A Brief Introduction to Japanese Overnight Buses

The Hakata service, the longest overnight service in Japan, runs between Tokyo and Fukuoka, taking about 14 hours.

Photo: The bus above is leaving from Tokyo Shinjuku.

Here is a brief introduction to Japanese overnight buses.

Bus travel is convenient, comfortable, well priced and fun when compared to other means of transport in Japan such as Airplanes, trains (Shinkansen, limited expresses) and ferryboats.
These buses run between one city and another via expressways. Since the beginning of the 1990s, these services have steadily been increasing in tandem with expressway extensions. Impressive bus networks exist nationwide.

Moreover, overnight buses leave at night and arrive the next morning, saving on a night’s accommodation expenses, and allowing more time at the destination.

Let’s take an overnight bus!

Services available:

There are various routes existing throughout the country: short and middle distances (less than 300 km) as well as long distance (more than 300 km).
Normal services have one driver, but the Nihon Kotsu company, has several services between Osaka and the Sanin area which use two drivers.
Depending on the operator, they use either super high or high-decker buses, with rows of three or four seats and a toilet. But these passenger services are not provided on short routes.


The Tohoku Express Bus company has been operating between Tokyo and Sendai, Yamagata since the 1960s.	The "Phoenix" service between Fukuoka and Miyazaki is operated by the Nishi Nippon Railroad.

Overnight buses generally depart from major city centers at night; and arrive at their destinations early the next morning. Most of the journeys are 300 kilometers plus.
Two drivers drive alternate 2 hour shifts, changing over at service areas on the expressway. During their breaks they can sleep in a bed next to the bus storage compartment. There are some one-drives services however, on shorter distances (Tokyo ‹–› Sendai, Tokyo ‹–› Nagoya, Osaka ‹–› Kofu, Osaka ‹–› Hiroshima, etc), the cheapest services ("Seishun Dream", "Casual Twinkle" etc), and JR "Dream" services between Tokyo and the Kansai area. The driver hands over to waiting colleagues from other offices on the route.
The bus has 10 rows of 3 individual seats, separated by two aisles. However, the Seibu Bus company (Niigata and Joetsu services), the Tohoku Express Bus company (the Okayama route) and the cheapest services (see above) have 10 rows of 2+2 pair seats with separated by an aisle.
Presently, several operators are introducing double-decker buses to increase their seating capacities and maximise their returns.

Super High-decker buses Super High-decker buses are commonly used on overnight services nationwide.

The "Zondag" bus which operates between Nagoya and Fukuoka (Meitetsu Bus).	The "Hakata" bus operates between Tokyo Shinjuku and Fukuoka (Nishi Nippon Railroad).

Double-decker buses Double-decker buses were firstly introduced on the JR "Dream" bus service, but recently a huge number of operators are using such vehicles.

The "Dream Osaka" bus operating between Tokyo and Osaka (Nishinihon JR Bus).	The Kintetsu Bus company use double-deckers on several route. This is the "Crystal Liner" bus service which operates between Osaka, Kyoto and Kofu.