This evening I flew 700 miles from Sendai (Miyagi) to Fukuoka rather than taking three bullet trains. At the time of booking I was happy to pay $66 extra to fly.
Current wisdom says flying has advantages over high-speed rail for journeys over about 500 miles (about 800 km).
This data seems consistent with other sources.
This data seems reasonable if we don’t take carbon emissions into account.
The following table compares the journey by air with the equivalent high-speed rail journey.
| Mode | Price (USD) | Door to Door (Hours) | Distance (km) | Carbon Emissions** (Metric Tons) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| High-Speed Rail (3 Bullet Trains) | $207* | 8 | 1530 | .01 |
| Air (Nonstop) | $66 | 5–6 | 1127 | .08 |
*I have a national JR (Japan Rail) Pass. I could’ve chosen rail at no cost. My pass doesn’t cover Nozomi services, which are faster, reducing the journey to 7 hours.
**Source: Carbon Calculator. Emissions are per traveler.
An outlay of $66 reduced the journey by just 2 to 3 hours. Less time sitting is a bonus for me: I got in a full day of hiking and exploring by taking an evening flight. Google is telling me I walked over 39,000 steps today.
However, the pricing doesn’t account for the eight-fold difference in carbon emissions. That’s an issue.
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