Senior Bus and Taxi Tickets in Hiroshima (2026): ¥7,000 a Year in Fukuyama, ¥100 Rides in Kure

This page is general information from official sources. It is not legal or financial advice. For your own case, ask the senior welfare desk of the city where you live.

If you are an older resident of Hiroshima Prefecture, or you care for an older parent, your city may help pay for buses and taxis. Each city runs its own program, and the rules are very different. This page compares Hiroshima City, Fukuyama City, Kure City and Higashihiroshima City.

In short

Only Fukuyama City (age 75 and over) and Kure City (age 70 and over) go by age alone. Hiroshima City and Higashihiroshima City add other conditions (sections 1 and 4).
Fukuyama City sends ¥7,000 of ride tickets a year. If you missed the postcard, you can still apply at a city counter until March 31, 2027 (section 2).
In Kure City, people aged 70 and over pay ¥100 a ride on listed city buses, but you must register with MOBIRY DAYS (section 3).
Hiroshima City’s tickets are only for people certified as needing support or care, and the form arrives by mail in mid-June (section 1).

Checked with official pages on October 13, 2026.

City	Who	What you get	How to apply
Hiroshima	65+, needing support or care	Tickets: ¥2,500 or ¥5,000 a year	Return the form mailed in mid-June
Fukuyama	75+ on October 1	Tickets: ¥7,000 a year	Postcard in early July; counter Oct–Mar
Kure	70+	¥100 a ride on listed city buses	Counter, from 2 months before turning 70
Higashihiroshima	70+, tax-exempt household, other conditions	100 tickets of ¥100	Counter, any time; renewed by mail

The tickets arrive in late September in Fukuyama, from August in Hiroshima City, and in late July in Higashihiroshima (for renewals). In Kure, the card arrives 2 to 3 weeks after you apply. None of the four cities’ pages say whether help is available in English.

1. Hiroshima City: who gets taxi and ferry tickets?

Hiroshima City

Hiroshima City calls this program the Transportation Subsidy for Older People Needing Support or Care (要支援・要介護高齢者外出支援交通費助成). It is for people aged 65 and over who live in Hiroshima City on September 1 and are certified as needing support (要支援, yoshien) or care (要介護, yokaigo). These are levels decided under long-term care insurance. People needing support get ¥2,500 a year, and people needing care get ¥5,000.

People whose income last year was above a set level are not covered. Neither are some others, such as people covered by the city’s transport subsidy for people with disabilities. The city does not give the income level on the page. The subsidy year runs from September 1 to August 31.

You choose one type of ticket:

taxi tickets, for taxi companies that have a contract with the city
ferry tickets for Ninoshima Kisen or Kanawajimakai
coupon tickets for a shared taxi (乗合タクシー) in Misuzugaoka, Otsukanishi, Kuchita, Nakano and Nakanohigashi, Kabe and Kameyama, Fukuda, or Hesaka

How to apply in Hiroshima City

Wait for the form. The city mails an application form to people who qualify by age and care level in about mid-June.
Fill it in and send it back in the reply envelope.
Receive the tickets by mail. The city checks your income and care level, then mails tickets from August onward.

Once you apply, the same choice is renewed every year unless you change or cancel it. To change the ticket type, go to the Welfare Division (福祉課, fukushika) of your ward office or the city’s Elderly Welfare Division (高齢福祉課). Bring the tickets you received and ID such as a My Number Card, a driver’s license or your long-term care insurance card. A family member or helper acting for you must bring ID for both of you.

Questions go to the city’s call center for this program, 082-512-0290, 8:30–17:15. It is closed on weekends, public holidays, August 6 and over the New Year.

Note

Hiroshima City also has a points program for residents aged 65 and over, with no income limit (高齢者いきいき活動ポイント事業). You collect stamps for health and community activities and receive up to ¥10,000 (100 points). If you also use the transport subsidy, the cap is ¥7,500 for people needing support and ¥5,000 for people needing care.

Separately from the city, Hiroshima Electric Railway (Hiroden) sells a Silver Pass (a type of 定期券, teikiken, pass) only to people aged 70 and over. At a pass counter you must register or show your age. If you buy it yourself in the app or on the web, you do not need proof of age. For fares and how MOBIRY DAYS works, see Hiroshima streetcar and bus fares.

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2. Fukuyama City: how do I get the ¥7,000 tickets?

Fukuyama City

Fukuyama City gives “outing ride tickets” (おでかけ乗車券, odekake joshaken) to residents aged 75 and over on October 1. Each person gets ¥7,000 a year: ¥5,000 in tickets for buses or taxis and ¥2,000 in bus-only tickets. The tickets are for use within the city. The city’s page lists no income condition.

Return the postcard. The city mails an application postcard to everyone who qualifies in early July.
Receive the tickets by mail in late September.
If you missed the postcard, apply at a counter. From October to the end of March, the city also takes applications at its counters and gives out the tickets. For this year, that means until March 31, 2027.

The page lists these offices for questions: the Senior Support Division (高齢者支援課) on the 3rd floor of the City Hall main building, the Matsunaga, Hokubu, Kannabe and Tobu health and welfare divisions (保健福祉課), and the Shin’ichi and Numakuma branch offices (支所). It does not say which of them take applications or what to bring, so phone before you go. Phone the Senior Support Division: 084-928-1064.

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3. Kure City: how does the ¥100 bus fare work?

Kure City

Kure City’s Bus Discount for Seniors (バス優待制度（敬老優待）) is for people aged 70 and over. You pay ¥100 a ride on listed routes in the city, run by Hiroden buses, Setouchi Sanko and the Kure City community buses, and you must be registered with MOBIRY DAYS. MOBIRY DAYS is Hiroden’s ticket system, with an IC card or a QR code in an app.

You are not covered if you already receive one of these from the city: diaper purchase vouchers for older people or for people with disabilities, welfare taxi tickets (福祉タクシー乗車券), or the bus discount for people with disabilities. The old Ikiiki Pass stopped working when PASPY ended on March 29, 2025. If money is left on it, Hiroden’s offices in Kure City will refund it until March 31, 2027, free of charge. Someone can do this for you.

How to apply in Kure City

Apply from 2 months before the month you turn 70. Go to the Senior Support Division (高齢者支援課) on the 1st floor of City Hall, or to any citizens’ center. The ¥100 fare starts on the 1st of the month you turn 70.
Bring ID, such as a My Number Card. If you already use MOBIRY DAYS, also bring your IC card or the phone with the app. A person who is not you or your family needs a letter of authorization (委任状, ininjo).
Wait 2 to 3 weeks. If you are new to MOBIRY DAYS, the city sends a special IC card and a Bus Discount Eligibility Card by registered mail. If you already use MOBIRY DAYS, the city mails the eligibility card 2 to 3 weeks after you apply, and your current card or app gets the ¥100 fare 2 to 3 weeks after that.

You can add cash to the card on the bus or at a Hiroden office, but not at an ATM. Other buses and streetcars that take MOBIRY DAYS give a 10% discount on the regular fare, except some routes. Show the eligibility card for discounts at some city facilities, such as the Kure City Museum of Art, the Yamato Museum and city indoor pools.

Not every bus in the city is included. On the city’s list, the 仁方小須磨線 route has been suspended since October 1, 2026, and the Shimokamagari community bus since April 1, 2026. Phone the Senior Support Division: 0823-25-3139.

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4. Higashihiroshima City: who gets the ¥100 tickets?

Higashihiroshima City

Higashihiroshima City’s Discount Ride Tickets for Older People (高齢者割引乗車券) are 100 tickets worth ¥100 each, for taxis and buses. You must meet all of these: you live in the city, you are 70 or over, you live alone or in an “older people’s household”, and everyone in the household is exempt from city resident tax (市民税非課税, shiminzei hikazei). In an older people’s household, every member is 65 or over, under 18, aged 18 to 64 with a disability certificate, or aged 40 to 64 and certified as needing care. (Depending on the grade of the disability certificate, a member may not count.) People who get the city’s taxi tickets for people with disabilities are not covered.

The tickets are valid from August 1 to July 31. Use one ticket for each ¥100 of the fare, as many as you like, and pay the rest in cash. Your ride must start or end in the city, and only listed companies take the tickets; you get the list with your tickets. On buses you cannot combine them with ICOCA or MOBIRY DAYS, and they do not work on reserved highway buses. Only the named person can use them, so carry ID such as a My Number Card. Lost tickets are not replaced.

Apply at a counter, at any time, at the Community Comprehensive Care Promotion Division (地域包括ケア推進課) or a branch office. Bring ID; no personal seal (hanko) is needed.
If you moved in recently, you may need an income certificate from your previous city. Ask the division first.
Get renewals by mail. After the first time, the city renews automatically and sends the tickets by registered mail in late July (planned) if you still qualify.

To change the mailing address or stop the tickets, send the form by June 30 so it applies to the next mailing. Phone the division’s senior welfare section: 082-420-0984.

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5. How do I choose, and what should I check before I ride?

Depends on the provider

In Kure the ¥100 fare only works through MOBIRY DAYS, but in Higashihiroshima the paper tickets cannot be used together with MOBIRY DAYS or ICOCA. Hiroden ended PASPY on March 29, 2025 and started MOBIRY DAYS. So decide before you board whether you are paying with a city ticket or a card.

Taxi tickets do not work with every company. Hiroshima City’s taxi tickets are only for companies with a city contract. Higashihiroshima’s tickets are only for the companies on the list you receive. Ask the driver before you ride whether the ticket can be used.

The date that counts for your age also differs. Hiroshima City looks at your age on September 1 and Fukuyama City on October 1. Kure City starts from the month you turn 70, and in Higashihiroshima you can apply any time once you are 70.

Common questions

I lost my Kure MOBIRY DAYS IC card. What do I do?

Reissue the IC card at a Hiroden office, or on the web or app if you registered an email address. You pay the ¥500 card fee and a ¥210 reissue fee; Kure City’s counters cannot do this. Reissue the Bus Discount Eligibility Card at the Senior Support Division or a citizens’ center. It arrives by mail in about a week, or the same day if you go to the Senior Support Division.

Can I switch my Hiroshima City taxi tickets to shared-taxi coupons?

Yes. Go to your ward office’s Welfare Division or the Elderly Welfare Division with the tickets you received and ID. You can switch to “no tickets” only if the tickets you received are unused.

I could not collect my Higashihiroshima tickets from the post office in time.

The city later mails a notice telling you which counter to collect them from, the main office or a branch office. Take the notice and ID with you.

I am moving out of Kure City. Do I need to tell the city?

Yes. If you move out of the city, switch to another program or no longer need MOBIRY DAYS, cancel the discount at a city counter and return the eligibility card. To leave MOBIRY DAYS and get a refund, wait about 3 weeks, then go to a Hiroden office or use the MOBIRY DAYS app or website.

Next steps

Sources (checked October 2026)

6 pages we checked

1. Hiroshima City: who gets taxi and ferry tickets?

How to apply in Hiroshima City

2. Fukuyama City: how do I get the ¥7,000 tickets?

3. Kure City: how does the ¥100 bus fare work?

How to apply in Kure City

4. Higashihiroshima City: who gets the ¥100 tickets?

5. How do I choose, and what should I check before I ride?

Common questions

Sources (checked October 2026)

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