We do, but most of them have something within cycling distance that isn’t on an 70+ kph road with maniacs (and the closer to civilization, they have public transit).
That’s actually rather difficult to give one answer to, even if narrowed to one country/culture as the target audience.
For North America: central heat/air is not a thing here outside of commercial applications. A handful of private individuals do it, but it ends up costing a ton both directly (the unit/maintenance) and indirectly (more materials, ductwork, insulation, etc. that are less common and more expensive here). We just had building laws revised this year to require slightly higher building codes for energy efficiency and insulation, but it’s still well below the standard of other places. It’s somewhat a cost issue (Japanese houses depreciate to nothing after 20 years in most cases and land value only goes up in a handful of areas, so there’s additional pressure not to care a ton), and also a reaction to “sick home syndrome” that came from bad plastics/materials offgassing things like formaldehyde in the '80s in more tightly-closed homes. Here, homes that breathe well are still considered better.
It’s old American military officer housing, rented out as low income housing for several decades, then after it accidentally lasted long enough to appeal to locals, it was refurbed into a kitschy/artsy commercial area to indulge in Americana through a Japanese lens.
It’s mostly crappy areas. Outside the urban centers, they refuse to invest in infrastructure. So everyone flees to the city center, which produces slums, and then everything except the high income areas kinda suck.
We have a lot of good infrastructure in my village and I’m pretty rural (depending upon how big ‘urban center’ is in your definition, I’m between 20 and 45 minutes away by train).
A lot of the countryside that is depopulating is quite ugly, but there is no money to invest in that infrastructure when almost the whole population is pensioners. It’s a chicken-and-egg problem to be sure. I think the government needs to do more to get people out of the megalopolises. My area has campaigns that use our tax money to pay people to move here as well as subsidizing preschool and kindergarten.
there is no money to invest in that infrastructure when almost the whole population is pensioners
The national government has plenty of money. And investing in these communities would generate permanent employment, such that more young people would live there.
But the politics of the county resists this kind of investment, because it isn’t immediately profitable.
Does Japan not have any crappy areas?
We do, but most of them have something within cycling distance that isn’t on an 70+ kph road with maniacs (and the closer to civilization, they have public transit).
What’s something that most people would be surprised to learn about Japan?
That’s actually rather difficult to give one answer to, even if narrowed to one country/culture as the target audience.
For North America: central heat/air is not a thing here outside of commercial applications. A handful of private individuals do it, but it ends up costing a ton both directly (the unit/maintenance) and indirectly (more materials, ductwork, insulation, etc. that are less common and more expensive here). We just had building laws revised this year to require slightly higher building codes for energy efficiency and insulation, but it’s still well below the standard of other places. It’s somewhat a cost issue (Japanese houses depreciate to nothing after 20 years in most cases and land value only goes up in a handful of areas, so there’s additional pressure not to care a ton), and also a reaction to “sick home syndrome” that came from bad plastics/materials offgassing things like formaldehyde in the '80s in more tightly-closed homes. Here, homes that breathe well are still considered better.
It still boggles my mind people in Japan buy new when it comes to housing. I guess if they are all cheaply built that makes sense.
Well there’s Johnson Town in Saitama.
Why is there a sign saying “blue corn” in English there? And why is it called “Johnson Town”?
https://www.japan-experience.com/all-about-japan/saitama/attractions-excursions/johnson-town
It was an old US airbase town
Looks like an American suburb but without yard space.
So like a normal suburb from before 1920…
That doesn’t look bad.
It’s old American military officer housing, rented out as low income housing for several decades, then after it accidentally lasted long enough to appeal to locals, it was refurbed into a kitschy/artsy commercial area to indulge in Americana through a Japanese lens.
It looks like America, so ehhhh
Not a single mcmansion in sight! Not even enough yard to have a ride on mower??? Horrors!
It’s mostly crappy areas. Outside the urban centers, they refuse to invest in infrastructure. So everyone flees to the city center, which produces slums, and then everything except the high income areas kinda suck.
We have a lot of good infrastructure in my village and I’m pretty rural (depending upon how big ‘urban center’ is in your definition, I’m between 20 and 45 minutes away by train).
A lot of the countryside that is depopulating is quite ugly, but there is no money to invest in that infrastructure when almost the whole population is pensioners. It’s a chicken-and-egg problem to be sure. I think the government needs to do more to get people out of the megalopolises. My area has campaigns that use our tax money to pay people to move here as well as subsidizing preschool and kindergarten.
The national government has plenty of money. And investing in these communities would generate permanent employment, such that more young people would live there.
But the politics of the county resists this kind of investment, because it isn’t immediately profitable.