cc wrote:

> "Eric Takabayashi" <etakajp@yahoo.co.jp> wrote in message
>
> > > Big cities too spread out?
> >
> > Yes.
>
> 15 km is too spread out ?

Yes. Right now, I can walk 1.5 km to work, the city's largest shopping areas
in various directions, the bus terminal, and the shinkansen station. Within
maybe 300 meters, there are seven hospitals including one of 600 beds, and
numerous dentists, elementary schools, junior high schools, a high school
hidden somewhere, a nursing college, my children's nursery school, two
supermarkets, the main police station, and restaurants. City Hall and the
employment office are two blocks from the train station. The City and National
hospitals, as well as many others offering emergency service, are about three
kilometers away. The highway IC and the Immigration Bureau are three or four
kilometers away.

For 67,000 yen per month.

Beat that, anyone.

> In your muddy island, that's the space between 2
> macdos,

No, in the rural area where I come from in Hawaii, there are numerous
McDonald's miles apart, and McDonald's Express in between. But it was 30
minutes drive from my house to the largest town where everything was, one
reason I would not like to settle in the place I grew up in.

Here in Fukuyama, there is a McDonald's and Starbucks, Kentucky Fried Chicken,
and two Mr Donuts, as well as many bars and restaurants, right in front of the
station. 1.5 km. I can walk it in 20 minutes, or under ten by bicycle, faster
than by car.

But I don't really care to go to such as McDonald's or Starbucks, anyway.

> in Osaka city, that's the maximum possible distance between 2 places.

From where I live there are FOUR McDonald's within 1.5 km, including THREE
within maybe 200 meters, with TWO in two adjoining department stores. It is
quite illogical.

> > Frequent trains during operating hours don't offset tens of minutes spent
> > riding them just to go shopping or eat.
>
> ???? I take the elevator or the telephone to go shopping or to eat. Like
> everybody else in Osaka.

There is only one America Mura or Dotonbori. If you don't live in that part of
Osaka, you're out of luck. 30 minutes by train or bus. There is only one each
of Shibuya, Ginza, Odaiba, or Roppongi Hills. If you don't live near there,
you're out of luck. 30 minutes easy.

I can walk to get what I want faster than that, and I don't need America Mura,
Dotonbori, Shibuya, Ginza, Odaiba, or Roppongi Hills, like young or big city
people do.