Tokyo

It often feels like to me whoever designed Tokyo's big street initative had a deep hatred for shoutengai.

Sadly, performance up till this point leads me to believe they will not.

Every time I hear politicians complain about "entitlements" I want to yell at them about all the money spent on lawless wars like this one.

Exactly the kind of action I would expect of a person who demanded they be given a noble peace prize /s

This saddens me, but I hope more folks riding trains and busses moves the needle on this.

When more people are in cars all the time the rules tend to get more unnecessary permissive towards drivers to the detrement of everyone else.

Esp when nearly all lawmakers drive everywhere

Driving penalties should revoke licenses more often.

Simultaneously leaders should make car free transport more timely and reliable so its easier to make the right choice and not drive.

*disappointment

I admit disappoint at the lack of a decent scrambled egg breakfast at Dennys in Japan.

Its basically got the same runny egg, canadian bacon (ham) options you find at all family restaurants and hotels in Japan.

Offering American style breakfast would probably boost their popularity significantly...

Sadly, many places in the US are starved for even one frequent transit line

If it makes you feel better, I once spent a lot of time and energy coming up with an idea to transport cars over the cascades by train in order to increase use cases for Stampeed Pass east of Tacoma.

Even did a write up and comissioned art for it.

Was brilliant until I shared the idea with anyone.

Hearing Kinkisharyos powering up in Hiroshima station reminds me a bit of Seattle.

Also, the new tram terminal is pretty nice.

I don't think I will ever be able to understand the conspiracy heads who think all the scientists are lying to "protect their jobs" while somehow mega corporations and politicians who stand to profit from the science being ignored are somehow "truth tellers"

Apparently, consultants is also how we get train stations so deep, no one wants to ride them...

I love how a city building like this from the early 1900s would likely be a paid tourist attraction in the US, but in Matsue its like "oh yeah we have one over by the castle (castle from the 1600s), its free to go inside."

Not to mention, a shallower station should be easier for passengers to access...

Matsue, Shimane

To compete with Tottori (pop 180k) on intercity transit, Seattle (pop 800k) would need not only hourly trains to Portland and Bellingham, but also 4~5 daily trains to Tri cities, Wenatchee, etc.

Yet in city buses in Tottori are often once per hour per line... its a very car dependent place.

One of the things thats hard not to think about when in rural Japan is how deeply rural places here actually have inferior intracity transit to mid sized US cities but can often have better intercity transit than a US city 3x their size.

Seaside village in Tottori, Japan. Photo taken from a train.

Snowy rice fields with Japanese homes in the distance. Photo shot from a train in Tottori prefecture.

Traditional looking Japanese homee line a small body of water. Photo shot from a train window in Tottori Prefecture.

A lake photograhed from the train window.

Riding a diesel train on unwelded rails in rural Japan today...

Not all Japan infra is 21st centry.

Amtrak might be able to compete with this one. Its pretty bouncy and smelly (Diesel)

Its nice to have the rail option in such a rural place though.

The scenery is also high tier.

Glad you and your family are safe.

Hopelly the protests will help bring down ICE so the US can go back go back to not having abductions by masked thugs from the government.

Is your family ok?

Given all the games that have been played with blocking appointments, and lying about personal beliefs/politics, the president and senate may need to be removed from the supreme court appointment process.

I think we are past the point where abolish is enough. Everyone involved in ICE also needs to be investigated and punished for their crimes.

When you let the powerful commit crimes wirh impunity, they find bigger crimes to commit.

Op-Ed: Sound Transit’s Station Naming Policy Has Run Amok Again » The Urbanist # With three “downtown” stations and counting, Sound Transit must overhaul its station naming policy and name its stations less confusingly so that riders can easily navigate a growing system.

With three “downtown” stations and counting, Sound Transit must overhaul its station naming policy and name its stations less confusingly so that riders can easily navigate a growing system.

Op-ed by Stephen Fesler: www.theurbanist.org/2025/12/05/o...