Tokyo, world’s 4th most livable city

November 4, 2007 on 7:45 pm | In Tokyo | | Email This Post

I came across this ranking of the “The world’s top 10 most liveable cities” on IHT today.

Number one is Munich. I laughed at the thought that Tokyo, or any other Japanese city might possibly make the list.

Then to my surprise…

#4 TOKYO. Integrated transport, breathtaking technology, great service and the best bars make this our top big city. The real Tokyo for the most part confounds expectations. Visitors are rarely prepared for the other side of the city, so unlike its raucous alter ego: the quietness of the subway, the peaceful residential streets, the old-fashionedness of the place.

Here is the complete list to save you the trouble of running through their slide show.

#1 MUNICH

#2 COPENHAGEN

#3 ZURICH

#4 TOKYO

#5 VIENNA

#6 HELSINKI

#7 SYDNEY

#8 STOCKHOLM

#9 HONOLULU

#10 MADRID

I’ve been to Munich, but it was in the dead of winter and only for a few days. I have also been to Honolulu, but only for like 5 hours during transit… I have also been to Madrid, and that was a blast – though I wasn’t there long enough to judge it’s “liveability”.

What does everyone else think about this list? Seriously, how can Tokyo make the list, but not Singapore? New York is no where to be found… Is it that bad?

Regarding Japan… I’m surprised they would list Tokyo before Kobe or Fukuoka… In my opinion both are much more livable.

Anyway, let me know what you think.

- Harvey

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13 Comments »

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  1. Gravatar

    Yeah, I call foul. Something’s amiss here. It’s like when you see a list of the most influential people in the world and there are obvious omissions as well as dubious inclusions. But I’m not that surprised when I have completely different reactions to films than the critics do, so maybe it’s that kind of fishiness? The kind that results from someone other than me making a list with a different set of priorities and whatnot?

    Comment by Deas — November 4, 2007 #

  2. Gravatar

    “New York is no where to be found… Is it that bad?”

    Er, yes. At this point in NY’s history, one should only live there if they are squarely focused on making money or taking over the world. Otherwise, it’s not worth living there. And I’m a proud native New Yorker.

    As for the list, it doesn’t surprise me at all. I agree with it. About the city choices, I think they were picking from the best known cities around the world rather than giving a fair shake to every single city out there. Otherwise I’m sure you’d see some tiny hamlet in New England mentioned (quite a beautiful place to live).

    Comment by doc strange — November 5, 2007 #

  3. Gravatar

    Aha, Madrid. Me learning Spanish wasn’t a waste of time. (mariachi dance)

    Comment by JCD — November 5, 2007 #

  4. Gravatar

    Yes, well, that explains all the Sydney folks moving to Brisbane.

    Comment by Clive — November 5, 2007 #

  5. Gravatar

    I’ve lived in Honolulu. Massive gridlock and “rock fever” start to get you down after only a couple of months in. It’s nice if you’re a surfer, a retiree, or a rugged, outdoors type of person, but if you’re not, the isloation will get to you quickly.

    Comment by Joe — November 5, 2007 #

  6. Gravatar

    I currently live in Hawaii, a fair bit away from Honolulu (about 20 miles outside of the city), and I can tell you that Honolulu is not the one of the most liveable cities to live in. Cost of living is through the roof, massive gridlock (like Joe said before me) extending way past rush hour and even on the weekends, and insane shipping prices if you order things off the net since we’re secluded out in the middle of the Pacific Ocean - 3000 miles from the nearest major piece of land - make living here really difficult. Hawaii also lacks an efficient mass transit system (the bus system doesn’t count since the buses need to sit in the same traffic as the cars that are creating the gridlock in the first place) makes it even harder to live here.

    The only time you’ll want to live here is if your a surfer. Otherwise, the seclusion, lack of large city benefits, and the general lack of proper English writing and speech skills (Hawaii people seem to think that Pidgin English - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hawaiian_Pidgin_English - is proper English) really starts to weigh on you. Just my $0.02 :o)

    Comment by Blake — November 6, 2007 #

  7. Gravatar

    Doesn’t the availability of Spam make up for that?

    ;P

    Comment by Clive — November 6, 2007 #

  8. Gravatar

    Spam, the state food of Hawaii ;P I wonder how many people eat Spam outside of Hawaii, though, since I’ve heard that the people in the mainland U.S. can’t stand it and feed it to their dogs and such.

    Hmmm, does Japan have Spam? If not, it would make an interesting gift wouldn’t it? :o)

    Comment by Blake — November 6, 2007 #

  9. Gravatar

    You can get Spam in Japan! Though it’s a little expensive. Not that I ever actively look for it though.

    I have heard rumors that they even put it on sushi sometimes and call it a day.

    Comment by harvey — November 6, 2007 #

  10. Gravatar

    Another thing about Hawaii is the lack of quality education. They are consistently near the bottom of the nation’s rankings in primary education, and Univeristy of Hawaii-Manoa, while beautiful, is a third-tier university at best.

    A nice place to retire to, but I wouldn’t want to try and raise a family there.

    Comment by Joe — November 6, 2007 #

  11. Gravatar

    Hello there, just wanted to leave you a note saying HAAAAARVYYYYYYY!

    Comment by Ayumi — November 7, 2007 #

  12. Gravatar

    I’ve lived in Tokyo and loved it. Very very livable city, but it also really depends on where you live. Some areas are still reasonably priced and quite nice to live in. The same isn’t true for NYC where reasonably priced=bad neighborhood.

    Comment by Re — November 7, 2007 #

  13. Gravatar

    How could Sydney make the list?? It’s expensive, the roads are congested, the trains are dirty/late/canceled, there is too much crime and violence and property (rent / buying) is too expensive.

    This is why I now live in japan.

    Comment by Contamination — November 20, 2007 #

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