Tanegashima

Tanegashima (種子島) is an island in Kagoshima prefecture, south of Kyushu.

Understand
Tanegashima has two claims to fame. In 1543, Portuguese explorer Mendes Pinto found his way there and introduced firearms to the Japanese, and for a long time thereafter arquebuses were known as tanegashima in Japanese. These days, though, the main attraction is Tanegashima Space Center, JAXA's main spaceport.

Tourist Information Site
#tanetabi is the local tourist association's multilingual guide site.

By plane
A taxi to Nishi-no-omote costs about &yen;6000.

By ferry
The "Toppy" (トッピー) and "Rocket" (ロケット) Jetfoil ferries (formerly two separate companies) can be taken from Kagoshima; 4-6 of them take 1 hr 35 min, one of them takes 2 hours and stops in Isubuki, and one takes 3 hr 15 min and stops in Yakushima on its way back to Kagoshima. They cost ¥7100 (as of Dec 2016, -50% for kids, small discount for return tickets). Regular ferry as well as jet foil ferry services are cancelled in case of bad weather (waves more than 3 meters high). It is also better to make a reservation at least the day before, some boats can be fully booked.

Timetables are available on this page (Japanese; Kagoshima: 鹿児島, Tanegashima: 種子島). Before your departure, you can see the traffic situation on this other page. The important kanjis are: "通常" (normal traffic) and "条件付" (under condition).

The Princess Wakasa car ferry runs once daily (3.5 hours, ¥3,700 in standard class, -50% for children up to 12 years, small discount for return tickets).

Get around
Due to its size and rural nature, there is not much public transport infrastructure on the island. As such, the easiest way to get around Tanegashima is to bring or rent a car. Contact information for taxi (タクシー) and rental car (レンタカー) companies is here.



Do
Tanegashima is a well known destination for surfers in Japan.

Go next

 * Yakushima, mysterious island of giant cedars