Johor Bahru Bus: To Tan Hiok Nee Heritage Walk (新山.陈旭年文化街)

Jalan Tan Hiok Nee / Tan Hiok Nee Heritage Walk (陈旭年文化街) lies in one corner of Bandar Johor Bahru just across the Straits of Johor from Woodlands Checkpoint. Hailed as the “Chinatown of Johor Bahru”, the historical street, and couple of adjacent streets (Jalan Dhoby and Jalan Trus), features many restaurants, cafes and bakeries and is a food haven for many Johorians and Singapore visitors.

Read: JB Eats & Buys: Tan Hiok Nee Heritage Walk

The popular street is about 600 metres walking distance from JB City Square Shopping Centre or about one kilometre from JB CIQ, taking less than 15 minutes.

Many visitors from Singapore have very similar action plans — they will usually walk from JB CIQ to JB City Square then to Tan Hiok Nee Heritage Walk, have breakfast / brunch there and then walk back to JB City Square for shopping or adjourn to other places by e-hailed cars. But, when it rains heavily or the scorching sun is high in the cloudless sky, many will dismiss the idea of taking a walk to the streets.

Of course, it will be easier if there are buses to get there. Nobody will want to e-hail a car for just one kilometre or less, and end up taking longer due to waiting time and one-way roads around the area.

Buses from JB Sentral

Sorry, there are no buses from JB Sentral for Jalan Tan Hiok Nee.

In fact, many buses from JB Sentral do pass by the Tan Hiok Nee area on their way to other destinations but they are travelling on Jalan Tun Abdul Razak, a busy 4-lane road with no bus-stops — despite Causeway Link designating a “stop” opposite POS Malaysia. Moreover, most buses will be turning right at the next road intersection, so they will be keeping right all the way. Only buses that travel straight (BAS.MY J30 / J31 / J32 / J33 / J34) will keep left — but, I have never seen anyone boarding / alighting at the “designated stop”, if there is one.

PLAN B

As mentioned earlier, many people will plan to visit Tan Hiok Nee Heritage Walk first before adjourning to “other places” — let’s call it Plan A.

We have a “Plan B” and that is simply the reverse of Plan A and suitable for those who do not fancy the less-than-15-minute walk, especially on a rainy or super hot day. The plan is to visit the “other places” first, then take public bus services — or e-hail a car — to Tan Hiok Nee Heritage Walk on the way back. Simple.

There is a long, exquisite bus-stop in front of POS Malaysia, near one end of Tan Hiok Nee Heritage Walk. Many public bus services will call at this bus-stop, which is the very last stop, on their way to JB Sentral.

The other end of Tan Hiok Nee Heritage Walk is identified by a stone-crafted archway and is about 2 minutes’ walk from the bus-stop.

* denotes services that will pass through Taman Sentosa, Taman Sri Tebrau (Dai Mah Garden) and Taman Pelangi (including Plaza Pelangi).

As you can see, it is easy to execute Plan B and we have been using it frequently to visit Tan Hiok Nee Heritage Walk after visiting other shopping malls / food havens. The restaurants and cafes are quieter in the afternoon or evening and shorter queue for Hiap Joo Bakery’s banana cakes and buns.

When it is time to leave the area, either take a walk to JB City Square Shopping Centre, JB Sentral or JB CIQ, or go back to the same bus-stop and take any pink-coloured BAS.MY buses that come along to JB Sentral. It is just one stop away and minimum bus fare applies — should be around RM0.90 per adult (do ask) — but the bus will get you direct to the entrance of JB CIQ, skipping JB City Square and JB Sentral.

Of course, when you feel like taking a walk, continue with Plan A. Savvy?

More JB Bus Guides:

Johor Bahru Bus Guides: Get Around Johor Bahru using Public Buses