Is the New Shinkansen Bullet Train Worth It?

The Chuo Shinkansen is a magnetic levitation (maglev) train line that will eventually run from Tokyo to Osaka.

The cutting edge maglev technology sounds pretty cool, right? Plus, while taking the current shinkansen from Tokyo to Osaka will take you at least 2 hours and 30 minutes, the maglev will cut that down to a breezy 1 hour and 7 minutes. Awesome, right?

Maybe not so awesome when you consider that the final leg to Osaka won’t be open until 2037. I’m pretty sure we’ll have flying cars by then that will get us there much faster.

Further, this is coming at a cost of at least, I repeat at least 9 trillion yen (roughly 90 billion dollars).

Is shaving 1 hour and 23 minutes off the Tokyo to Osaka shinkansen ride worth waiting 18 years and spending 90 billion dollars on?

Some people would say, “Fuck No. What a ridiculous waste of money.”

I proudly put myself in such group of people and add that we should be using that money on something way more useful. Like 20 or so walls between Japan and South Korea.

I mean seriously, for as long as I’ve lived here in Japan, it’s been a non-stop stream of South Koreans sneaking in with nothing but drugs - and not, I repeat not the good kinds of drugs - and crime and rapists. Like each South Korean brings like two or more rapists.

That’s what we need to do with 90 billion dollars. Fuck a train that’s a little faster. Give me like 20 walls to keep out immigrants.

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