Moekko Free Ticket 13th Season

A Guide to Moekko Free Ticket

As a prefectural ALT, I'm employed by Hokkaido Prefecture. This means that I go around the region assigned to me which is - Rumoi Subprefecture. These are the schools that I visit:


Mother School

Rumoi High School - Rumoi City
It's just 5 minutes away from my house = No bus ride needed

Visit Schools

1. Obira Special Needs School - Obira Town
Bus ride needed = Travel time: 50 minutes / fare: 680 yen

2. Tomamae Commercial High School - Tomamae Town
Bus ride needed = Travel Time: 1 hr and 15 minutes / fare: 1180 yen

3. Haboro High School - Haboro Town
Bus ride needed = Travel Time: 1 hr and 20 minutes / fare: 1260 yen

4. Embetsu Agricultural High School - Embetsu Town
Bus ride needed = Travel Time: 2 hrs and 30 minutes / fare: 2100 yen

5. Teshio High School - Teshio Town
Bus ride needed = Travel Time: 3 hrs and 2 minutes / fare: 2510 yen

I usually go to my visit schools every Wednesday, Thursday, and Friday. With this setup, if I visit my three farthest schools a week, I would spend around 11740 yen. Although this is reimbursed by the Board of Education, it is still a big amount especially if you are on a tight budget. that's why I'm sharing with you a hack that can save you (a lot of) money. 

Moekko Free Ticket - 萌えっ子フリーきっぷ (13th Season)

Moekko refers to the cute character mascots of Engan Bus Co. Ltd. If you are interested to get to know who they are, then you should check out this LINK.

Moekko Free Ticket

You see, this company has sole control of the transportation business in Rumoi Subprefecture. Regardless, Engan Bus Co. Ltd. is very generous to their customers. They offer fare discount schemes like if you buy 1000 yen worth of pre-paid tickets you get 200 yen worth of tickets. However, the catch is, you can only buy this in the Engan Bus Sales Office near JR Rumoi Station. 

I pinned it on the map below:


However, this article is not about that but the Moekko Free Ticket (萌えっ子フリーきっぷ). If you have been to different parts of Japan, you're probably aware of the unlimited train, subway, and bus tickets. The Moekko Free Ticket is basically like that. There are three types of Moekko Free Tickets to choose from and they are:

1-day Pass A - 2700 yen

1-day Pass B - 2700 yen

2-day Ticket A/B - 3900 yen

Skip 2-day Ticket - 3900 yen

The Moekko Free Ticket is perfect if you would visit faraway towns like Embetsu until Toyotomi. Here's the route map of Engan Bus for your school visits:

Engan Bus Route Rumoi to Toyotomi

During my first year as an ALT here in Rumoi Subprefecture, Engan Bus Co. Ltd. released a special promo for the Moeko Free Ticket called Moekko Free Ticket Nogurutto Hokkaido Discount. It ran from December 4, 2021 - to (March 31, 2022) April 30, 2022. The discounted prices of the tickets are:

1-day Pass A/B - 2700 yen 1900 yen
2-day Ticket A/B - 3900 yen 2800 yen
Skip 2-day Ticket - 3900 yen 2800 yen

However, before heading to the Engan Bus sales office, you should check their website for updates regarding the Moekko Free Ticket. Here's their WEBSITE

To the next Rumoi High School ALT:

To use the ticket: show the driver the ticket before boarding down. He will write the date it is used and return it to you. 

During my first year as an ALT, I was lucky to have amazing JTEs who drove me to the Engan Bus Sales Office at Sakaemachi to buy tickets on a weekday as the sales office is closed on the weekends and is only open from 9:30AM - 4:30AM Mondays, Wednesday, and Fridays. 

Hoarded some Moekko Free Tickets for the whole month of December 2021

Just in case you won't have the privilege of having JTE friends who'd be willing to drive you to the sales office, you can do this instead... Wait for your visit school schedule and look for your Embetsu and Teshio visit. If they are next to each other in a week, then buy the 2-day Ticket A/B. If they are placed apart in the week then the Skip 2-day Ticket. However, if you'd only go to one of them in the week, buy the 1-day Pass A/B. Heads up! Ask permission from either your main JTE or the Kyoto Sensei before heading out to buy the tickets during work hours. 

These are all the Moekko Free Tickets that I used from December 2021 to April 30, 2022

You should reserve a fund for this during your salary. I usually hoard 1-day and 2-day tickets as it saves me from the hassle of asking permission weekly. So with that, good luck my dear successor. I hope you find this article useful in your life in Rumoi City as an ALT. 


Comments

  1. The Moekko Free Ticket seems like a very convinient and affordable way to travel around Rumoi Subprefecture. I have visited Haboro and Rumoi once. This is probably useful when I go to Teshio in the future.

    ReplyDelete
  2. Interesting name for a discount bus ticket.

    ReplyDelete

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