Japan’s Highway Buses

Skipping the Trains to Cut Costs

Domestic travel in Japan has a reputation for being on the expensive side. Especially as a backpacker, it sometimes seems mind-boggling how everyone can afford it! The truth is the more well-known travel methods are actually not affordable for large swaths of the population. Luckily though that doesn’t mean that you can’t travel to many of the country’s sites on a budget (including those off the beaten path).

By far the cheapest way for most people to travel around the country is via highway buses. While they may take a little bit more planning than the Shinkansen, they make transportation possible at only a fraction of the cost. In fact during low seasons, it’s possible to get from Tokyo to Nagoya for only 1,500 yen, or to Osaka for only 2,000 yen. Buses from Tokyo to destinations in Northern Japan, Central Japan and others are also widely available.

Highway Buses are Hard to Reserve

The benefits of highway buses are not without their hurdles for foreign travelers though. For starters, there are only a few bus companies with sites in English and they tend to be more expensive than those…