After having enjoyed the convenience and comfort of riding the Shinkansen on a few hundred occasions in my long life, I now may seriously have to look into a new method of domestic travel.
Willer Express, a highway bus company that also seems to serve as a travel agency, has been airing intensive TV commercials lately. It caught my eye so I looked at their website, and I sorta half-fainted.
As a Nagoyan residing in Tokyo, I always pay a little over 10,000 yen one-way to go home by Shinkansen. Willer Express will now take me home for as little as 3,200 yen one-way. If that isn't a saving, nothing is!
I also occasionally go to Kobe on a 2-or-3-day trip. I pay about 30,000 yen round-trip for the Shnkansen and about 10,000-12,000 yen a night at a decent hotel. So that's a total of at least 40,000 yen. What about Willer Express? Get this. 11,200 yen. Yes! Round trip and hotel! It means you get to save even more if you reserve a hotel room through this company. I picked a random July 30 for departure date when searching, and that is high season.
If you're interested, here's its website:
高速バス・夜行バスのご予約ならウィラートラベルへ / WILLER TRAVEL