Article URL: https://www.bbc.com/travel/article/20260805-four-simple-rules-behind-japans-most-liveable-cities Comments URL: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=49196174 Points: 46…

From neighbourhood shopping streets to accessible transport, Japan's most liveable cities remove the everyday frustrations of urban life. What makes a city genuinely easy to live in? It's not necessarily gleaming skyscrapers or world-famous attractions, but whether you can get to work without a car, do your shopping on foot, navigate a train station in a wheelchair or push a pram safely down the pavement. Japan's cities are especially good at this. In the Economist Intelligence Unit's 2026 Global Liveability Index, Osaka ranked seventh and Tokyo rose three places to 10th, making Japan the only Asian country with two cities in the top 10. This rise reflects perfect scores in the index for stability, healthcare and education, as well as strong infrastructure. But residents say the real difference is in the intentional and accessible design choices that make life run smoothly. "Japan is built to work for everyone," says Josh Grisdale, a power wheelchair user who runs Accessible Japan and has lived in Tokyo for 18 years. "The same ramps, elevators and space I use as a wheelchair user help a parent with a stroller, an older person or someone lugging a suitcase in from the airport." For architect Francis Aguillard, who has studied Japan's urban design, the simple daily details often have the biggest impact. "Liveability often comes down to reducing the friction of ordinary life," he said. "Can someone reach work, school, groceries, a park, a doctor and friends without structuring the entire day around a car?" For many Japanese residents, the answer is yes. We spoke with them and urban planning experts to learn how the country designs cities that work well, and the rules that make them feel so easy. Much of daily life in Japan plays out in the shotengai (covered shopping streets lined with independent businesses whose owners often live above their own shops). "A greengrocer, old coffee shop, clinic, 100-yen shop and dinner [options] all sit within a few flat, covered blocks," says Grisdale.