THE FASTEST TRAINS ON EARTH: JAPAN'S SHINKANSEN

The island nation of Japan is slightly smaller than California and a mere 20% of the land is inhabited by 128 million residents.  Getting around is quite a challenge and only foreigners are allowed to purchase a Japan Rail Pass, which provides great discounts on the super high-speed trains known as Shinkansen. 

Unlike this simple map from rural Tzuchizawa,

following Japanese subway and train maps can be like unraveling spiders' webs in the dark.  Tokyo's basic subway map is 4 or 5 times more complex than NYC's, AND there are 4 more major train systems which overlap the chaotic urban grid!  That's only the beginning, for passengers must be wary of special wagons where riders choose to remain utterly silent, and other cars expressly for women:

People of all classes rely on train travel in Japan, and the rails are unfailingly clean, quiet, and smooth, so smooth in fact that hard-riding commuters routinely sleep en route.