In April, Bunkyo-ku launched a community bus service that circuits the ward’s public offices and major parks. It’s a convenience for people who need to get across town to the tax office or are back-and-forthing between city hall and hospitals or taking their kids to the park. The bus runs every 20 minutes between 7 am and 8 pm and a full circuit of the ku takes 65 minutes.
I am delighted that this is how my tax money is being put to use. Not because I ride the bus, I haven’t yet, but because I love the name of the service. The B in B-ぐる stands for Bunkyo and くる is the verb “to come” so that makes nice sense. The part that makes me grin is that B−ぐる is pronounced like beagle and the mascot is a a beagle wearing orange pants.
From August through October, B−ぐる is teaming up with local cafes to offer discounts if you show them your one day ticket. The campaign page has all the details and even tells you what stop is closest. And in another campaign, if you save up 12 one-day tickets, you can redeem them for a B−ぐる shopping bag or commuter pass holder.
Bunkyo-ku rocks. And rolls, too.
Hello hello,
I think that ぐる comes from the onomatopoeia ぐるぐる and the expression ぐるっと回る which means traveling in a circular path, or by extension traveling around non-stop (ぐるぐるぐるぐる - is probably what Japanese say when they feel dizzy).
So the B-ぐる name makes “even” more sense! ;-)
And the famous “ぐるnavi” restaurant info service is another play on words with ぐるぐる the “walking around” sense and ぐるめ > グルメ > Gourmet.
=> walking around for nice food!
かな。。。 ;-)
Posted by: paul on July 29, 2007 12:18 PMOh, I’d totally forgotten about ぐるぐる. B−ぐる is even better now. And I never thought to apply it to ぐるnavi - always settled out as グルメ for me. Thanks for renewing my vocabulary!
Posted by: Kristen on July 29, 2007 12:36 PMI was thinking of it as vehicle… ベクル. Which kinda fits for a bus service too.
Posted by: j-ster on July 30, 2007 11:12 AMVery cool. Go Bunkyo-ku. How much are the tickets? i am guessing they are hop-on, hop-off for the day.
Posted by: T on July 31, 2007 12:17 AMSingle ride tickets are 100 yen; one-day passes are 300 yen. There’s a montly pass for 3000, I think. And the bus accepts Pasmo/Suica so you don’t have to dig around for coins.
Posted by: Kristen on July 31, 2007 10:16 AMAs someone interested in marketing, I was reminded of the very famous office supply company “ASKUL” pronounced ASUKURU. It stands for ASU (tomorrow) KURU (to come), and as it promises, when you order today we deliver tomorrow. It was and continues to be a very popular and handy supply source for small offices. If you’re looking for cheap but good furniture or supplies, it can’t be beat.
Posted by: Greg on August 1, 2007 01:14 PM