Tuesday, March 18, 2008

I'd Rather Walk

People, people everywhere--especially in Shibuya Station

If it were possible, I’d never ride a train. I’d shop at neighborhood stores and do all my business within walking distance. It would be so much easier, not to mention cheaper. I’d also be saving energy, exercising, and not worrying about the latest surge in oil prices all at the same time.

But it isn’t possible, certainly not here in Tokyo. Even though I go to the grocery store, post office, video rental store, dry cleaners, and the bank all on foot, and Bernie walks to school, we still have to use the train at least a couple of times a week. When I do, I usually feel like I’ve been on the battlefield. So far, the personal casualties have been minimal, for which I’m thankful.

Last Sunday, for example, Bernie and I pushed our way onto eight different trains in the process of going and coming from church in one of Tokyo’s suburbs. As we were being bumped, jostled, and smashed while riding the wave of people onto the last train home, Bernie commented, “There are too many people in the world.” (How I even heard him is as miraculous as the fact that we both emerged unscathed.) To which I responded, “Yeah, and they’re all in Tokyo.”

An overstatement, to be sure. Nevertheless, anyone who rides Tokyo’s trains during rush hour will understand my sentiment. If you’re not able to come for a ride and need some facts to help you comprehend what we experience on Tokyo’s trains, perhaps a recent newspaper article will help. According to the United Nations, the greater Tokyo area—with its current population of 35.7 million people—is the world’s most populated urban area, and predictions are that this megalopolis will continue in the number one slot through 2025.

Quoting the U.N.’s “2007 Revisions of World Urbanization Prospects,” The Daily Yoimuri reported that 42 percent of the urban population of Japan lives in Tokyo, giving it the distinction of being a primary city—a city in which more than 40 percent of a nation’s population lives. Now I understand why riding the trains routinely makes me think about dieting. After all, with so much of Japan riding at the same time, there’s just not enough room for all of us, especially me. No wonder I’d rather walk.

By the way, in case you’re interested, after Tokyo, the next most populated urban areas are New York-Newark, Mexico City, Mumbai (formerly Bombay), and Sao Paulo. There are “only” 19 million people living in each of these megacities. The newspaper article also reported that by the end of this year, 2008, the number of urban dwellers in the world will match that of rural inhabitants for the first time ever in human history.

I guess the good news for me, at least, is to know that Tokyo is to be toppled in its number one population standing by 2026, when Mumbai is likely to become the world’s most populated urban area. Hmmm. I’ll be 71 years old then. By that time, I’m sure Tokyo’s population challenges will not be uppermost in my mind.