Kyoto's awe-inspiring train station, before which all American train stations should bow and tremble.

What is the matter with us that we can't get it together with the mass transit? How can we, the wealthiest country in the history of the world, live with our pathetic rail system and still look at our collective selves in the mirror? Tokyo has both a subway system and the JR line, sort of like Metro North except stopping throughout the city as well as outside it. Every major Japanese city and some of the not-so-major cities have subway lines, in addition to the buses. Everything runs on time, is spotless, comfortably upholstered, and so on. And there's the famous bullet train, aptly named since it runs ridiculously fast. The seats are big, the windows are big, the food available both in the stations and onboard is diverse and tasty. Granted, Japan has more pressure than we do to have these things sorted out, since their population density is so high that for everyone to drive would just be impossible, but still.

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