At the station

 I was at the station waiting for a bus to go to my exercise class, so I thought I would take some pictures while I waited. The roof of the station starts over these two offices and the taxi stand. The office on the left, the one with people coming out the door, is the real estate agency where we rented our apartment. It is called Next Step and the name is phonetically spelled out above the door in Japanese katakana.

 

 This is the bus depot. The train station is actually on the second floor on the right but it is across the road. There is a wide covered pedestrian bridge over the street.

 The box, outlined in white, just above the Coca Cola sign is an interface that allows you to use a cell phone to pay for your drink. The charges are, I think, added to your phone bill. I do not have a phone that has this feature and I do not plan to get on, but they are very popular. Many subways and trains, especially in the big cities, have this way of paying. Also most convenience stores and more and more other stores are offering the service. I believe that it is safer than a credit card because you have to have the phone in your hand. I expect that this is going to spread and eventually become one of the main ways of paying for things.