Originally Posted by noah
Why are so many in the US so resistant to taking trains? Believe it or not, it can actually be a more preferable experience than dealing with traffic, getting lost, etc.
Absolutely - but sometimes a car is a better option. For example, we are a family of four travelling to a rural area poorly served by public transit. Four Japan Rail passes would be about $1000 us for 7 days versus $576 for a Toyota Camry for 5 days from Hertz (plus gas obviously). I'm looking forward to getting lost in Japan!