How Tokyo Has Become The Modern City Of Dreams

Tokyo is one of the most organized and well-designed cities in the world, effectively catering to the needs of its residents in ways that may seem unthinkable to the rest.

While cities that may have a population of over a million, more often than not struggle to maintain basic amenities for the comforts of its residents and have issues regarding over population, poor traffic control, pollution and poverty, Tokyo has efficiently managed to curb these issues with effective planning and strategy.

The city is so well-maintained to the point where if there were a traffic jam, it would be telecasted in the evening news because that is how uncommon it is. Even in the least busy neighborhood women can walk around at night and be safe.

How has Japan managed to create such an effective layout for one of the busiest cities in the world, while others have not?

What sets the Japanese apart is simple. It is their need for having order and cleanliness in their surroundings that makes the city so efficient. Well, that and their sheer love for systems. It is not just seen as a requirement but as a national obsession to have well-managed systems for everything from road maps, to highways and distribution networks.

This is the major reason behind how Tokyo operates the largest railway system in the world so smoothly. Bringing this level of order to the city has blesses the people of Tokyo with optimum health, all thanks to its highly effective food and water distribution systems.

In a world where the demand for fast food joints is endless, Tokyo has multiple convenience stores and eateries that provides for delicious food that is high in nutrition that are sold at affordable prices, resulting in an increased consumption of a wholesome meal.

Most people prefer to eat a homecooked meal as opposed to eat from outside. The reason being that the people of Tokyo are big on nutrition and therefore have a great understanding of what is good for their systems. They believe that home cooked meals are better for our overall health and prove to be an affordable alternative to eating from outside daily.

The Convenience Stores- ‘Konbini’

Tokyoites are heavy on the convenience store culture, which is locally known as Konbini. In a span of 24 hours, nearly 40 million Japanese will buy something from a Konbini, as per statistics.

There are about a total of 7000 Konbini’s in Tokyo, which works out to one store for every 1860 residents.

In other countries, such convenience stores are highly priced and do not offer such a cast range of products such as the Konbini’s in Tokyo. They are known to stock up nearly 3000 items and has everything that one might need.

The Konbini’s have recently started with other premium services such as Utility bill payments, ATM facilities and Amazon deliveries to take it up a notch and make things even more convenient for people.

Apart from that, most people will visit a Konbini to get themselves a nice wholesome meal. It provides freshly made and highly nutritious food and has everything from yakisoba sandwich, a soft-serve ice-cream or a simple steamed bun.  

While people living in big cities want to see things flourish more in terms of diversity, technology and business, most of the solutions they provide are backward and end up causing more harm than benefits.

The Japanese are not influenced by the new ways of the world. They continue to come up with innovative concepts and effective systems to match their goals taking the smart route.

Tokyo’s Konbini are uniform across all its three suppliers and follow the same rules for all the stores, where ready-made food is prepared three times a day and other perishable items such as bread and milk are delivered once in every 24 hours.

Even though Konbini’s are what brings Tokyo city to life, the idea of having continued demand for convenience stores might not be sustainable in the long run.

Although people get everything that they might need at a Konbini, the shelf life of most of these edibles are limited, causing them to throw out most of these items periodically. Japan’s convenience stores and shops throw out 600,000 tons of food collectively on a yearly basis.

Despite its high efficiency, a wasteful concept of this sort is very unlikely to survive through the 21^st century. Once there are changes in the population and taxes, the government might not be able to afford such huge amounts of resources being wasted.

The Konbini system is something that will not be able to overcome the stature of the current Japanese market, which is said to be powered by Chinese food and drink corporations by early 2100’s.

So while Konbini’s might not be hear to stay, it is an immense part of Japanese history and will always have a special role to play as part of the Japanese culture.