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.
