There are three vending machines at the Izuro Kosoku Bus Center, one block of storage lockers and four rows of seats. There is one night bus from Kagoshima to Osaka and it leaves the station every day at 7:30pm. Buying a ticket the day of travel poses no problem. The storage lockers take ¥400 in ¥100 coins.
There are three columns of seats running the length of the bus, two at the windows and one in the center with an aisle on either side. Thick curtains cover the windows. The bathroom is sunk half a stairwell below the level of the seats in the middle of the bus and smells like neither urine nor cigarettes. Across from the stairwell is a machine that dispenses hot water, and across from that is a cooler filled with complimentary boxes of bitter green tea. Each seat has a cup holder and a pair of slippers. Each seat reclines all the way back into the lap of the person sitting behind you.
There are two men in uniform at the front of the bus. One of them is driving. The other faces the passengers and speaks as we begin our trip. He speaks for a half an hour. Some time after 10:00pm the bus stops in a large parking lot half-filled with big trucks. In the middle of the parking lot is a gas station and a convenience store. Vending machines line the hallway between the convenience store and the bathrooms. We are there for twenty minutes. Then the men in the matching uniforms change places, and the talkative man starts to drive. The thick curtains stay closed. From the window there is nothing on the highway but headlights.
Our second stop in the morning is near Osaka Station. You will need to hand a man in a uniform your luggage ticket to get your luggage back. You will need to hand a man in a uniform your bus ticket. You will need to follow someone who knows where they are going to find Osaka Station.
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NIGHT BUS TO OSAKA
ONE WAY TICKET ¥13000 (ABOUT $112USD)
DEPARTS KAGOSHIMA, JAPAN DAILY 7:30PM
ARRIVES OSAKA, JAPAN NEXT DAY 10:00AM
SUGGESTED ACTIVITY: Something that is quiet and requires no light, like listening to music with headphones or reading Braille.
?????? — gotta love the Japanese.