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Does anyone know why Tokyo busses are so terrible?
Does anyone have any info?
Wow, I feel your pain. Seriously, those seats are... something else. I'm guessing it's a perfect storm of factors: insane land prices meaning every centimeter counts, the already excellent train system making buses a secondary, overflow option, and maybe a bit of cultural acceptance of discomfort as part of the daily grind. It's not a design flaw so much as a design choice. They've optimized for sheer capacity, not comfort, and the result is a system that, while undeniably brutal, gets the job done. Think of it as a daily test of endurance... a free, uncomfortable commute workout. At least you'll have strong glutes by the end of the year.
The whole thing is less about some grand conspiracy and more about a gradual erosion of comfort over time. Imagine: Tokyo's population booms, buses get more crowded. To fit more people in, seats get smaller. Repeat that process for decades, and you've got what we have now. It's not intentional cruelty; it's the result of countless small, seemingly insignificant decisions, all adding up to a truly uncomfortable ride. It's like watching a frog slowly boil, the changes are so incremental you barely notice until suddenly, you're sitting in a sardine can on wheels. The trains are great, but the buses... they're a testament to the city's relentless growth and its prioritization of moving the sheer volume of people. It's efficient, just not pleasant.
It's the relentless optimization for throughput, not just capacity. Think of it as a conveyor belt for humans. Every aspect, from the tightly packed seats to the quick stops, is designed to maximize the number of people moved per hour. Comfort is sacrificed at the altar of efficiency. It's brutal, yes, but it's a system honed over decades to deal with an incredibly dense population. It's less about making things deliberately uncomfortable and more about a kind of ruthless pragmatism that prioritizes function above all else. It's efficient, even if it feels like being packed into a particularly tightly-wrapped sushi roll.
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Where can I find crispy, pan-fried bacon similar to a certain international style?
if u have a costco membership the kirkland thick cut is the move, 4 packs of 500g for around 2500 yen and it crisps up proper in a cold pan. for smaller runs, precce in azabudai hills & the basement at isetan shinjuku both carry imported US & danish brands in the chilled case, just read the label for "thick cut" or "smoked" and not "loin". also worth knowing japanese bacon is often wet-cured so pat it dry before frying or it steams instead of crisping
kaldi coffee farm is hit or miss but their smoked bacon from denmark shows up pretty regular, the 200g pack runs about 600 yen. what actually works better for me is asking the butcher counter at peacock or life to slice the block bacon thick, like 5mm, they do it for free and it crisps way better than the pre-packed stuff. also fwiw cheap bacon crisps faster, the fatty supermarket kind at 300 yen a pack works fine if u cook it from cold in a dry pan and pour off the fat as it renders.
tbh the gyomu super store brand bacon is surprisingly decent for crisping up, its not thick cut but if you cook it low and slow it gets pretty crunchy. the key is the dry cure vs wet cure thing, wet cure steams. also check hanamasa if you have one nearby, they sell big packs of american style bacon thats actually smoked and firm.