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Four simple rules behind Japan's most liveable cities

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Re: Four simple rules behind Japan's most liveable cities

#101

Post by zapzupnz »

wat10000 wrote: post #71
thereisnospork wrote: post #69

Earlier quoted context omitted.

"Stand to the right on an escalator" "Put trash in a trashcan and not on the ground" That wasn't complicated. And took 30seconds. Are there a lot of rules? Of course. Is knowing them all in advance possible? Of course not. Don't confuse that with 'complicated'. Fine people who litter. Have an ai voice chide people who stand on the wrong side of an escalator. Both simple.

Do I really have to stand to the right on an escalator? I think the nearest one is a mile away, that seems really inconvenient and unnecessary, and it's going to be hard to get my work done. I'm surprised to find this sentiment on a site filled with computer programmers. The most important and difficult lesson of computer programming is that simple-sounding rules have a lot of details that we take for granted.

> I think the nearest one is a mile away, that seems really inconvenient and unnecessary

I think this way of thinking, being obtuse on purpose to try to win an internet argument (without a prize, no less), is the more unnecessary thing. What point does that argumentation try to prove other than that a hypothetical version of you, as opposed to most humans who live in large cities, are an inflexible idiot?

Most people are not 100% unaware of the context in which they are engaging. We know to apply escalator rules when we're at an escalator. We know to put things in bins when we have things to put in bins. What we don't know, we can learn through observation, reading the atmosphere, and making at least a minimal effort not to showboat our individualism and, apparently, any obtuse refusal to engage with our context.

(By the way, I don't actually think you are an inflexible idiot.)

Re: Four simple rules behind Japan's most liveable cities

#102

Post by dismalaf »

testing22321 wrote: post #96
dismalaf wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> Every single person in Canada has healthcare If you're ok waiting 6-18 months for basically everything that's not life threatening. The reality is that people either suffer in our system or go abroad for medical treatment. > I’d been living and working in the US for 6 months, and came to Canada for the first time. After 30 minutes I felt more at home and happier than I did at any time during six months in the US. O…

I’ve now lived in Canada for 16 years. I’ve had surgeries, my wife gave birth, plenty of friends have been through the ER and doctors (we mountain bike, ski, snowboard, etc) Please, please stop making stuff up.

https://www.cma.ca/healthcare-for-real/how-many-canadians-go...

https://thehub.ca/2026/01/21/over-105000-patients-left-canad...

https://www.ctvnews.ca/atlantic/article/4600-atlantic-canadi...

https://www.maplemedglobal.ca/destinations/mexico

https://www.benefitsandpensionsmonitor.com/news/industry-new...

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/article/i-had-started-saying-g...

Yes, it's fine if you fall into a category where care absolutely can't be delayed or it's life threatening.

And before you accuse me of lying, here's the literal fucking CMA saying wait times are too long and worse than peer countries: https://www.cma.ca/healthcare-for-real/why-do-canadians-wait...

For example, both myself and my 2 year old son had to get surgeries considered "elective" in Canada. Both quoted over a year wait time. I went to an EU country got it done in 3 days, got his surgery done in a couple weeks. He's been recovered for half a year and no one even called back yet to schedule his surgery in Canada.

But yes, I guess when he was born they made space for us in the hospital. Of course he ended up getting most of his yearly checkups and vaccines in the EU as well since over there you can get an appointment in a day here you have to book months out.

And before you call me a liar why don't you check one of the thousand sources that corroborate what I say, or at least a couple I put in this comment.

Also, the thing with medical care, it's fine until it's not. I never needed any medical care until I was 39 so of course I thought it was fine.

Edit - let's also not forget that 23,000 patients die waiting for surgery in Canada per year. That's more than the amount of people murdered in the US per year and not per capita (would be equivalent of 200,000+ Americans dying waiting for surgery).

https://www.ctvnews.ca/health/article/more-than-23000-canadi...

Re: Four simple rules behind Japan's most liveable cities

#103

Post by wat10000 »

zapzupnz wrote: post #101
wat10000 wrote: post #71

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Do I really have to stand to the right on an escalator? I think the nearest one is a mile away, that seems really inconvenient and unnecessary, and it's going to be hard to get my work done. I'm surprised to find this sentiment on a site filled with computer programmers. The most important and difficult lesson of computer programming is that simple-sounding rules have a lot of details that we take for granted.

> I think the nearest one is a mile away, that seems really inconvenient and unnecessary I think this way of thinking, being obtuse on purpose to try to win an internet argument (without a prize, no less), is the more unnecessary thing. What point does that argumentation try to prove other than that a hypothetical version of you, as opposed to most humans who live in large cities, are an inflexible idiot? Most people…

That's my point. It's a lot more complicated than "stand to the right on an escalator." You have to learn through observation, read the atmosphere, and engage with context.

There are some less obtuse issues with your universal pronouncement. There are escalators where it's too narrow to pass. There's no need nor expectation to stand to one side on these. The same goes for escalators that are so long that nobody's walking up them to accelerate their progress, or when nobody is around, or when it's so crowded nobody's able to pass anyway. And, at least in the places I'm familiar with, it doesn't apply in places where people aren't going to be in a big hurry. Stand right, pass left applies to subway stations but not malls.

Maybe this all seems obvious. Well, go to a tourist-heavy place with escalators and observe how much of this is learned behavior that takes repeated long-term exposure to understand.

Manners are really complicated. The escalator thing is a relatively simple example compared to something like, say, paying for a meal in a restaurant with a group, and it's already pretty deep when you dig into it.

Re: Four simple rules behind Japan's most liveable cities

#104

Post by inatreecrown2 »

mikhael wrote: post #29
timr wrote: post #21

I had to laugh when they put a quote from a wheelchair user at the top of the article. Japan is many good things, but friendly to wheelchair users is not one of them. As western tourists always seem to find out when they land with their gigantic suitcases, many Tokyo train stations require stairs to enter or exit.

on tokyo train and subway stations specifically: maybe in the past they weren't accessible, but at least since the olympics, they've become so. i believe they're closing in on 100% now.

Nowhere close to 100%. Even on the Yamanote Line (Tokyo's central loop) you will find stations with stairs only exit A, and one elevator that goes to exit B, leaving you in a part of town where you can't get to A without using stairs outside the station.

Re: Four simple rules behind Japan's most liveable cities

#105

Post by weakened_malloc »

testing22321 wrote: post #77
prteja11 wrote: post #35

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While you are correct about Vancouver downtown, once you get o suburbs like Langley, Coquitlam, they are no different that what you are calling out American cities for. If we limit this to downtowns, there are several cities in America that are similar (Boston, Seattle, SF, SanDiego, Austin, NYC to name a few).

> there are several cities in America that are similar (Boston, Seattle, SF, SanDiego, Austin, NYC to name a few). Worth noting the US does not have a single city in the top 20 worlds most livable. Honolulu is #25, Atlanta gets #35 That tells you something.

It tells me the way they measure 'livable' is wrong. Given the choice, most people would choose to be in any one of those over where ever they are now, and the cities on 'most livable' lists.

Re: Four simple rules behind Japan's most liveable cities

#106

Post by TacticalCoder »

stringsandchars wrote: post #9

> It's a concept that's difficult to replicate elsewhere, but Lydon compares it to what made old Main Street America so special. Designing at a people-first scale pays off. "The smell of fried croquettes drifting onto the streets, small shops run by the building owners, easy public transit access, a feeling of safety and community for all ages… it's hard to overstate how well this all works." Honestly, even though I…

> ... they could find this in pretty much any Spanish city

That's a horseload of bullcrap. For a start there are plenty of pickpockets in many spanish cities (not just Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia). Then there are people visiting houses: don't tell me it doesn't happen for I had my house visited by thieves the one time I forgot to put the alarm on (because I had to run to the ER for my daughter was between life and death).

I happen to know both Spain and Japan very well (I've got family in Japan): there's not anywhere near the level of safety you have in Tokyo in spanish cities.

Not even close.

Re: Four simple rules behind Japan's most liveable cities

#107

Post by kimjune01 »

danudey wrote: post #23
stringsandchars wrote: post #9

> It's a concept that's difficult to replicate elsewhere, but Lydon compares it to what made old Main Street America so special. Designing at a people-first scale pays off. "The smell of fried croquettes drifting onto the streets, small shops run by the building owners, easy public transit access, a feeling of safety and community for all ages… it's hard to overstate how well this all works." Honestly, even though I…

Or come to downtown Vancouver. I live in a small apartment, but within four blocks I have a community centre with gym, a pharmacy, a post office, a grocery store, a small bakery, the best liquor store in the city, three banks, a hot pot restaurant, a physiotherapist/massage therapist office, a vet, a dispensary, multiple hairdressers, an optometrist, several restaurants, two places to get gelato, a public plaza with…

Vancouver dream, not achievable with a median income

Re: Four simple rules behind Japan's most liveable cities

#108

Post by kimjune01 »

PaulRobinson wrote: post #16
sys32768 wrote: post #2

#4 "Maintain Manners" is hardly simple.

It needs critical mass, but then it cascades. If you read through the description, what they talk about is that the culture is built around the idea of the individual being part of something bigger, and that consideration and respect for that something bigger (other people), is core to your own identity. That's not hard for a lot of cultures, but it's almost impossible for most cultures in the Western hemisphere, and…

It only takes a small minority to ruin it for the rest of us. for example, bike theft

Re: Four simple rules behind Japan's most liveable cities

#109

Post by MiroslavPokorny »

I have watched a few videos on YT of people riding or walking around Tokyo and other cities. I think its a good example of what life there is really like in terms of seeing the environment, cleanliness, beauty, nature, buildings and more.

The only people in the background that I could see were people, young and old, travelling to and from school, offices, workplaces and so on.

The video was long and if i were to travel one day to Tokyo i would definitely follow the same route. Fresh air, nature, backstreets, all sorts of engineering and views.

How is it possible that a city of 35M in the heart of Tokyo, he barely passed a few bicycles and people outdoors enjoying life during a trip that went all over the place for hours ?

Is that living ?

Re: Four simple rules behind Japan's most liveable cities

#110

Post by donw »

TacticalCoder wrote: post #106
stringsandchars wrote: post #9

> It's a concept that's difficult to replicate elsewhere, but Lydon compares it to what made old Main Street America so special. Designing at a people-first scale pays off. "The smell of fried croquettes drifting onto the streets, small shops run by the building owners, easy public transit access, a feeling of safety and community for all ages… it's hard to overstate how well this all works." Honestly, even though I…

> ... they could find this in pretty much any Spanish city That's a horseload of bullcrap. For a start there are plenty of pickpockets in many spanish cities (not just Madrid, Barcelona and Valencia). Then there are people visiting houses: don't tell me it doesn't happen for I had my house visited by thieves the one time I forgot to put the alarm on (because I had to run to the ER for my daughter was between life and…

It's funny how these articles always conveniently skip over the most important point: you first have to fill your city with Japanese people.
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