There are two main options you can take to travel from Osaka or kyoto to Tokyo. The most popular and preferred one is riding the Shinkansen (bullet train). A lot of people say that riding the Shinkansen is an experience in itself and it's a must do for them. However, we decided NOT to ride the Shinkansen but ride the overnight bus from Osaka to Tokyo instead, and here's why: Cost: - Shinkansen (1 way) costs 13,620 Yen or 5,100 Php. - Overnight Bus (1 way) costs varies from 3,000 Yen to 11,000 Yen. We selected one of the cheapest but still comfortable bus which costs 4,200 Yen or 1,600 Php. - It's a whopping 3,500 Php difference EACH! Time: - Shinkansen obviously is faster as the whole journey takes 3-4 hours. - Overnight Bus takes around 8-9 hours. - The difference however is that, there is no night trip for Shinkansen and you need to travel during the day. For Bus, you can take the overnight ride which in our case was from 10pm to 7am. So you can sleep during the entire bus ride and immediately go around by day time. Total Savings: - We saved total of 7,000 Php for transportation for the two of us - We saved half a day of itinerary which we used to go to Disneyland in Tokyo - We saved additional 1 day of hotel cost (since we did not have to book 1 day of hotel). Recommendation: - Ride the bus if you want to save time and money. It's very comfortable as they have reclining seats and it's very spacious. Only downside is that you won't be able to see any sights going from Osaka to Tokyo as you'll probably be sleeping the entire time. - Ride Shinkansen, if you plan to travel around 4 cities that are far from each other (not counting Nara, Osaka, Kyoto, Kobe which are near from each other) since that's when Shinkansen unlimited ride will be worth it. If you do the math, even if you go to 2-3 cities, it's still significantly cheaper to ride the bus vs. unlimited JR Pass which costs around 13,000 Php and needs to be bought outside of Japan.
How to Book? - You need to choose among several bus companies. We chose Willer Express Bus (http://willerexpress.com/en/) because of reviews and recommendation from our friends. I also highly recommend this! - You can buy ticket at the venue or online. We booked through online to avoid risk of running out of ticket and also there are discounts at times if you book through online. - Print the confirmation ticket and go the station around 30 mins prior to your scheduled departure time and just show the ticket. All of the staff speak very good English. How to get there? Ride MRT and alight at Umeda Station Exit 5.
Go to the Umeda Sky Building Tower. The Willer Express terminal is located at the ground floor level of the building at TOWER EAST .
Here you can check out different restaurants, mall stores, and even go up the tower at the Floating Garden. To know about the details check their official website here.
There's a powder room to refresh yourself but toilet is located at the basement near the underground restaurant. There's a vending machine to get quick snacks and refreshments. However, if you want to eat a heavy meal, I suggest you go to the underground food court.
Be mindful of the boarding time and your bus number. If you booked online, make sure you have the confirmation printed out for a smoother process. The buses are located just outside the building. You need to present your tickets to the driver and you need to double check the bus number as well!
The seats are surprisingly comfortable for an 8 hour drive. It's cozy because pillows, blankets, and head covers are provided.
NOTE: Boys and girls are not allowed to seat together! We just found out the day itself! all the while, we thought the bus seats are full that's why my boyfriend and I have different seat numbers but we noticed that even group passengers (family) are seated away from each other.
There's also a very small toilet that resembles airline toilets. Now, you don't have to worry if you feel you want to pee or do number 2. Although, there are no outlets inside the bus so you need to bring with you power bank or better yet, turn off your mobile phones for the night to save battery. Also, double check if your bus has toilet because not all buses have one.
Our bus stopped at Shinjuku in Tokyo. But there is no MRT station near by the bus stop so you need to walk around 10 mins to walk to the nearest MRT station.
Disclaimer: This is an old post from my Blogspot account dated December 20, 2014.
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