Arriving in Nagasaki: the Airport Bus, Streetcars, Card Taps and the Day Pass
How to get from Nagasaki Airport into the city on the airport limousine bus, what Nagasaki's streetcars cost and which cards they take, the 1-day and 24-hour passes, and which JR Kyushu passes cover the Kamome Shinkansen.
Some links here are affiliate links. If you buy through one we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what we recommend, and the pages that carry no links say so on our about page.
✓ Checked and fact-checked
The airport limousine bus is the direct way from Nagasaki Airport into the city. If you are travelling through Kyushu by rail, what the JR Kyushu passes cover is in our pass guide, and the Fukuoka arrival guide covers the other end of the line.
The airport limousine bus
Nagasaki Airport and Nagasaki Bus list the same fare into the city:
| To | Adult | Child |
|---|---|---|
| Nagasaki Station, Shinchi Terminal | 1,400 yen | 700 yen |
The nonstop bus via the Dejima Road reaches Nagasaki Station in about 43 minutes. Nagasaki Bus asks you to buy a ticket before boarding, from the machine in the airport terminal or at Cocowalk, and says you can also pay in cash on board, though the driver cannot change 10,000, 5,000 or 2,000 yen notes. Its pages do not mention IC cards or bank cards.
Streetcars
Nagasaki Electric Tramway charges a flat fare: 150 yen for an adult and 80 yen for a child.
- Tap-to-pay cards. Visa, Mastercard, JCB, American Express, Diners Club, Discover and UnionPay credit, debit and prepaid cards with the contactless symbol, though not JCB prepaid cards. Tap the reader in the car when you board and again when you get off.
- IC cards. Ten transit IC cards, nimoca among them, are accepted. With one, a trip of up to two sections costs 110 yen for an adult and 60 yen for a child. Tap when you board and when you get off, or the discount is lost.
- Free for children on the third Sunday of each month.
The mobile day passes and the bus timetables both need a connection. A Saily eSIM installed at home is working when you land at Nagasaki, and if Kyushu is one stop of several, the same profile takes a plan for the next country.
Day passes
| Pass | Adult | Child |
|---|---|---|
| 1-day pass | 600 yen | 300 yen |
| 24-hour pass | 700 yen | 350 yen |
The paper 1-day pass is sold at tourist information offices, at hotel front desks along the line and at the tramway’s offices, not on the streetcar. Both passes are also sold as mobile tickets in an app.
By Shinkansen
JR Kyushu’s All Kyushu and Northern Kyushu Area Passes both cover the Nishi-Kyushu Shinkansen between Takeo-Onsen and Nagasaki, and the Relay Kamome that links it to Hakata. The Southern Kyushu pass does not. None covers the Sanyo Shinkansen between Hakata and Kokura.
Emergency numbers
The Japan National Tourism Organization lists 110 for police and 119 for fire and ambulance. Its Japan Visitor Hotline, 050-3816-2787, runs 24 hours a day in English, Chinese and Korean.
Saily, a data eSIM you install before you fly and top up per country Our full write-up. (affiliate link)