1) It's Cheap - As mentioned above, night bus travel is dirt cheap. There are a LOT of companies out there, and a lot of demand for travel which is a great recipe for competition and cheap fares. I usually take the cheapest buses (about 3000 yen from Osaka to Tokyo one way) but if you value comfort they offer buses with better seats, WIFI, and more space for an extra one to two thousand yen. Sure you could spend 4X that on the shinkansen and get their in 1/4 the time, but wouldn't you rather arrive with an extra ichiman in your pocket to spend on souvenirs booze, or your plane ticket to get to Japan in the first place?
2) They're everywhere! Even in rural ass Japan (Yamanashi) they had a pick up spot along the expressway. The pick-up was basically a rest stop for travelers between two big cities. The rural stops tend to be more expensive, but still a good way to travel, but the buses do show up early so it is best to get there 20 min before your departure. My buddy and I had to sprint through a food court and parking lot because the bus driver was calling to ask where we were...15 minutes before the scheduled departure!
3) Rest Stops - The buses I've been on stop every 2 hours or so. In my half awake fog I don't remember much about the rest stops, but what I do remember is that they sell a lot of regional goods. For example, when traveling to Tokyo from Osaka, the rest stops in between offer the regional Kit Kats from Osaka, Kyoto, Tokyo, and everywhere in between. It is pretty convenient if you forgot to pick up some omiyage (Japan is a souvenir culture) or if you're like me and just want to try some of the hundreds of Kit Kat flavors (spoiler alert: they're all awesome!)
Rum Raisin (bottom right) actually lists a small alcohol content. It was メッチャ tasty
And the Wasabi (middle left) was less subtle than I remember
4) Touchaku! - Getting to your destination at 6am is pretty awesome. You have the whole day ahead of you so you can go straight to work, breakfast, shower at a manga cafe, wherever. Be sure to pick up a complimentary toothbrush on your way out to cure that morning breath. The down side is most department stores don't open till 10 or 11, so you need to kill some time before you can do some shopping and eat free samples of roll cake and whatnot. I try to get my sight seeing in early before everything gets hot and crowded.
Are there downsides? Of course. You could be stuck sitting next to a salary man that smells like a chimney had sex with a pile of wet garbage, but its all part of the experience!
Are there downsides? Of course. You could be stuck sitting next to a salary man that smells like a chimney had sex with a pile of wet garbage, but its all part of the experience!
