Ever wonder how many ickies are lying around on public transportation? You know the stuff: stray hairs, boogers, airborne dandruff and assorted other human-borne detritus.

If today's train ride to and from Kyoto today is anything to go by, the abandoned booger count is high. The train today hosted several booger-digging folks on their way to the Hanshin Horse race track in Nigawa, appeared mildly unstable, as most compluslive gamblers tend to be. As you might have inferred by now, several of them were seated inches from yours truly.

While everyone has the right to pick their nose, discretion when in public would be a favor to all.

On an undenaiably more positive note however, Japan's mass transit network is fast, on-time and your chances of having your wallet lifted or being stuck with a shiv here is lower than other large metro areas in other parts of the world. The safest I ever felt on a train was in Washington, D.C. No punk is going to mess with a train car full of Marines!

The coolest train is the "bullet," or Shinkansen, zips along at over 200 km/h which certainly is a step up from Amtrack, the long distance train service I used in the US. In its defense, Amtrack provides very helpful and friendly staff on its trains, but its network is not far-reaching, as train travel in America peaked in the 1950's, as the interstate freeway system was expanded.