On the Dream Sleeper, she stayed up for the view

The bus was full. Inside her compartment, one passenger ate sushi at a little table and could barely hear anyone else. At 2 a.m. on the way from Nara to Tokyo, she was still awake by choice, watching the lights go by with the bus’s sleep music in her headphones. She got about four hours of sleep and felt up for a day out in Tokyo. The Dream Sleeper has 11 of those compartments, each with a door, a reclining seat and a light you can dim. It costs ¥18,000–22,000 one way for an adult. If you’re getting away after a late Friday shift, that buys a stretch of the weekend to yourself on the road. The bus leaves Osaka Station at 11:15 p.m. and is due in Shinjuku at 6:35 a.m.