Rodrigo Coelho
I’ve heard that there is an overnight rapid train called the Moonlight Nagara that you can take from Tokyo to Osaka or Kyoto. Is it better to use this and save time by sleeping on this train rather than getting on the Shinkansen in the morning?
And if it is a good plan to use this train, how do I book it?
Rodrigo Coelho
Japan
The Moonlight Nagara is the overnight rapid service train that is operated between Tokyo and Ogaki.
It’s a seasonally operated train which runs during spring break (two weeks from late March to early April), summer break (late July to the end of August) and Christmas to New Year holidays.
As it only runs for during the peak seasons it is very hard to book. This train is fully covered by Japan Rail Pass.
But online reservation is not available for overseas visitors and tickets are sold from only one month prior to departure date. It is very hard to book and not realistic to put this train in your plan.
But if you still want to try, here's more information about it:
http://jprail.com/trains/sort-by-type/overnight-trains/rapid-train-moonlight-nagara.html
Rodrigo Coelho
Japan
Ogaki is near Osaka, you can go from Ogaki to Osaka or to Kyoto by normal train service. You can check the routes using google maps or the website http://www.hyperdia.com/en/