From Tokyo to the Matsumoto City Museum of Art
With a solo exhibition of Yayoi Kusama on view, I decided to head to the Matsumoto City Museum of Art in Matsumoto, Nagano Prefecture, where the show was being held.
Matsumoto, however, is a city quite far from Tokyo. It takes time and physical stamina — and money on top of that.
After doing some research, I roughly organized my options as follows. *Prices are one-way, and figures are approximate — based on art on’s own inquiry.
- Limited express (Super Azusa from Shinjuku): 6,896 yen / 2 hours 38 minutes
- Car (220 km starting from Shinjuku): 5,480 yen (standard-car ETC fare) / approx. 2 hours 40 minutes
- Highway bus: 3,500 yen / 3 hours 18 minutes
- Train (Chuo Main Line from Shinjuku): 3,996 yen / 4 hours 27 minutes
Driving in traffic sounded miserable, so I ruled out the car. I could have taken the train, but out of curiosity I decided to try the cheapest option — the highway bus.
Highway Bus
The one-way bus fare was 2,980 yen (online purchase, round-trip discount). You can also reserve a specific seat online, which is very convenient. Time changes and other adjustments can be made online at any time, making it extremely user-friendly.
The trip takes 3 hours and 20 minutes one-way from Shinjuku. The Matsumoto City Museum of Art opens at 9:00, so if I departed Shinjuku at 6:00, I could arrive just after opening. That was the plan I settled on.
Departure from Basta Shinjuku
“Basta Shinjuku,” the bus terminal virtually connected to Shinjuku Station, was already bustling despite the early morning hour.
The information boards list buses to a variety of destinations.
I boarded the bus departing Basta Shinjuku at 6:05, with a scheduled arrival at Matsumoto Bus Terminal at 9:23.
An e-ticket on your smartphone is enough — just show it to the staff and board.
The bus departed on time.
What’s nice about the highway bus is that each seat has a power outlet and onboard Wi-Fi is free. You can check up on local information in advance or enjoy movies and music on video-streaming sites — there are many ways to pass the time.
Power outlets are provided at every seat, aisle-side or window-side. This being the middle day of a three-day weekend, the expressway was heavily congested. After repeated stop-and-go traffic, we arrived at Futaba Service Area around 8:20, at which point an announcement said we were running 25–30 minutes late.
After leaving the interchange, traffic was terrible, and we arrived at Matsumoto Bus Terminal (a short walk from Matsumoto Station) at 10:10 — about 50 minutes behind schedule. From the bus terminal, it was about a 10-minute walk to the Matsumoto City Museum of Art, so I made my way there on foot.
The Return Trip…
I had originally booked the 19:00 return bus, but since my schedule allowed me to get home earlier, I changed to the 17:20 bus. It was easy to change online with no fees.
However, on the middle day of a three-day weekend, both directions of the Chuo Expressway were seriously congested. After crawling through traffic, we arrived at Basta Shinjuku just past 23:00 — about 2 hours and 40 minutes behind schedule. Quite exhausting!
Lesson learned: check traffic reports and stay flexible!
Had I stuck with the earlier 19:00 departure, I might have missed the last train from Shinjuku.
Plan your travels wisely, everyone!
