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5. Nagasaki Transportation Tips

Smart Card

To avoid searching for coins every time you ride the bus and streetcar and get a small discount (about 9% when you add money), purchase a Smart Card for 3,000 yen. Buy a card from the bus or streetcar driver at a stoplight or at the stations in Cocowalk, Chinatown, Urakami shako-mae, Hotarujaya, and Sakura no Sato. Some DoCoMo cell phones can also be programmed as Mobile Smart Cards; ask for details at the bus terminal or streetcar garage.
You may add money to the card on the bus (ask the driver), at a bus terminal, or on the streetcar. To use the self-service machines on the streetcar, press the red button next to the change slot, touch your card to the reader, insert a 1,000 yen bill, and touch your card again. For every 1,000 yen that you add to the card, you will receive 1,100 yen in credit.

One-day streetcar pass

One-day streetcar passes are available for 500 yen at the Akasako, Urakami-shako mae, or Hotarujaya streetcar stations, the Daily Yamazaki convenience store in Matsuyama-machi (Peace Park), and many hotels around Nagasaki. See http://www.naga-den.com/kikaku/1day/1day.htm for a complete list.

Reading the city bus schedule

First, make sure you are reading the correct schedule! The weekday (平日) city bus schedule is white, and the weekend/holiday (土日祝) schedule is orange.
Reading from left to right, the schedules posted at each city bus stop indicate the bus route number, final stop, major stops on the route, and departure time. On the weekend/holiday schedule, buses will be marked if they are Saturday (土), Sunday (日), or holiday (祝) only.
The Nagasaki Prefectural (Ken-ei) buses have a combined weekday/weekend schedule and use an extra column between the bus name and departure time to indicate Monday-Friday (月〜金) and weekend/holiday buses.

City bus route numbers

Bus route numbers give a broad idea of the direction in which a city bus will travel. For example, #1 buses go north, #6, #10, and #20 buses go south, and #100 buses go to Cocowalk Mall. However, the route numbers are not helpful when looking for a bus from Sumiyoshi to the university. Virtually all of the buses that stop at Sumiyoshi are #1 buses heading north, but only some of them continue north long enough to reach the school.

As a result, it is easiest to take a direct bus with the university’s name (長崎外国語大学) at 8:10, 8:20, 8:30, 10:15, or 12:30, or to take the bus to Mizokawa (溝川), which arrives about every ten minutes throughout the day.

Beware of holiday bus schedules

Be particularly mindful of weekday holidays! The city buses run on weekend schedules, and there is no direct city bus to the university. For Spring Break 2011, this includes February 11 and March 21. Be sure to use the weekend/holiday bus schedule if you are traveling on these days.

Beware of bus stops with the same name

Some areas, such as Sumiyoshi, Togitsu, Hamano-machi, Chuoubashi, and Mizokawa, have multiple bus stops with the same name. Generally, most buses will use the stop on the main street, while a few buses will use the stop on the side street (such as the bus east to Nagayo, which uses the Sumiyoshi stop across from Chitosepia).

One major exception to this rule is at Mizokawa. Most buses use the stop on the side street, which is adjacent to a bus parking lot. When taking a bus south from Mizokawa (after shopping at JUSCO, for example), use the stop on the side street. If you are unsure whether you are at the correct stop, check for your bus on the schedule that is posted at the stop.

Should I get a monthly bus pass?

No, as even if you have morning class and must take the city bus to school every day, you can always return home via the free school bus. A full month of one-way fares to the university is still cheaper than a monthly bus pass, which is made for round trips.

Taking the city bus from Sumiyoshi on every weekday with class will cost 10,000 yen on a Smart Card, while a semester bus pass would cost 19,400 yen. From Urakami Station, taking the city bus to school and returning home by free school bus and streetcar will cost 21,000 yen, but a bus pass from the station would cost 24,950 yen. If you live further south and take the streetcar to reach the city bus in Sumiyoshi, a Smart Card and streetcar pass will get you to school for 25,460 yen, while the cheapest combination of bus pass and streetcar fare would cost 34,860 yen.

Should I get a monthly streetcar pass?

If you live south of Sumiyoshi and ride the streetcar on the way to school, then yes, a monthly streetcar pass is a good idea. At 4,110 yen per month or 11,350 yen for three months, a full semester pass will cost 15,460 yen. This is a discount over using a Smart Card to reach the bus in Sumiyoshi (17,000 yen over the course of the semester) and also offers more freedom. A monthly pass allows unlimited use of the streetcar anywhere between Akasako and your home station, so you will save on weekend and holiday travel, as well as any other time that you wish to move around the city.

To purchase a pass, first visit the Student Affairs office to receive a school discount form (buying a pass without this form is about 15% more expensive). Then take the form to a streetcar office at Urakami-shako, Hamano-machi, or Hotarujaya. If you are changing addresses during your stay in Nagasaki or leaving before the end of the semester via the Early-Out program, be careful to consider this when choosing the length of your pass.