Tokyo 23 wards are very dense and compact, feel somewhere like Paris. Outside the 23 wards, 180 degree is surrounded by the mountains or sea leading to Saitama's radish fields and Chiba's deserted coastal rural villages. Even the outer wards for instance Setagaya and Suginami are very countryside. I don't think therefore Tokyo being the world's largest city. The sprawl is in fact very small. Even if Kanto has some 45 million people, I reckon the Tokyo's urbanised area itself is acutally tiny, consist of some 5 million people or so.

Who said Tokyo was the largest city in the world in the first place?

Also when one says the "largest", it could mean population or physical size. Even with physical size, density could also come into play. Point is, saying a city is the "largest" is actually being very vague.

Tokyo's the largest city in the world by population. At least greater Tokyo is. I think basically everyone agrees with this, even on SSC.

It's true that west of tokyo is mountains, and there's also the bay. But then south, Tokyo is basically continous with Yokohama, and greater Tokyo accounts for this.

No offence about size and number. No one said largest city, but
why not, there could be different surroundings. Some peole like open field near by riverside or bayside. Some people like density area for fun and easy accessible. Other peole like mountain and forest. The country side is also good place for having relax, and it's still easy access to everywhere because Tokyo is highly conneced cities each other which have many different sceneries. If everywhere are same views, it's not attractive at all.

I think tokyo is the most populated in the world and one of the most biggest in size...Los Angeles, Sao Paolo, London should have more or less the same size..

As Epi said, Tokyo is indeed continuously built up in many areas - i used to travel from central Tokyo through to Fujisawa-Shi on the Shonan coast west of Yokohama -there is just continual dense urbanisation all the way through kawasaki, Yokohama and out along the Tokaido-line through Kanagawa.

It definitely is the largest city in the world imo.

According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_population), the most populated city in the world is Mumbai, India with 13 million. Tokyo is the 12th most populated city in the world with around 8 million.

According to this website (http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/bigcities.htm), Seoul is the most populated city in the world with around 10 million. Tokyo is the 10th.

I've heard Mexico city is the biggest city in the world (pop.). So... different opinions I think.

As Epi said, Tokyo is indeed continuously built up in many areas - i used to travel from central Tokyo through to Fujisawa-Shi on the Shonan coast west of Yokohama -there is just continual dense urbanisation all the way through kawasaki, Yokohama and out along the Tokaido-line through Kanagawa.

It definitely is the largest city in the world imo.
Between Tokyo and Yokohama is in the middle of nothing. You can clearly recognise that when you are on the Toyoko Line. If you go onto the Shuto Express Way, it's very obvious that Tokyo is extremely small, as soon as getting out of the Yamanote Line loop, you'll be stuck into the middle of nowhere. The other day, I came back from Saitama, Ikebukuro's neon lights suddenly come out of its vast radish fields. Between Funabashi and Chiba, there is virtually nothing at all but the forest and almost wrecked farm houses (80's fashioned Bousouzoku suddenly appears with the roar of motorbikes from there, which is very funny). Tokyo's surroundings are not continuously urbanised areas. It's a small city of 620km2, and if we think only the certain areas of the Yamanote loop is dense enough, Tokyo is definitely far smaller than New York and London and even Paris. And, since Tokyo's buildings are all short and packed with the bathroom tiled housings and electric cables above the ground, the skyline is extremely ugly. It is by far the ugliest city in the world I've ever seen. Shouldn't exist such a joke.

I think thats a bit too harsh for Tokyo. Tokyo is much nicer than you think.

how come you guys are saying desperately?
laughable:lol:
No one care about the accurate city population.

anyway, just ignore 33457. Pepsi is back again.:nuts:

Between Tokyo and Yokohama is in the middle of nothing. You can clearly recognise that when you are on the Toyoko Line. If you go onto the Shuto Express Way, it's very obvious that Tokyo is extremely small, as soon as getting out of the Yamanote Line loop, you'll be stuck into the middle of nowhere. The other day, I came back from Saitama, Ikebukuro's neon lights suddenly come out of its vast radish fields. Between Funabashi and Chiba, there is virtually nothing at all but the forest and almost wrecked farm houses (80's fashioned Bousouzoku suddenly appears with the roar of motorbikes from there, which is very funny). Tokyo's surroundings are not continuously urbanised areas. It's a small city of 620km2, and if we think only the certain areas of the Yamanote loop is dense enough, Tokyo is definitely far smaller than New York and London and even Paris. And, since Tokyo's buildings are all short and packed with the bathroom tiled housings and electric cables above the ground, the skyline is extremely ugly. It is by far the ugliest city in the world I've ever seen. Shouldn't exist such a joke.


I really don't care if Tokyo is the largest or not but when was the last time you rode the Toyoko line, the 20's?

You are talking about the most expensive strip of residential realestate in Japan.
Let me jog you memory a little, Shinjuku station alone handles 34 million people per day. Where in the hell do you think they live?
You should do a little more with your math.

東京首都圏は世界の最も大きい大都市だ

People need to start citing source rather than pulling opinions out of their behind...

SOURCE: http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stad


1 Sjanghai Shànghǎi China 15.017.783
2 Bombay Mumbai India 12.883.645
3 Karachi Karāchi Pakistan 11.969.284
4 Buenos Aires Argentinië 11.595.183
5 Delhi Dilli India 11.215.130
6 Manilla Manila Filipijnen 10.546.511
7 Moskou Moskva Rusland 10.472.629
8 Seoul Sŏul Zuid-Korea 10.409.345
9 São Paulo Brazilië 10.059.502
10 Istanbul İstanbul Turkije 10.034.830
11 Lagos Nigeria 9.020.089
12 Mexico-stad México Mexico 8.659.409
13 Jakarta Indonesië 8.556.798
14 Tokio Tōkyō Japan 8.372.440

Nout, those are municipalities, they don't represent actual urban areas

For example, the Paris municipality has around 2 million inhabitants, but it's only administrative details, because the urban area has aroud 10.

São Paulo municipality has 10 million people, the whole metro has 19 million.

isnt the same with Tokyo?? The whole metro having over 33 million people?

Tokyo is definitely far smaller than New York and London and even Paris. And, since Tokyo's buildings are all short and packed with the bathroom tiled housings and electric cables above the ground, the skyline is extremely ugly. It is by far the ugliest city in the world I've ever seen. Shouldn't exist such a joke.

^^ :nuts:

Are you high?! Tokyo's urbanity is FAR BIGGER than what London and New York could muster. And, if you consider urban Tokyo to, only, be the 23 central wards then New York City should simply be Manhattan.

If Tokyo is the ugliest city in the world then I can't imagine what you'll say about Lagos or Mumbai or Rio de Janeiro. Obviously, Tokyo ain't the ugliest city in the world (just sorta-dull). But I'm hell sure that your the biggest a-hole that I've met in this forum so far. :yes:

Shouldn't exist such a joke

^^ And oh ...it should exist...the only thing that shouldn't exist in this world is YOU!

So...in short...

33457 = asshole fuckin' gay TROLL

Greater Tokyo is the largest urban agglomeration in the world.

It's also the world's second largest total built-up area [exceeded in total expanse only by the New York Tri-State Area] (includes all built-up zones: single-family housing residential zones; medium-density residential areas, as in townhomes housing; dense high-rise residential zones, as in high-rise apartment zones; industrial sprawl, commercial areas; central business districts or CBDs] with roughly 7,000 square kilometers of total built-up sprawl covering parts of the prefectures of Kanagawa, Saitama, Ibaraki, and Chiba.

Those largest-city-lists which either put Seoul or Shanghai or Mumbai on the top of their list have different measurement standards.

For example: Shanghai's 20-23 million population figure is actually the total population of the Municipality of Shanghai (rural + urban and/or floating/migrant + permanent/resident population).

Of any given measure, though, only one really matters. It's the physical extent. It doesn't matter if Greater Tokyo isn't one city. Who cares if Greater Tokyo is composed of hundreds of cities. All that maters is that all of them band together in a dense mash of well-developed transportation infrastructure that would allow seemless flow of traffic and mass-transit from one point of the metropolis to another.

this is not gonna be a very scientific reply, but of the cities i have visited so far, tokyo definitely feels the biggest. shanghai, however, also feels massive, definitely in a different league than bangkok or jakarta. of the places i've been to so far, using my gut feeling and eyes, i'd rank them as follows:

1.) tokyo
2.) shanghai
3.) jakarta
4.) bangkok
5.) saigon

someone here mentioned LA as being really big, but jjudging from the pictures i suppose if you would compare the city to tokyo, it's quite tiny. LA looks like a typical city where the skyline is, but the rest is sort of disconnected. i could be wrong though. but for me, a city's size is the uninterrupted sprawl of dense urban area.

According to Wikipedia (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_cities_by_population), the most populated city in the world is Mumbai, India with 13 million. Tokyo is the 12th most populated city in the world with around 8 million.

According to this website (http://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/bigcities.htm), Seoul is the most populated city in the world with around 10 million. Tokyo is the 10th.

SOURCE: http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stad


1 Sjanghai Shànghǎi China 15.017.783
2 Bombay Mumbai India 12.883.645
3 Karachi Karāchi Pakistan 11.969.284
4 Buenos Aires Argentinië 11.595.183
5 Delhi Dilli India 11.215.130
6 Manilla Manila Filipijnen 10.546.511
7 Moskou Moskva Rusland 10.472.629
8 Seoul Sŏul Zuid-Korea 10.409.345
9 São Paulo Brazilië 10.059.502
10 Istanbul İstanbul Turkije 10.034.830
11 Lagos Nigeria 9.020.089
12 Mexico-stad México Mexico 8.659.409
13 Jakarta Indonesië 8.556.798
14 Tokio Tōkyō Japan 8.372.440

As others have already pointed out, these stats are just about city propers (administrative divisions), which do not always correspond with actual metropolitan areas. So, in that sense, it is technically correct to say "Tokyo proper is not the largest 'city' in the world".

If you compare metropolitan areas, on the other hand, most stats seem to agree that Greater Tokyo has the largest population in the world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_metropolitan_areas_by_population
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_urban_areas_by_population
http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=1131897520&men=gcis&lng=en&gln=xx&des=gamelan&dat=32&srt=npan&col=ohdq&pt=a&va=&srt=pnan
http://citypopulation.de/World.html
http://www.demographia.com/db-world-metro2000.htm
http://www.populationdata.net/palmaresvilles.php
http://www.insee.fr/fr/ffc/chifcle_fiche.asp?ref_id=CMPTEF01104&tab_id=19

Maybe I'm talking obvious, but just for the clarification.

As for Tokyo being ugliest or not, well, I guess it's up to everyone's taste.

[QUOTE=FML;13364862]As others have already pointed out, these stats are just about city propers (administrative divisions), which do not always correspond with actual metropolitan areas. So, in that sense, it is technically correct to say "Tokyo proper is not the largest 'city' in the world".

QUOTE]

ask a question please, could we count population of the sattillite cities around shanghai but not belong to shanghai administrative division?

As far as I understand, when the satellite city B is considered to be the part of "Greater A" metropolitan area, the city B is either;
:Connected to the central city A by continuous built-up area, or
:Significant number of the city B citizens (more than 5%, for instance) commute to the city A.

If there are satellite cities around Shanghai that meet the above criteria, then those cities should be included for "Shanghai Metropolitan Area" regardless of administrative divisions. I wouldn't be surprised if there indeed are such cities around there.
In Shanghai's case, however, its administrative boundary as a municipality (直辖市) is quite larger than the actual built-up area (or so I heard). So we have 18 million population for Shanghai Municipality (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai), but "just" 14 million for its metropolitan area (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_metropolitan_areas_by_population).

Of course, which area to include as a metropolitan area is always disputable. We could theorize single defined rule to be used for all the metropolitan areas in the world, but in reality, available data often use slightly different rules. In other words, this kind of list can never exactly be "correct".

As far as I understand, when the satellite city B is considered to be the part of "Greater A" metropolitan area, the city B is either;
:Connected to the central city A by continuous built-up area, or
:Significant number of the city B citizens (more than 5%, for instance) commute to the city A.

If there are satellite cities around Shanghai that meet the above criteria, then those cities should be included for "Shanghai Metropolitan Area" regardless of administrative divisions. I wouldn't be surprised if there indeed are such cities around there.
In Shanghai's case, however, its administrative boundary as a municipality (直辖市) is quite larger than the actual built-up area (or so I heard). So we have 18 million population for Shanghai Municipality (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shanghai), but "just" 14 million for its metropolitan area (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_metropolitan_areas_by_population).

Of course, which area to include as a metropolitan area is always disputable. We could theorize single defined rule to be used for all the metropolitan areas in the world, but in reality, available data often use slightly different rules. In other words, this kind of list can never exactly be "correct".

thanks for your explain!

How pointless is the guy who started this thread! To me, Tokyo is the ultimate destination if you talk about big city. Tokyo has the most and probably also the best of everything that you will love for a big-city life-style. Isn't that enough yet?

As others have already pointed out, these stats are just about city propers (administrative divisions), which do not always correspond with actual metropolitan areas. So, in that sense, it is technically correct to say "Tokyo proper is not the largest 'city' in the world".

If you compare metropolitan areas, on the other hand, most stats seem to agree that Greater Tokyo has the largest population in the world.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_metropolitan_areas_by_population
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_urban_areas_by_population
http://www.world-gazetteer.com/wg.php?x=1131897520&men=gcis&lng=en&gln=xx&des=gamelan&dat=32&srt=npan&col=ohdq&pt=a&va=&srt=pnan
http://citypopulation.de/World.html
http://www.demographia.com/db-world-metro2000.htm
http://www.populationdata.net/palmaresvilles.php
http://www.insee.fr/fr/ffc/chifcle_fiche.asp?ref_id=CMPTEF01104&tab_id=19

Maybe I'm talking obvious, but just for the clarification.

As for Tokyo being ugliest or not, well, I guess it's up to everyone's taste.
Do you think Saitama is a part of Tokyo?

Actually, Tokyo is a part of Saitama. In fact, whole Japan will be conqured by Saitama by the year 2020.
http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/291/saitamatb5.png (http://imageshack.us)

Seriously, though, it is difficult to exclude southern Saitama from Greater Tokyo Area, since they are indeed connected by continuous built-up area.

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/4583/image112398124671250012mw3.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

Still, you do have a lot more nature (or vast radish fields, if you will) here in Saitama. And I think it is a nice thing.

Between Tokyo and Yokohama is in the middle of nothing. You can clearly recognise that when you are on the Toyoko Line. If you go onto the Shuto Express Way, it's very obvious that Tokyo is extremely small, as soon as getting out of the Yamanote Line loop, you'll be stuck into the middle of nowhere. The other day, I came back from Saitama, Ikebukuro's neon lights suddenly come out of its vast radish fields. Between Funabashi and Chiba, there is virtually nothing at all but the forest and almost wrecked farm houses (80's fashioned Bousouzoku suddenly appears with the roar of motorbikes from there, which is very funny). Tokyo's surroundings are not continuously urbanised areas. It's a small city of 620km2, and if we think only the certain areas of the Yamanote loop is dense enough, Tokyo is definitely far smaller than New York and London and even Paris. And, since Tokyo's buildings are all short and packed with the bathroom tiled housings and electric cables above the ground, the skyline is extremely ugly. It is by far the ugliest city in the world I've ever seen. Shouldn't exist such a joke.

New York is actually a lot LOT smaller than you make it out to be. Just a 5 minute walk from downtown and all of a sudden you're swimming in OCEAN. I mean hell, it's ocean on three sides of Manhattan! I bet maybe like 500 people live in NYC, plus maybe 100 homeless or something. I guess the New York Knicks might put it up to about 550, but they probably live in Jersey.

Tokyo metro is the largest.. but not the city proper.. the end of discussion..
well.. and Tokyo is the world's best definately..

the buildings are shorter than New York.. but what's the point there??
even famous cities like Rome or Berlin has no building.. but that's fine. they have own culture..

New York is very exaggerated.. very very overestimated.. the skyline looks cool, but it is not so huge.. i mean the city itself is not huge... not sooooo dense or bright on the street..

ask a question please, could we count population of the sattillite cities around shanghai but not belong to shanghai administrative division?


well.. that's more like geographical question.. we are not geographers.. so we have to obey the rules that they already made..

and so far, I know that it doesn't count according to the geographical rules

Actually, Tokyo is a part of Saitama. In fact, whole Japan will be conqured by Saitama by the year 2020.
http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/291/saitamatb5.png (http://imageshack.us)


:rofl:

New York is actually a lot LOT smaller than you make it out to be. Just a 5 minute walk from downtown and all of a sudden you're swimming in OCEAN. I mean hell, it's ocean on three sides of Manhattan! I bet maybe like 500 people live in NYC, plus maybe 100 homeless or something. I guess the New York Knicks might put it up to about 550, but they probably live in Jersey.

you're just another troll, the bias in this thread is crazy.

Seriously, though, it is difficult to exclude southern Saitama from Greater Tokyo Area, since they are indeed connected by continuous built-up area.

Still, you do have a lot more nature (or vast radish fields, if you will) here in Saitama. And I think it is a nice thing.
The border between Tokyo and Saitama is very obvious. As soon as you enter to Saitama, it becomes very countryside with lots of old house. A very good contrast to Tokyo. The people in Saitama feel they are a part of Tokyo or Saitama Tomin but just because Wako-shi and Asaka are very close to the tip of Narimasu or to Akabane from Kawaguchi, doesn't mean it's a part of Tokyo! The Saitamans love Yokohama and Shibuya very much and try comparing Omiya to the towns in Tokyo all the time, but Omiya has nothing to look at, just as rural as Chiba. Their capital city is not Omiya to be precise but Ikebukuro! They claim the towns in Saitama are very friendly and feel at home, however, it's just in the middle of radish fields and has nothing to look at. The people may be nice because it's extremely countryside. Saitama definitely is one of the most conservative prefectures in Japan even though a lot of the people are involved with the Ero Game graphic designs and groping on Saikyo and Shonan Shinjuku Lines!

Tokyo metro is the largest.. but not the city proper.. the end of discussion..
well.. and Tokyo is the world's best definately..

the buildings are shorter than New York.. but what's the point there??
even famous cities like Rome or Berlin has no building.. but that's fine. they have own culture..

New York is very exaggerated.. very very overestimated.. the skyline looks cool, but it is not so huge.. i mean the city itself is not huge... not sooooo dense or bright on the street..
You can't compare Tokyo to Rome and Berlin. It's a very different type of the city. Tokyo is dense only within the Yamanote loop and in that sense, looks very shabby when compared to Manhattan. The towns outside the Yamanote loop look like the slums or built up in the countryside (even though the wrecked houses within the Yamanote loop are the same also). Horrible. New York is larger than Tokyo. The city-proper? You can always exaggerate the actual size of the city with the metropolitan figures.

^^
In your view Tokyo doesn't even exsist anymore since 1943 when the old Tokyo City ceased tot exist and the 23 new wards were created within the Tokyo prefecture. The rest of your arguments are very arbitrary, there are no clear indicaters that measure how "rural" some of the surrounding city's are.

What is clear that it's a completely build up area and that there are lot's of connections between the outward cities and the "city". There are lot's of commuters into the city and the other way around lot's of people go for example to events/concerts in the Saitama Super Arena or the Yokohama Stadium.
Narita Airport is located in Chiba, the railway and subway system are serving the whole metropolitain area.

In a way you explain this in your second to last post when you claimed that Omiya (wich is now it's part of Saitama City) is not the capital of Saitama but Ikebukuro for the people. This means that there is a clear connection between Saitama and Tokyo. Proof that it's part of one big metropolitain area, that consist of the very urban inner part of Tokyo and the big suburbs in the surrounding cities.

It's all the Greater Tokyo Area, the world's most populous metropolitan area.

Tokyo metro is the largest.. but not the city proper.. the end of discussion..
well.. and Tokyo is the world's best definately..

the buildings are shorter than New York.. but what's the point there??
even famous cities like Rome or Berlin has no building.. but that's fine. they have own culture..

New York is very exaggerated.. very very overestimated.. the skyline looks cool, but it is not so huge.. i mean the city itself is not huge... not sooooo dense or bright on the street..

Tokyo is not the world's best definately. Id live in new york over tokyo anyday. america over japan for me

one time some guy posted satellite images of tokio, nyc etc. etc. (IN THE SAME SCALE) here on SSC. Was so obvious to see that tokyo (incl. Yokohama etc.) is the largest of all. What do u think where all the 130.000.000 people of japan come from?!?!

Tokyo is not the world's best definately. Id live in new york over tokyo anyday. america over japan for me

oh yes, lets discuss about taste!!

you're just another troll, the bias in this thread is crazy.

Looks like someone doesn't know what sarcasm is :bash:

Perhaps if you actually read the thread you would have seen I made a serious reply way at the beginning and then I realized that 33457 is basically trolling it up all over the Japan forum.

I totally agree with ejd03

every place has plus and minuses. Tokyo is biggest in terms of metropolitan area. NY is the tallest according to Forbes. Whichever one you prefer that's up to you

and to say that Tokyo's buildings are ugly...that's just your opinion.

Accept the fact

Maybe Tokyo isn't the largest "city" in the world, but certainly it's the most safe and efficient in terms of transport, and it's very clean for an aglomeration with 8,5 million people only in the 23 special wards.
Tell me now, do you prefer quantity or quality? If you want quantity your right place to live is Mumbay or Lagos.

I don't pay much attention to municipality populations. They are just an administrative construct. Tokyo and Yokohama may have separate mayors, but seen from above they are the same, just one of many examples. In case of my old hometown, Dhaka, the last census had municipal population between 6 and 7 million, but the real metro area was about twice that. Tokyo is and will remain the largest metro area for perhaps another two decades or so, then some others (including Dhaka) may overtake, according to some predictions.

SOURCE: http://nl.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stad


1 Sjanghai Shànghǎi China 15.017.783
2 Bombay Mumbai India 12.883.645
3 Karachi Karāchi Pakistan 11.969.284
4 Buenos Aires Argentinië 11.595.183
5 Delhi Dilli India 11.215.130
6 Manilla Manila Filipijnen 10.546.511
7 Moskou Moskva Rusland 10.472.629
8 Seoul Sŏul Zuid-Korea 10.409.345
9 São Paulo Brazilië 10.059.502
10 Istanbul İstanbul Turkije 10.034.830
11 Lagos Nigeria 9.020.089
12 Mexico-stad México Mexico 8.659.409
13 Jakarta Indonesië 8.556.798
14 Tokio Tōkyō Japan 8.372.440

4 Buenos Aires Argentinië 11.595.183 ...it's a joke??:lol::lol::lol:

indeed,Tokyo= Tokyo 23 wards + local cities+ islands
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ja/thumb/0/0e/%E5%8C%85%E6%8B%AC%E8%87%AA%E6%B2%BB%E4%BD%93%E5%8C%BA%E7%94%BB%E5%9B%B3_13000.svg/703px-%E5%8C%85%E6%8B%AC%E8%87%AA%E6%B2%BB%E4%BD%93%E5%8C%BA%E7%94%BB%E5%9B%B3_13000.svg.png

Tokyo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo
Special wards of Tokyo
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special_wards_of_Tokyo
Tokyo City
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Tokyo_City
Tokyo local cities
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=494369

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Tokyo_Area#Various_definitions_of_Tokyo.2FKant.C5.8D

unfortunatelly some people are always trying to degrade Tokyo and overall Japan because they don't understand the great number of people interested by this country and its culture. In fact some people are so much interested that they idealize everything about it and tend to become incredulous ; guys like 33457 seem forced to react. :bash:
that's not really the subject but everything else has been said... it's simply the largest metro aera in terms of population. In term of size, New York is larger (and maybe LA too)

I believe that some people fail to see that there are 4 very urbanized cities with a million plus population next to each other.

And also maybe it's that you can see rice fields scattered randomly in the suburban areas in Japan. It just doesn't fit into the opinions about urbanity especially on a webforum like this. But that doesn't make big parts of the surrounding prefectures and even parts of Tokyo rural, it's just part of the crazy urban reality that makes the Tokyo Metropolitan Area what it is.

There might be cities bigger or smaller but as far as I am concerned, Tokyo is the megalopolis to beat worldwide in terms of generation of GDP and transport interoperability. Take a train from Shinjuku to Odawara or Kawazu and you'll never leave build-up areas.

33457 is kind of a twat, but please let's no use the word GAY as an insult, 'cause that is just as lame as starting tu use Pilipino as a slur.

Peace and education for all!

I have been to Tokyo, New York, London and Paris, and Tokyo was by far the biggest - its obvious when you are there.

for about 30 minutes on the shinkansen going at 500km an hour (so for about 250km) its nothing but built up, DENSE housing (as in no space for gardens, or even sidewalks or trees or parks or ANY OPEN SPACE) continuously.


THAT in my opinion makes it the worlds biggest city.

Tokyo is big period. And its vibrancy feels like a giant megalopolis

..

..

Christay stop polluting the japanese board.
Fuck off back to the Chinese board.

LMAO Dubai bigger than Tokyo? Fuck you are one retarded SOB.

Tokyo is by far the most populated city in the world but I think that it will be overtake by Mumbia in several decades.

I don't pay much attention to municipality populations. They are just an administrative construct. Tokyo and Yokohama may have separate mayors, but seen from above they are the same, just one of many examples. In case of my old hometown, Dhaka, the last census had municipal population between 6 and 7 million, but the real metro area was about twice that. Tokyo is and will remain the largest metro area for perhaps another two decades or so, then some others (including Dhaka) may overtake, according to some predictions.

I think the same, what really matters when talking about a city is the metro area. The political division is just for political issues, and for a general view a city goes further than the political borders that divide it.

For example: Mexico City's population is not 8.7 million people like in that list, that is the population of Distrito Federal, so the whole city has around 20 million people, and it's the 2nd or 3rd most populous city in the world.

In the same way, I think Tokyo and Yokohama (and Saitama, Chiba, etc...) are all part of Greater Tokyo Area, a single city, which is by far the most populous city worldwide.

Excuse me for double-posting from another thread...

Economy experts sometimes lump Tokyo and Yokohama together and call them "Greater Tokyo（東京都市圏)" but that's not what ordinary Japanese normally think. Those cities are seen diffrently because Japanese tend to think in prefectural unit here, and the city of Yokohama is the capital of Kanagawa prefecture and does not belong to Tokyo metropolitan government. Japanese normally use the word "Kanto metropolitan region(関東大都市圏)" or "South Kanto(南関東）" or simply "Capital region(首都圏)" to indicate the metropolitan region instead of "Greater Tokyo". The word "Greater Tokyo" is only heard among some economy experts.

For urban area of Osaka & Kyoto & Kobe in West Japan, even economy experts never call the region "Greater Osaka", unlike "Greater Tokyo". They call the reagion "Keihanshin region" because the region includes world-famous Kyoto and Kobe in addition to Osaka and each city has its pride and they don't allow to be regarded part of Osaka.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Keihanshin

Anyway, please just remember that if you say "Tokyo is the largest city in the world" to Japanese people, you will most likely see a big "??" on their face, because they don't normally regard Yokohama, Chiba, Saitama etc. as part of Tokyo. They will think Shanghai and other cities are much larger. They won't even realize what the word "Greater Tokyo" means.
Therefore "South Kanto region" is more adequate term when talking about the area with Japanese people in English. Calling the region (including Yokohama, Chiba, etc) "City of Tokyo" or even "Greater Tokyo" will just bring confusion.

Chinese cities tend to have the most people because their land areas are huge. Chongqing is the largest municipality, at 31 million although parts of it are more than 250 miles from Chongqing itself.

At least Tokyo is the safest among all the world big cities.
I'd choose the safety anyday rather than how tall the buildings are.

Tokyo is by far the biggest city in the world. Politically it is around the same size as London or New York. The relentless suburbia is what pushes it far higher than other cities.

Having been to most of the largest cities in the world I can honestly say that in the developed world, Tokyo has no equal... no city even comes close.

Shinjuku station handles approximately the same amount of people each day in interchange than the WHOLE of the London Underground or the New York Subway.

Tokyo plus Yokohama/Kawasaki feels like London plus New York to be honest.

I've been to cities such as Shanghai, Manila and Bombay which are large but are mostly slums and shacks bar the historic cores and CBDs. Which, IMO isn't attractive to me.

In terms of developed cities Tokyo is 50 years ahead in terms of safety, cleanliness, crime and efficiency. It just needs to be far more international.... feels comparitively provincial compared to London to me.

probably tokyo is the best megalopolis in all the world. end.

[QUOTE=Xeni-2;3268351 it's simply the largest metro aera in terms of population. In term of size, New York is larger (and maybe LA too)[/QUOTE]

If you give a look to satellite maps , you will see that Tokyo is wider than NY and LA

^^ That is debatable, it all depends how you define the physical borders of the metro area.

If you say the metro stretches as far as Odawara in the West and Choshi in the East on the Pacific Coast. But to be honest, East of Chiba town and West of Hiratsuka it's not really build up anymore.

Were in Los Anegeles it's basically non stop suburbs from the Western tip of the San Fernando Valley stretching all the way East beyond San Bernardino. In New York half of Long Island is is completely covered with suburbs and the rest is also completely suburban along the coast up to the Hamptons. In the East you also got suburbs going on forever in New Jersey.

What's so special about Greater Tokyo is that it goes on and on with a very high density. That what makes it stand out from all those mega dense cities in India or Bangladesh, that are usually not that big when it comes to square kilometers of urban area. Or the huge suburban cities in the USA.

Tokyo is by far the biggest city in the world. Politically it is around the same size as London or New York. The relentless suburbia is what pushes it far higher than other cities.

Having been to most of the largest cities in the world I can honestly say that in the developed world, Tokyo has no equal... no city even comes close.

Shinjuku station handles approximately the same amount of people each day in interchange than the WHOLE of the London Underground or the New York Subway.

Tokyo plus Yokohama/Kawasaki feels like London plus New York to be honest.

I've been to cities such as Shanghai, Manila and Bombay which are large but are mostly slums and shacks bar the historic cores and CBDs. Which, IMO isn't attractive to me.

In terms of developed cities Tokyo is 50 years ahead in terms of safety, cleanliness, crime and efficiency. It just needs to be far more international.... feels comparitively provincial compared to London to me.

Its amazing in such an "advanced city", people are still allowed to smoke everywhere - there is no ban on smoking even in offices, yet alone bars/cafes/restaurants... How can it be 50 years ahead in cleanliness, etc. when public smoking is allowed and tolerated in indoor spaces? Smoke is dirty, rememver?

So much for all that technology when your government is influenced by the tobacco companies and people are allowed to pollute each other's health. Smoke ain't pleasant to have around everywhere, when you are eating, etc. You must be un-educated regarding the risks of smoke or perhaps a smoker yourself.

P.S, Tokyo is the blandest city i've ever seen.. try a tour on google street view, nearly every street looks the same -- grey and monotonous by far. I'd take paris or London any day....variety and beauty in architecture is a relief for the eye. The only parts that are appealing to me are Ginza, Aoyama area, and Shibuya. There is no way it is the best city by far, what are you smoking?

Its amazing in such an "advanced city", people are still allowed to smoke everywhere - there is no ban on smoking even in offices, yet alone bars/cafes/restaurants... How can it be 50 years ahead in cleanliness, etc. when public smoking is allowed and tolerated in indoor spaces? Smoke is dirty, rememver?

So much for all that technology when your government is influenced by the tobacco companies and people are allowed to pollute each other's health. Smoke ain't pleasant to have around everywhere, when you are eating, etc. You must be un-educated regarding the risks of smoke or perhaps a smoker yourself.

P.S, Tokyo is the blandest city i've ever seen.. try a tour on google street view, nearly every street looks the same -- grey and monotonous by far. I'd take paris or London any day....variety and beauty in architecture is a relief for the eye. The only parts that are appealing to me are Ginza, Aoyama area, and Shibuya. There is no way it is the best city by far, what are you smoking?

Smoking? You also have a much higher chance to get murdered/raped/robbed in those other cities.

And your P.S. is just your opinion, other people have theirs it's not a problem. You dont need to be so offensive.

In fact in busy streets japanese don't smoke and in many streets smoking is forbidden.
Restaurants have non smoking area and as in any country it is banned in public transportation.

In fact in busy streets japanese don't smoke and in many streets smoking is forbidden.
Restaurants have non smoking area and as in any country it is banned in public transportation.

Oops i forgot to put that in my post, for some reason i didnt put it after my "smoking?" lol. Yes its banned in many places.

Actually tokyo just banned smoking at JR stations

Its amazing in such an "advanced city", people are still allowed to smoke everywhere - there is no ban on smoking even in offices, yet alone bars/cafes/restaurants... How can it be 50 years ahead in cleanliness, etc. when public smoking is allowed and tolerated in indoor spaces? Smoke is dirty, rememver?

So much for all that technology when your government is influenced by the tobacco companies and people are allowed to pollute each other's health. Smoke ain't pleasant to have around everywhere, when you are eating, etc. You must be un-educated regarding the risks of smoke or perhaps a smoker yourself.

P.S, Tokyo is the blandest city i've ever seen.. try a tour on google street view, nearly every street looks the same -- grey and monotonous by far. I'd take paris or London any day....variety and beauty in architecture is a relief for the eye. The only parts that are appealing to me are Ginza, Aoyama area, and Shibuya. There is no way it is the best city by far, what are you smoking?

Actually London is probably one of the best cities in the world in terms of being grey in every area; architecture, people, weather etc and guess what smoking as well!

There are smoking bans in place for public places in many parts of the world including the UK. Many people have difficulty with smoke. It is obvious that you don't understand the dangers of passive smoking. If Tokyo and Japan are such advanced socities, surely they could ban smoking in cafes, restaurants, offices, and everywhere indoors. Japan is a smoker's paradise and many people smoke. Its about time the government took the health of non-smokers into consideration. I can't believe that smoking could be allowed in offices in 2009. What if you can't deal with the smoke, do you just quit your job? What happens if you want to eat without smelling smoke wafting in from the smoking section, ruining a nice meal?

I'm sorry, smoking/non-smoking sections are not effective enough unless physically seperated.

I think the Japanese society has done most things right, but the poor smoking laws and haphazard city design lets it down IMO.

Japan seems to be a little behind other nations in this area IMO - you and China, Russia etc.. I heard of a smoking ban there, but it neve passed.

How many restaurants/cafes in Tokyo are smoke free?

Do you have lung cancer or something?

try a tour on google street view, nearly every street looks the same -- grey and monotonous by far.

Google Street View is a horrible way to explore a city since the quality of images is extremely poor. I do, however, agree that they should just completely ban smoking in public areas and facilities open to the public (restaurants, bars, etc.).

How can it be 50 years ahead in cleanliness, etc. when public smoking is allowed and tolerated in indoor spaces? Smoke is dirty, rememver?

On the whole, Japan is very clean. You never litter in public areas and you must separate your trash into recyclables, combustibles, etc. both for regular public trashcans and when you take out the trash at home. Hygiene is taken quite seriously, almost to the point of a phobia of getting sick... It is not uncommon to see many people wearing masks over their nose and mouth, to prevent transmission of germs and inhalation of dust or other particles... It's funny, as on my recent flight into Narita Airport, they quarantined my plane after landing for about 1-2 hours as the officials made their rounds, taking pictures of all passengers and handing out masks to everyone. Coming from the US, where there seems to be little, if any response, to the swine flu, I was surprised to see this level of effort.

There is no way it is the best city by far, what are you smoking?
The discussion is whether Tōkyō is the largest city in the world... In terms of population, there is no contest, with 35-40 million in the metro area. It definitely could use a little more international flavor, but I wouldn't want it to lose its unique Japanese qualities. I go to Tōkyō to visit a modern Japanese metropolis, not to visit a larger, Japanese version of New York. Besides, the "international city" of East Asia is and will still be Hong Kong, at least into the near future.

As for "best" city, that is a matter of personal opinion and experience, and no one is right or wrong... :nuts:

I think google street view gives your a good enough idea of the types of streetscapes and buildings.

Come on Japan, don't give into the tobacco companies. Employees have to work in these environments all day. If you are so advanced compared to the rest of the world, why are you living in the dark ages on this vital public health issue?

Do you have some agenda to push?

I find it funny how you've just edited out this part:

I think google street view gives your a good enough idea of the types of streetscapes and buildings. I don't really care what you think.

I think this says it all. Ironic, since I generally agreed with the ban on smoking that you've been trying to push all along. :nuts:

As a Japanese worker working at a Japanese company, I have never heard of companies that allow their employees to smoke in their offices, at least in Tokyo. There is normally a "smoking room" for smokers and smoking in the office is prohibited, as instruted by the Ministry of Health.
As for restaurants, they are normally separated into smoking and non-smoking sections.

Maybe that's not the case in some mom-and-pop companies or restaurants, though.

By the way, smoking completely got banned at all the JR stations in Greater Tokyo
from April 1, 2009(last month).

There used to be "smoking sections" at the end of some platforms at JR stations before, but they finally disappeared and nobody can smoke at JR stations in Tokyo now.
http://www.jreast.co.jp/nosmoking/img/top_image.jpg

Considering smoking was allowed on JR trains 20 years ago, I think it is a great advance.
Things are changing quickly so you should always check the latest information, instead of reviling someone based on old information.

By the way, smoking is totally banned in Tokyo Metro(subway) stations from long time ago.

^^ That is debatable, it all depends how you define the physical borders of the metro area.

If you say the metro stretches as far as Odawara in the West and Choshi in the East on the Pacific Coast. But to be honest, East of Chiba town and West of Hiratsuka it's not really build up anymore.

Were in Los Anegeles it's basically non stop suburbs from the Western tip of the San Fernando Valley stretching all the way East beyond San Bernardino. In New York half of Long Island is is completely covered with suburbs and the rest is also completely suburban along the coast up to the Hamptons. In the East you also got suburbs going on forever in New Jersey.

What's so special about Greater Tokyo is that it goes on and on with a very high density. That what makes it stand out from all those mega dense cities in India or Bangladesh, that are usually not that big when it comes to square kilometers of urban area. Or the huge suburban cities in the USA.

it's all debatable as you said, I read recently according to Demographia.com that Chongquing in China is the biggest municipality in the world with almost 31 millions inhabitants in 1998 but it is not comparable with Tokyo or NYC because Chongquing municipality look like a territory not a specific urban area.

From The Japan Times
JR bans smoking at Tokyo-area stations

Wednesday, April 1, 2009
By SETSUKO KAMIYA
Staff writer
April marks the beginning of the business year, and for Tokyo-area train stations, a breath of fresher air.


http://www.japantimes.co.jp/images/photos2009/nn20090401f2a.jpg
Last gasp: A JR East poster at Tamachi Station in Tokyo announces a ban on smoking on station platforms in the metropolitan area effective April 1. YOSHIAKI MIURA PHOTO




Starting Wednesday, most metropolitan East Japan Railway Co. train stations will go completely smoke free, and platform ashtrays are being removed from 201 JR East stations on 17 lines, including the Yamanote, Chuo, Sobu and Keihin Tohoku lines.

The northern end of the smoking-free zone is Toride Station on the Joban Line in Ibaraki Prefecture, the southern end Zushi on the Yokosuka Line in Kanagawa Prefecture, the western end Takao on the Chuo Line in Tokyo and the eastern end Soga on the Keiyo Line in Chiba Prefecture.

The smoke-free zone covers a radius of 40 to 50 km.

Most railways running through Tokyo had already prohibited smoking by 2003, when the Health Promotion Law took effect, pressing public facilities to establish measures to prevent exposure to secondhand tobacco smoke.

JR East stations are the last to join the nonsmoking ranks. Because its lines are the main arteries of the metropolis, antismoking groups say this marks a major step in preventing people from being exposed to secondhand smoke.

"It's only natural that smoking gets banned at stations. This is a global trend," said Dr. Manabu Sakuta, chairman of the Japan Society for Tobacco Control. "I welcome the fact that Japan has finally joined the group."

According to JR East, the railway had tried to reduce the secondhand smoke risk by demarcating just one small smoking area per platform and prohibiting smoking even there during rush hour. But many nonsmokers were still exposed, and upset.

"We received many complaints from nonsmokers who were very concerned about passive smoking," a JR East spokesman said of the carrier's December decision to initiate the ban.

Sakuta said dividing smoking and nonsmoking areas is not enough to prevent exposure to passive smoking.

"If one person smokes, the secondhand smoke can reach a radius of 7 meters," he said. "This means separate smoking areas are not effective in preventing passive smoking."

Central Japan Railway Co. (JR Tokai) initiated a smoking ban at some 390 stations on March 14, and West Japan Railway Co. made the Osaka Loop Line and Yumesaki Line stations smoking-free in October.

At Shinagawa Station in Tokyo, smokers who had gathered around an ashtray at the end of the Keihin Tohoku Line platform were resigned to the loss of their tobacco stand.

"I'm not against the decision, because I do understand that smoke is annoying for those who don't smoke," a 20-year-old university student said. "It's also not a big problem for me because I don't smoke that much."

A 47-year-old Niigata Prefecture man in Tokyo on business said he was getting used to searching for smoking areas and can deal with the total ban.

"I come to Tokyo often on the Joetsu Shinkansen, which is completely nonsmoking (since March 2007). I can manage," he said. "It used to be hard when the bans started (around 2003), but now it's clearer where we can smoke. So even if this is gone, I'm sure we smokers will find somewhere to go."

http://search.japantimes.co.jp/cgi-bin/nn20090401f2.html

Usually there is a smoking room with ventilators etc, i think its obvious aquablue just has an agenda to talk bad about tokyo (smoking doesnt have anything to do with the topic). And google street view also has nothing to do with the topic come visit the city or look at tokyo photo threads.

Come on Japan, don't give into the tobacco companies. Employees have to work in these environments all day. If you are so advanced compared to the rest of the world, why are you living in the dark ages on this vital public health issue?

Japanese people have the longest life expectancy in the world.

Tell Westerners to stop eating junk food before you worry about the health issue in Japan.

40 years ago if you didn't smoke you were a pussy; nowadays smokers are considered to be potential murderers, how radical is that?

A real design. Though I am impressed by its size. It's HUGE.

40 years ago if you didn't smoke you were a pussy; nowadays smokers are considered to be potential murderers, how radical is that?

If you go back about 150 years ago, it was encouraged to smoke because it was said at the time that it prevented malaria, and no this was not a Japanese custom but an European one.(Dutch if I remember correctly)

Tokyo is definitively a huge city, it's larger in both inhabitants and area than New-york or London if you take a look at the charts.

But the area where tourist actually roam is not that big, you can cross the yamanote loop by foot in about 2h30. Most of the interesting things in tokyo are around that loop. That's why people might think that tokyo is not that big.

But juste take a shinkansen ride from Tokyo to Osaka and you will see that you are riding in the urban area for a very long time an there is actually only a little part of the journey that is in field land.

Compare tokyo and NYC on the same scale. NYC is not even close :)

Tokyo
http://www.izipik.com/images/200906/16/gtnqsbldklafi0neq7-image_1.png

http://www.izipik.com/images/200906/16/jv8x6am4snyakhesy0-image_2.png

You can easily fit Manhattan inside the Yamanote line ring, that's where the main tourist attractions are in New York so it shouldn't be presumed bigger then bigger then Tokyo because of that.

And also the satellite/aerial picture makes New York look smaller, but if you zoom in on the green spaces around the city you will see that those are green suburban neighborhoods that extend way beyond the edges of the picture you posted.

As I said before the difference between greater Tokyo and New York and Los Angeles is not so much the shear size, but more the wide spread of very high density neighborhoods that makes Tokyo stand out from the rest. Even from the Chinese and Indian and other mega cities in the developing world.

Ive found some interesting figures for tokyo according to citymayors.com (the site seems reasonably credible)
Tokyo/Yokohama
population - 33,200,000
land area (sqkm) - 6,993
density (people per sqkm) - 4,750

Now im not sure if these figures refer to greater tokyo as the caption states Tokyo-Yokohama although considering that the population of greater tokyo is about 35.5 million it would seem that the area comprising tokyo-yokohama constitutes most of greater tokyo.

I think that a lot of people underestimate/forget tokyo when considering megacities because of the lack of height and scrappers, (well that sometimes seems the case on the rate the skyline forum), but there are several reasons for this. In terms of built up density over a large area Tokyo is perhaps the biggest city in the world.

There are a number of factors in determining a large/largest city. Do we define by land area, population, density or a combination of both? Also defining the boundaries of cities can be an issue

You can easily fit Manhattan inside the Yamanote line ring, that's where the main tourist attractions are in New York so it shouldn't be presumed bigger then bigger then Tokyo because of that.

And also the satellite/aerial picture makes New York look smaller, but if you zoom in on the green spaces around the city you will see that those are green suburban neighborhoods that extend way beyond the edges of the picture you posted.

As I said before the difference between greater Tokyo and New York and Los Angeles is not so much the shear size, but more the wide spread of very high density neighborhoods that makes Tokyo stand out from the rest. Even from the Chinese and Indian and other mega cities in the developing world.

There are similar green suburban neighbourhoods surrounding many western cities. EG Most of S-E England would come under that definition around London. None however are in any way comparable with Tokyo. If we use US census bureau type areas we find about 18,000,000 in London and 21,00,000 in NYC. In termns of population ( the real issue) metropolitan Tokyo is only marginally smaller than merto London and metro NY combined.

I have been to Tokyo, New York, London and Paris, and Tokyo was by far the biggest - its obvious when you are there.

for about 30 minutes on the shinkansen going at 500km an hour (so for about 250km) its nothing but built up, DENSE housing (as in no space for gardens, or even sidewalks or trees or parks or ANY OPEN SPACE) continuously.


THAT in my opinion makes it the worlds biggest city.

You exaggerate a bit but your essential point is correct. The stats tell us it equals or exceeds either Paris metro and London metro combined or NYC metro and Chicago metro combined and being there it certainly feels like it does.

There are similar green suburban neighbourhoods surrounding many western cities. EG Most of S-E England would come under that definition around London. None however are in any way comparable with Tokyo. If we use US census bureau type areas we find about 18,000,000 in London and 21,00,000 in NYC. In termns of population ( the real issue) metropolitan Tokyo is only marginally smaller than merto London and metro NY combined.
The whole discussion wasn't about population numbers but about the physical size of the cities metro areas. And the guy said from looking at a satellite picture that the build up area of Tokyo was much bigger then that of New York. But since you can't see the NY Suburbs from the sky, you can't see that they also continue non stop for quite a while.

And suburbs are suburbs, doesn't matter if they are in London, New York or Tokyo. The suburbs of Tokyo just doesn't have gardens like the western ones, but that hasn't got anything to do with the lack of space since in every Japanese city or village the houses don't have them. If you want a house with a real garden in Japan you have to buy a rural farmers house in the middle of the rice fields.

And the lack of gardens make the Japanese suburbs more dense then the ones in NY or London and that makes the much higher population possible.

Tokyo may not be the largest city in the world, the statistics can be wrong. I have the feel to it.

I don't know what most of you think constitutes big, but in essence, most of the Japanese coast is one gigantic megalopolis string-city, from Tokyo to Nagasaki, without a break in urbanization. Just ride the any shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka, and then another to Hiroshima, and you will not notice any significant break in urbanization. At the least there are suburbs. I just took such a trip myself, and in all honesty (I was awake the entire time), the city never stops. Just look it up, it's called the Taiheiyo String or something.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Tokyo

Btw, Japan lifted visas regarding Romanians for the next two years, maybe i'll take a trip downtown Tokyo this year.

Tokyo daisuki desu

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Greater_Tokyo

Btw, Japan lifted visas regarding Romanians for the next two years, maybe i'll take a trip downtown Tokyo this year.

Tokyo daisuki desu

Downtown Tokyo? Tokyo's city centre is huge. In fact it doesn't have a defined centre.

Ok, a trip to a tiny, small, insignificant part of downtown Tokyo.

From Shinjuku to Shibuya for starters :D

It's always fun to see this thread bumped up every now and then for no apparent reason. :)

The fact that Tokyo got several pretty compact centres makes the city feel smaller then a mega city with one huge centre. They all got a different function in the city, making it more easy to digest for tourists. Just hop on the Yamanote line and you will be in the next centre in no time. But if you get out of the centres the endless Tokyo begins where you will get lost if you are not smart enough to focus on the metro and the train stations, even inside of the Yamanote ring.

Jōhō wo arigatō

Greater Tokyo is different from many large cities around the world. Most offices concentrate in the center of tokyo city, esspecilally inside yamanote line. Japanese people ussually live in the satellite cities near Tokyo like Chiba, Yokohama ... and they have to transport a long long distance to reach school, company... According to my knowledge, the Japanese people use average 2 hours daily for transporting if they use public vehicles.

For example, my friend, he is now studying in Tokodai. However, he stays at Yokohama instead of living in campus because he wants to reduce costs. Thus, in every morning, he rides on bicycle from home to station and continue drive with train then arrive at Daigaku. A trip takes more than 50 min.

I think these images from Google Earth city lights can help define the metropolitan size of Tokyo. One cannot compare populations directly by using this but can compared the size of urban extent.

You can also indirectly calculate population from this by knowing which all areas appear contiguous here and then adding the respective population of these towns to arrive at a figure.


All pics are from approximately same height

Tokyo

http://img191.imageshack.us/img191/6096/tokb.png

From this pic of Tokyo, one can see that Yokohama, Saitama and Chiba should not be considered separately from Tokyo. They all seem to appear as an integrated part of the Tokyo metropolitan area. You can calculate the population of Tokyo metropolitan area by adding population of all these towns and cities.


New York

http://img180.imageshack.us/img180/1663/15809694.png

Although NY and Philadelphia are contiguous but they are joined by a narrow strip of urbanized area. They do not mesh with each other like Tokyo-Yokohama. They do not have a common transport system. Both of these cities have their own separate transport systems.


London

http://img39.imageshack.us/img39/6458/lonz.png


Paris

http://img704.imageshack.us/img704/5494/par.png

Both London and Paris are quite smaller in area and population compared to Tokyo and NY.

I have been to Tokyo, New York, London and Paris, and Tokyo was by far the biggest - its obvious when you are there.

for about 30 minutes on the shinkansen going at 500km an hour (so for about 250km) its nothing but built up, DENSE housing (as in no space for gardens, or even sidewalks or trees or parks or ANY OPEN SPACE) continuously.


THAT in my opinion makes it the worlds biggest city.

Since when Shinkansen started running at 500 km/hr :weird:

Even if Tokyo is not the largest city, it certainly is the most beautiful city. Greetings from Europe. :cheers:

東京は最大の都市であっても、それは確かに最も美しい都市です。ヨーロッパからのご挨拶。 ：）

^^ Your post reminds me of this thread.
http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=446924

I can't deny that he did have a valid point.

I don't know about you guys but I love Japan's urbanity. To me it's more beautiful/clean than any other cities. It's very unique so I can see why some people think it's ugly.

Eh.

riction's thread was a bit of joke... He was trying to tell a story by stringing together some of his photos, but most of the people who looked through his photos actually interpreted quite the opposite. That is if anyone can actually interpret his jumble of thoughts as a cohesive, logical opinion about Japanese urban design and not a foolish rant by an ego-rich gaijin who wants to be the sole source of information about the "true" Japan to all the fanatics brainwashed by the neon lights and modern skyscrapers.

tokyo is cool, definitely one of the best AND biggest cities in the world. i've been there, so i know what i'm talking about. 10, 20, 30, 40 mill.? i don't care...

I think there are at least 30 largest cities in the world due to ultra confusing system of population counting and measuring city proper areas, but Tokyo is SURELY the largest MODERN city in the world today.

Tokyo is the most under estimated city on this website imo.

i love japan

Tokyo is the most under estimated city on this website imo.

I agree. I noticed that in the world forum section, like in the infrastructure and mobility threads, there isn't that much thread about Japan's Railway system which IMO is the best in the world. I think westerners don't appreciate that much.

I think in terms of built-up area and density. Tokyo is the largest city in the world.

Greater Tokyo is gigantic. I took the local train from Shibuya to Yokohama and it was impossible to determine where the border for Tokyo is. If I didn't know that it was two different cities, I would never guessed it.

I agree. I noticed that in the world forum section, like in the infrastructure and mobility threads, there isn't that much thread about Japan's Railway system which IMO is the best in the world. I think westerners don't appreciate that much.

I think in terms of built-up area and density. Tokyo is the largest city in the world.
Maybe it's because the Japanese have their own forums in Japanese (?)

Maybe it's because the Japanese have their own forums in Japanese (?)

They have 2channel

Yes, for Japanese people, everything in life is done in Japanese language only...


All sort of things and information, such as books, textbooks, TVs, movies, video games, news, websites, electrical products, are available in Japanese language therefore no need to interact with foreign people in English...

They have 2channel
Yep. With a dedicated forum for Ramen.

Tokyo is the most under estimated city on this website imo.

exactly. Not only Tokyo but also everything of Japan are underestimated. I know the reason because most of people around the world are lack of informations. But luckily, I am the one who admire Japan so much. Hence, I searched and read several articles of Japan and I find it so wonderful.:lol:

^^ Well, I don't know if it's the "most" underrated, but I will agree it's underrated. Same goes for Korean and Taiwanese cities (namely, Seoul and Taipei). A shame since these three are all great cities and have a lot to offer for both skyscraper / urban enthusiasts.

Since Tokyo is the largest city in the world and arguable the most developed/advanced (in terms of infrastructure/technology) it definately is the most under-rated city on this website. And I agree with you that Seoul, Taipei and many other asian cities are also under rated (let's just say the entire Japan, South Korea, Taiwan. I think Singapore and HK do well on this site).

In related news Tokyo population tops 13 million for the first time
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-as-japan-tokyo-population,0,3995861.story

Yes, for Japanese people, everything in life is done in Japanese language only...


All sort of things and information, such as books, textbooks, TVs, movies, video games, news, websites, electrical products, are available in Japanese language therefore no need to interact with foreign people in English...

日本人だけが使うようなウェブサイトを使うのではなくて、海外のものを使って、日本の良さを紹介していくのもいいのではないかと思う！

日本人だけが使うようなウェブサイトを使うのではなくて、海外のものを使って、日本の良さを紹介していくのもいいのではないかと思う！

すみません、僕は君の言葉が解らない。
僕は日本語が下手です。

Foreigner population in whole Japan is very low, therefore Japan is monoethnic (ancestry not considered), and monolingual society. Maybe Tokyo have many foreigners, but this case does not apply in whole Japan. As I know, those who work or study in Japan already know Japan is such a state, so they have basic Japanese Language course for communication before they go to Japan.

There are many countries have similiar case as Japan, like in China, not many people can speak English well especially those from rural areas, they can't even speak Standard Mandarin as well. Frenchmen don't speak English. Can't expect someone able communicate well in English in Germany. Brazilians speaks only Spanish and Portuguese. English only can be used in former British colonies and American sphere of influence. English is not that important. I think fox-tale is come from US or British Commonwealth? *XD*

This forum could use some transport threads and projects from Japan! I am convinced that if every branch of urban development would be shown to SSC, the Japanese threads would probably double threads from any other city. This city is a monster, if you love cities, then you haven't lived life if you haven't been to Tokyo (I haven't even been to Asia btw :nuts:)

I see that everyone generally agrees that Tokyo is the world's most POPULATED city, and in a developed country, having a city of over 20 million is quite a feat, let alone 30 million. My favorite feature from Google Earth is all the roofs colored with different textures, it looks like one giant canvas of different colored roofs :P

This thread is the closest thing to that.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=194709&page=95

Although quashlo made this excellent thread on Japan's transport in the infrastructure forum.

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=828904&highlight=

The Tokyo forum is a lot better nowadays. A few years ago it was just people spamming the place with random photos of Shinjuku they found on Google Images but now there's a lot more useful info & updates. The transport thread has always been one of my favorites :)

Do you mean the Japan Forum? Maybe my restructuring of the place helped out :P. But who knows if it will last..I hope so. I'll try to be active for as long as possible, and thanks to Momo for all the projects updates and everyone else who is posting pictures :). And Vapour-Senpai :bow:

The Tokyo forum is a lot better nowadays. A few years ago it was just people spamming the place with random photos of Shinjuku they found on Google Images but now there's a lot more useful info & updates. The transport thread has always been one of my favorites :)

Because The Japan Forums are getting help and support from Japanese forumers who prefer hanging here than in 2channel.

Anyway, Its a matter of fate if Tokyo keeps this record or it might be replaced with other Asian cities say Shanghai or Mumbai.

In related news Tokyo population tops 13 million for the first time
http://www.latimes.com/news/nationworld/world/wire/sns-ap-as-japan-tokyo-population,0,3995861.story

Is this the population for 23 special wards ?

日本人だけが使うようなウェブサイトを使うのではなくて、海外のものを使って、日本の良さを紹介していくのもいいのではないかと思う！

もう一度説明してください

すみません、僕は君の言葉が解らない。
僕は日本語が下手です。

私も良い午前日本語 :P

English only can be used in former British colonies and American sphere of influence. English is not that important. I think fox-tale is come from US or British Commonwealth? *XD*

Yeah. It is popular only in British commonwealth countries and USA and few others like Singapore, Mauritius, etc.

Anyway, Its a matter of fate if Tokyo keeps this record or it might be replaced with other Asian cities say Shanghai or Mumbai.

Tokyo would be replaced by cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Shanghai by around 2030 in terms of population but in terms of overall quality, Tokyo will still lead for a longer time. As these cities will progress, Tokyo too won't remain silent. It too would go on improving, albeit at a slower pace. So other Asian cities might catch up or beat Tokyo by 2030 in numbers but it will take them at least 2050 to catch with the standards of Tokyo.

And anyways I believe every city has its own charm. A city X can never become like city Y and vice versa. Tokyo even though may not remain largest but will still retain its own charm like its urban rail transport, dense and beautiful neighbourhoods, shopping streets, food etc.

I think all comparison is bedevilled by differing methodologies and consequently vastly differing results.

All I know is that having been to several of the world's truly great premier division alpha cities none compares to Tokyo for the sense of sheer vast numbers of humanity moving in a modern area. Ginza, Shinjuku etc represent what must surely be the ultimate urban sensory experience of our day.

If others disagree than fine but I think many will agree.

Because The Japan Forums are getting help and support from Japanese forumers who prefer hanging here than in 2channel.

niichan is full of potholes.

Tokyo would be replaced by cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Shanghai by around 2030 in terms of population but in terms of overall quality, Tokyo will still lead for a longer time. As these cities will progress, Tokyo too won't remain silent. It too would go on improving, albeit at a slower pace. So other Asian cities might catch up or beat Tokyo by 2030 in numbers but it will take them at least 2050 to catch with the standards of Tokyo.

And anyways I believe every city has its own charm. A city X can never become like city Y and vice versa. Tokyo even though may not remain largest but will still retain its own charm like its urban rail transport, dense and beautiful neighbourhoods, shopping streets, food etc.

Strong possiblility since alot of Tokyoites are aging. Especially Shanghai, they have the potential to become the largest. Also Manila and Jakarta.

Strong possiblility since alot of Tokyoites are aging. Especially Shanghai, they have the potential to become the largest. Also Manila and Jakarta.

Tokyo is one of the few prefectures in Japan growing, but only because of migration. Many people are moving here, for various reasons, and leaving the old and those who can't leave behind.

I don't think Shanghai is even China's largest city anymore. I thought Chongqing took that title.

But then, Tokyo-Yokohama doesn't feel like a metropolis of 30+ million. It's surprisingly calm, lowrise, and spacious. Of course that all goes away on the trains.

^^ your confusing terms such as city, metropolis, agglomeration, municipality, prefecture etc
ChongChing is not the largest city, since city has an urban boundary,
Using such terms, Shenzhen is China's third largest metropolis, GuangZhou is the third largest city and Shanghai is the largest city,

New York is the largest city in the world at about 8.1 million, while Tokyo/Yokohama-agglomeration has 34 million people

^^ Shanghai, Mumbai and Tokyo are larger (city proper) than NYC. Shanghai has the largest city proper population in the world afaik.

Tokyo Metropolis: 13,010,279
Tokyo "city"(23 wards only): 8,820,000
New York City: 8,363,710

Metropolitan Area
Tokyo: 39 million (2010)
New York: 19 million (2009)

Well, there is no standard definition that applies worldwide on cities and their various derivative forms. So even comparing numbers across cities will not work. But from a logical perspective, a number should be reflective of how the contents interact. Some places group together a number of geographical areas that may not interact so closely as one entity. Then it brings into question what meaning is there to compare those numbers?

Indeed, this always turns out into a pointless discussion about the statistical definition of a city.

Every country counts the numbers different anyway, that's also the reason why there can even be such a discussion about who is the biggest.

I agree, but comparing metro areas are much easier and possible I think :)

Tokyo is the largest metro afaik..

Even then different people can have different opinions on what should be included in a metro. Anyway most people who have been to Tokyo would agree all the cities in the Tokyo Metro are completely interconnected with the 23 wards with trains roads and in most cases non stop buildings (you can't see the point where one city ends and the next begins).

I agree, but comparing metro areas are much easier and possible I think :)

Tokyo is the largest metro afaik..

Even then different people can have different opinions on what should be included in a metro. Anyway most people who have been to Tokyo would agree all the cities in the Tokyo Metro are completely interconnected with the 23 wards with trains roads and in most cases non stop buildings (you can't see the point where one city ends and the next begins).

I totally agree. Differing methodologies render comparison meaningless until one puts some sort of apples and apples comparison.

NY's CSA area is c. 30,000 kms. sq. and has c.22,000,000 people. A similar area around London gives us c. 18,000,000 and London would have that sort of CSA figure in the US. The Kanto region comes in at c.32,000 kms. sq. - roughly comparable with the NY CSA - and the population is c.42,000,000.

In population terms Tokyo metro is as big as London and NY combined. Whatever may happen in China and India in coming decades as we speak no developed first world alpha city/metro even compares with Tokyo's population size.

The well known project developer Mori has some interesting maps and statistics about Tokyo on it's website.
http://www.mori.co.jp/company/urban_design/mid-tokyo/

Some of the pages it compares the Tokyo with New York (especially the 4 most central wards with Manhattan) and in a lesser extent with Paris and London.

It's not so much the comparing the total population, but there are more factors in comparison like this...

I agree, but comparing metro areas are much easier and possible I think :)

Tokyo is the largest metro afaik..

It is easier to measure city proper areas IMO. City proper is maintained by single municipal authority and they have proper population counts because of defined boundaries. Metropolitan areas vary from definition to definition. You may have a metro area, urban area, conurbation and what not.

BTW Delhi is the most populous city proper, with 2001 population of 13.8 mn and current population of 18 mn. Wikipedia is run by noobs and have many wrong entries and sources which they refer are themselves wrong or mis-interpreted.

There is no city proper in "Tokyo". There are either 23 cities, or the metropolis (prefecture). It's much easier to compare metropolitan areas of the world since it shows a more real picture. Some "cities" in parts of the world have a tiny city proper which doesn't show the true picture at all and since Tokyo doesn't have a city proper comparing metros is the only logical thing to do.

It is easier to measure city proper areas IMO.

It is, but it doesn't make much sense. Many metropolitan areas (or whatever) are far larger/smaller than their respective city propers, so you'll be comparing apples and oranges.

BTW Delhi is the most populous city proper, with 2001 population of 13.8 mn and current population of 18 mn.

The city proper of Chongqing is the most populous, with 31 million people. On the other side of spectrum, the City of London has just 7,900. So comparing the city propers, Chonqing is 3,900 times more populous than London.
This, of course doesn't make much sense. In fact, the Greater London is more populous than the urban area of Chongqing.

^^ thats because different countries have different city definitions, its jargon

I've been to many metropolitan areas.
Tokyo is very health,clean,orderly,lively,busy,stylish,modern,civilized,efficient.... and safe(comparison with the Western metropolitan areas).According to data, Greater Tokyo metropolitan area has the highest daily ridership,the most intensive urban mass transit system,and the largest number of boutique stores in the world. And it also has the world's most prosperous bustling satellite city group.
Leaving Tokyo Administrative Region, along the metro railway systems (subway/JR/private railway etc..), will find that all sides (built-up areas) are connected to endless residential areas or sizable suburban shopping areas/business districts,such as Chiba City, Kawasaki City, Yokohama City, Saitama City etc.., really an alarming scale.:)

But I must mention one thing, the Japanese (cities) rarely implemented the street underground wiring project,wires hanging everywhere (especially in suburban residential areas and the general small alleys)~~This is obviously lagging behind many other advanced countries,I really don't like this..
:omg:

This is obviously lagging behind many other advanced countries

Is it a good thing?

But I must mention one thing, the Japanese (cities) rarely implemented the street underground wiring project,wires hanging everywhere (especially in suburban residential areas and the general small alleys)~~This is obviously lagging behind many other advanced countries,I really don't like this..
:omg:

I share that opinion, the wire situation is crazy, even in popular shopping areas it's wires hanging everywhere..

WTF
http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3384/3513399824_be8079f343.jpg
http://farm1.static.flickr.com/40/79163218_a94cc05468.jpg

Then again this is not such a big problem, if the city's really wanted to, they could dig these down in no time:cheers:.

I think there is no problem

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2040/2303991884_c026997054_o.jpg

http://farm4.static.flickr.com/3650/3313437905_a3bf2592e6_o.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2213/2477835420_2f5184ae9b_o.jpg

it is one of Japan's nostalgia in Shitamachi^^










Dont you think Tokyo utility poles in sunset are beautiful?

and those wires provide birds with space to rest...


http://nekokichi115.blog.so-net.ne.jp/_images/blog/_986/Negitoro/suzumes.jpg

https://blog.so-net.ne.jp/_images/blog/_9cb/biki/DSC_0234.jpg

http://pub.ne.jp/acaciaofkuwbanjp/image/user/1195310842.jpg

http://oya.blog.so-net.ne.jp/blog/_images/blog/_b77/oya/7936664.jpg

You can enjoy bird-watching even in the middle of town :)

Why would the city want to dig the wires in an earthquake prone country? Infact there is no difference between the US where I live now and Japan, the business districts have no wires and the residential areas have wires everywhere. The only difference is the US is not dense so it looks like there's less wires.

Anyway this thread isn't about wires, we already have a thread in the Japan Forum for people who think Japan is ugly lol

I share that opinion, the wire situation is crazy, even in popular shopping areas it's wires hanging everywhere..

Then again this is not such a big problem, if the city's really wanted to, they could dig these down in no time:cheers:.

In any Japanese construction projects, "digging" takes up a lot of the cost. That is the reason why most Japanese houses don't have basements (and puts an economic pressure on burying cables). The reason is simple - where does the soil go to?

And another important reason - people are not thinking that hanging cables are particularly ugly. On the plus side, laying out nationwide optical fibers were easier on existing poles than digging.

In any Japanese construction projects, "digging" takes up a lot of the cost. That is the reason why most Japanese houses don't have basements (and puts an economic pressure on burying cables). The reason is simple - where does the soil go to?

And another important reason - people are not thinking that hanging cables are particularly ugly. On the plus side, laying out nationwide optical fibers were easier on existing poles than digging.

All of what you say is (+1)smart and after re-reading this I wanted to post something like what you wrote (but I where told to stop,so no post made).
And the fast broadband in JP is as you said possible thanks to easy access to upgrade:).

I realize I am extreme when it comes to wires as my nation is the only nation that digs down 100% of cables(except the huge ones), even all the other EU country's have wires hanging in most streets..

It's still OMG for me to see so many wires in some pictures while in the picture posted by the other formers it looks kinda cool.

And nobody thinks Japan is ugly, just the wires;).

Wires have nothing to do with the topic.

Any images of Tokyo's westernmost bedtowns, the ones at higher elevations?

Any images of Tokyo's westernmost bedtowns, the ones at higher elevations?

Hirayama District, Hino City
http://www.yakei-navi.com/yakei/tamawest/hino_minamidaira/4.jpg
source:http://www.yakei-navi.com/yakei/tamawest/hino_minamidaira/

Panorama shot:
http://www.yakei-navi.com/yakei/tamawest/hino_minamidaira/panorama.cgi

Both Ho Chi Minh and Manila are far more disorganized than Tokyo in terms of wires. Not to mention the filth. Besides for that, the measure for largest city in the world should be inter-city GDP.

I love Tokyo

Tokyo 23 wards are very dense and compact, feel somewhere like Paris. Outside the 23 wards, 180 degree is surrounded by the mountains or sea leading to Saitama's radish fields and Chiba's deserted coastal rural villages. Even the outer wards for instance Setagaya and Suginami are very countryside. I don't think therefore Tokyo being the world's largest city. The sprawl is in fact very small. Even if Kanto has some 45 million people, I reckon the Tokyo's urbanised area itself is acutally tiny, consist of some 5 million people or so.

Wiki shows me that Tokyo National Capitol Region is the largest.

A lot of London and even NY is rural - ever been to Staten Island?

Shinjuku station handles approximately the same amount of people each day in interchange than the WHOLE of the London Underground or the New York Subway.


I would agree with you. You can see some of the videos and stats here (http://tinyurl.com/38wy2e6) - In about 30 days, Ikebukuro Station in Tokyo handles the same passenger numbers as Heathrow does in a year. And in about 23 days, Shinjuku Station in Tokyo handles the same number as Heathrow does in a year.

indeed,Tokyo= Tokyo 23 wards + local cities+ islands
http://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/ja/thumb/0/0e/%E5%8C%85%E6%8B%AC%E8%87%AA%E6%B2%BB%E4%BD%93%E5%8C%BA%E7%94%BB%E5%9B%B3_13000.svg/703px-%E5%8C%85%E6%8B%AC%E8%87%AA%E6%B2%BB%E4%BD%93%E5%8C%BA%E7%94%BB%E5%9B%B3_13000.svg.png


The Izu islands alone, some of them a day or more by ferry from Central Tokyo, make Tokyo one unique city.

http://wikitravel.org/upload/shared//e/e8/Map_of_Izu_Islands.png

In any Japanese construction projects, "digging" takes up a lot of the cost. That is the reason why most Japanese houses don't have basements (and puts an economic pressure on burying cables). The reason is simple - where does the soil go to?

And another important reason - people are not thinking that hanging cables are particularly ugly. On the plus side, laying out nationwide optical fibers were easier on existing poles than digging.

lol,in china, the soil (digging produce) can used for expressway foundation, make a fake small hill (景观小山） etc, the soil can be selled and get money.

Japan summer is so wet.
And, the ventilation of the basement is bad.
that is why the basement is not conseiderd

Japan summer is so wet.
And, the ventilation of the basement is bad.
that is why the basement is not conseiderd

I once lived in a "half-basement" (that is, half of the apartment was below ground level) in Tokyo from august to november, although it was air conditioned like most houses/apartments in tokyo. I've also seen plenty of houses with basement garages in Ota, Meguro and Setagaya.
So I guess the number one reason for the cables not being underground must be earthquakes

The Largest city in the world is Beijing!~!~!

Between Tokyo and Yokohama is in the middle of nothing. You can clearly recognise that when you are on the Toyoko Line. If you go onto the Shuto Express Way, it's very obvious that Tokyo is extremely small, as soon as getting out of the Yamanote Line loop, you'll be stuck into the middle of nowhere. The other day, I came back from Saitama, Ikebukuro's neon lights suddenly come out of its vast radish fields. Between Funabashi and Chiba, there is virtually nothing at all but the forest and almost wrecked farm houses (80's fashioned Bousouzoku suddenly appears with the roar of motorbikes from there, which is very funny). Tokyo's surroundings are not continuously urbanised areas. It's a small city of 620km2, and if we think only the certain areas of the Yamanote loop is dense enough, Tokyo is definitely far smaller than New York and London and even Paris. And, since Tokyo's buildings are all short and packed with the bathroom tiled housings and electric cables above the ground, the skyline is extremely ugly. It is by far the ugliest city in the world I've ever seen. Shouldn't exist such a joke.Are you sure Toyoko Line does not have built-up areas lining it to Yokohama-eki?

You're replying to a post made in 2007. Anyway this summer I went to Yokohama from Tokyo and there was building all the way to Yokohama.

oh thanks. i took the train in march 2007 anyway. same observation. hd doesn't know what he's talking :(

The Largest city in the world is Beijing!~!~!
Ummm... no. Well, if you measure the population within the administrative city limits or it's respective size then yes, perhaps Beijing is bigger than Tokyo (still I don't think it's the biggest), BUT if you consider the whole metropolitan area or conurbation, Tokyo is bigger.

Beijing however does seem bigger than Tokyo, maybe 'cause it's not so organised, streets are more crowded (like 8 lanes each direction full of cars in standstill), the air pollution is soooo bad and it's also very noisy.

I don't really care which city is the world is the biggest, because I find it much better to live in a middle-size city. But from my conversations with the Chinese people I studied or worked with it seems to me that it's some kind of their "national pride" to call Beijing the biggest city in the whole world. It's kind of stupid though since it's more about the quality (of life) not the size imho. Unless someone has a complex. ;)

oh thanks. i took the train in march 2007 anyway. same observation. hd doesn't know what he's talking :(

Of course there's a dense (but low-rise) continous built-up along the Toyoko. The thing is 33457 was a f***ing troll.

The Largest city in the world is Beijing!~!~!

No, 珠海 is.