I traveled 11 hours from Tokyo to Osaka for $21 on the Local Train. I used the Seishun 18 ticket, a 1 day holiday pass that gives unlimited access to all JR local trains.
Fee: 2410JPY/21USD
Route: Tokyo – Hamamatsu – Kyoto – Osaka (JR Namba)
Train: Local Train (Specific names to be updated)
Seat: Box, Long, 2 + 2
Experience: For what it’s worth, it’s definitely cheap!
Alo Japan.