Night bus Tokyo to Kyoto/Osaka?

A Japanese friend of mine told me about this service but she's never used it. Has anyone ever taken a night bus from Tokyo to Kyoto or Osaka (or back the other way)? What I'm really wondering is if you were able to sleep on the ride. I'm only in Japan for 5 days and I'm trying to spend as little as possible before I continue on to Thailand. Can I kill two birds with one stone by getting to see Kyoto and avoiding two nights of accommodation fees?

Sleeping on the overnight buses is similar to sleeping in economy seats on a plane. I didn't sleep all that much, but my girlfriend (who can sleep anywhere) slept through most of it. You'll need to book in advance if you want to have guaranteed seats especially if your travel dates line up around the weekend or holidays.

In addition to the 2 nights accommodation it will also save you quite a bit of money over taking the train.

The night buses in Japan are definitely for sleeping. The driver will actually make an announcement saying as much, warning against talking and listening to MP3s at a high volume. The lights go out and most people sleep. I usually get a bit of sleep. The problem is, the cheaper night buses don't have too much leg room. Also, the cheaper night buses don't have lavatories. The bus stops every 3 hours or so at a rest stop (free green tea!). I have taken the night buses quite a bit. I like that they arrive at the destination early. Great way to start the day bright and early (store bags in a locker at the station until check-in).

Sounds good apart from the limited leg room - I'm 6'3, is that likely to make it REALLY uncomfortable?

Does anyone know roughly what price the buses are?

Try http://www.orion-tour.co.jp/english/kansai/

I saw you had some other Japan questions on another thread. I'd post some links to previous threads, but I haven't quite sorted out the new layout. If you can figure out how to search do a search on Japan with Ewan as the author as he had some recommendations for minimizing costs. If you search my name, halfnine, you will see quite a few threads on Japan as well

That's great, thanks.. I'll have a look after work. I had tried to use the search function but couldn't get it to work - not figured it all out yet as I'm new here!

I met a guy in Kyoto last week who had just arrived on the night bus from Tokyo. He said people who had done it beforehand had advised him to down a few drinks before, so he drank three beers and slept like a baby.

Good advice halfnine - Ewan has made some very interesting posts!


Andromeda, I'll be sure to bear that in mind - a few sakes before bed-time!

Has anyone had experience of leg room in these buses? There is a 40cm, 43cm and 62cm option - obviously increasing in price with the more centimetres you want! I really don't fancy being too cramped on one of these if I want to sleep, even after a few drinks!!

I went back and looked at what we took. Since we paid 8800 yen for the Tokyo/Kyoto round trip, it looks like we went with the 40 cm option. Which makes sense. Since she isn't that big and we end up sharing the space I tend to get a bit more space anyway. At 6'3 if you don't want to be cramped, you'll probably want more width. I don't know how the different widths affect the legroom, though.

The only thing I will add about Japan is that if you really want to enjoy all that Japan has to offer you really have to be willing to spend a few extra dollars. Sumo, sushi, ryokans, baseball, etc. they are all worthwhile. And Japan has some incredible festivals that are worth seeing if you're there at the right time.