With a population of 37 million, Tokyo is at least 50% bigger than all other major cities, with an ambitious urban design that interconnects districts within the megacity.
Tokyo’s Shinjuku Station is the busiest public transportation hub in the world and the centerpiece of city planning that prioritizes efficiency, practicality, and profitability. The station’s 20 platforms and 5 lines service 3.6 million subway commuters each day. Compare that to New York City’s subway which has the same amount of daily passengers but is much bigger – with 399 km of routes and 472 stations.
Tokyo’s focus on public transportation over the use of individual cars includes convenient grocery shopping for walkers, 1,600 bus lines, and Japan’s super-fast bullet trains. The city is able to keep public transport profitable by de-incentivizing auto travel, with complicated highways and costly toll roads.
