Japan

The regular commuter train from Tokyo to Japan is slow, to say the least – especially compared to the high-speed bullet trains that speed across the countryside. The local train stops at town after town, and the crowd of people aboard the train as we pulled out of Tokyo thins out more and more with each stop.

My friends and I walked to the streetcar terminus, certain of which trolley to board. An agent approached us to help; he didn’t speak English, and we didn’t speak Japanese.

The Shinkansen glides swiftly along the rails that crisscross Japan. The high-speed bullet trains that whisk travelers from one side of Japan to the other are an icon of the country and a model for high-speed rail.