Traveler shares honest review after taking high-speed rail system through Japan: 'Look at how fast that thing is'

In an eye-opening video, a traveler gave viewers a look on YouTube at the remarkable high-speed rail system in Japan.

"You would not believe that bullet trains in Japan operate at a speed faster than a commercial jetliner requires to take off," World Nomac says in the video. The trains operate at 200 miles per hour, making the 500-mile journey from Tokyo to Hiroshima a breeze.

Japan has been known for having the highest-quality railroad infrastructure in the world. The country beats out Hong Kong and Switzerland. This is because of their reliability and efficiency, which outperforms car and air travel for less of an environmental hit.

"Look at how fast that thing is," he shared in the video as the train whizzed by him. 

Comprehensive travel infrastructure is essential for reducing the planet-heating carbon pollution that comes from travel. According to a report from the United Nations' Sustainable Transport Conference, a quarter of the world's planet-warming pollution comes from transport. Out of that, just 1% are caused by rail transport, compared to the 45% from passenger road transport.

As the Railway Museum in the United Kingdom stated in an article on Greener Railways, "if we are going to drive and fly significantly less, railways need to be both resilient to climate change and able to operate at a much higher capacity."

As World Nomac's video shows, Japan is doing just that. One study from China on high-speed rail found that this form of travel "unequivocally demonstrates that the introduction of high-speed railways has been instrumental in promoting eco-friendly development, as evidenced by a notable reduction in traditional resource consumption and carbon emissions along the railway routes."

Japan's rail system has proved game-changing, especially when contrasted against America's "car-centric infrastructure." As the BBC wrote in 2021, transport has remained "the single largest source of greenhouse gases in the U.S."

Better transportation systems mean people are not beholden to car travel, so they can make more sustainable decisions.

Commenters in World Nomac's video suggested that the time has come for more countries to adopt this form of travel.

Would you support a tax increase to pay for high-speed rail in your state? Absolutely Probably I don't know No way Click your choice to see results and speak your mind.

"America can easily make it," wrote one commenter, "but [there are] too many complaints of cost."

Another wrote: "We so gotta catch up!"

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