tokyo - osaka with train or bus... how much does it cost?

[tokoyama]

hi

in september me and my girlfriend will move for one year to japan. she will study in tokyo at the toyo university while i will study at the tenri university in tenri near nara or osaka.
we want to see us once in a month. does anybod know how much it costs to get there by train, shinkansen or bus? how long does it take?

[Taro Toporific]

Highway Bus is the cheapest way to go, but not the easiest or most convenient. There's an overnight bus that takes maybe 8 hours. I think it used to be a bit under 20,000 Yen round-trip. The Shinakansen trip is under 3 hours.

I have taken the night bus and it's no Grayhound hellhole. The Shinjuku-to-Osaka night bus has TWO aisles meaning you can never be trapped next to the window (or a snoring jiji) because each seat is seperate with an aisle on each side of you--Great for quick dash to the toilet at 5am. The bus has better-than-airline seats, decent leg room and a good suspension---but it's still a bus---you won't arrive refreshed. I paid less than 10,000 yen a few years ago for my Shinjuku-to-Osaka business trip and pocketed the remainder of my 40,000 yen travel allowance.

[ichigo partygirl]

Actually i just got the over night bus back to Tokyo from Osaka on Sunday night. It cost me 4,800yen each way. Sure its a bit of a bitch but if u get a nice enuff bus you can sleep and they stop every 2 hours or so for 15mins.
This place can only be booked online and in Japanese. But there are other ones that can be booked in english for a bit more. A list of them can be found here
http://www.japan-guide.com/e/e2366_tokyo.html#osaka

have a nice trip

[tokoyama]

thanks a lot! well shinkansen is too expansive...
i will have to take the bus.