How to Ride Buses in Japan: Boarding Payment Systems, Ticket Etiquette, and My Surreal Hakuba Bus Ride with Three Drivers

Good morning sunshine; there is never bad weather in travel. Riding buses in Japan might seem daunting, but it boils down to two simple systems: pay upon boarding vs. pay upon exiting. Explore flat-fare vs. numbered ticket distance-based systems, alongside a hilarious solo journey to Hakuba where one passenger was accompanied by three drivers.