What Livable Looks Like in Japan
A visit to far away friends provides a tour of livable sights and scenes in and around Tokyo
The focus of my travel and vacation photos changed significantly after I joined the AARP Livable Communities team in 2014. I now return from trips with souvenir snapshots of streets, buildings, houses, public spaces and lots of strangers as they go about their daily lives. Seeing how and where people in different parts of the United States and the world live, work and play can provide inspiration for making where we live more livable for people of all ages.
— Melissa Stanton, Editor, AARP Livable Communities
Then and Now
A lot has changed between 1986, when I lived in Tokyo, and my return three decades later to visit longtime friends. Cat cafés, such as the one I popped into (pictured), allow animal lovers and the pet-deprived to relax among friendly felines.
Photo by Melissa Stanton
Walking in the Middle of the Street
Located about an hour south of Tokyo, the city of Kamakura is home to a Great Buddha. One path to enlightenment is this elevated pedestrian corridor that runs down a busy boulevard.
Photo by Melissa Stanton
Criss-Crossing the Street
The crosswalks may look like an invitation to chaos but they work, allowing pedestrians to cross a roadway or intersection once rather than twice or more to get where they're going.
Photo by Melissa Stanton
Shoppers and Cyclists Welcome
Tokyo is a densely populated city with dozens of town-sized neighborhoods. In the Jiyugaoka area, as in much of the city, the best way to get around and run errands is without a car.
Photo by Melissa Stanton
A Wide Walkway
Streets and sideways get crowded with commuters at certain times of the day. Having a super-wide crosswalk helps keep pedestrians moving and vehicles at a safe distance.
Photo by Melissa Stanton
Tickets and Translations
Japan's vast network of train lines enable people of all ages and abilities to travel within Tokyo and beyond. The route map can be intimidating, but information and assistance is available in multiple languages.
Photo by Melissa Stanton
Smoking Section
People wanting to smoke don't just step outside and light up on the sidewalk. Instead, they step outside and then into a designated smoking area.
Photo by Melissa Stanton
Clean Commodes
Public toilets are essential to making public spaces welcoming and usable. Many restrooms in Japan provide seat cleaner in lieu of paper seat covers to ensure sanitary seating and reduce the amount of paper used and trash created.
Photo by Melissa Stanton
High Tech Toilets
In-floor squat toilets were once the norm. Today, technically-savvy seated toilets are de rigueur. Both home and public toilets include personal cleansing choices, temperature settings, air freshening and background noise options.
Photo by Melissa Stanton
Pictures Say It All
Written Japanese uses four alphabets — Hiragana, Katakana, Kanji and Romaji. (You can read Romaji.) Pictograms, such as the ones shown on this restroom door, translate into every language.
Photo by Melissa Stanton
Indoor-Outdoor Shopping
In the largely residential Oyama neighborhood of northwest Tokyo, the area's main destination for shopping and dining — essentially its Main Street — is a covered, open-air, pedestrian-only corridor called "Happy Road."
Photo by Melissa Stanton
For Display Only
Plastic food displays in restaurant windows help entice diners and enable those who can't speak or read Japanese to point to their selection — or match the writing on the displayed item with writing on a menu.
Photo by Melissa Stanton
A Fridge for a Few Hours
Many large train stations open into department stores that house hard-to-resist gourmet markets and eateries. Customers who aren't headed straight home can rent a cool locker for storing perishables.
Photo by Melissa Stanton
Courtesy is Contagious
In Japan, even adults read comic books (aka: graphic novels). These illustrations, which are often placed at or near train stations, remind people to be courteous to those needing assistance.
Photo by Melissa Stanton
Priority Seating
Signage reminds passengers to give up certain seats on the train to pregnant women, people with injuries or illnesses, parents with small children and older adults. (One-third of Japan's population is age 60-plus.)
Photo by Melissa Stanton
Staying in the Safe Lane
Although most city streets are traveled by all sorts of users regardless of a roadway's narrowness, twists and turns, streets with designated lanes for pedestrians, cyclists and vehicles make getting around safer for everyone.
Then and Now
In many ways, Toyko today felt newer and more livable than when I lived there years ago. It also felt age-friendly, which was helpful since my local friends, my Japanese mom (holding photos of us from 1986 and 2017) and I are all now AARP-eligible
Photo by Hiroaki Kobayashi
Slideshow published July 2017
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