Tama
7.2
High score (8-10)
Tama New Town's multi-campus university zone — Hosei University, Teikyo University, and Soka University all have campuses here — maintains a student population that prevents the city from going completely socially inert. The Keio-Sagamihara Line runs direct to Shinjuku in about 40 minutes. A foreign man working in education or connected to the university circuits will find pockets of real social life in what is otherwise one of Japan's most discussed examples of postwar planning decline. Narrow but real.
Mid score (6-8) · Your profile
Tama New Town was Japan's most ambitious postwar urban project and its most prominent aging challenge — the population has been declining for decades and the empty commercial units are visible. The universities bring student energy that partially offsets the demographics. A foreign man finds the city functional as housing and limited as a social environment. The train to Shinjuku is the key infrastructure.
Lower score (below 6)
Tama New Town is one of Japan's most studied examples of postwar urban planning failure — built to house Tokyo's postwar baby boom, it now has one of the nation's most rapidly aging populations, visibly empty storefronts, and a reputation for demographic decline that's only partially offset by the university presence. A young foreign man here is demographically isolated in a community that was designed for a generation now in their 70s. The social energy never materialized as planners hoped and shows no sign of arriving now.
Frequently Asked Questions
What's the median income in Tama, Tokyo?
$45k median
What's the typical marriage age for women in Tama, Tokyo?
Women marry at 31
How common is a college degree in Tama, Tokyo?
46% men have degree
What's the average male height in Tama, Tokyo?
173 cm local avg
What's the average BMI for women in Tama, Tokyo?
Local women avg 22.6