Thursday, May 21, 2009

Off Base Bus


There is a website for the off base buses (you might not be able to read the kanji, but you can look at a map and figure it out). You'll at least know the number of the bus and where to catch it to go somewhere in the Yokosuka area:

Go to the following site if this link doesn't work.

http://www.keikyu-bus.co.jp/keikyu-bus/line/route.html

Remember to stand in line for the buses here! Seriously, it's bad form to get on before your turn. It might mean a better seat, or a seat at all.
They usually have a timetable posted at the Bus stop (BAW-sue No-REE-buh) and it will tell you when the next one gets there.
There is usually some indication of what bus number stops at this basu noriba, and as long as you have printed out the Yokosuka bus area map, you can compare the number of the bus you need to get on, with the number on the sign.
This is one of the bus stops at Shiori Station. Yokosuka Chuo buses line up along the street, but have similar shelters and signs.
Remember to board the bus in the middle, and exit in front, by the driver. I always use my Pasmo (or Suica card), so I don't worry about the cost. If you don't use those cards, you might need to get a ticket when boarding the bus (there's a little machine) to show the driver how long you've been on the bus, as the fare increases the further you go.

If you pay with cash, note that there are two places to put change. One is a machine to give you smaller change for your larger change so that you have exact change to put in the other slot to pay the fare. If you put too much money in the other slot, there is nothing they can do to give you change. Did we mention that Pasmo was convenient...

1 comment:

Sebastian said...

Everytime I go somewhere, I kick myself that I haven't gotten Passmo cards yet. This was especially driven home when we took a trip up to Tokyo that required changing train lines and then to the Metro. Stopping to buy all those tickets made everything a bit more stressful.