My son is getting tired of riding the subway. Being in a tunnel underground lost its appeal a while ago. I understand his desire to be above ground where we can see where we’re going. There’s so much to see that is new and interesting to us.
There’s not a ton of above ground options in and out of Hikarigaoka. So whenever we have a choice, we take the bus. You pay when you get on the bus (in our neck of the woods, that is - other bus systems have you pay upon exit based on how far you rode). Just inside the front door is a place to pay your fare. You can either pay with cash or a prepaid pass that you scan. If you don’t have a prepaid pass (Suica or Passmo), exact change is needed. If you don’t have exact change, there is a change machine built into the fare box. You just need to know where to put what money!
All the transportation systems (bus, train, subway) here have automated route announcements. There are electronic signs that display the next stop in Japanese and English. There is also a recorded voice that announces the next stop. Since I usually don’t know where I’m going (I’m always exploring new places), this is extremely helpful! I am learning to read Japanese. But I can’t read kanji (Chinese characters) and I’m still a slow reader. Since most of the locations are listed in kanji, I’d probably always miss my stop without these helpful aids.
When you are ready to get off, there are buttons all over the bus. Press the button to indicate you want to get off at the next stop. Super easy.
I'm so thankful for the transportation here. It has been really easy to not own a car. Once you know how the system works, everything just works together so well. So when we need to get from Point A to Point B, we're always covered.
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