For many visitors, the most difficult part of planning a trip to Nishinoshima is figuring out how to get here. To help you out, links to ferry and high speed boat schedules, as well as schedules for bus connections to the ports are listed below. These schedules assume that you are coming from Matsue, Shimane Prefecture, or Yonago, Tottori Prefecture. It is also possible to fly to the airport in Saigo (on Dogo Island) then take a ferry to Nishinoshima. Please contact Japan Air System or a travel agency for further assistance if you wish to fly to Oki.
Part of the confusion in getting to Oki lies in the number of ports, ferries, and ferry schedules to choose between. Here are a few guidelines that we hope will help you figure out where you're going.
The ferry schedules are determined by date, so check carefully to make sure you choose the correct
schedule for your travel plans.
There are both high speed boats and ferries traveling between the islands.
The high speed boat costs more, but is about twice as fast as the ferry. The Oki fleet consists of
two high speed boats (Rainbow and Rainbow 2) and three ferries (Kuniga, Shirashima and Okiji).
Ferries and high speed boats leave from a total of three different ports on the mainland,
depending on the season. The port names on the mainland are: Kaga
(serves high speed boat only), Shichirui, and Sakaiminato. Bus connections to all three ports are available
from Yonago and Matsue.
Nishinoshima has two ferry ports, Urago and Beppu. Otherwise, each of the other islands has only
one ferry port. The ferry port on Dogo Island is at Saigo. We hope that this explanation will make it easier for you to plan a trip to Oki.
For more information about Nishinoshima, please contact Nishinoshima Town Hall.
Alana-Christoff, Coordinator for International Relations
Copyright © 2003, Nishinoshima Town Hall
Revised -- 03/11/03
URL:
http://www.town.nishinoshima.shimane.jp/English/getting.here.htm