travel pass: travelling around Fukuoka?

hi, i would be going over to fukuoka for an extended period of time (about 3 months) from mid march onwards. as such, i am thinking of buying a travel pass so as to accumulate cost-savings in terms of transportation expenses.

i have searched online and on japan-guide.com on the possible travel passes that i can buy. HOWEVER, i am utterly confused by all the terms!

so at the moment, i understand that the fukuoka transportation lines include JR, subways and buses?

is there any card (e.g. suica?) that can allow me to use it on all 3 transportation methods? if not, majority of it? if i were to be frequently taking the bus, is there ant viable bus passes out there? how much would these travel passes cost? and for how long would they be valid?


i am truly grateful if someone can answer all my queries. thank you in advance! (:

They have the NIMOCA prepaid card like SUICA but w/ point accumulation and can be used for all transportation & many shopping, drug stores, vending machines, entertainment, etc. You can charge more money at many places including convenient stores.
There are many types, i.e. plain NIMOCA, for commute(need to qualify), w/ VISA CC, w/ JAL mileage points, etc.
http://www.nimoca.jp/home/about/index.html
Other discounted tickets are one day pass, multi ticket booklet to go outside of Fukuoka city, etc.

is there any card (e.g. suica?) that can allow me to use it on all 3 transportation methods? if not, majority of it?

You are arriving with good timing! From March 13, 2010, all three types of transportation can be used with the IC prepaid cards issued by any of the three transportation operators and the Suica card.

In other words, from March 13, the following prepaid cards will all be valid on all transportation in Fukuoka:
- SUGOCA (by JR Kyushu)
- nimoca (by Nishitetsu Railways)
- Hayakaken (by Fukuoka City, the operator of the subway lines)
- Suica (by JR East)

wow, thanks amazinga and uji for your answers!

but may i ask any of you, which one of the 4 cards (as mentioned by uji) should i opt for? just to mention, i am thinking of taking the transportation lines out of fukuoka to explore other parts of japan during the weekends. so i guess it should be SUICA? can SUICA be used nationwide on ALL transportation lines in ALL states in japan?

if i prefer the type of cards whereby i pay a fixed monthly amount to have unlimited rides on the transportation links, which CARD/PASS should i choose? which transportation lines can they be used on, BOTH WITHIN AND OUTSIDE FUKUOKA?


once again, thanks in advance for any replies! (:

If you come as a tourist and make major side trips out of Fukuoka, you should consider the Japan Rail Pass, JR Kyushu Rail Pass and the JR West Sanyo Pass. Search this site for details on each of them. You cannot use them if you do not come on a tourist visa.

If you are not coming as a tourist (and even if you are), I also recommend the SunQ Pass for buses in Kyushu:
http://www.sunqpass.jp/english/

There are also 1-day passes for most cities, which provide unlimited transportation within that city. But they tend to pay off only if you travel a lot.

Apart from that there are commuter passes for one or three months, which are valid along a specific route.

so i guess it should be SUICA?

Suica can be purchased only in eastern Japan around Tokyo. And it is not valid nationwide. Only in urban areas and mostly on JR trains only (with some exceptions).

This should clarify.
http://www.japan-guide.com/news/0012.html
None of these cards gives discounted fares.
The monthly commute pass give some discount.
Are you working for a company? If so, the company usually pays the commute expense. Pls check. Beyond this it is hard to recommend not knowing how often or where you travel/commute outside of Fukuoka.

hi, thanks again for the detailed explanation (:


and sorry, i forgot to give the additional information on where i plan to travel to:


- i will be going to japan to study the japanese language for 3 months, but on a tourist visa.
- i plan to ride around fukuoka on weekdays after lessons to get a better feel of the city. at the moment, i will be renting a bicycle for short-distances travelling near the school (city centre).
- but as for the longer distances, i am still considering which pass or transportation method offers me the widest range at an affordable price. any suggestions?

- as for travelling outside fukuoka (to be done on weekends), i intend to extensively explore kyushu and chugoku.
(the major cities in kansai and chubu are just too far for me to enjoy properly in just over the weekends, sad to say.)
- so i was thinking of maybe taking overnight buses on friday nights to my destination, and then taking day trains/buses back on sunday morning/noon. any suitable passes or lines i have to look out for?

last but not least,
- does anyone have any suggestions on where is worth or not worth the trip to around kyushu and chugoku??? islands are most welcome as well!


thank you for the replies in advance! (:

The Kyushu Rail Pass, SanQ Pass, JR West Sanyo Pass, the nationwide Japan Rail Pass and highway/overnight buses are your best options.