Walkability in Japan

Something I love to do at this time of year is go out for walks. The weather is really pleasant before the full summer humidity kicks in, and I love just appreciating the beautiful nature and seasonal flowers in our local area.

It got me thinking about the walkability of different areas that I've lived in, and how that impacts on my overall health. The term "walkability" has been around since the 1960s, and it specifically refers to how easy it is to access places on foot that you need for day-to-day life. Obviously there are health benefits to a place having great walkability, but it's also good for the environment! 

It's quite easy for things to be walkable in rural Niigata when you don't encounter much traffic!

Here in Niigata, I feel like I walk (and cycle) more than I ever have in other locations – it's often easier for me to walk than to drive to the supermarket, to the station, and to convenience stores at this time of year. The times of year it becomes not so fun to walk are during the height of summer (sweat central) and during winter when it's just so snowy that it's not always practical to try and walk places. We have a car here because of that.

When we lived in downtown Tokyo for a year, we didn't have a car at all. This was before we had children, and it wasn't really a necessity to have our own vehicle. We walked, cycled, or caught public transport just about everywhere we needed to get to – perhaps with a smattering of taxi rides in between if something was a little further on foot than what would be practical. The, when we lived in the Tokyo suburbs, we did have cars but probably could have gotten away without them for most things. Our train station was about 15 minutes walk from where we live, so definitely not unmanageable.

Back home in Australia, some things were walkable – for instance, I would have been able to access a supermarket within about 10 minutes from where I lived. However, other amenities like my bank or post office were further away, and realistically I needed to drive. Our public transport network back home is in no way as far-reaching as Japan's is, so that was a barrier to walkability, too.

How walkable is your local area of Japan? Do you have easy access on foot to amenities like supermarkets, convenience stores, or public transport routes?