Taking the Night Bus (Willer Express)

As promised last week, today, I will write about taking the night bus. While the Shinkansen is very convenient, it is also very expensive. On my last trip to Tokyo, I've decided to save money by taking the night bus. Taking the night bus also allowed me to spend two whole days in Tokyo since all the traveling was done at night.

As a foreigner with a temporary visitor visa, I am entitled to buy the Willer Bus Pass. For 10,000 yen, I am allowed to take the buses of my choice for 3 days (does not have to be consecutive!) Note that there are certain rules limiting the buses you can take, but they should not yet in your way for normal usage. To put things in perspective, taking the Shinkansen for this trip would have costed me 30,000 yen, with or without the JR Pass.

Buying the pass and booking the ride was very easy, as everything could be done on their English website. The booking system is ticket-less and the bus driver has a list of passengers. You only need to tell them your name when boarding. One thing to note is that, for some bus, seat selection is not possible and your seat will be assigned by the system. If you've booked in groups, you will be automatically seated next to each other. Males and females are also never seated next to each other except if they are in the same group.

The bus terminal with seats for passengers waiting for the bus.
There is no need to check in here, you simply need
to walk to the bus and board when it arrives.

The busses waiting outside

Inside the bus

Once you've boarded the bus, the monitor will show the destination and certain etiquette rules will be played. If I remember correctly, the description is provided in Japanese, English, Korean and Chinese.

Instead of a safety manual, there is an etiquette manual.

The "relax" series seat. The seat can also be reclined quite far.

At first, all lights will remain on. After all the passengers are picked up from the various pick up points, the bright light will be turned off. The remaining light will be turned off after stopping at the first service area. There are also thick curtains to prevent lights from outside from getting in.

Talking about service area, the bus will stop at service area for toilet breaks every approximately two to three hours. The toilets at the service areas are unexpectedly very clean (compared to Thai toilets) and you can also buy souvenirs at the shops there. The stop at each service area lasts for approximately 20 minutes. Protip: Don't bother booking a bus with a toilet because it will stop at service areas anyway.

One of the service areas

When you get down, you will be given a card with the bus' plate number.

Overall, the bus ride was more comfortable than I had expected. I normally find it very difficult to sleep on busses or planes, but I have managed to sleep without much issue. Of course, it isn't as good as sleeping on a bed at home or at a hotel, but it was one of the most comfortable nights I've spent in a vehicle.