Economics in Japan

Japan

Major Cities and Transportation Networks in Japan

From the vantage point of our own car-obsessed and sprawling American nation, it is difficult to conceptualize the vast network of high-speed bullet trains that links most major Japanese cities. A network of railways interlinks Japan's four major islands, Honshu, Hokkaido, Kyushu and Shikoku. This enables fast and easy transportation not only between such major cities as Tokyo, Osaka, and Kyoto, despite the fact that all such major metropolitan areas are relatively far apart, geographically, but also enables fast transport between the islands that make up the entire small nation of Japan itself. Trains are a very convenient means to explore Japan not only for foreign visitors, but also for ordinary Japanese individuals. The Japanese frequently use trains to commute on a daily basis between their homes and residents. One of the reasons so relatively few Japanese people have cars is because of the comparatively small living quarters of most Japanese people to Americans, and also because Japan's railway networks, most of that are owned and operated by the Japan Railways, are so convenient to use. ("Transportation," 2004)

The remaining thirty percent of the trains belong to several dozens of private railway companies, especially in and around metropolitan areas, and all are famed for their speed, convenience, and well-packed nature, especially during rush hour. Even local trains, which stop at every major commuter stop, are world-renown for their speed. However, the speediest of trains in Japan are government owned. The most famous of these is the Tokaido Shinkansen line of bullet trains, connecting the major metropolitan areas of Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto and Osaka. It was inaugurated in the year 1964 as the first shinkansen line and the world's first high speed train. As early as 1964 it ran up to speeds of about 200 km/h and now reaches speeds of over 300 km/h. ("Transportation," 2004)