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How do you think Tokyo will change for the 2020 Olympics?

18 Comments

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A few rich old men will get even richer....in a nutshell.

4 ( +5 / -1 )

The Olympics don't change cities. Once they end, they're basically forgotten and things quickly return to normal. The exception is Montreal, where the legacy of debt continued for several decades.

1 ( +2 / -1 )

The city will be cleaner for the duration of the games. Vancouver was spotlessly scrubbed and shined. Now it's grubby just as it was before. And there'll be the letdown of not being an event anymore. Otherwise it's basically as bilderberg and Jeff have said.

0 ( +1 / -1 )

Well, from I hear so far, there will be new train lines connecting Narita and Haneda via Tokyo Station. If we are lucky, subways, train and bus services will be operating 24 hours a day by then. I'm sure roads and other infrastructure will get upgraded

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Hopefully they will get rid of all the illegal Nigerians in Roppongi. Maybe they can finally stop the drugging and cleaning out of the bank accounts of customers in Roppongi as well. Although it's been happening for at least a decade and the police don't seem to care, so I'm not that hopeful.

2 ( +2 / -0 )

@Strangerland

I think they will do something about that. It will be an absolute embarrassment if they don't as its a problem that often affects short-term visitors unfamiliar with the problem. I guess deporting them is difficult because a lot of them are probably married with PR but they should crackdown heavily on the hassling people in the street and ripping people off. Yes - making Roppongi somewhere its possible to go again would be a great thing to come out of the Olympics.

0 ( +0 / -0 )

Strangerland, you really are looking at the big picture. sorry yoyu got drunk and ripped off in roppongi. if anything the roppongi business is likely to thrive for the Olympics..... i would say a bunch of pointless buildings will be built, some of the infrastructure may improve, but most of the investment will be waste. plus 2020 itself will be a tourist hell.

3 ( +2 / -0 )

The main change is the community will end up with a few high maintenance empty facilities to maintain and decades of debts to repay on tax money.

2 ( +3 / -1 )

All pachinko parlors should be gone from all station areas. Widen Kanda river with side walk. Take down the highway over Nihonbashi and from the city, and rebuild new ones outside the city. Lighting is too bright everywhere. Music and anouncement are too noisy.

-5 ( +3 / -7 )

Both Tokyo and Japan will change for the better. The world will get to see that that country has rebounded from the 3/11 disaster. 2020 will be a great time to be Japanese and an awesome time for people around the world to come and visit.

RR

-5 ( +2 / -7 )

There will be a flurry of spending on things built by government cronies, followed by the mercenary majesty of the Olympics, followed by life going on as normal.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

Definitely more accessiblity for handicapped persons, more foreign language assistance, and a heightened sense of optimism and hope for the future ... all good things, that I hope will last after the excitement has worn off.

1 ( +1 / -0 )

RomeoRll. How does the Tokyo Olympics help Tohoku rebound from 3/11?

-2 ( +1 / -3 )

The homeless will be moved to different areas, people near the venues will have their lives and land disturbed, the city will waste more tax money, eikaiwa will do a booming business by promising government officials they can teach people English, taxi drivers will learn to say "thank you" and the media will warn the locals about how dangerous the foreign guests are - all in the name of internationalization. Did I miss anything?

-2 ( +2 / -4 )

Strangerland, you really are looking at the big picture. sorry yoyu got drunk and ripped off in roppongi.

Not me, I've only ever been to Roppongi twice, and it wasn't my cup of tea. But if you search around on the net there are threads on forums listing dozens of examples of people getting drugged and ripped off in Roppongi. And when they report it to the police, they get a big shrug. There used to be a long thread about it here on the JapanToday forums, until they shut them down. Here's one on JT's sister site, GaijinPot: http://forum.gaijinpot.com/forum/living-in-japan/clubs-bars-nightlife/89815-drugged-last-memory-the-oak-door-bar

Of course we all know the police are too busy to bust these guys because they are busy taking care of real crimes, like dancing:

http://www.tofugu.com/2012/05/16/is-dancing-illegal-in-japan/

0 ( +1 / -1 )

My wishful thinking: Make it illegal for landlords to refuse renters based on nationality. Abolish smoking in all bars and restaurants, if HK can do it, so can Tokyo & it really is the safest, cleanest option. Restaurants that take credit cards should take credit cards at all times, perhaps with a reasonable minimum charge (¥2,000 or so). Many restaurants don`t take them at lunch and this is a huge pain for travelers or even someone like me entertaining clients. Just a few off the top of my head.

-1 ( +0 / -1 )

I am quite pessimistic about his place and think that...

Already well-developed places will get yet another brushover and be upped to world-class standards while run-down places the oyaji in charge think nobody wants to visit will continue to decay. I think Tokyo will spend a lot on infrastructure projects - things that people can see, take pictures of and say "whoah, what a modern place!". I think they will completely miss the fact that Tokyo is very unfriendly towards disabled people by means of infrastructure even though they will also host the Paralympics. They will get criticized and, of course, brush it off with something along the lines of " you do not understand us.".
-2 ( +0 / -2 )

Japanese struggling and practicing English during the Olympic if they still maintain their tortoise pace in studying English...

0 ( +0 / -0 )

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