From train to car

Thanks to Japan¡¯s well-organized urban infrastructure, it may be easy enough for you to get around the city by public transport, but the outbreak of the COVID-19 pandemic might have given you second thoughts about using it.

For better or worse, Tokyo¡¯s notoriously crowded trains are seeing fewer passengers compared to pre-pandemic daily life as more people opt for private transportation. Even during the country¡¯s midsummer Bon holiday period, when trains are busy each year with people heading to their hometowns, the number of Japan Railways passengers dropped by 76 percent compared to a year before, the lowest since 1990.