Job Discussion Forums

[Sweetsee]

Anyone know of a site for navigating Tokyo streets in English?
Thanks in advance,
s

[G Cthulhu]

Pony up for a GPS that includes English voice directions. They're not that expensive.

[Sweetsee]

Thanks for the reply, mate. It's sorted, worked it out on the J-site. Forgot to mention I'm on my bike, too.
Enjoy,
s

[Quibby84]

I figured you were not driving..only a silly person would try driving in Tokyo...I was imagining you with a GPS on your bike...lol..

[Sweetsee]

Maybe only a silly person would try driving in Tokyo without GPS, but I do all the time. It's not that bad really, once you get the hang of it.
Silly for me would be riding on the trains. Does my head in.

[Quibby84]

You drive in Tokyo??? Wow...that really does amaze me. We once drove past Tokyo (not through) and it was miserable. The road had like two lanes and about 5 million cars. Do people get in wrecks often in Tokyo?

I think that I love trains...lol.

[Apsara]

I see far fewer crashes at intersections in Tokyo than I ever did in my home city (Auckland, New Zealand) where there is almost always broken headlight/ indicator glass scattered around any major intersection.

I live near a fairly main east/ west artery to the west of central Tokyo which I cross several times a day and have only seen a couple of minor sideswipes since I've been here. The traffic may look chaotic but the drivers aren't anywhere near as impatient or aggressive as they are in Auckland, hence fewer crashes.

I haven't driven here myself, but when I've been a passenger driving around areas like Shinjuku it hasn't seemed that bad- just a bit slow, and you need a GPS or someone to navigate.

[Quibby84]

It was pretty crowded on my college campus and about 99% (including mine) had a dent of some sort. I think it is pretty amazing that there are so many cars and so few wrecks. And while riding with Japanese I find that they are not the best drivers (I have been in about 3 VERY near accidents, one time I had to yell to the driver Stop!..lol).
Why do you think there are fewer wrecks?

[Apsara]

Compared to where I'm from, slower average speed, less aggressiveness.

[king kakipi]

[markle]

I'm confused.
Sweets you want help to navigate the streets of Tokyo on your bike (bicycle? motorcycle?) but you can drive around Tokyo in a car? WTF?

As for why there's fewer accidents than in Auckland, Well aside from the fact that sheep can't drive so well (have trouble gripping the wheel with their hooves). People in the West tend to have more faith in the rule of law and that everyone else observes it. Anyone who has driven much elsewhere (I cut my teeth on Bangkok traffic) don't make such assumptions, so they are much more aware of what other drivers are doing or likely to do. Anyone who has seen the number of cars that run red lights here automatically aproaches an intersection with caution regardless of the green light they have. Then there is all the wildlife on the roads, (bicycles, little old ladies, drunken salarymen) and the police takea dim view of striking any of them regardless of your 'right of way'. Personally I perfer it this way.

[Sweetsee]

It's a scooter and I was just looking to find a route to a place I had never ridden to, Markle.
Also, folks tend to drive like they walk here, not so erratic.
Get your motor on,
s

[Sour Grape]

I wish you hadn't said you would be on your bike.

You've destroyed the vision I had of you galloping around Tokyo on horseback, with a GPS attached to the reins.

[TokyoLiz]

Say Sweetsie,

You have one of those little Tokyo map books, the kind that fits in your back pocket? I use them to get around Tokyo and Chiba (Boso Peninsula) on a mountain bike. I marked all my Chiba exploits in the books with the dates I did the trips, and notes on how lost I got

[JimDunlop2]

Late to chime in, but I've been driving through metro Tokyo (by car, never by scooter) for the past four years.... Never had a problem and the only time I ever had a GPS was if the rental car I had came with it... Since then, I've been using my own vehicle (and I can't afford a $2,000 GPS unit) so my Tokyo Guide (book-style map) works just fine.

I find Tokyo quite easy to drive and navigate, and armed with my map I can get wherever I need to fairly easily. I've even made several trips to the Big Mikan without my map if I know where I'm going and have been there before.

I guess I'm one of those big-city people... I love big cities! Tokyo is no exception. I also enjoy driving (anything -- cars, motorbikes, whatever)... So for me, it's a rush! One of these days I'm going to ride my motorbike to Tokyo just for giggles. Should be a blast!

Good luck, anyway... And don't let the size of the city intimidate you. Everyone looks at me like I'm weird when I tell them I drive in Tokyo (well, I am... But nevertheless....) it's a self-fulfilling prophecy. When everyone looks at you all bug-eyed and shouts, "You can't drive in Tokyo! You must be nuts!" it becomes like a mantra. So of course, when everyone hears that same mantra over and over, they start to believe it without actually ever trying it themselves. It really isn't so bad -- but to get someone to believe it is another thing. I know many Japanese people who have NEVER driven to/in Tokyo in their entire lives! Why? Because they've been told that it's too crazy by their friends who have also never driven there, but been told by THEIR friends not to. No other reason is necessary or relevant to your average nihonjin. Well, I suppose maybe that's a good thing -- if all those people realized the truth of the matter there might be that many more cars to deal with when I go!