Many aspects of the Japanese public transit system are connected to the culture. For example, I was surprised that when I enter a bus, there is no place to pay. It turns out that you pay before leaving the bus, not when entering. Japanese culture puts so much value on honesty that people don't try to sneak off the bus without paying, so the bus drivers can trust people to pay before leaving. Similarly, when I first came here I was surprised that people rarely talk when riding buses or trains. In Japanese culture, people are very careful not to disturb others. Therefore, they talk very quietly or not at all, to make sure that the people around them are comfortable.
Finally, Japan's public transportation system is also related to the environment. Japan has one of the highest population densities in the world, which means there are a lot more people living in the same area. For example, in the average one-mile by one-mile square, there are ten times as many people living in Japan than in the U.S. For every student in your class, imagine nine more of them stuffed into your classroom. That is how crowded Japan can get. Therefore, if every person had a car, there would be traffic jams all the time. It would be impossible to move around. That is why Japan needs such a good public transportation system. There are so many people living in such a small space that there needs to be fast and reliable ways to get them around.
