Japan is truly a bus rider's paradise. Buses spread rapidly around Japan in the 1920's, and soon established themselves as an important form of transit. Recently, new services have appeared in response to Japan's rapidly aging population. Then there ... (more)are Japan's tour buses, with their amazing onboard guides. On this edition of BEGIN Japanology, our theme is buses. We'll see how they became an indispensable means of transport in Japan, and how they are evolving to meet today's needs.

Peter Barakan, Stuart Varnam-Atkin