Kyushu Spring 2014 九州春季之旅 - Sasebo JR Station 佐世保駅

Sasebo station, the terminus station on Sasebo line.
Though this is named JR's westernmost station in Japan, geographically this is not true. Nishi Kyushu line, which is operated by Matsuura Tetsudo, extends further from Sasebo to Imari and Arita.

The following trains serve this station:

(1) Seaside Liner, a local train which commutes between Sasebo and Nagasaki.
Time taken to travel between Sasebo and Nagasaki is ~ 90 mins.

(2) Ltd Express Midori train, commutes between Sasebo and Hakata.

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What's nearby:

(1) Bus center, located in front of train station.

- Bus stop #1 (not located in the bus center, just turn left after exiting from train station): for rapid service bus to Pearl Sea Resort (パールシーリゾート). 6 buses per day and bus timings have been arranged to allow seamless transfer from/to Ltd Express Midori train. Fee = 240 yen.
Bus timings: http://www.pearlsea.jp/english/access.html

- Bus stop #6 (in bus center): for local bus to Pearl Sea Resort (パールシーリゾート). Fee = 240 yen.
Bus timings: http://www.pearlsea.jp/access/shieibusjikokuhyou.pdf

- Bus stop #7 (in bus center): for local bus to Kujukushima Zoological and Botanic Garden.
Alight at Kujukushima Zoological and Botanic Garden, walk for another 10 mins to Funakoshi Observatory (船越展望所).

Sasebo City Transportation Bureau (in Japanese): http://city-sasebo-koutuu.jp/index.html

(2) Tourist Information Center

Collect useful maps and brochures, such as Sasebo Burgur map. Managed to chat with an English speaking staff who advised us which observatory to visit to get a better view of Kujukushima (as it was pretty cloudy on our day of visit). You can also purchase Sasebo's mascot "Burger Boy" merchandises, such as collar pins and cellphone straps, here.

Bought a "Burger Boy" collar pin from Tourist Information Center.

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Commemorative stamp: