There and Back Again

Yunomine Onsen sits quietly along a narrow stone-lined canal where mineral-rich hot spring water flows through the heart of the village. Traditional wooden bath structures and weathered pipes run beside the stream, stained by years of iron and sulfur deposits. Small ryokan and homes line the road above, while green hills rise in the background, giving this historic Kumano Kodo onsen town its secluded atmosphere.

I was making my way back from a grueling adventure along the Kumano Kodo. In this rural part of the country, buses are few and far between, and the one that I was waiting for was my last hope of getting over to Shirahama, where I had booked a hotel for the night. Broken and in pain from a long day of trekking, I knew I needed to get on that bus, otherwise I’d be stuck in the middle of nowhere. Trusting the tools that be, I had boarded a bus at Koguchi bound for Yunomine Onsen. From there, I was supposed to catch the final bus for Shirahama. If I missed it, I would be stuck deep in the Kii Peninsula with night fast approaching. Not good…

Whenever I show people around Japan (like the few family members I have left who occasionally come to visit), they are always impressed at how we can be in the middle of freaking nowhere and then, all of a sudden, a bus appears. To people who aren’t used to getting around Japan, I guess this must look like sorcery or something. After all, elsewhere in the world, public transportation arrives whenever it wants. In Japan, though, things work differently, with trains and buses rarely being late. And while Japan can’t violate the laws of physics so that buses can bypass traffic, you can generally rely on public transportation arriving when it says it will.

The Tadami Line winds its way across a steel truss bridge as it cuts through a snow covered valley in Fukushima Prefecture. A single train stretches across the span above a partially frozen river, its reflection faintly visible in the dark water below. Dense forests blanket the surrounding mountains in white, creating the kind of winter landscape that makes this rural railway one of Japan’s most scenic rides.

Now, while you can be assured that they will almost always arrive on time, the problem with navigating buses and trains in the Japanese countryside is knowing just when that will be. You see, out in the rural regions, there may be only a handful of departures per day. So, if you’re going to take something like Fukushima’s adorable Tadami Line out to see Enzo-ji, you’re looking at only around seven trains per day. This means there are upwards of two hours between trains running on the Tadami Line. If you miss one, you are going to end up getting stuck out in no man’s land and, especially in autumn and winter, things can get cold real quick.

To ensure you don’t end up having to fork over a fortune for a taxi (or worse, end up as bear food), you’re going to want to look up trains and buses well in advance. Personally, my Two Towers for doing so are Jorudan and Google Maps. For trains, I tend to prefer Jorudan, as I find it better at showing route options. Though you can use both, I find that Google Maps often only shows the most expedient way of getting there and is a bit clunkier when it comes to finding future connections. For buses, though, these UI/UX preferences go out the window, as it is far better at calculating how to get you home from wherever you happen to be in the moment.

A moss covered stone stairway climbs steadily through a misty cedar forest along the Kumano Kodo pilgrimage route. Fallen leaves blanket the path in shades of red and brown, while towering trees rise on either side, their trunks fading into the fog above. The quiet, damp air and soft light give the trail an almost otherworldly atmosphere as it winds deeper into the mountains of the Kii Peninsula.

In the opening bus anecdote following my impromptu misogi back in 2023 on the Ogumotori-goe section of Kumano Kodo, it was Google Maps that got me back. Without it, I would have never been able to figure out the bus connections that I needed to make to weave my way over to Shirahama. At the same time, while you generally can trust Google Maps to be right, you’d do well to also check the departure schedules at the bus stop, if they are even posted. In rare situations, there can be a discrepancy in Google’s database and the actual bus arrival times. With AI tools at our disposal now, this is even easier, as all you need to do is send ChatGPT a picture of the timetable and it will do the rest.

Unlike in Tokyo, where the next train will arrive a few minutes later, this is not the case in the countryside. Thus, in addition to knowing when the next bus or train will pull up, you also need to know just how long it will take you to get to the nearest stop or station. Here in Japan, one of the reasons that things almost always run on time is that public transportation doesn’t wait for anyone. You don’t want to be the guy or gal rushing for the 7:02 PM train only to have the doors shut a few seconds before you reach the platform. At that point, there may only be one or two more coming that day, and you almost certainly have over an hour wait ahead of you. So, know how long it will take you to get to where you need to be and be there ahead of time.

Formerly the site of Kagoshima Castle (sometimes called Tsurumaru Castle), Shiroyama Park is a central park in Kagoshima that sits where the ruins of the stone walls of Kagoshima’s fortress once stood and looks out over Kinko Bay. Visitors often come here to watch the sunset reflected on Sakurajima.

One thing I will note is that rural Japan’s buses in particular can be rather panic-inducing. As noted above, unlike trains, they are subject to the whims of traffic. Generally, buses do arrive on schedule, but during peak periods when there are many other vehicles on the road, they can get delayed. Because of this, you shouldn’t panic and think it isn’t coming. Just check the posted timetables, and if it says there is a bus coming, there will be one on the way. I was in just such a situation last year outside of Sengan-en while sourcing this article on Kagoshima City. While it sucks that you can’t yet easily track this online, give yourself upwards of 15 to 20 minutes before starting to freak out.

However you do it, make a referenceable note of when the train or bus you plan to take is leaving. Especially when using Google Maps for buses, the app might not take into account the fact that you plan to return somewhere on foot as part of your travels and end up sending you elsewhere. Personally, I always take a screenshot of the train or bus I want to take and then will often go as far as noting the following one so I have options without having to look everything up all over again. This affords me the ability to easily compare the upsides of staying somewhere a little longer versus the pain that having to wait for the next bus or train would induce.

A person holds open a brown leather wallet while pulling out a Japanese 10,000 yen bill. The wallet rests on a wooden table, with card slots visible and a laptop partially seen in the background. The close up scene emphasizes the use of cash, highlighting the importance of carrying physical yen when traveling in rural Japan.

Another nice thing about having the screenshot is that it makes it easy to reference how much the trip will cost you. Given how Google Maps works, it can be quite cumbersome to look up what a bus will cost once you’ve boarded and started moving. So, the easiest way to keep track of what the fare will be is to snap a screenshot while you’re waiting for the bus to arrive. This also helps you prepare coins in advance so that you can actually pay. While buses will let you convert 1,000 yen bills into coins, they can’t handle larger bills. Seeing as you can’t use IC cards in many rural regions, having a screenshot to reference really comes in handy.

On that note, I guess I should also point out that it’s vital to have cash on hand when taking transportation in the Japan’s countryside. Suica, Pasmo, and the other variants work up until they don’t. Sometimes, you can enter at a bigger station only to find out later that you cannot settle payment with your IC card and need real paper money. Other times, buses in the countryside only accept something that locals have, so while it might indeed be true that IC cards can be used, it might not be the one that you have in your pocket. To be safe, always have cash and use Jorudan or Google Maps to figure out what the damage will be in advance.

The Kazurabashi Bridge stretches across a river in the Iya Valley, its wooden planks suspended by thick vines wrapped tightly around massive timber posts. The handrails and supports are bound with twisted branches, giving the bridge its rustic, hand woven appearance. Surrounded by dense forest, the swaying span offers a slightly nerve wracking but unforgettable crossing in one of Tokushima’s most remote regions.

Just like Gandalf the Grey says to Frodo Baggins in The Lord of the Rings, Japan’s trains and buses are usually never late, nor are they early. They arrive precisely when they mean to (for the most part). So while navigating the countryside might not be easy, it is at least not unpredictable. If you’re going to visit somewhere like the Iya Valley in Tokushima Prefecture, the so called “Tibet of Japan” due to how remote it is, you need to know your options for getting out. It’s not difficult per se, but it does require planning. Generally, trying to figure it out yourself is a recipe for disaster, so use the technology available to plan ahead.

One final thing to keep in mind is that in the countryside, tight schedules are your enemy. If a train only runs seven times per day, you probably do not want to be banking your entire itinerary on rushing to make the 3:14 PM departure after squeezing in one last temple visit. Build in buffer time. Give yourself ample margin for slow hikes, wrong turns, or simply wanting to linger somewhere beautiful a little longer than you otherwise would be able to. The trains and buses will run precisely when they are scheduled to, but your day rarely will. The more space you give yourself, the smoother your there and back again will be.

A single car of the Kominato Railway rolls through the countryside in Chiba Prefecture, painted in a nostalgic red and cream color scheme. The train passes beneath blooming cherry blossom trees while bright yellow rapeseed flowers blanket the foreground. Set against a clear blue sky, the scene captures the gentle charm of rural springtime travel in Japan.

Despite the difficulties in planning around sparse public transportation, rural Japan is actually a lot more accessible than most people think. Many wrongly assume you need a rental car, but the truth is that the buses and trains are reliable enough to get you there if you plan around their frequency, or lack thereof. When coupled with some good old fashioned hoofing it, you can cover a lot of ground and still get back to civilization without needing to spend a night out in the woods. I have ironclad faith in the transportation network of Japan and encourage you to as well.

Just be sure to double check what the tools report at stations and bus stops, and you’ll be fine. If it lines up with whatever your app of choice says, you know you’re safe. If by some chance there is a discrepancy, it’s best to ask when and where that is possible. In 2026, the language barrier is no longer an issue since you can use AI tools to facilitate communication. If by chance it is an unmanned station or bus stop, you’ll just need to be extra careful and have a backup plan in case the proverbial turd hits the proverbial fan and your travel plans go to hell in a handbasket.

Going back to my opening anecdote, even as the time for the final bus to Shirahama came and went with one vehicle arriving, I was never really freaking out since I knew worst case, I could just go over to Yunomine Onsen. Sure, I’d be out whatever I paid for the hotel in Shirahama but there had to be at least one room in a Yunomine Onsen ryokan for me to hole up in. In the worst case, you can likely call a taxi and while it might quite the bitter bullet to bite, you’ll at least get home in one piece.

Until next time travelers…