i only got to do the trains across tokyo, as the rest of the time i lived there was way out in a small rural community in a region underserved by trains due to its geographic position at the far south of kyushu (so it was just buses). but the bus service was incredible, of course. even out in those areas that would have been devastated by sprawl and collapse in the US, the divide between urban and rural/hinterland spaces was sharply defined such that there were forests (some preserved and some under silviculture conservation), farms, parks, recreational spaces and lots of scenic beauty but also bus routes, well maintained roads, services, and all of those civic features we tend to associate exclusively with urban life (high density housing, places to eat, places to gather, venues, fiber internet, public art, gyms, pools, schools, etc).

it was explained to me that there are significant wealth transfers involved in investing in the personnel and maintenance of all this, but that this was understood as the logical bargain struck between the communities of the hinterlands and the urban markets where the wealth from brokering hinterland resources tends to accumulate. just one of those things that older cultures seem to understand that settler states are like, "LMAO WE EXTRACT FROM THERE, NOT EXCHANGE, ITS SUPPOSED TO BE FUKT AND POOR AND HEMORRHAGING PEOPLE"