r/interestingasfuck • u/Additional_Chard3680 • 19h ago
A minute of monorail in Chiba, Japan
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u/The-Nihilist-Marmot 19h ago
Japan has been living in the 2000s since the 1980s.
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u/irrelevantAF 15h ago
Wuppertal, Germany, has been operating a train like that since 1902.
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u/li_shi 14h ago
That one is actually better.
Don’t known about the technology but it goes
In the middle of a river quite a while the windows definitely show a better view.3
u/smorkoid 14h ago
There's a decent view from much of the Chiba monorail. It is the longest in the world, after all
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u/raknor88 18h ago
On technology? Yes. But their social progress is still stuck somewhere in the 18th century.
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u/Phoenix_Lamburg 16h ago
Is the used panties machine part of the 18th century or 21st century?
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u/dynamic_caste 15h ago
Fun fact: Himeji Castle was originally built to house a pantsu vend-o-mat
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u/Sensitive-Memory 16h ago
The used panties signaled the singularity. Openai was trained using them.
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u/yamanamawa 13h ago
Have you been to Japan? Like at a government level there's issues, but actual Japanese people are the same as anywhere else, especially in cities. Plenty of smaller jurisdictions are also quite progressive. For instance, although gay marriage is still federally illegal, a lot of prefectures have legalized it locally and are totally chill with it. I would argue that Japanese people are actually more progressive than most of the world
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u/rawrlion2100 12h ago
This would make the USA the most progressive place on the world, if we're solely defining the term by its people's beliefs.
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u/yamanamawa 10h ago
Except that we have concentration camps and people getting kidnapped off the streets. Sure, parts of the country are progressive, but the country as a whole still voted for this. Japan has some judgemental old people like anywhere, but the country itself is quite vibrant
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u/rawrlion2100 9h ago
You were talking about people and now you're talking about the government. Japan's democratically elected government has been conservative government for decades.
We were also talking about social policies of which the LDP is in favor of preserving traditional family structures and cultural heritage, drawing structural backing from conservative religious organizations and traditional community interest groups.
There's a healthy nationalist tent in this party that could very much give rise to what we have observed in the state as they are not infallible.
So like what are we comparing? Because I can find pros and cons with both countries, but if we're simply saying Japan has progressive people then, again, the USA which has triumphed social progressivism (even as it is scrutinized by its government) reign superior. Tell me how trans gender rights faire in Japan? You have major pockets across the USA that would go to bat for trans people. Up until 2023, trans people had to be sterilized in Japan.
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u/The-Nihilist-Marmot 18h ago
But also on technology. By now they’re two decades behind.
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u/pootis28 14h ago
Lmao no
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u/axonxorz 14h ago
In some ways, lmao yeah.
In-person hanko requirements and refusal to modernize massive fax-based workflows are examples.
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u/smorkoid 14h ago
Fax usage isn't that common. It's more common in the US than Japan
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u/axonxorz 13h ago
Sorry, it's not even close.
Over 70% of public schools in Japan use faxes for daily admin work. I don't have comparable stats for the US... because nobody tracks it's so low. That alone massively outstrips the US.
Over half of all convenience stores still have a public-use fax machine, again outstripping the US.
Fax usage is so widespread, it's an explicit government directive to lower it.
As of 2021, around half of households still had a fax machine, whereas US households peaked in the early 90, less than 15%
In the US, your doctor might fax a few classes of documents, though that's disappearing with EMR interop. Classically, lawyers were the next largest use, but that's also been largely replaced with regulated secure document exchange systems. As an anecdotal example, I worked with an org to consolidate fax systems across 8 sites covering the geographical breadth of Canada. At the conclusion of the process, we were receiving fewer than 20 faxes a month.
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u/smorkoid 13h ago
Schools are probably the only place in Japan where fax is common.
It's so uncommon in normal business that my company - a traditional Japanese company - got rid of the fax machine some years ago because it was literally never used.
You are being EXTREMELY disingenuous about the fax machines in conbini. They are always, always part of a multifunction machine that also prints, scans, etc. They are never standalone fax machines. A similar machine in the US also has fax function.
In US medical offices fax is very common. In Japan, almost all medical records (in my experience) are transmitted electronically.
I have no idea where you are coming up with the number of households with faxes again, but I suspect it's number of households with cheap multifunction printers that also have fax functions that nobody uses. Shit, my home printer is the same, but like most people in Japan these days, I don't even have a phone line.
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u/CompetitiveGrab843 19h ago
The strange thing isn't that it's hanging. It's that nobody looks up anymore.
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u/Bargadiel 15h ago
Many of the infrastructure convieniances they've established 50 years ago still get regular use without being completely trashed or run-down, unlike the US where society apparently isn't even high-trust enough to have a vending machine on the side of a road, without it being broken into.
A little goes a long way with this stuff. As "old" as some of their train infrastructure is, it remains the most enjoyable, cleanest, and easiest to use, at least that I've used, in spite of that age and how many people go through it each day. That still accounts for something I think. We don't really have to be futuristic, we just have to not trash the things built for everyone.
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u/Speech-Language 14h ago
In regards to societal trust I am reminded of ærslabelgir in Iceland, they are large, colorful, inflated mounds for jumping on. Very fun, but absolutely impossible in the U.S. as some idiot would stab it and ruin it for everyone.
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u/Bargadiel 14h ago
Those do sound fun.
I have seen some things like that in major US cities but it is a fine line, or matter of time before it gets used in at least one way that wasn't intended. Even community gardens are at least something I'd like to see more of here.
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u/Bargadiel 10h ago
Someone can, in-fact, compliment something without implying that it's the only good thing out there. You should try it sometime.
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u/Immediate_Song4279 14h ago
And the 1980's would have been profoundly different without Japanese Data Science.
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u/xeonie 16h ago
Nah, Japan is living in 2026 while the rest of use fight progress tooth and nail at every single turn. This is what it looks like when you actually invest in public infrastructure.
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u/daltorak 15h ago
The thing is, Japan didn't actually develop this monorail system, it's a European design that was licensed. Japan hasn't built any new monorail lines at all in over 20 years..... their one-and-only monorail manufacturer can't find any domestic customers, instead they're building a new metro line in Panama.
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u/zhiningPT 19h ago
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u/maxis2bored 19h ago
The ring came off my pudding can
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u/seaelbee 16h ago
Take my penknife my good man
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u/ACEaton1483 19h ago
Is there a benefit to this compared to an elevated train like in Chicago?
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u/Tsukiyon 18h ago edited 18h ago
Much quieter with rubber tires instead of metal on metal, less bulky structure and smaller footprint so more sunlight for below and better climbing ability. This track overcomes amazing elevation changes it got nicknamed roller coaster.
But suspended monorails also have their fair share of disadvantages such as evacuation, maintenance, capacity, complex rail switch.
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u/queen-adreena 18h ago
Evacuation is easy. There’s a hole in the floor if you smash the glass.
Then just aim for the bushes!
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u/028247 16h ago
Does this design specifically allow for rubber tires, or do they just happen to use it? I was wondering why you couldn't use rubber in ground rail trains or vice versa
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u/Prunus-cerasus 15h ago
You can use rubber on trains. For example, some subways with significant elevation changes use rubber tires.
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u/GIC68 19h ago
I don't think so. But I also can't see a downside. So I guess it's a matter of taste.
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u/bbalazs721 18h ago
Suspended monorail is more expensive, requires complex and slow switches, has no interoperability, has higher maintenance costs, and has significant evacuation challenges.
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u/Omnilatent 18h ago
It's a novelty transportation to me
Nothing ever beats a tram in a city
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u/vc-10 17h ago
Trams are great but they're not the perfect solution for every use case. There's no way a tram at street level could do what any of the tube lines in London do for example. It's just too congested, and they don't have the capacity throughput that a metro line has.
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u/Omnilatent 16h ago
I'm not saying metros aren't great!
They do different things and metro lines aren't viable for every city (in this case I mean cities around 100k inhabitants and above) while trams basically always are.
The huge advantage of trams is they're comparatively super cheap in maintenance (and in comparison to metro also super cheap to build), they don't need any special buildings or massive infrastructure (like a metro or a monorail), the, are on ground level and thus provide quickest entry and exit (you don't need to go down an elevator or escalators - that sometimes makes them faster than metro even though the metro usually has higher speeds and no signals they need to wait on etc.) which also makes them great for people with disabilities. Also you can do sightseeing while riding a tram.
Welcome to my love letter to trams 😂
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u/joahw 9h ago
Imagine spending a bunch of money to put tracks in the ground for vehicles that get stuck in regular automobile traffic and can't go around obstructions. Also the track grooves in the pavement are very hazardous to cyclists.
This message brought to you by Trolleybus gang.
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u/Omnilatent 9h ago
I'm happy to argue about that as long as we all agree individual transport suuuuucks compares to any public transport 😂
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u/callisstaa 14h ago
Metros are just more convenient to me. Trains at my local station leave every 2-3 mins and it’s comfortable, cheap and fast. I can even get a metro to a neighbouring city as the networks are linked. Much faster to get the train though. 25 mins rather than literally hours on the metro.
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u/lolkot 18h ago
I would argue that this it is worse than L train in Chicago. If the train fails in Chicago, other trains have at least some chance to circumvent them on second track.
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u/Unlucky_Age4121 18h ago
Which is an non-issue in japan as all japan rail roads from shinkansen to monorail runs on dedicated tracks that are constantly maintained every night. They work like clock work.
Yes when they fail, everything is blocked but because of continuous maintenance they basically never fail.
On the plus side because of the dedicated tracks makes scheduling and troubleshooting very easy making the Japanese rail system one of the best in the world.→ More replies (1)
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u/Groot8902 19h ago
Is there any benefit of having suspended monorails over regular ones?
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u/agangofoldwomen 17h ago
Better performance/experience for passengers on curves. Smaller footprint, aesthetically cleaner look. Less frequent maintenance because mechanical parts are covered.
Just a few things I remember from assessing benefits of different public infrastructure projects at work like 10 years ago.
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u/Bum_Dorian 13h ago
This is all anecdotal and I AM for a monorail. But I’ve been told the maintenance and repairs, though less, eventually end up being crazy expansive. That why some places that build them abandon extension projects.
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u/SingleMaltMouthwash 11h ago
Traffic in San Francisco made me wonder if cable-suspended gondolas might be a solution. Busses add to congestion and typically run three-every 45 minutes instead of one every 15. Cables need straight runs so no curves, but the maintenance must be lower than solid ribbons of concrete and steel track.
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u/Jodelbert 19h ago
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u/khamir-ubitch 18h ago
"Rise and shine, Mister Freeman. Rise and shine. Not that I... wish to imply you have been sleeping on the job. No one is more deserving of a rest, Wake up and ..."
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u/Ok-Bar601 17h ago
A monorail following existing roads seems completely logical to me. The construction of them is not as disruptive as building ground rail so I don’t understand why there isn’t more of these around.
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u/MiddleConstruction84 19h ago
I hear those things are awfully loud.
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u/wolfinjer 19h ago
I live right next to it. It’s actually rather quiet. Compared to a regular train, it’s basically silent.
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u/MiddleConstruction84 19h ago
Are you saying it flies as softly as a cloud?
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u/benangmerahh 17h ago
Do people hate it for the infrastructure blocking their window views?
I heard that in Germany local residents hate it and consider it as ugly (the platform), but tourists do love it.
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u/wolfinjer 6h ago
I don’t think it bothers residents too much. Most of the residences that it passes by are low/mid-rise apartments and regular houses and there isn’t that much “view” to be had around here unless you want to look at another house.
Plus, the monorail cars are sometimes specially decorated so it might feature an anime or some other interesting thing so that’s fun to see when it passes by
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u/Prod_Meteor 18h ago
It looks more practical as the gravity holds it in place much easier than a reverse rail on the ground, which can also never be a mono.
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u/this_is_theone 19h ago
It glides as softly as a cloud.
Is there a chance the track could bend?
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u/PelvisResleyz 19h ago
Not on your life my Reddit friend
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u/SourdoughBro8 18h ago
I’ve been on the Shonan hanging monorail to Enoshima but love how the Chiba one is in really dense urban area.
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u/cantona_x 17h ago
Yeah, the Shonan one is more famous but I actually enjoyed the Chiba one more, especially on the ground you could walk beside the track with some very nice scenery.
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u/sleepy0329 17h ago
This looks pretty cool albeit slower than what I would expect a train to go. Im sure I could, but it would also be hard to get used to driving with a monorail over me.
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u/rudolph_ransom 19h ago
I didn't know they have suspended trains
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u/dlanod 19h ago
It was freaking me out looking for the rail
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u/rudolph_ransom 19h ago
There is a famous one in the German city of Wuppertal. It's not that far away from where I live. Guess I'm used to such a view.
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u/Routine_Bluejay4678 19h ago
Now that is interesting, I would love to see similar from other countries.
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u/aimgorge 19h ago
There are a bunch in multiple countries : https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Suspension_railway#List_of_suspension_railways
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u/heste 19h ago
As I recall it's a very short ride. Had a conference in Chiba a couple of years ago and took this monorail to the venue for the week.
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u/smorkoid 14h ago
It's the longest monorail in the world and has multiple lines.
You likely only took the Chiba to Chiba Minato portion, which is only like 5 minutes
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u/hamfist_ofthenorth 18h ago
I would love to drive one of these for a living, or at least, I think I would.
I play lots of train sim world but I don't think they'd let me smoke blunts while I drive
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u/cantona_x 17h ago
Went to the Rockin' on Sonic festival in Chiba back in January, I asked Gemini whether there could be some mini tour in Chiba for Neuromancer related things, the reply is not really as William Gibson basically imagined a total fictionalized China, but it did recommend the monorail and I had a great field day before the festival starts to enjoy the monorail experience, not only went back and forth like three times but also afterwards walked along the tracks which is highly highly recommended. It's not as famous as the Kamakura one, but definitely no less compare to that one.
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u/2xpubliccompanyCAE 17h ago
Visit a Chiba for Work a couple weeks ago. It’s a fantastic neighborhood.
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u/Platypus_6414IiiIi-_ 16h ago
Can it go faster? From the video it looks like you could easily beat this with a bicycle.
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u/themoobster 15h ago
We accidentally went on that monorail recently and were very confused when the signs were telling us to go up like 4 stories to get to our train???
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u/bala_means_bullet 4h ago
When Japan has earthquakes, they're typically cataclysmic. I wouldn't wanna be in that thing when that happens!
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u/Informal_Drawing 4h ago
How quiet are these overhead trams compared to regular on-the-ground rail trams for the houses nearby?
Specifically when they go round corners.
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u/Whirlvvind 1h ago
Love these things, I really hope the self-inflicted oil crisis causes more cities/states to wake up and push for these kinds of train systems, overhead along the existing roadways. No need for tunneling and all the other bs excuses. Reveal the damn oil lobby killing these things because they want more cars on the road.
I live in Silicon Valley and it is mind boggling that it has taken decades for the BART extension into downtown San Jose, because they're still stuck on using standard rail that needs land and tunnels. Corrupt politicians and oil lobbies are just disgusting. How does China have a 300+ mph train and California's train project (the state alone is 4th in the WORLD for GDP....) sucked billions of dollars into the ether through massive corruption and graft.
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u/arcusford 6h ago
I want to do a social experiment posting this same video but say its in China and see how different the comments are.
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u/macguyver3000 18h ago edited 18h ago
I always thought it was cool how Chiba’s monorail hangs under the track. Looks really futuristic.
Edit: fixed a typo.
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u/Unlucky_Age4121 18h ago
Chiba is Japan not China
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u/callisstaa 15h ago
There’s one in China also. Wuhan has suspended monorails with windows in the floor.
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u/Sea_Basil_6501 19h ago edited 18h ago
We have one in Germany, built in 1901. It's still operating. Here's a video of a ride from 1902:
https://youtu.be/2Ud1aZFE0fU?is=eAufJSaAlv9o6jpK