Thank you very much for your reply.
JR claims about 3901000/ day on the tokaido shinkansen - but that's total riders, not just riders from Tokyo Station
Just found more numbers (not knowing how current or reliable they are), it says that about 140,000 use the Tokyo metro at that Tokyo Station every day, and about 92,000 use JR Central services at Tokyo Station, so 400,000+140,000+92,000 equals 632,000 users a day, which would be pretty similar to the number above cited for New York Penn Station.
Any way you look at it Tokyo station is an amazing [...] place to be.
Many might think, that it is really beneficial that all this rail infrastructure was built, with all these rail services operating now.
Some might think, no matter if it's about New York's Penn Station, or about Tokyo Station, if all these hundreds of thousands of travelers used their own private car instead, how much more congested would the cities and roads be, and how much more pollution would be generated, so many walkable and transit-oriented places would probably not exist then if everything was just planned around the automobile, how big would the economic and non-economic loss be because of even more delays, time lost in traffic jams, health effects etc. So some might think it is appropriate to value and appreciate all the investments and efforts that led to all the benefits that can be enjoyed by use of today's rail infrastructure and services, also for society as a whole.
At the same time, some might think one aspect especially impressive about Tokyo Station, are the high-speed rail services offered there - which might seem especially exceptional when mentioning New York's Penn Station as well. There are so many Shinkansen services at Tokyo Station, offering a fast, frequent and reliable connection to many other cities. It is because the elected representatives of the voting Japanese public made the decisions to make the necessary investments in rail. New York Penn Station also has its current rail services, which is a great achievement in itself. Plans have been made public to create rail infrastructure and rail services similar to the Shinkansen in Japan with The Amtrak Vision for the Northeast Corridor - 2012 Update Report. In order to connect New York with Washington D.C. in 94 minutes, with Boston in 94 minutes, with Philadelphia in 37 minutes and Philadelphia with Washington D.C. in 54 minutes, as well as increase capacity for more and improved commuter rail and conventional inter-city services, annual funding between $2 and $10 billion would be necessary for a time span of about 24 years, according to that plan. While an average of $6 billion annually would just equal 0.15% of the total federal annual expenditures of about $3.9 trillion, and while the USA is the wealthiest country on the planet, it is possible that the elected representatives of the voting American public will not make the decision to make the necessary investments in rail according to that plan, for the nation's most populated region. Some might think that while enthusiasts with the necessary budget will always still be able to go to Japan to experience fast, frequent and reliable rail services, it might be unfortunate for the American population if it was to miss out on the benefits of a similar rail system, and instead would have to put up with the resulting economic loss and non-economic disadvantages.
