencies building out public transport networks to areas that are currently underdeveloped.  By putting money into the area through real estate promotion and shopping centres and continued public transport support, the area is given the chance  to expand and unnaturally grow, and then grow into a proper community area. 

It seems that through the cultural character of Japan, the responses of communities seem to be constructing for the best of the areas in focus, where in the case of the tsunami regions the areas are reconstructed with the intention of capturing the essence of the area that was damaged, as well as trying to provide for those that were affected, and creating memorials to keep the memory of this disaster, including other important events in their history such as previous earthquakes, and World War II.

Jeremy Brown