Travelling in Japan By Bus
 

I want to travel to a few destinations in Japan from Tokyo but when I look through bus travel it seems that they don't operate during the summer months when looking at their schedules. Where do I go to travel by bus? Here are the companies that I was interested in regarding bus travel but they don't operate during the summer months:

EASY BOOKING WITH 123 bus Japan / English service available.

高速バス,夜行バスならオリオンツアー,ＥＮＧＬＩＳＨ� ��内,inbound

I think they probably do travel during summer, but they only book about 3 months ahead, so they don't have any bookings available for summer yet. That is my guess...

I see. Thanks for clearing that up.

Is it best to get a one-way pass and head to different cities if you plan to visit a few cities? For example, from Tokyo to Osaka, from Osaka to Nagoya or elsewhere, from there to Nagano, etc. Not sure which cities to visit and in which order yet. Would this be a wise option?

With the Japan Rail Pass you have to use your pass within 7, 14, etc. days of first use which causes you to keep going from train to train and only spending a single day in the cities you're visiting. Is this correct? I was hoping to stay maybe a few or several days in a city that I like so that's why I want to travel by bus. I get to set my own arrival and departure dates.

So if I go to Kyoto by bus, how much will it cost to travel from Kyoto to Osaka, Nara or Kobe? Is it best to take the train between these destinations since they're close by each other?

So from those two websites which cities do you recommend visiting? Any insights?

You can travel around between cities in the Kansai area much easier by train. There are numerous trains throughout the day, no reservations needed, and it's only a few dollars for the ticket (maybe $10 - $15 or less). I never took a bus if I could take a train instead.

Yes, the rail pass is for consecutive days. You can stay in a city to explore it if you want, but it still counts off your rail pass. You may want to look into a juhachi kippu instead.

As for which places to visit in Kansai, it depends upon what you enjoy. I'd suggest Osaka, Himeji, Koya-san, Nara, and Kyoto, and there are other places to see nearby as well. IMO the Kansai area has much more to see than the Tokyo area.

There is also a night bus from Tokyo to Osaka if you can sleep on a bus, don't mind missing all the scenery along the way, and prefer to have the daylight hours to see the cities themselves...

Thanks for the help. I'm looking into the Seishun ticket and it seems like a good deal. The only problem is that they're effective from July 20 - Sept. 10 during the summer and I most likely won't be in Japan during these dates. I should be able to catch the Seishun deal if I go during the winter.

I still haven't bought plane tickets but will most likely go before this time since prices seem cheaper. How bad is the rainy season in Japan? Bad enough so that you're stuck indoors most of the time unless you want to constantly be under an umbrella and can't take any pictures without getting your camera wet?

So you can use those 5 days with the Seishun ticket whenever you want unlike the JR Rail Pass which expires within 7 consecutive days after first use? If so, I guess it's most wise to use it for long distances to really get your money's worth and not use it within the Kansai region if travelling close distances. I'll closer study what this ticket is all about. I'm getting my info from here:

Seishun 18 Ticket - Wikitravel

Yes, all of that is correct. The juhachi kippu days are not continuous, but it's only sold certain times of the year. It's for traveling longer distances or when making round trips in the same day. It works out to about $22 per ticket, so if all the JR rail tickets you plan to buy during the day add up to less than this, it's not worth using one of the all day passes. Just traveling within the Kansai area you may not save very much. I only used them for my longer trips, like to Hiroshima or Takayama, when they become a very good deal. You should be fine just buying ordinary train tickets within the Kansai area.

Also, that website describes a night train from Tokyo to Kansai, near the bottom of the page, called the Moonlight Nagara, which you might also consider.

Have you looked into buying a plane ticket directly to Kansai International Airport, to avoid having to get from Narita/Tokyo to the Kansai area?

I was planning on visiting Tokyo first before going to all of these other places. Isn't my best chance to get a cheap ticket to Japan by flying to Narita? I may weigh my options and see which of those two airports I can get the best price for plane tickets.

Unless you have serious time to kill, I can`t say that the bus from Tokyo to Osaka is a good way to go. It`s faster than regular trains, but a lot slower than the shinkansen. I took an express bus from Nagoya to Tokyo, and it literally took the entire day. (Okay, maybe not that bad, but it was a good 6 or 7 hour trip.) That may not sound like it`s killing a whole day, but really, it is. Unless you`re GREAT at sleeping on buses, or go on a night bus that happens to have beds..... You aren`t really going to feel like doing anything after a trip that long.

To compare, we also recently took the shinkansen to Tokyo - about an hour and a half. We sat down, ate our lunches, talked for a bit, then after playing for a little while on DS or PSP - we were there. It seemed almost *too* short.

I`ve also done the regular train with a 18-kippu to Tokyo one, and that was just too awful to consider doing again. 9 or 10 hours if you include changing trains, which you do VERY often on the regular lines. Ended up splurging and taking the shinkansen about half the way back because the thought of doing it again made me feel ill.
Then again, my husband apparently went all the way up to Hokkaido that way before we met... But he only rode the train for about 4 to 6 hours a day and stopped in a bunch of places along the way.

Buses do have a good point though - they are cheap, and are easy.
Their prices are comparable to regular trains. And they`re easier than trains if you just want to relax on your trip. The bus goes straight to the destination, no matter where it is, so you don`t have to think about changing trains. Once you`re on a bus, you can relax until they get there.

Thanks for the detailed explanation. I guess I will skip the Seishun ticket because I would much rather just relax without worrying about switching trains and would much rather take the bus since you said it's faster. The shinkansen isn't desireable because of the price and I'd like to budget my money. I'm not sure if I could sleep on the bus but as long as it has a toilet then I'm good. Are you allowed to drink alcohol on the bus? Well, it's not like they'll check my bag anyway. Perhaps if I do then I'll have an easier time of falling asleep on the bus.

Going from Tokyo to Nagoya and seeing Nagoya and then going from Nagoya to Osaka by bus seems like a nice plan. From Osaka I may just take the train around the various area in the Kansai region like Nara, Kyoto and Kobe. So for my first trip to Japan, would it be a good plan to start in Tokyo, travel to Nagoya, Osaka, Nara, Kobe and Kyoto? Any other cities I should check out perhaps? Mt. Fuji worth it or overrated? Yokohama? All this speak about Nagoya makes me wonder if there's much to do or see there. Please give some advice.

This site has the bus guide from Tokyo to Fukuoka for only 4,800 yen. Just looking at the map and the vast distance between these two cities strikes me as being unbelievable. It seems like it would literally take an entire day to reach there by bus and it seems like a grueling journey. How the hell do they make money for that particular trip?
Check Tokyo <-> Fukuoka on this site:

EASY BOOKING WITH 123 bus Japan / English service available.

Anyway, thanks for the insights Samurai and Nyororin. Please keep the advice coming. This is helping me greatly.

This has nothing to do with the bus topic but I don't see the need to make another topic so I'll ask here. I want to budget my money on this trip as much as possible since the trip may last close to 2 months but I haven't decided yet on how long exactly. Anyone have any insights on working at a youth hostel for a couple of hours for a free room? Any tips on what type of food places to look for to get some good Japanese food? Is going during late-May until sometime in July a good plan? So many questions! I'm still thinking how I should approach buying a ticket to Japan.

I'll probably do a bunch of research on the going rates for tickets and try to get the best possible price. Priceline has a feature where you can bid on your own price on how much you're willing to pay for a ticket. It says you can save up to 40% from the cheapest posted flights. I also don't mind stopping over at 2 stops or flying during less desireable times in the morning like 5 a.m. or so. I'm also looking at IACE and JTBUSA for plane tickets but I may have to call them to get the best rate since they dont' list the total price of their tickets. Anyone have any stories about getting some good deals that saved a bunch of money on plane tickets? I may even call a travel agent since they may offer a better price than what's stated online.

I need to plan this trip carefully because I decided to go on this trip alone since I've always wanted to go to Japan and I won't let anyone try to taint my experience! I can always meet other people along my travels. Any tips about anything Japan would be greatly appreciated.