The core idea: the fare depends on where you got on
Every bus fare in Japan comes from one of two systems. Kin'itsu unchin (均一運賃) is a flat fare, literally a uniform fare: one price for one stop or twenty. A distance fare rises the further you ride. Tokyo's metropolitan buses use both: a flat 210 yen for adults inside the 23 wards (the 2026 fare), distance fares in the Tama area.
Everything else follows. A flat fare can be collected at the door, so those buses usually board at the front and pay first, sakibarai. A distance fare is unknown until you leave, so those buses usually board at the back, record where you got on, and take the money at the front, atobarai. The record is the seiriken (整理券), or a touch of your IC card. If unsure, ask before you board.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 先に払いますか、それとも降りるときですか。 | Saki ni haraimasu ka, soretomo oriru toki desu ka. | Do I pay now, or when I get off? |
| 前から乗るんですか。 | Mae kara noru n desu ka. | Do I get on at the front? |
| On the bus | Reading | Flat-fare bus | Distance-fare bus |
|---|---|---|---|
| 乗車口 | jōshaguchi | Front door, usually | Middle or rear door, usually |
| 支払い | shiharai | When boarding (sakibarai) | When getting off (atobarai) |
| 整理券 | seiriken | Not used | Taken at the door, or touch an IC card |
| 運賃表 | unchinhyō | One price posted | Changing fare board above the driver |
| 降車口 | kōshaguchi | Middle or rear door | Front door, past the driver |
Treat this as a strong habit rather than a law. Kyoto, covered further down, is the big exception you are most likely to meet.
Inside a distance-fare bus: a floor plan
On a distance-fare bus the ride is a walk from the middle door to the front. You enter by the jōshaguchi, literally boarding mouth, where the ticket machine and IC reader stand. When your stop is announced you press a stop button. The fare board hangs above the windscreen, the fare box stands beside the driver, and you leave by the front door, the kōshaguchi.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 整理券をお取りください。 | Seiriken o o-tori kudasai. | Please take a numbered ticket. |
| ICカードは乗るときにもタッチしてください。 | Ai-shī kādo wa noru toki ni mo tacchi shite kudasai. | If you use an IC card, touch it when you get on as well. |
| 整理券は折り曲げないでください。 | Seiriken wa orimagenaide kudasai. | Please don't fold your ticket. |
| 発車します。おつかまりください。 | Hassha shimasu. O-tsukamari kudasai. | We're departing. Please hold on. |
Taking your seiriken
Seiriken is literally a sorting ticket: seiri means putting in order, and ken is a ticket. The machine pushes out a slip with a number that stands for the stop where you boarded. It carries no price; the price lives on the board, which is why the same ticket is worth more the longer you stay on.
If you pay by IC card, touch the reader instead of taking a ticket; the card holds your starting point, and you touch it again at the front. Do one or the other, not both. At the first stop of some routes there is no ticket, because no ticket is read as the start of the line. A newcomer might ask the passenger behind, or check with the driver before boarding.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| すみません、整理券はどこですか。 | Sumimasen, seiriken wa doko desu ka. | Excuse me, where are the numbered tickets? |
| この機械から取るんですよ。 | Kono kikai kara toru n desu yo. | You take one from this machine. |
| カードの場合は、ここにタッチしてください。 | Kādo no baai wa, koko ni tacchi shite kudasai. | If you're using a card, touch it here. |
| このバスは駅に行きますか。 | Kono basu wa eki ni ikimasu ka. | Does this bus go to the station? |
Reading the fare board
The fare board, unchinhyō (運賃表), literally fare table, is a grid of numbers with a price under each. The numbers match the tickets. Each time the bus leaves a stop, everyone's ride has become longer, so the amounts under the numbers can rise, and a new number appears for people who boarded at the stop just passed. Only the number on your own ticket matters to you.
Read the board when your stop is announced as next, because the figures can change at each stop. The amounts are adult fares, otona; a child, kodomo, usually pays about half. If you are paying for a child or for two people, tell the driver before you put anything in the box.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 三番だと、いくらになりますか。 | Sanban da to, ikura ni narimasu ka. | How much is it for number three? |
| 市役所前までいくらですか。 | Shiyakusho-mae made ikura desu ka. | How much is it to City Hall? |
| 大人一人と子ども一人です。 | Otona hitori to kodomo hitori desu. | One adult and one child. |
Getting off: the stop button, the change slot and the fare box
When the announcement names your stop, press any stop button, kōsha botan (降車ボタン), literally get-off-the-vehicle button. A chime sounds and a sign at the front lights up with tsugi tomarimasu, stopping next. Then stay in your seat. Buses ask you not to stand until they have stopped completely, and drivers wait for you to walk forward.
At the front, drop your ticket and the exact fare together into the fare box. Many boxes give no change for the fare itself; instead they have a change slot, ryōgae (両替). Feed in a thousand-yen note or a 500-yen coin, collect smaller coins, then pay. These machines commonly take coins and thousand-yen notes only, and many operators state that larger notes cannot be changed on board. Some newer boxes give change, but do not count on it. With an IC card, touch the reader by the box. The exchange with the driver is short.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 両替したいんですが。 | Ryōgae shitai n desu ga. | I'd like to get some change. |
| すみません、五千円札しかないんですが。 | Sumimasen, gosen-en satsu shika nai n desu ga. | Sorry, I only have a five-thousand-yen note. |
| 整理券と一緒に入れてください。 | Seiriken to issho ni irete kudasai. | Put it in together with your ticket. |
| 両替は止まってからお願いします。 | Ryōgae wa tomatte kara onegai shimasu. | Please get change once the bus has stopped. |
What you hear: recordings and the driver
Bus Japanese comes in two voices. The recording is formal, built from o- plus a verb plus kudasai, and names each stop after tsugi wa, often followed by an advert for a shop near the stop. O-ori no kata is literally the honourable getting-off persons, meaning anyone getting off. Many stop names end in mae, in front of, so listen for the building.
The driver's voice is quicker and plainer: hai, dōzo as you board, a short instruction if you head for the wrong door. You never need keigo back; sumimasen and a short question are right.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 次は、中央病院前です。 | Tsugi wa, Chūō Byōin-mae desu. | Next stop, Central Hospital. |
| お降りの方は、お近くのボタンでお知らせください。 | O-ori no kata wa, o-chikaku no botan de o-shirase kudasai. | If you're getting off, please press a button near you. |
| 次、止まります。 | Tsugi, tomarimasu. | Stopping next. |
| バスが完全に止まってから、席をお立ちください。 | Basu ga kanzen ni tomatte kara, seki o o-tachi kudasai. | Please stay seated until the bus has come to a complete stop. |
| はい、どうぞ。後ろから乗ってください。 | Hai, dōzo. Ushiro kara notte kudasai. | Go ahead. Please get on at the back. |
| この先、揺れますのでご注意ください。 | Kono saki, yuremasu no de go-chūi kudasai. | It will be bumpy ahead, so please take care. |
Beyond the basics: cities that do it differently
Kyoto is the famous exception. Its city buses charge a flat fare in the central area, yet riders board at the middle door and pay as they leave. In January 2026 the city announced that its 60 flat-fare routes will move to front boarding with payment on entry, aiming to finish by March 2029. Until then, follow the door that opens.
Payment is changing too. In Kumamoto, five bus and rail operators stopped accepting national IC cards such as Suica in November 2024 and began taking contactless credit cards in February 2025. Elsewhere, credit card touch payment is spreading alongside IC cards, so check the logos on the reader.
Trains and taxis solve the same where-did-you-start problem differently: a ticket gate records your entry, and a taxi meter measures the trip. The numbered ticket is the bus's paper version. Station and taxi language have their own guides.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| タッチ決済は使えますか。 | Tacchi kessai wa tsukaemasu ka. | Can I pay by tapping a card? |
| 一日乗車券で乗れますか。 | Ichinichi jōshaken de noremasu ka. | Can I ride with a one-day pass? |
Common mistakes on distance-fare buses
Walking past the ticket machine. The cause is a Tokyo flat-fare habit, where you never see a ticket. Without one, you may be charged from the start of the route. Whenever you board at a middle or rear door, look for the machine.
Touching an IC card only when getting off. On a flat-fare bus you touch once, so newcomers assume once is enough. On a distance-fare bus the first touch is your starting point. Touch at both doors.
Paying the amount you noted two stops ago. The board can change at each stop. Look again when your stop is announced.
Queuing at the front while the bus is moving. The instinct comes from trains. Buses brake hard, and drivers expect you to stay seated and will wait for you.
Holding out a ten-thousand-yen note. Cash machines hand out large notes, and fare boxes will not change them. Break notes at a convenience store first. If something has gone wrong, one short sentence to the driver fixes most of it.
| Japanese | Romaji | Meaning |
|---|---|---|
| 整理券を取り忘れました。 | Seiriken o toriwasuremashita. | I forgot to take a ticket. |
| 市民病院から乗りました。 | Shimin Byōin kara norimashita. | I got on at the Municipal Hospital. |
| 乗るときにタッチし忘れました。 | Noru toki ni tacchi shiwasuremashita. | I forgot to touch my card when I got on. |