New picture folder, "Autumn".
My student once told me that the Tokyo streetcar is, "a modern miracle". I told him not to get so carried away, what with rail travel being a staple form of transportation worldwide for the last century or so. However, on explaining more to me, I came to realise that he was right. The streetcar system winds its way through the north of the city, starting in Waseda near the university, and making it's way through the smaller cities, ending up in a place I think is called Minowara.
The miracle part comes from the fact that it shouldn't really be there now. Tokyo is a city which is constantly growing, expanding and contracting. Everywhere you look, new roads are being built, old buildings torn down and new subway stations being developed. However, the streetcar has so far escaped the wrath of the developers pen.
It's great to take the streetcar, I love it actually. Once seated, you can see some of the main sights of Tokyo, from famous buildings, cherry blossoms in spring and a host of other things from the car. Traffic must yield to the streetcar, so it is constantly on the move, moving at a leisurely pace throughout the city.
Ity probably is the best kept secret in town as far as gaijin are concerned- if you coming to Tokyo on holiday, it makes absolute sense to use the streetcar for the northern area of the city- consider this- one stop on the subway costs 160 Yen (130 pence, 3 minutes)- the streetcar is a one off payment of the same price- and for this you can travel the whole of the line, which takes about 40 minutes.
Another reason that I like it is because in ultra modern Tokyo, the streetcar has somewhat of a 1960s feel- the cars are basic and not really comfortable, unlike the new new Yurakucho subway cars which are like something from Startrek- I like this rustic feel- it's a nice change from the usual!
It also is perfect for my daily travel plans- True, to get to work I must use the Yurakucho line, which is fine because it is convienient and relatively cheap for what I need. The streetcar is great because I can get to friends houses using it, to Jiu Jitsu and of course to Ueno after a little walk from the last stop.
However, as with all good things, all this might come to an end soon. It seems that the streetcar doesn't have a long term future in Tokyo- Compared to the subway, the streetcar isn't much of a money maker, and according to friends, with the ever increasing development of the subway system, the streetcar will eventually become obsolete.
I think this will probably happen- the stopping of traffic and what not is an inconvienience Tokyoites would like to do without as they race to and from, dealing with their business- when I ask people what they think about the streetcar being stopped, they are largely indifferent, which is a shame because in a largely frentic, frantic impersonal Tokyo, the streetcar really is a decent piece of cultural heritage.
