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Japan's amazing trains

Puppycow

Penultimate Amazing
Puppycow
Joined
Jan 9, 2003
Messages
34,145
Location
Yokohama, Japan
I came across this new video made by a guy with a good YouTube channel that I like. In it, he rides some of the most interesting trains in Japan. I live here and even I didn't know about several of these. Japan is really a paradise for people who like trains. You may have an image in your mind of overcrowded commuter trains, but that problem has been greatly alleviated in recent years. There is still some crowding on the busiest lines at the busiest times of day, but not nearly as bad as it once was.

I hope someone finds this interesting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTPIs370dPM



(Embedded version of the same video)
 
Puppycow said:
I came across this new video made by a guy with a good YouTube channel that I like. In it, he rides some of the most interesting trains in Japan. I live here and even I didn't know about several of these. Japan is really a paradise for people who like trains. You may have an image in your mind of overcrowded commuter trains, but that problem has been greatly alleviated in recent years. There is still some crowding on the busiest lines at the busiest times of day, but not nearly as bad as it once was.

I hope someone finds this interesting:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTPIs370dPM



(Embedded version of the same video)
Click to expand...

Not Just Bikes is about my favourite YT channel. Interesting you didn't know about some of these.

Have you been on any of the featured trains?
 
wobs said:
Have you been on any of the featured trains?
Click to expand...

Only the Shinkansen, but not the particular Shinkansen featured in the video. He does mention that this only scratches the surface. There are many other nice trains that he wasn't able to cover.
 
If you like drier, more data driven content like this, City Beautiful is also a good channel.
 
Donal said:
If you like drier, more data driven content like this, City Beautiful is also a good channel.
Click to expand...

That is a good channel.

If a country or region has a large population in a small area then high speed trains are ideal. Japan, China, and Europe are good examples. All have high speed trains. The USA would be another good example, but there CT is reality.
 
I've been on the Kyo-garaku train with the zen garden on the Hankyu line between Umeda (Osaka) and Kyoto. Really nice. The Shinkansen is always fun to ride as well, unless you are unlucky enough to get an unreserved ticket on a busy day.
 
Donal said:
If you like drier, more data driven content like this, City Beautiful is also a good channel.
Click to expand...

Watched that and others. One issue with them is that they look at good and bad city design, but don't really go into how you get from bad to good city design.
One channel that has come close is Build The Lanes. He's an urban designer who moved to the Netherlands, and has done films on how they changed their system to enable positive change. Recommend if you're interested in that.
 
City Beautiful has done videos about places that have improved their infrastructure and what the process was. The problem is, the Youtube algorithm prevents any of them to go really i ndepth. Also, a lot of it is the slow grind of municipal politics.
 
rjh01 said:
That is a good channel.

If a country or region has a large population in a small area then high speed trains are ideal. Japan, China, and Europe are good examples. All have high speed trains. The USA would be another good example, but there CT is reality.
Click to expand...

China is actually not a good example. They massively over-built their high speed rail, and it's turned into a boondoggle as a result. What's more, they did so at the expense of freight rail capacity. And given that rail is by far the best way to move heavy freight over land, that's got economic, environmental, and even social costs which routinely get ignored by HRS fans.
 
Donal said:
City Beautiful has done videos about places that have improved their infrastructure and what the process was. The problem is, the Youtube algorithm prevents any of them to go really i ndepth. Also, a lot of it is the slow grind of municipal politics.
Click to expand...

Hey, feel free to post one of their videos here in this thread. Whichever one you like the best. I'll watch it and comment if I have anything to say.
 
From April about a highway tear down in Rochester, NY.



By the way, I was actually thinking of CityNerd. But, City Beautiful is good too.

Here's City Nerd talking about how Albequrque transferred the Route 66 stroad.

 
Ziggurat said:
China is actually not a good example. They massively over-built their high speed rail, and it's turned into a boondoggle as a result. What's more, they did so at the expense of freight rail capacity. And given that rail is by far the best way to move heavy freight over land, that's got economic, environmental, and even social costs which routinely get ignored by HRS fans.
Click to expand...

You should talk to more High Speed Rail advocates. They actually understand fairly well the difference between freight lines and passenger lines.

Yes, you'll get people who are just getting into the topic proposing to "use the freight lines", but that usually goes away when dealing with poeple who are serious about it.

Also, China built lines that were too long and going to remote regions that couldn't support it. There is a point of diminishing returns.
 
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Donal said:
City Beautiful has done videos about places that have improved their infrastructure and what the process was. The problem is, the Youtube algorithm prevents any of them to go really i ndepth. Also, a lot of it is the slow grind of municipal politics.
Click to expand...

You might like this one:

He looks into how things changed in the Netherlands, as in how they got everywhere to improve. And it wasn't by more regulations.
 
Donal said:
From April about a highway tear down in Rochester, NY.



By the way, I was actually thinking of CityNerd. But, City Beautiful is good too.

Here's City Nerd talking about how Albequrque transferred the Route 66 stroad.

Click to expand...

Nice. I hadn't been keenly aware of either of these issues, having been living in Japan for a few decades now, but I can definitely see how replacing a highway with a boulevard could improve a city and make it friendlier for carless living. I haven't owned a car since I started living here because it's not necessary. I have one train station within a 10 minute walk and another larger one within 20 minutes, and even a bus stop that's about 50 meters from my front door which can take me to the larger station.

BRT sounds a bit like a compromise between a train and a bus. A level boarding platform is a plus.
 
rail lines, even small light rail, are big construction projects. And have specific requirements of the ground you are digging up. If a bus is an adequate solution, go with that.
 
Thanks for sharing the video. I love the Japanese trains, especially the one man trains in the rural areas. And, of course, the Shinkansen lines.

As a non-resident, I'm able to get the Japan Rail Pass and roam about the country. I'm not sure if these are available to resident of Japan yet - I heard that may be coming.

Still, as impressive as the Japanese rail system is, it's sure to be outdone by the upcoming California High Speed Rail. :p
 
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