木村：こうして盛岡まで3時間で行けるなんて、新幹線ができて本当に便利になりましたね。
佐藤：ええ、それに列車もエアコンが効いていて快適でしたね。
Kaiteki
Kimura: Kooshite Morioka made san-jikan de ikeru nan te, shinkansenga
dekite hontoo ni benri ni narimashita ne.
Satoo: Ee, sore ni ressha mo eakon ga kiite ite kaiteki deshita ne.
Kimura: It's amazing that you can get to Morioka in three hours Hike this. The Shinkansen has really made life a lot easier, hasn't it?
Sato: Yes, and with the air-conditioning on it's really comfortable, too.
Kaiteki means pleasing, pleasant, agreeable, or comfortable.
I'm on the Tohoku Shinkansen, heading away from Tokyo toward Morioka. Out of the window the green of the countryside stretches out, and I find myself amazed at how much greenery there actually is in Japan. Enjoying the view of rice fields and the farm houses that stand nearby, I think to myself, Hiroi ie wa, kitto kaiteki ni chigainai (I'm sure it must be comfortable to live in one of those big houses).
When you live in the city, you get used to living in cramped conditions, whereas in the countrysideyou could live in a much more spacious house for the same price. Virtually none of the houses I see through the window look anything less than well-to-do. Mukashi no hito kara mini to, Nihonjin no ima no seikatsu wa kaiteki sono mono ni chigainai (To people of older generations the Japanese standard of living today must seem like the epitome of comfort).
Even in the provinces there are all the conveniences of life in the city - cars, supermarkets, electrical goods - and on top of that there is such beautiful clean air. If I were asked, Tokai to chiho to dochira no seikatsu ga kaiteki desho ne (Which do you think is more comfortable, life in the city or life in the country?), I do not think I would hesitate in answering life in the country.
Young people today, however, find life in the countryside boring and unstimulating. The evidence of this is that the countryside is rapidly becoming underpopulated, leaving only older people and children living there. Nendai ni yotte mo, nani wo kaiteki to omou ka ni wa chigaiga arimasune. (There's a difference in what people of different age groups think of as being comfortable). I'm sure the same can be said about any country of the world.
There is obviously a big difference between observing life in the country as you pass through on your way somewhere and actually living there. A friend of mine who lives in the country told me, Kaiteki da nan te, tonde mo nai (You're very much mistaken if you think it's so pleasant). "People around you are always watching your every move; there's no freedom at all." Perhaps it's just human nature to feel dissatisfied with life wherever you live.