Quote:
Originally Posted by Jibartik
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What I dont understand if we really wanna to talk about is I dont get why do trains cost more than planes!? That's just insane to me.
Even that japanse one was outragious to me, it was like 100 dollars, but it said its cheeper if you get a rail pass, but that's 230 dollars for 7 days.. that's insane to me, like, to be like, "well im going to take this train enough that I better spend 230 this week, oh damn I didnt end up using it after all, oh well.
Like what a hell life trying to min max that would be lol no thanks, im not getting sold on trains the more this goes.
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I will agree that the Japan bullet train is crazy expensive. And to further your point if I remember correctly, that rail pass is only available with a foreign passport. It's mainly to increase tourism.
If you're basing your decision based soley on cost, then yeah take the flight. It's a matter of how much you're willing to pay for comfort, time (in some cases), and convenience. If you need to get from Tokyo to Kyoto, flying from Narita to Osaka, and all the additional time spent doing that, is probably not worth the money saved. Especially if your company is paying for it. Europe i've found the costs to be about the same, so it's up to other factors to choose.
Another example. I used to take the bullet train to Nagano all the time for skiing. I think there's a way to do it by plane, but it'd be convoluted and involve transfers. On the train I can bring my big ass ski bag and another big bag with all my gear for no additional fee. But when I went to Sapporo, it was usually cheaper to suck it up and take the plane. Also, Japan has an awesome internal shipping company called Takkyubin that can get your skis anywhere in the country in like 2-3 days.
This is one of the things Japan has done correctly. Since they built their infrastructure with trains being the main mode of travel, they go to many places planes dont. They compliment each other in a way.
Not anti plane. Pro train.
Edit - last post for me for a while. Weather is nice and I'm gonna take an edible and go paddle board on the canals!