The world agrees -- Tokyo is easy to explore on foot

If you've ever thought about what makes a city a good place to live in, you may have considered its walkability. When we first moved to Japan we lived right in central Tokyo, and it was the first time in my adult life that I didn't have a car -- because there was no pressing need for one. I could walk to a grocery store, convenience store, or coffee shop in a matter of minutes, and the things that were a little further away were convenient to reach via the amazing public transport network here.

Pic Credit: Daryan Shamkhali/Unsplash

It didn't surprise me, then, that a recent study saw Tokyo named as the 6th most walkable city in the world. The rest of the top 10 were European cities, which I also found interesting. Certainly in my home city in Australia, you really need a car for most things -- public transport is nowhere near as frequent or as timely as it is here, plus things are a lot more spread out in general.

Out in the countryside, I find it's a bit different -- our nearest mall is about 20 minutes away. We do have a supermarket and several convenience stores that can be reached in about 10-15 minutes on foot, which isn't bad at all. We still need a car out here for a lot of things, though!

Is your area of Japan walkable, or do you need a car for most things?