Trap of Concentrated City

One fire in Tokyo on Friday affected the travels of three hundred and twenty thousand people, because the burnt building was too close to railroads. Some could not go home after spending new-year holiday vacation, and others had to abandon shopping in the stores around. The fire revealed the vulnerability of highly centralized capital of Japan.

The fire occurred in an old building in Yurakucho area, which was next to the railroad of Tokaido bullet train and some local lines including always-clouded Yamanote Loop Line. Due to the big flame and huge amount of smoke, bullet trains stopped for five and half hours in whole area between Tokyo and Shin-Osaka, causing a hundred and six trains cancelled and two hundred and thirty-eight trains delayed. Since bullet trains are one of the main transportation for families to visit hometown for holidays, a number of families had to stay in train station for hours and were left in train cars wanting for resumption.

Because the fire affected local lines, passengers had to rush into alternative trains and they became extremely clouded. In spite of new year sales season, department stores were closed, because the area was cleared for fire extinction efforts. Eighty bench staffs and few players of American football team of Kansei-Gakuin University, which would have participated in annual Rice Bawl game in Tokyo, could not arrive the stadium in time, due to the delay of bullet train. The team asked old members already there in Tokyo, coming to watch the game, to help the team management.

The bullet train connects Tokyo and Osaka, the distance approximately paralleled with that of New York and Washington, with two and a half hours, not making a big difference from air transportation. The train comes every ten minutes. The fire reminded the people of how that convenient transportation system was crucial for people. In addition, most people use new year holiday for going hometown, making trains extremely clouded with families. For who did not get back hometown, the first few days of new year is shopping days. The fire had, therefore, struck the core of new year life styles of the Japanese.

One characteristic of the Japanese life styles is sometimes described as “kids football.” They do not understand offence and defense, or role playing, and all the players, including goalie, rush to the ball. Because the government, business, culture, transportation, energy, and everything are there, people rush to live in Tokyo. Once they get the ball there, they do not release the ball. So, when the hyper convenient system designed for urban people was broken down, all the city lives may be stopped. Although they had to have realized that at the Great East Japan Earthquake, the innocent people do still not release the ball.