Yeah but a trip to the airport is literally half your day at least. Getting dropped off, TSA, waiting for an hour just for boarding and takeoff, baggage claim, etc. -- There's so much overhead in plane rides for short trips.

A bullet train from Tokyo to Osaka runs you $100 each way without any of that. Even the cheap seats are spacious, along with awesome food to boot.

Train rides can be so much more than the sad "afterthought" we've made them in America.