Seishun 18 pass still have overnight trains?

we are a group of 7 travelling to japan from Aug 23-Aug 31, 2016 and on a budget. I've been doing some research on overnight trains to go from Tokyo to Kyoto to Hiroshima. Is there still overnight trains? Everything I see are dated way back. Is there a schedule? Is this effective? We are thinking of getting the Seishun 18 pass to do this. Is there another alternative that is more effective?

Yes, the Moonlight Nagara (Tokyo-Ogaki) will run from July 22 to August 20 in the direction of Ogaki and from July 23 to August 21 in the direction of Tokyo.

And the Moonlight Shinshu (Shinjuku-Matsumoto-Hakuba) will run on July 15, 16, 22, 23, 29, 39, August 1-6, 10, 12, 13, 19, 20, 26, September 2, 9.

Note that you still need to pay the extra 520 yen for a reserved seat ticket. (It is also possible that trains will book out.)

That pass effectiveness will depend on how quickly you wanna go transport wise. It only covers in full local and rapid trains.

Tokyo to Kyoto on those trains with transfers is 8 hours. IF you wanna go faster, you pay more on top of the pass. In this case you might as well look at other options.

Note that if you take any of the overnight trains listed. You only get part of the way. And you will have to use a second day of travel to finish a journey like Tokyo to Kyoto.

Yes, one must note also that unlike regular base fare tickets, which are valid past midnight until one exits a station, a Seishun 18 ticket is only valid until the next stop of the train.

For example if one takes the Moonlight Nagara from Tokyo with a Seishun 18, it will only be valid up to Odawara, which is the first stop made after midnight. From Odawara, one must use another Seishun 18 ticket, or buy a regular ticket. (It may be advantageous to buy a regular ticket from Tokyo to Odawara instead of using a Seishun 18 ticket, and use a Seishun 18 ticket from Odawara to Ogaki and beyond.)

Alternatively you may want to consider overnight/highway buses. The rates can be as cheap or better; and more importantly, there are more connections and the routes are more direct.