Railway times in Japan and Scandinavia
Railroads compared

Rail travel between major cities in Japan is faster and has fewer stops than travel between Scandinavian cities.
Japanstopschange
trains
rail
miles
direct
miles
hrsminaverage
mph
yendollarsdollars
/mile
Sendai - Tokyo2021818714211010,790910.49
Tokyo - Kyoto503182322448513,4201140.49
Kyoto - Hiroshima4Osaka2361932128810,990930.48
sum or average1137736126389235,2002980.49
Scandinavian Capitalsstopschange
trains
rail
miles
direct
miles
hrsminaverage
mph
SEKdollarsdollars
/mile
Copenhagen - Oslo14Malmo
Goteborg
300817369511410.47
Oslo - Stockholm152596842529780.30
Stockholm - Copenhagen10Malmo324517611,1371680.52
Shinkansen Stewardess
sum or average3958831947452,6173870.44
Denmarkstopschange
trains
rail
miles
direct
miles
hrsminaverage
mph
DKKdollarsdollars
/mile
Copenhagen - Esbjerg17Kolding16131649302560.35
Norwaystopschange
trains
rail
miles
direct
miles
hrsminaverage
mph
NOKdollarsdollars
/mile
Oslo - Bergen14189641287281250.66
Oslo - Trondheim15244641378101390.57
Trondheim - Bodo20289945308101610.56
sum or average493722237312,4754250.59
Train to Trondheim
Prices are for 2nd class reserved seats with departures in mid-morning. In Japan, travel times and costs are for the Hikari or Komachi trains, which are available on the Japan Rail pass, not the faster Nozomi trains, which are not available using the Japan Rail Pass. Mph and $/mile are calculated using the direct, straight line distances, not the actual railroad miles. Currency exchange rates as of 8/12/07, $1 USD = 5.43 DKK, 5.82 NOK, 6.76 SEK, 118 yen. A Japan Rail or Scanrail Pass would save money if you plan extensive traveling. There are additional reservation fees with a Scanrail pass but not with a Japan Rail Pass.
Robert Karis
www.sfog.us