As I settle down on the back seat of the bus, I watch as my brother-in-law confidently gets on board and touches his Suica card to the scanner.
Beep beep. It¡¯s rejected ¡ª lack of funds.
Not to worry. While he doesn¡¯t speak the local language, this seasoned traveler isn¡¯t fazed. He readies some cash instead. But a minor kerfuffle begins. I head to the front and ask the driver what the issue is. Looking relieved to hear some Japanese, he explains that the shiny new ?500 coin that my brother-in-law has paid with is simply too new for his bus. It can¡¯t be accepted by the machine.
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