At
some major airports in Japan, rail services connect to heart of
the city. But in many case, taking limousine buses are most
convenient way to travel between the airport and the city center,
the suburbs.Travel Japan by Bus !
Welcome to Japan and THE BUS ROOM ! This page will provide you tips about travelling Japan by bus. Though I'm not good at English, (even I've never been abroad more than 32years !), I'll make efforts to make foreign traveller enjoy her or his bus travel. I would be glad if someone advised me on writing this page in English.
From/To Airport by Bus
At
some major airports in Japan, rail services connect to heart of
the city. But in many case, taking limousine buses are most
convenient way to travel between the airport and the city center,
the suburbs.
For example, you travel from Kansai Airport(Osaka) to Kobe by train, you must change trains at least once. If you select a bus, you'll be able to travel directly, you'll not have to change buses midway.
But traffic jams often occur on the way, so I recommend you to take trains if your itinerary is tight.
Many limousine bus services adopt "first come, first seated" system. You should simply buy a ticket at vending machine before boarding, or drop chash into the fare-box on board. At several services, reservation is compulsory.(Some long distance service)
You can get more information from certain carriers' web site.
| AIRPORT | CARRIER | MAJOR CITIES LINKED BY BUS |
| Tokyo/Narita(NRT) Tokyo/Haneda(HND) |
Airport Transport
Service (Tokyo Kuko Kotsu) |
Tokyo(Major Hotels & Railway terminals), Tokyo Disney Resort, Yokohama, Chiba,Saitama(Omiya), etc. |
| Osaka/Kansai(KIX) | Kansai Airport Transportation Enterprise | Osaka(Major Hotels & Railway terminals), Universal Studios Japan, Kyoto, Kobe, Nara, Wakayama etc. |
| Osaka/Itami(ITM) | Osaka Airport Transport | Osaka(Major Hotels & Railway terminals), Universal Studios Japan, Kyoto, Kobe, Nara, Himeji etc |
Intercity Highway Bus
In Japan, inter-city bus services, which use express-ways, are highly developed.
From major cities(Tokyo,Osaka etc) to another distant cities, many overnight bus services are provided. Fully reclining and independent 1-1-1 per row assigned seat, lavatory equipment, blanket... are standard accommodations of these overnight express bus. Some services provide complimentary soft drinks.
Daytime intercity services are also provided throughout the nation. Many short-range services provide frequent service. For example, 5-6 services an hour are provided at Tokyo-Tsukuba line. Recently, long-distance daytime services (around 500km) begin to provide between several cities. Travellers can enjoy landscape from the window leisurely.
The fares of these inter-city buses are quite reasonable. As compared with train's fare, it costs only 40-70% to travel by bus. Reservation is necessary at almost all overnight services and many daytime services. Some daytime services don't use reservation system. For foreign travellers, taking travel agent (JTB etc.) is good way to make reservation smoothly.
Regular Sightseeing Bus & Intracity Bus
MAY INTRODUCE SOON...