Japan still blows me away. After almost three weeks in the Land of the Rising Sun, it’s not just the cultural kaleidoscope of ancient ways and tech adoption which wows. Being a data lover, I just thought I’d share some numbers and sums as a final reflection, and possible inspiration. I’m going to start at the end – Dublin Airport, our little island of zero rail connectivity. We hope for Rugby World Cups, UEFA and FIFA group matches but we don’t do transport. In contrast, when Japan were awarded the 1964 Olympics they decided to build a high speed rail solution to connect their big cities. The design, execution and project delivery before those Olympics was the Shinkansen, or “Bullet” train. Yes, I know – more than 60-years old but still capable of whizzing me and my tour-inspiring partner around Japan at 320km per hour. But here’s the best bit…
One of the days on tour we were in danger of missing a Bullet connection to Hiroshima. It’s not actually a big deal, you just hop on the next one without a reserved seat. But, you do have to wait….. 6 minutes. Yip these 300 km/hour country-crossing marvels run at a faster frequency than our peak-time Darts! As we worry about the decline of city centre vibrancy, you can’t help but notice the role trains play in Japan’s urban centres. Train stations often house vast underground shopping malls, restaurants and towering hotels above ground. And, great transport creates great footfall. My second stunner stat is that the station nearest our Tokyo hotel, Shinjuku, and a former home district of mine plays host to 3.5 million passengers….every day. But, before this number overwhelms you with angst about over-crowded streets and lack of personal space, let’s take a look at Japan’s urban planning.
By historic accident and design, the classic Japanese urban scenes portrayed in media hide a massive secret. The multi-floor buildings housing restaurants, retail, nightclubs, gaming cafes, hair salons etc tend to be clustered around the train stations and are lit up with the famous neon signs flashing the services available on each floor of the building. Of course, these emporia of consumption end up in Blade Runner futuristic urban shots but the Zakkyo, as they are known, serve another purpose. These vibrant urban areas thrive because of high commercial density. They are also enjoyable – thousands of small businesses in close proximity makes it fascinating for the curious. And, walkable. We walked everywhere, and that reveals the hidden magic of urban Japan. Shibuya is possibly Japan’s most famous shopping area with its famous “Scramble Crossing” and statue of a patient dog, Hachiko, who waited every day for his owner who had sadly passed away. However, Hachiko had plenty of company. The famed “Scramble Crossing” sees up to 3,000 pedestrians cross at each light change during busy periods, but two streets and 250 metres away it’s a different universe. You can hear a pin drop; total quiet, no cars, green areas and low-rise buildings housing both residents and businesses. The excellent financial writer and former Tokyo resident, Noah Smith, explains:
“A lot of older Japanese buildings are made of wood, even if they have external facades that make them look like stone or concrete. This is a giant fire hazard, especially in a city like Tokyo where buildings are crammed so closely together. So in order to contain the possible spread of fires, Tokyo created a bunch of large streets fronted by giant concrete buildings, to act as natural firebreaks. This had a very interesting effect on the urban landscape. It created …..“pocket” neighbourhoods, where a dense maze of small streets and low-rise buildings are shielded by what are basically giant walls…. What this means is that if you’re inside the pocket, you don’t run into a lot of cars. Cars still can go inside, into the maze of small streets, but they typically don’t, because it’s almost always easier to just stick to the big streets outside the pocket. So the pocket neighborhoods become very quiet and peaceful…”
So, the Zakkyo high-rise buildings are really a gateway into the true strength of Japan’s cities. Big block, mall economics which has obliterated town centres in many advanced economies has not happened in Japan. Critical to that success has been mixed-use zoning. People in residential areas might have small living spaces but they really LIVE in the neighbourhood where hair salons, Pachinko parlours, multiple tiny restaurants, bars, bike shops, cafes and vintage clothing stores are pretty much next door. I’d say 50% of our meals in Japan were in restaurants with seating for less than 15 people. How does small business survive in advanced economies in thrall to scale economics? Well, the Japanese government supports small businesses with miniscule rate charges, low taxes, low-interest loans and a Large Store Law which protects smaller businesses from mall creep. For example, our relatively small new office in Dublin will pay rates of €2,500 per annum but in Japan it might not even be €200. And, don’t get me started on comparable SME banking or tax regimes. No point whining, just see the results and hope one day our leaders do too. Here’s one sum to whet the appetite….
Paris has 13,000 restaurants. London has 15,000 and New York has 25,000. But…. sum them all up and you still don’t get Tokyo. Stunningly, Zakkyo fire-breakers, pocket neighbourhoods, train connectivity and walkable streets have created an environment where 160,000 restaurants are in business in the country’s capital. Oh, and Tokyo manages change too. Many of the buildings I last saw in 2002 don’t exist today. Note to Dublin urban planners, cities work when buildings are actually USED… for a variety of activities and not strangled by zoning tyranny. The average lifespan of buildings in Tokyo is 26 years. In the US it’s 55 years and the UK (and us probably) drags out progress by 77 years. We have lots to learn. Hopefully, my final data point will inspire given our hospitality industry is struggling and recent tourist figures are causing concern.
As a resident of Japan in the 1990s I was one of barely 1 million non-nationals living in Japan out of a total population of 126 million. The year I left (1994)2.7 million tourists visited this amazing country. This year the tourist number will probably hit 40 million. And, the Shinjuku district of Tokyo with its mind-boggling train station of 3.5 million passengers and 200 exits (seriously intimidating) hosts a non-national residential population close to 15% of total. Clearly, a strong government commitment to infrastructure and urban planning is good for business of all sizes. And the tourists tell their friends too…..
