Comparing Japanese Cities Via Satellite

[urbanflyer]

so I was playing around and had a fun idea...

I don't recall ever seeing a thread that specifically addressed Japan's largest cities in a wholesale comparison so here it is. due to the country's varied terrain and coastal features, it's neat to look at the minute differences from one city to the next.

there's no specific goal in mind other than to visually compare Japan's largest cities and agglomerations in terms of their physical layout, local topography, and location of adjoining suburbs/communities. all views were locked to 5 mile altitude zoom for comparison and I've chosen only Japan's cities with population greater than 400,000 according to 2005 estimates. enjoy!



starting on the island of Kyushu...

Fukuoka (1,388,608)



Kitakyushu (1,005,245)



Kumamoto (700,882)



Kagoshima (558,705)



Oita (448,954)



Nagasaki (414,415)



only one city over 400,000 for Shikoku...

Matsuyama (486,713)



now for the numerous metropoli of Honshu...

KANTO

Tokyo (8,124,310) / Kawasaki (1,283,754) / Sagamihara (640,175) / Hachioji (568,712)



Yokohama (3,517,961) and Kanagawa environs



Chiba (912,925) and eastern Tokyo cities such as Funabashi (557,366) / Ichikawa (453,819)



Kawaguchi (469,396) and the massive expanse of the Saitama plains



KANSAI

Osaka (2,588,296) / Kobe (1,500,400) / Higashi-osaka (513,780)/ Amagasaki (452,945) / Nishinomiya (443,848) et al



Kyoto (1,470,597)



Himeji (488,878) and coastal region west of Kobe



GREATER NAGOYA

Nagoya (2,178,958) / Gifu (420,110)



Hamamatsu (603,567) and Toyohashi on the Shizuoka coastline to the southeast



other

Hiroshima (1,143,834)



Sendai (1,049,071)



Okayama (641,167)



Niigata (508,078)



Kanazawa (462,391)



and of course, the chilly isle of Hokkaido

Sapporo (1,890,389)

[Manila-X]

One thing about Japanese cities. Most of them are coastal and are surrounded by mountains.

[hkskyline]

Japan is quite under-rated in these forums. I guess people don't tend to visit there for a vacation. Japanese cities are all very tidy and orderly even though they are quite densely populated.

Osaka is coastal but not surrounded by mountains. Tokyo isn't surrounded by mountains either. You can see Mt. Fuji in the distance, but the geography isn't that diverse.

[Manila-X]

Originally Posted by hkskyline

Japan is quite under-rated in these forums. I guess people don't tend to visit there for a vacation. Japanese cities are all very tidy and orderly even though they are quite densely populated.

Osaka is coastal but not surrounded by mountains. Tokyo isn't surrounded by mountains either. You can see Mt. Fuji in the distance, but the geography isn't that diverse.

But there are still mountain ranges near these cities.

I think the reason why Japan is quite underrated is before there are hardly any Japanese forumers in SSC. There are some though who represent Japan and give contributions like Vapour, Coldstar or EtherealCat

[hkskyline]

Originally Posted by WANCH

But there are still mountain ranges near these cities.

I think the reason why Japan is quite underrated is before there are hardly any Japanese forumers in SSC. There are some though who represent Japan and give contribution like Vapour or Coldstar

Near is not the same as being surrounded. There are mountains near Vancouver, but nowhere to the extent of surrounding the city. You can see them in the distance though. Osaka and Tokyo are not wrapped around by mountains. Kobe, on the other hand, is a different story.

Even if there are few Japan-based forumers, people on this board do travel a lot. It seems Asia is a very exotic place and many forumers live in Europe and North America. It takes a lot of time and money to fly so far to reach Asia.

Japan is actually trying to boost its international tourist appeal. Perhaps they should aim their marketing at the Europeans and North Americans.

[Manila-X]

Originally Posted by hkskyline

Near is not the same as being surrounded. There are mountains near Vancouver, but nowhere to the extent of surrounding the city. You can see them in the distance though. Osaka and Tokyo are not wrapped around by mountains. Kobe, on the other hand, is a different story.

Even if there are few Japan-based forumers, people on this board do travel a lot. It seems Asia is a very exotic place and many forumers live in Europe and North America. It takes a lot of time and money to fly so far to reach Asia.

Japan is actually trying to boost its international tourist appeal. Perhaps they should aim their marketing at the Europeans and North Americans.

One thing about travelling to Japan is, it would be very expensive. Japanese cities are expensive and I think most tourists travelling to Asia would prefer cheaper places like Bangkok

[hkskyline]

Originally Posted by WANCH

One thing about travelling to Japan is, it would be very expensive. Japanese cities are expensive and I think most tourists travelling to Asia would prefer cheaper places like Bangkok

From my experience, Tokyo is actually less expensive than London. However, a plane ticket to the other side of the world is pricey. As well, Asia is a mystery to many Westerners, so these potential tourists might shy away from visiting such an exotic place unless they're very adventurous.

[Manila-X]

Originally Posted by hkskyline

From my experience, Tokyo is actually less expensive than London. However, a plane ticket to the other side of the world is pricey. As well, Asia is a mystery to many Westerners, so these potential tourists might shy away from visiting such an exotic place unless they're very adventurous.

I have never been to London so I wouldn't know the price difference. But I did find Tokyo expensive.

As for western tourists, there are some adventurous ones out there

[hkskyline]

Originally Posted by WANCH

I have never been to London so I wouldn't know the price difference. But I did find Tokyo expensive.

As for western tourists, there are some adventurous ones out there

The rule of thumb is - the more long-haul, the smaller market will be interested to visit. It's quite logical. A European will more likely visit a neighboring country than to fly all the way across the land to Asia. Unless the price is right (Thailand), it will take a lot more vacation days and planning, so Japan is more of an exotic destination for the adventurous.

Tokyo hotels don't charge an average 100+ pounds a night. Food is also not too expensive either. I don't understand why people think Tokyo is so pricey. It's actually OK.

[elfreako]

Great post!

It never ceases to amaze me how GREEN Japan is. The cities are all surrounded by vast swathes of untouched forests - not something you expect from an industrial & technological power like Japan. Obviously, it's due to the mountainous terrain making it unsuitable for development.

And I agree, from personal experience, London is a much more expensive place to visit as a tourist than Tokyo.

[Æsahættr]

Tokyo is like LA... Except a majority of the 'burbs are in the actual slope on the mountain.

[vipermkk]

Damn,I get jealous of these wonderful cities.

[vipermkk]

look at the virescence in city Niigata! that was amazing!!

[Vapour]

Nice thread, urbanflyer. I suggest you include Maebashi - Takasaki, neighbouring cities with a pop. well over 500.000.
Oh, and you forgot Shizuoka

[Vapour]

Originally Posted by hkskyline

The rule of thumb is - the more long-haul, the smaller market will be interested to visit. It's quite logical. A European will more likely visit a neighboring country than to fly all the way across the land to Asia. Unless the price is right (Thailand), it will take a lot more vacation days and planning, so Japan is more of an exotic destination for the adventurous.

Tokyo hotels don't charge an average 100+ pounds a night. Food is also not too expensive either. I don't understand why people think Tokyo is so pricey. It's actually OK.

I guess the idea of Tokyo being insanely expensive comes from the 80s, when it certainly was for most foreigners.
With a few tips, anyone can hang out in Tokyo today at a much lower price than most people think.

[urbanflyer]

Well some of us Japan residents are trying to represent more around here...though I only got four replies to my Gifu photos

http://www.skyscrapercity.com/showthread.php?t=363029

^
Vapour, absolutely I forgot Shizuoka. Oops I only gave some of the better known edge cities of Osaka and Tokyo over 400,000 because I was too lazy to list them all.

Japan isn't that expensive at all if you live like locals and otherwise know how to avoid being ripped off. Granted COL in Nagoya is a bit lower than Osaka or Tokyo but I spend hardly anything comparing to when I was living in SF or Los Angeles.

A note about the general nature of Japanese urbanization - most people don't realize that only 18-20% of the country falls under the broad definition of 'habitable' and of that 12% is agricultural land. 120,000,000 people live in the remainder.

More amazing still to realize that in the two most populous stretches of the Honshu coastline, more than 50% of the population resides in the greater metropolitan areas of just three cities.

Nagoya and Osaka are separated by less than 125 km with a mountain range between and constitute ~30-35 million people. Factor in shinkansen and Osaka is literally under an hour's time from Nagoya. Then consider Kanto and Tokyo's pluralistic reach to bedroom communities in all directions. Roughly ~45 million people reside within this broadly defined area along the seacoast between the western boundary of Kanagawa and coastal boundary of Ibaraki. Just incredible any way you look at it.

[Mosaic]

Thank you so much, Urbanflyer for contributing those pics. Tokyo Metro is super massive.

[bob rulz]

These pics are awesome! Japan has always been one of my favorite countries(even though I've never been there) and it's good to see more Japanese-related stuff on these forums.

[SHiRO]

Wow. Great thread!

[Kiss the Rain]

haha, never knew the city made famous by the atomic bomb- nagasaki was actually quite small, at least showed that the americans were actually kinda humane in choosing which city to bomb lol.