As with any adventure, International Students step out on to a new step in their travels.
A part of getting about and finding new experiences is "how to" do things.
In this series of blog posts, our ISA will take you on a detailed journey through the life around Biwako-Kusatsu Campus (BKC)*.
All information on this page is as of mid-summer 2020.
*The College of Information Science and Engineering will be relocated to Osaka Ibaraki Campus in April 2024. Visit our website for details.
I remember the first time I took a bus in Minami-Kusatsu; I felt a little apprehensive because I was not sure if I was on the right bus and I was not familiar with the fare system. I wished I knew some of the things that I know now.
With that line of thought, it came to me that I should share what I had learned since that first day I came to BKC.
So, I decided to write a sort of bus guide series in three parts.
Let’s begin our journey!
(International Admissions Office: For those new to Japan, Minami-Kusatsu Station is located on the Biwako-line of the West-Japan Railways network. It is also connected to the Tokaido-line of the East-Japan Railways network.)
When you exit the ticket gate at Minami-Kusatsu station, you will have two options: to your left is the West exit and to your right is the East exit. Both exits have bus terminals, since we want to go to BKC, we take the East exit.
Figure 1: Exiting the ticket gate
Straight ahead is a walkway that links the station to FeriE, a small shopping complex. At the end of the East exit, just before the doors to the continuing walkway, to your left we have stairs leading down to the bus terminal and to your right is an escalator, also leading down to the bus terminal. Unless you are carrying something large or heavy with you, my advice would be to take the stairs on the left, since it exits closer to the Ritsumeikan bus stand. The escalator would go down on the opposite side, so we would have to walk some distance to the Ritsumeikan bus stand.
Figure 2: The image on the left shows the East exit, and on the right shows the stairs down to the bus terminal
As you come out at the bottom of the stairs, turn right and you will face the bus terminal with a row of bus stops. Each bus stop is marked with a sign showing a number and the destination. Walk straight ahead until you reach bus stop number 3. This is where buses to BKC would pick up passengers.
Figure 3: The image on the left shows the bus terminal and the right shows bus stop number 3
Buses that are heading to BKC will have, 立命館大学 (Ritsumeikan Daigaku), displayed on the front and back of the bus. While the bus is waiting to begin its route, it will recite the stops on its route in Japanese and English. These buses have two doors, front and rear. When you get on the bus, you get on from the rear door of the bus. You will come across these machines at the entrance, which is usually located at the back end of the bus.
Figure 4: The IC card scanner on the left and the ticket machine on the right
The machine on the left is for IC cards. All you need to do is just touch your IC card on it and it will record your card. Before you get off the bus, you will touch your IC card on a similar machine at the front of the bus (next to the driver). Yes, you get off the bus at the front, unlike is some countries where you get off the bus at the back. You can only use the OHMI bus card, OHMI buses does not except other IC cards like SUICA, PASMO or ICOCA. Next, the red machine on the right is the ticket machine. Be sure to take a ticket before the bus starts moving, if you do not have an IC Card. Once the bus moves the machine will not dispense any ticket. Do not be surprised that the ticket is just a piece of paper with a number printed on it. The number represents the stop where you got on the bus.
Updated on June 14, 2021: As of April 27, 2021, Ohmi Buses now accept National IC Cards like ICOCA on their buses. If you have purchased an IC Card, you can touch your your IC Card when riding and touch your IC card when getting off the bus.
Figure 5: On the left is the OHMI bus card, and the right is the ticket.
So how do you use the ticket number? At the front of the bus, usually in the top-left corner, you will see a screen displaying a grid of numbered white boxes, indicating the stops.
Figure 6: The screen with the numbered boxes
As the bus makes its stops along the route, the fares will be displayed in the numbered boxes. Since I held a ticket with a number 1 printed on it, I got on the bus at the first stop, my fare will be displayed in the box numbered 1. At each stop the bus makes, the fares displayed in the boxes will be updated. When you are about to arrive at BKC this is how the screen will look like. BKC is the eighth stop on this route.
Figure 7: Fare screen
As of the date of writing this article, the bus fare (one way) from Minami-Kusatsu to BKC is 230yen, as shown in the box numbered 1. And this brings us to the end of our journey for part 1.
I hope this information would be helpful to those who are planning to come to BKC.
Figure 8: BKC bus terminal
*The College of Information Science and Engineering will be relocated to Osaka Ibaraki Campus in April 2024. Visit our website for details.