Trams
Good fun above the ground
A large number of cities in Japan have tram networks.
Trams (streetcars), romendensha in Japanese, were common in major towns and cities from the early 20th century to the 1950's and 1960's. The big cities changed to subways from the 1960's onwards, however, while smaller regional cities that couldn’t afford to build subway systems kept their trams.
These days, many cities promote tram use as a tourist attraction for visitors and paint up their trams with city mascots and in attractive colours - even if their tram cars are ancient.