In Southern CA, taking a train can be a rare occasion for the average commuter. The Metro or Amtrak could be good alternatives in order to beat the traffic that comes with car rides, but the destinations are not very dispersed or convenient. Despite the fact that the United States has the largest rail network in the world, the number of people who use it daily is lower than any other nation such as Japan, France, and Switzerland.
Particularly in Japan, approx. 17,000 miles of railroads make it easier and more affordable for citizens to efficiently travel to different parts of the country. A car ride can actually cost more than a train ride, depending on gas and highway tolls. In contrast to a typical scenario in America, in Japan the afternoon traffic jams occur in the train, not the freeway.
With my arrival to central Japan, I had to take a train from the airport to my final destination of Nagoya, one of the top three urban cities in the country. As a kid raised in LA, taking the train was a new, thrilling experience.
The train that I took was a part of the Meitetsu railroad system, which runs through Nagoya as its central stop. Thankfully, buying a ticket wasn’t as mind-boggling as I imagined it to be. A one-way ticket cost a little over ten dollars. With the small piece of paper in hand, I went through the fare gate and entered a glass-paned hall that ultimately opened up to the train platform.
During my train ride, I mostly glimpsed out the window, admiring the alternating views of flourishing, green farmlands and tall, inner-city buildings. The contrasting sights that I was able to experience from a single train ride added to my further understanding of Japan’s uprising society and unique culture. I also began to think about how big of an impact public transportation has on a population and its proper functioning.
Who knows, public transportation may become the next big thing in the U.S. especially with upcoming plans for the bullet train to connect San Francisco and Los Angeles with one railroad by 2029. Our transportation system may soon look similar to the one of Harry Potter‘s.
