Udonko makes her maiden voyage on an overnight bus, but will she regret the decision?

“Take the Shinkansen” is the default answer to the question of how to travel between many places in Japan, but it’s not a perfect solution. While the bullet train is often the fastest way to make domestic trips, it’s also often the most expensive, and a similar tradeoff applies to many of Japan’s other premium express trains too.

So our Japanese-language reporter Udonko found herself in a bit of a quandary recently while planning a trip to Kyoto to attend a school reunion. The reunion was happening right after another trip Udonko already had lined up as part of her doujinshi fandom, and while she was happy to have a full social calendar, it was leaving her wallet looking kind of empty, and she started looking for more affordable ways to get between her home in Niigata Prefecture and Kyoto. Making that trip by Shinkansen would cost Udonko around 21,000 yen (US$138), but she discovered that she could take an overnight bus for roughly a third of the cost, just a little over 7,000 yen, instead.

The bus would take longer, about seven hours compared to the four and a half hours by Shinkansen. However, since she’d be making the journey while, ostensibly, getting her sleep for the night, that time difference shouldn’t really matter, right? Udonko’s bigger worry, though, was comfort. She’s taken a couple of long, multi-hour highway bus rides before, and usually gets off with her back in some pretty serious pain for having spent so much time in a cramped, unergonomic seat.

Round-trip Shinkansen tickets weren’t going to fit in Udonko’s budget, but since this would be her first time ever to take an overnight bus, she decided on a half-and-half approach, taking the Shinkansen to Kyoto, and then the overnight bus back to Niigata. On the day of her return leg, she headed to the Hotel Keihan, just a block south of Kyoto Station, from where her bus would be departing at 11:20 p.m.

Udonko had booked a ticket with Willer, one of Japan’s most popular overnight bus travel providers. Unfortunately, for the route and day Udonko was traveling, the only available bus was a four-seats-per-row type. This meant that there would be someone sitting directly next to her, as opposed to the situation on a three-seats-per-row bus where there are aisles between every seat.

However, Udonko breathed a sigh of relief when she got onboard saw that this bus, outfitted with Willer’s “Relax”-type seats, has some clever ways of reducing the potential awkwardness of sitting/sleeping next to a stranger.

As shown in the promotional image above, the Relax seats are fitted with canopies that fold down and forward from your headrest. Coupled with a high partition between seats, it helps create an atmosphere of privacy despite the close quarters.

▼ Udonko’s self portrait of herself settling into her overnight bus seat.

The design of the canopy prevents unintended eye contact, but the covering doesn’t come down so low as to make you feel blindfolded or claustrophobic. As shown in Udonko’s sketch below, you can still see out from underneath it, with your line of sight extending partway up the seatback in front of you.

As for the seat itself, it was roomy and comfy. Udonko is 169 centimeters (five foot five inches) tall, but she had plenty of room to stretch out her legs. The seatback was already partially reclined when she sat down, and though she could push it back even farther, it felt fine just as it was, and the angle presented no problems for her in getting to sleep either. The seat material was nice and soft, and while it wasn’t as luxurious as a mattress, it was much better than any other bus she’s ridden on.

Blankets are provided, but pillows are not, so you might want to bring a travel pillow for your neck, like Udonko did. With her canopy down, her pillow in place, and the vehicle’s interior lights turned off not long after departure, Udonko was surprised at how quickly she fell asleep, and it was a reasonably deep sleep too. Though she woke up once or twice during the night, she fall back asleep quickly and easily. By the time her eyes opened and she couldn’t sleep anymore, it was morning, after 6 a.m., and only about 10 minutes until her arrival in Niigata, which was right on time with what Willer had said it would be.

▼ Home sweet home

Getting off the bus, Udonko felt like her legs were a little swollen, but she had almost no stiffness at all in her back and joints. She did take a long nap once she got back to her apartment, but overall her first experience taking an overnight bus was so positive and pleasant that she’s keen to try it again the next time she’s traveling, especially since once she’s used to it she figures she’ll be able to have a full day of fun at her destination once she gets off the bus bright and early in the morning.

Related: Willer
Top image: SoraNews24
Insert images: PR Times (1, 2), SoraNews24
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