At the same time, there is a lot more flexibility in the private lives of people and what they can not do in public, Japanese society provides a lot more freedom to engage them in private. Looking at the lifestyle of Americans where the single most important driver for picking an item is how comfortable it is, Japan has stayed away from such an approach. There are people in the United States who drive 50 feet to pick their mail or cross the street to visit the neighbors or want a cooler in their sofa so that they do not have to go to the kitchen to get a beer. None of this would work in Japan. Dishwashers and dryers are practically non-existent.
Most young people have bikes rather than cars.
Even adults who have cars prefer bikes for short distances. Think about how you can get some physical exercise included in your daily routine rather than having to make a trip to the gym for the express purpose of exercising. Mental exercise Watching TV is rarely offers opportunities for mental exercise unless you are a fan of quiz shows. Japan has few channels to offer and there is not much interesting stuff on TV during daytime. They read big time.