I didn't make it to too rural of an area, but I’ve heard similar. I did go to the town my wife grew up in, which is technically a village, and they had better walk ability and more accessible grocery and hospital than my city in the US, but it’s pretty clear that is a recent development from all the cranes and new buildings around. I saw some of the more truly rural areas from the window of the high speed train, and there were definitely some really ancient looking villages that were just a row of houses and farmland.