Conquering JR Dead-End Lines with the Seishun 18 Kippu <West Japan Edition>

Introduction
When using the Seishun 18 Kippu, the biggest obstacle is completing dead-end lines. Turning around at the terminus and traveling back over the same section feels more like a chore than a pleasure, and it is also inefficient for travel.
With the opening of new Shinkansen lines in recent years, parallel JR conventional lines have been converted to third-sector railways one after another, and the number of JR isolated lines, including dead-end lines, continues to increase. There is no doubt that this is making it increasingly difficult to travel using the Seishun 18 Kippu.
In this article, I have investigated whether there are ways to connect to other JR lines without turning back at the terminus by using local buses, ferries, or walking for dead-end lines where the terminal station does not connect to other railway lines, including private ones. However, since this does not use the Seishun 18 Kippu and requires separate fares for local buses or ferries (unless walking), please use these methods if the cost fits your travel purpose or if it improves the efficiency of completing the lines.
Note that this excludes cases where it is impossible to connect via local bus, ferry, or walking from the terminus, cases where it is possible to connect to other JR lines by returning only a few stations, and JR dead-end lines in Tokyo and Kanagawa Prefectures where train frequency is high. Also, there is no need to mention the use of highway buses, which are already a major method of travel.

Chikuho Line: From Wakamatsu Station to Tobata Station

You can travel to Tobata Station on the Kagoshima Main Line by using the Wakamatsu Ferry operated by the Kitakyushu City Ferry Office. The ferry terminal is about 800 meters east of Wakamatsu Station. Ferries depart every 7 to 20 minutes between 6:00 and 22:00, so you can use it with almost no waiting time. The ride takes 3 minutes and costs 100 yen, which is appreciated. It is about 500 meters from the port to Tobata Station. Please note that you cannot walk across the Wakato Bridge located north of the port.

Kashii Line: From Saitozaki Station to Hakata/Meinohama Station

You can travel to Nakasu-Kawabata Station on the Fukuoka City Subway Airport Line by using the ferry operated by Fukuoka City. It is a 1-minute walk from Saitozaki Station to Saitozaki Port, and the ferry runs 15 times a day, taking 15 minutes and costing 450 yen. There are buses from Hakata Pier where you disembark to Hakata Station, but you can also reach the vicinity of Exit 7 of the station in about a 20-minute walk. It is 2 stations from Nakasu-Kawabata Station to Hakata and 8 stations to Meinohama.

Kashii Line: From Umi Station to Hakata/Minami-Fukuoka Station

You can travel to the 1st floor of the Hakata Bus Terminal using the local bus operated by Nishi-Nippon Railroad, specifically the 33 or 37 route. Since there is at least one bus per hour during the day, it is easy to board. The Hakata Bus Terminal is in the building next to Hakata Station. You can travel to Minami-Hakata Station by taking the 11 route. However, please note that there are only 4 buses during the day on weekdays.

Misumi Line: From Misumi Station to Uto/Kumamoto/Nagasaki Station

You can return to Uto Station on the Kagoshima Main Line using the local bus operated by Sanko Bus. However, boarding from the Misumi Sanko bus stop in front of Misumi Station takes just under an hour and costs 1,040 yen, and with only 5 buses a day, it is not very practical. On the other hand, you can take the Rapid Amakusa-go (10 round trips per day) from the Gokyo-Iriguchi bus stop, which is 600 meters or an 8-minute walk from Misumi Station, to go directly to Kumamoto Station. It is a ride of just over an hour and costs 1,340 yen. This is convenient if you are in a hurry to make a connection at Kumamoto Station.
On the other hand, although it takes time, there is also a way to travel to Nagasaki. Take the Rapid Amakusa-go from the bus stop opposite the aforementioned Gokyo-Iriguchi (15 minutes, 1,660 yen), transfer to the Tomioka Line at the final stop, Hondo Bus Center, ride for an hour (1,010 yen), and get off at Tomioka Port. From Tomioka Port, take the Reihoku Kanko Kisen (4 round trips per day, 45 minutes, 2,030 yen) and disembark at Mogi Port. From a nearby bus stop, take the Nagasaki Bus, which runs about once an hour, for a 30-minute ride (300 yen) to arrive at Nagasaki Station. This is effective if you include sightseeing in Amakusa in your itinerary.

Ibusuki Makurazaki Line: From Makurazaki Station to Kagoshima-Chuo/Ijuin Station

You can return to Kagoshima-Chuo Station using the local bus operated by Kagoshima Kotsu. It takes about 1 hour and 20 minutes with 7 buses a day at 1,580 yen, so you can travel more than an hour faster than by train. You can also reach Ijuin Station on the Kagoshima Main Line with 5 buses a day at 1,690 yen, taking 1 hour and 40 minutes, which can be said to have quite high cost-performance.

Nichinan Line: From Shibushi Station to Miyakonojo/Kagoshima-Chuo Station

You can travel to Miyakonojo Station on the Nippo Main Line using the local bus operated by Kagoshima Kotsu. There are only 3 buses a day and the travel time is about 1 hour and 20 minutes, so you need to be careful when planning your itinerary. On the other hand, the only direct bus to Kagoshima-Chuo Station is the Sunflower Liner operated by the ferry company Sunflower, which departs from Shibushi Port at 9:10 AM, runs once a day, takes about 2 hours, and costs 2,100 yen. Shibushi Port is less than 2 km from the station, so it can be reached in about 20 minutes on foot.
In addition, you can reach Kagoshima-Chuo Station by transferring at Kagoshima Airport. Although there are only 5 buses a day, it takes 1 hour and 50 minutes to reach the airport for 1,960 yen. From the airport, you can reach Kagoshima-Chuo Station with high-frequency service every 10–20 minutes during the day, taking just over 20 minutes and costing 1,400 yen, but the downside is that it costs too much. This would be effective if you are heading home from the airport.

Onoda Branch Line: From Nagato-Motoyama Station to Onoda Station

This is a difficult dead-end line with 2 round trips in the morning and 1 in the evening. The return train in the morning only gives you 7 minutes, so you cannot have a sufficient stay. For this reason, use the local bus operated by Santeetsu Bus to travel to Onoda Station on the Sanyo Main Line. It runs once an hour, takes about 40 minutes, and costs 400 yen, so it is quite effective.

Kabe Line: From Bairin Station to Kumura Station, from Nakashima Station to Shimofukawa Station, and from Kabe Station to Hiroshima Station

As regular users likely know, the Kabe Line and Geibi Line run close to each other in some sections, separated by the Ota River. Therefore, when making a return trip, you can return to the section where they are close and travel to the Geibi Line on foot. It is possible to walk from Bairin Station to Kumura Station (1.8 km, approx. 22 minutes) or from Nakashima Station to Shimofukawa Station (2.2 km, approx. 27 minutes).
If using a local bus, you can return to Kabe Station and take a Hiroshima Kotsu local bus to Hiroshima Station. The trip takes 45 minutes and costs 490 yen, with a frequency of 2 to 3 buses per hour, meaning it operates with roughly the same specifications as the Kabe Line, so there may be no need to go out of your way to use the bus.

Sakai Line: From Sakaiminato Station to Matsue Station

You can travel to Matsue Station on the San-in Main Line using a local bus operated by Ichibata Bus. However, there are only two direct bus round trips per day (40 minutes, 1,050 yen), so you need to be careful when planning your itinerary. Note that there is also a way to reach Matsue Station by taking the Mihonoseki Community Bus to the Ui Ferry Terminal and the Mihonoseki Bus Terminal, then transferring to an Ichibata Bus, but this takes more time.

Uno Line: From Uno Station to Okayama/Takamatsu Station

You can travel to Okayama Station from the Uno Port bus stop in front of the station using the Tamano Shibukawa Limited Express bus operated by Ryobi Bus. It runs twice an hour, takes just over an hour, and costs 660 yen.
However, if you do not want to go back the way you came, there is also a way to cross into Shikoku. Since the ferry directly to Takamatsu has already been discontinued, you will need to transfer via Naoshima (Miyanoura Port). You can cross to Naoshima using the ferry operated by Shikoku Kisen (15 trips per day, 20 minutes, 300 yen), and from Naoshima, you can reach Takamatsu Port using the same company's ferry (5 trips per day, 50 minutes, 520 yen; or 3 high-speed boat trips, 30 minutes, 1,220 yen).

Naruto Line: From Naruto Station to Tokushima Station

You can return to Tokushima Station on the Kotoku Line using a local bus operated by Tokushima Bus. There are multiple routes with 2 to 3 buses per hour, making them more frequent and easier to use than the Naruto Line. However, since it takes about an hour and costs 870 yen, this would likely only be used if a return trip by train is inconvenient.

Mugi Line: From Awahainan Station to Nahari Station

From Awahainan Station, take the Asa Coast Railway DMV vehicle to Kaifu Station, where you can experience the transition from rail mode to bus mode, and arrive at Umi no Eki Toyo-cho after one stop. From there, transfer to a local bus operated by Kochi Seibu Kotsu (about a few round trips per day), travel for 40 minutes (1,310 yen) to the Muroto World Geopark Center, and then transfer to another bus bound for the Aki Office (about a dozen round trips per day) to arrive at Nahari Station on the Tosa Kuroshio Railway after just over an hour of travel (1,420 yen). Depending on the bus you take, some services pass through Cape Muroto, so you might enjoy visiting the scenic spot.

Next time, we will cover the dead-end lines in the Kinki, Chubu, Hokuriku, Kanto, and Koshin regions.

※Image materials: photolibrary
※Map images: NAVITIME