Yako-bus, the Overnight Busses of Japan
Right now my wife and daughter are down in Kyoto, visiting a friend on the Sea of Japan side the country. There are many choices for traveling around Japan -- by car, by speedy Shinkansen train, or even the cheap-but-slow "Youth 18" train tickets I mentioned a few weeks ago, which let you travel as far as you want on normal (slow) trains for around $20 per day. (Of course the best option for anyone visiting from outside the country is the all-you-can-ride Japan Rail Pass, which unfortunately isn't available to us poor gaijin who live here.) For this trip, my wife opted for one of the overnight busses that are a popular alternative to trains for getting from point A to point B. Basically they're extremely comfortable busses with fully reclinable seats so you can sleep while the driver gets you to your destination by morning. At around $90 to get from our prefecture of Gunma to Kyoto, the cost is significantly lower than a bullet train ticket would be, and best of all you save on hotel fees, since you're sleeping inside the bus.
Comfortable overnight busses are a popular way to travel in Japan, but less romantic than overnight trains.
posted by Peter in Japan at 8:06 PM
7 Comments:
I've only ridden one of the super comfortable yako buses once. And that was back in my student days when I first went from Tokyo to Osaka.
Ever since I've taken the cheapest ones possible (about Y3000) one way from Nagoya to Tokyo, and now the opposite way. Luckily I seem to have mastered the art of sleeping curled in strange positions. Now if only I could stop having annoying drivers who think they have to turn on the lights full force and announce loudly when each rest break is instead of just writing the damn time on the board.
10:06 PM
Wow, 3000 yen to Nagoya is not bad. They're great for busy people since you can do your sightseeing during the day then leave at night, arriving at your destination the next morning.
12:29 AM
We have fine long distance busses in Europe as well, but instead of fully reclinable seats, the interior can be changed from seats to beds in two levels. So around nighttime the bus will pause at a rest stop where passengers will have time to eat a meal and use the restroom facilities, brush teeth and if they are quick get a shower. In the meantime the drivers will change the seats configuration.
3:28 AM
I'm moving to Kyoto in October for Japanese studies for at least a year. Maybe when I'm free from school I'll take one of those buses, or trains with Seishun Kippu, to visit Gunma and maybe see you there! ;) Would be fun to see the J-List office for reals if that's possible. :P
...now i creeped you out! =D
Oh, about Seishun Kippu, only riding with local trains... A Japanese friend of mine told me about a night train, that isn't a Shinkansen, that travels from Osaka to Tokyo! ...in other words, not having to change trains like 6+ times haha... :D
Maybe a tip, to look out for that night train, for people that are gonna travel that distance with Seishun Kippu! :)
(haha, sorry for my half-bad English, I'm Swedish and I'm tired in addition to that :P)
8:47 AM
Rune, that sounds great, I don't think the beds go all the way down here but maybe there are some. That sounds comfortable. In the U.S. there's a stigma against busses, since Greyhound is the cheapest way to travel, and I don't think many go out of their way to use them if they have a choice.
Moroigo, awesome, have fun in Kyoto. I've always wanted to live there. Yes, I once took the train that goes down to Kansai from Tokyo. If you get on after midnight you can go all the way to Kyoto for the $20 fee.
9:56 AM
I'm riding in one of these now by the way. Tethering to the Internet through one's iPhone is fun!
10:06 PM
In recent years there's been an interesting phenomenon in the eastern US; buses that run very cheaply between major cities, on the order of $15 to go from New York City to Boston (or vice versa). The really interesting thing is that it started with Chinese-Americans driving between Chinatowns. (Chinatown in NYC and Chinatown in Boston, in other words.) The staff doesn't speak much English, but it's quite cheap. These are companies like "Fung Wah Bus" and (believe it or not) "Lucky Star Bus".
More recently, American companies like "Bolt Bus" saw the advantage in this business model and started up more cheap bus lines.
Anyway, my ultimate point is: In the US, you take a bus when you want a really good price (and sacrifice comfort). It's not like they're uncomfortable (some even have free Wi-Fi), but they don't have fully reclineable seats last I rode!
11:58 PM
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