Night Buses from Tokyo to Osaka and Kyoto (JR Night Buses) | Times, Travel Time, Fares, Booking, Luggage Size, Toilets

Overview

From Tokyo to Osaka and Kyoto, there are night buses that leave Tokyo in the evening and arrive the next morning. This article covers the night buses run by the JR bus companies (JR Bus Kanto and West Japan JR Bus). Night buses run by other bus companies have different times, fares and luggage rules.

• You board at the Yaesu South Exit of Tokyo Station or at Busta Shinjuku (the expressway bus terminal on the south side of Shinjuku Station). In Osaka, you get off at Osaka Station JR Expressway Bus Terminal. Some buses also stop at Kyoto Station.
• Timetable example: Gran Dream 1 leaves Tokyo Station Yaesu South Exit at 21:30, leaves Busta Shinjuku at 22:10, and arrives at Osaka Station JR Expressway Bus Terminal at 5:59 the next day. Counting from the times in the timetable, the time from leaving Tokyo Station Yaesu South Exit to arriving at Osaka Station JR Expressway Bus Terminal is 8 hours 29 minutes.
• Fares change depending on the travel date, the bus and the seat type. On October 29, 2026, we checked the one-way adult fare from Tokyo Station to Osaka Station on the official booking site. Across all the buses running on each day, the fares shown, from the lowest to the highest, were ¥4,000 (tax included) to ¥8,000 (tax included) on November 18, 2026 (Wednesday) and ¥6,900 (tax included) to ¥10,000 (tax included) on November 21, 2026 (Saturday). See "Costs" in this article for details.
• All seats are reserved, and you buy a ticket before you board. Tickets go on sale at 10:00 one month and one day before your travel date. For example, tickets for travel on May 1 go on sale at 10:00 on March 30, which is one month before April 30, the day before May 1.
• Luggage in the luggage compartment under the bus is limited to about 1 piece per person, up to 10 kg, with the length, width and height added together up to 1.5 m (JR buses between Tokyo and Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe). A large suitcase may not fit. See "Good to know" in this article for details.
• You cannot ride these night buses with the Japan Rail Pass. The official Japan Rail Pass website says the pass cannot be used on the expressway buses of the JR bus companies.

Your options

Bus names and seat types

The JR night buses between Tokyo and Osaka/Kyoto run under the following names.

• The JR Bus Kanto timetable says that Seishun Eco Dream seats are on the lower deck of the double-decker Gran Dream bus.
• Some buses have women-only seats and some do not. The JR Bus Kanto timetable (in Japanese) shows, for each bus, whether it has women-only seats.
• Dream Relier is a different bus that runs between Tokyo and Osaka on a separate timetable. This article covers the times of Gran Dream and Seishun Eco Dream.
• There are no drink vending machines on the bus. The JR Bus Kanto FAQ advises buying drinks before you board.

Times of buses from Tokyo to Osaka

These are the times of buses from Tokyo Station Yaesu South Exit to Osaka Station JR Expressway Bus Terminal, from the JR Bus Kanto timetable (revised August 1, 2026).

• Buses with no note about operating days in the timetable leave Tokyo Station Yaesu South Exit between 21:30 and 23:10 and arrive at Osaka Station JR Expressway Bus Terminal between 5:59 and 7:41 the next day.
• There are also buses marked in the timetable as "runs on specific days" or "runs mainly on Fridays, Saturdays, Sundays and public holidays."

• In the timetable, some buses stop at Kyoto Station Karasuma Exit and some do not. If you want to get off in Kyoto, check in the timetable or on the booking site whether your bus stops at Kyoto Station Karasuma Exit.
• The bus takes breaks at service areas and parking areas along the way. The JR Bus Kanto timetable says the rest stops and break times may change depending on road conditions and other factors.

Times of buses from Osaka to Tokyo

Timetable example: Gran Dream 2 leaves Osaka Station JR Expressway Bus Terminal at 21:30 and arrives the next day at Busta Shinjuku at 5:24 and at Tokyo Station Nihombashi Exit at 5:49.

• On buses to Tokyo, the drop-off point at Tokyo Station is Tokyo Station Nihombashi Exit, which is different from the boarding point (Yaesu South Exit).

Step by step

How to buy tickets

1. Choose your bus. Tickets go on sale at 10:00 one month and one day before your travel date. The JR Bus Kanto FAQ counts it this way: for tickets for travel on May 1, first take the day before, April 30; tickets then go on sale on March 30, one month before that.
2. Book and buy your ticket on an official booking site. There are two booking sites: Kousokubus.net in Japanese, and Japan Expressway Bus Net in English, Korean and Chinese (Simplified and Traditional).
3. After booking, pay by the set deadline. The JR Bus Kanto FAQ says that if you do not pay by the deadline, your booking is canceled. Check the deadline on the screen or in the email you receive after booking.
4. On the day of travel, show your ticket to the crew and board. If you paid by credit card on the booking site, show the "Web Boarding Pass."

• On the Japanese Kousokubus.net, you need to register as a member (free) to book. If you register and pay on the site, an "online payment discount" takes a further 2% off the displayed price.
• You can also buy tickets at the counters at the JR Expressway Bus Terminal at Tokyo Station (Yaesu South Exit) and at Busta Shinjuku. Both counters are open from 6:00 to 0:00 and accept credit cards (JR Bus Kanto FAQ).
• You can also buy tickets at convenience stores in Japan. The JR Bus Kanto timetable page says that at Lawson and Ministop you can buy tickets directly, even without a booking.

Where to board

• At Tokyo Station, you board at the JR Expressway Bus Terminal at the Yaesu South Exit. Shops and passageways inside Tokyo Station are covered in Eating and Shopping Inside Tokyo Station | Where to Find Tokyo Ramen Street, Tokyo Character Street and Gransta Tokyo, Inside or Outside the Ticket Gates, Opening Hours, Ekiben, Tax-Free and Luggage.
• Busta Shinjuku is the expressway bus terminal on the south side of Shinjuku Station. How to get there and its facilities are covered in How to Use Busta Shinjuku | 4F Boarding Bays and Ticketing Counter, Getting There from Shinjuku Station, Coin Lockers, and Waiting Room Hours.
• Once the departure time has passed, your ticket can no longer be used, and it cannot be changed or refunded (JR Bus Kanto FAQ). Leave plenty of time to get to the boarding point.

Costs

Fare examples

Fares change depending on the travel date, the bus and the seat type. The table below shows the one-way adult fares from Tokyo Station Yaesu South Exit to Osaka Station JR Expressway Bus Terminal that we checked on the Japanese Kousokubus.net on October 29, 2026. For each bus, the booking site showed a range "from the lowest fare to the highest fare."

• For each bus name, the table combines the ranges of all its buses and shows the lowest and highest prices displayed for that day. On some buses, the lowest price displayed was higher than the one in this table.
• This table shows examples for 2 days. For other days, choose your travel date on the booking site to check the fare.
• The child fare is half the adult fare, rounded up to the nearest 10 yen.
• The student discount is ¥1,000 off the regular fare. The crew checks this when you board, so bring your student ID (JR Bus Kanto timetable page).

Children and young children

These are the categories given in the JR Bus Kanto FAQ.

• Adult: 12 years old and over. However, a 12-year-old who is still in elementary school counts as a child.
• Child: 6 to under 12 years old. However, a 6-year-old who has not yet started elementary school counts as a young child.
• As a rule, young children (1 to under 6 years old) and babies (under 1 year old) do not need to pay a fare. However, a child ticket is required when a young child uses a seat, or for the second and each further young child traveling with one adult or child.
• Separately, the FAQ says that on expressway buses with reserved seats, young children and babies who do not use a seat still count toward the bus's passenger capacity, so boarding may be refused if seats have not been reserved for everyone traveling. The FAQ asks people traveling with young children or babies to secure seats for them as well. The FAQ does not say whether you can reserve a seat for a young child or baby without paying a fare. When you book, check this on the booking site's screen or at a bus company counter.

Refunds and changes

These are the refund fees given on the JR Bus Kanto timetable page (one-way tickets).

• Discount tickets such as Tokuwari and Cho-Tokuwari have different fee rules. Discount tickets cannot be changed, either on the booking site or at a counter. If you want to change one, first get a refund and then buy a new ticket.
• If you paid for a regular (non-discount) one-way ticket by credit card on Kousokubus.net, you can refund or change it yourself on the booking site until 10 minutes before the bus leaves your boarding stop. Changes are free up to 3 times. Once it is less than 10 minutes before departure, you need to go through a bus company counter before the departure time.
• Tickets bought at convenience stores have a different refund method. Check the information you received when you bought the ticket.
• If a bus you paid for on Kousokubus.net is canceled because of a typhoon, heavy snow or similar, you are refunded automatically without doing anything (JR Bus Kanto FAQ).

Good to know

Luggage size

These are the luggage rules from the JR Bus Kanto FAQ for buses between Tokyo and Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe (the Kanto–Keihanshin routes).

• The FAQ says that luggage whose weight or size goes beyond these limits may be refused.
• The booking screen of the Japanese Kousokubus.net says that double-decker buses have less space in the luggage compartment, so even luggage within the size limits may not fit.
• On buses between Tokyo and Osaka, Kyoto and Kobe, you cannot bring skis, snowboards, surfboards, folding bicycles, musical instruments, golf bags and similar items, either inside the bus or in the luggage compartment.
• Sending large luggage ahead to your hotel or another place is recommended. Ways to send luggage are covered in Send Your Suitcase by Courier | Airport to Accommodation, Accommodation to Airport (Yamato Transport).
• You are advised not to put valuables, fragile items, precision equipment, perishable food and similar items in the luggage compartment.

On the bus and at rest stops

• You are asked to set your mobile phone to silent mode and to keep sound from your headphones or earphones from leaking.
• If you get off the bus at a rest stop, return to the bus by the departure time the driver announces. If you do not return, the bus leaves at that time and your fare is not refunded (JR Bus Kanto FAQ).
• You can also travel between Tokyo and Osaka by shinkansen. Shinkansen tickets are covered in Tokyo to Kyoto and Osaka by Shinkansen | Nozomi, Hikari and Kodama compared, where to board, travel time and fares.
• When buses are canceled because of a typhoon or heavy snow, a notice appears on the top page of the JR Bus Kanto official website.