Hososhima is the port of Hyuga, a city on the Pacific coast of Miyazaki Prefecture in eastern Kyushu. Cape Hyuga, a headland of columnar rock beside the harbour, holds the Umagase cliffs and the Sea of the Cross. Takachiho, the mountain town where Japan's founding myths are set, is 63 km inland. The port's own trade is cargo: raw materials and products for the factories behind it.
No. Ships berth alongside at Industrial Port Quays No. 1 and No. 2, the quay the Japan Tourism Agency names for cruise ships. The prefecture's schedule has no berth column, and the berth for 2027 calls is not announced.
At the terminal
No terminal building. On call days the city sets up a local product fair on the quay. An ATM, Wi-Fi, a tourist desk or a taxi rank on the quay is not confirmed.
If this is your first Japanese port, everyone goes through face-to-face immigration before going ashore; there is no terminal building here, so it is done on board or on the quay. Allow 30 to 60 minutes after the ship clears. What happens at your first Japanese port
How the berths work, and the way into town, in full
Getting off the quay
Nothing a visitor wants is in walking distance. Aeon Town Hyuga, with the nearest bus stop, is 15 minutes on foot. JR Hyuga-shi Station is 2.7 km away, 10 minutes by car.
No shuttle is published by the city, the prefecture or the tourism association. A passenger on a January 2025 call reports a free loop: quay, JR Hyuga-shi Station, Umi-no-Eki Hososhima, quay, every 20 minutes. It is not confirmed for any later call, so read the daily programme.
That leaves a taxi. The tourism association warns that taxis run short on cruise days and asks visitors to phone early: Kamihyuga Taxi 0982-54-5454, Miyako Taxi 0982-52-3131, Miyaji Taxi 0982-54-2525, Yanagita Taxi 0982-52-4141, Himawari Taxi 0982-52-7979.
Miyazaki's tariff from 1 February 2026 is ¥600 for the first kilometre, then ¥100 per 285 m. On distance alone, without the time charge:
Quay →
Drive
Taxi
JR Hyuga-shi Station
2.7 km
~¥1,200
Umi-no-Eki Hososhima
2.2 km
~¥1,100
Omi Shrine
3.1 km
~¥1,400
Sea of the Cross
5.1 km
~¥2,100
Umagase car park
5.5 km
~¥2,200
Mimitsu
13.9 km
~¥5,200
Takachiho Gorge
62.9 km
~¥22,400
By the hour the rate on cruise days is ¥5,560, ¥11,120 for two hours and ¥16,680 for three. The city's sightseeing-taxi discount does not apply on call days.
From the ship to each place: how, how long, how much
Taxi
Taxi to JR Hyuga-shi Station and the townタクシー 日向市駅
A taxi rank on the quay is not confirmed. The tourism association says taxis run short on cruise days: phone a company early or ask the ship’s shore desk
Quay → JR Hyuga-shi Station 2.7 km, 10 min by car (Japan Tourism Agency); → Umi-no-Eki Hososhima 2.2 km — our distances
Miyazaki tariff from 1 Feb 2026: ¥600 for the first 1.0 km, then ¥100 per 285 m · quay → station about ¥1,200, → Umi-no-Eki Hososhima about ¥1,100 — our estimates on distance alone · No shuttle is published. A passenger on a January 2025 call reports a free loop, quay → station → Umi-no-Eki Hososhima → quay, every 20 min: not confirmed for later calls
Taxi: ~¥1,200 to the station
Our estimates use OSRM drive distances and the distance tariff only; the time charge is extra. The station has a taxi rank and the Machi-no-Eki Tomitaka shop (8:30–18:15).
Quay → Umagase car park 5.5 km; → Sea of the Cross 5.1 km; → Omi Shrine 3.1 km — our distances. The tourism association gives 15, 14 and 10 min by car from JR Hyuga-shi Station
Between them: Umagase → Sea of the Cross 1.3 km; Sea of the Cross → Omi Shrine 3.8 km; Omi Shrine → quay 3.0 km
No bus to the cape was found, and no taxi waits at the lookouts: keep the car, or agree a pick-up time
By the hour on cruise days: ¥5,560 for 1 hour, ¥11,120 for 2, ¥16,680 for 3 (tourism association, October 2026) · on the meter: Umagase about ¥2,200, Sea of the Cross about ¥2,100, Omi Shrine about ¥1,400 each way — our estimates · All three are open at any hour and free; Umagase Chaya 8:40–17:20 October–March, 9:10–17:50 April–September
Taxi: ~¥16,680 for 3 hours
Three hours by the hour covers all three with time to walk to the tip of Umagase. The city’s sightseeing-taxi discount does not apply on cruise days.
Quay → Takachiho Gorge 62.9 km (our distance). Takachiho’s tourist association gives about 50 min from Nobeoka JCT alone; the quay is about 20 km south of that junction
Allow 1 hour 15 min each way — our estimate — and more on a holiday
At the gorge: car park No. 1 Oshioi is by the boat desk; No. 2 Araragi is 700 m, 15 min on foot
About ¥22,400 each way on the meter, our estimate on distance alone; ask the company for a day rate · rental boat ¥5,100 a boat on the November 2026 calendar (varies by date), 30 min, up to 3 people · Boats 8:30–17:00, last reception 16:30; online booking only, from 9:00 two weeks ahead to 9:00 two days ahead
Taxi: ~¥22,400 each way
Fits a call of nine hours or more in port. Under that, only the ship’s tour, which the ship waits for. Public transport does not fit inside a call. The boats sell out within minutes of going on sale and stop when the river is high; the 1 km gorge path needs no booking.
Fits calls of nine hours or more: Seabourn Encore (08:00–18:00), Seven Seas Explorer (07:00–17:00), Asuka III (10:30–19:30). Not Mitsui Ocean Fuji's 11:00–18:30.
Times assume 08:00–18:00: off the ship at 08:30, all-aboard 17:30, at the gangway by 16:30. Arrange the car before the call and agree the price for the day.
08:30Leave the quay by hired car or taxi. Takachiho Gorge is 62.9 km; allow 1 hour 15 minutes.
09:45Park at No. 1 Oshioi, by the boat desk, or No. 2 Araragi, 700 m and 15 minutes on foot from it.
10:00Rowing boat, 30 minutes, if you booked a slot online: ¥5,100 a boat on the November 2026 calendar, up to three people.
10:45Walk the gorge path, about 1 km, to the lookout over Manai Falls and the three bridges. No ticket is needed.
12:15Lunch near the gorge. Opening hours of the restaurants there were not checked for this guide; carry a snack from the ship.
13:30Leave Takachiho. For an 18:00 departure the latest safe start is 15:00.
14:45Back at the quay. If time is left, Omi Shrine is 3.1 km away and open at any hour.
16:30At the gangway, an hour before all-aboard.
A wet day: Mimitsu’s merchant houses and the Hososhima Minato Museum
A wet day on any call except a Monday. The cape lookouts are open headlands and Takachiho’s boats stop after heavy rain. About 4.5h ashore; taxi about ¥5,200 to Mimitsu and about the same back, our estimates. Museums ¥220 each; the Machinami Center and Mimitsu-ken are free. Times count from when you step off the ship.
+0:00Taxi from the quay to Mimitsu (13.9 km, our estimate). Keep the car or fix a pick-up time: no taxis wait in Mimitsu
+0:25Mimitsu Machinami Center and Mimitsu-ken, two restored merchant houses. 9:00–16:30, free
+1:10Hyuga City History and Folklore Museum, a former shipping agent’s house. 9:00–16:30, ¥220
+1:50Drive about 13 km to the Hososhima Minato Museum, a three-storey wooden former inn. 9:00–16:30, last entry 16:00, ¥220; closed Mondays
+2:40Walk to Umi-no-Eki Hososhima, close by, for lunch. Opens 11:00, last order 14:00; closed Mondays and the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays
Tick the places in the order you want them. The map numbers them and draws the way from your ship and back; the buttons open the same route in Google Maps, in parts a phone can draw.
There is no bookable tour for Hososhima in our catalogue. The days above are the plan: by taxi, timed from the gangway.
Before you go
Cash, Wi-Fi, toilets, steps: the practical answers
Cash, cards, ATM
No ATM on the quay is confirmed. Bring yen from the ship: taxis, the fishing cooperative's restaurant and the small museums are the places you pay.
Wi-Fi and SIM
No Wi-Fi on the quay is published. Buy an eSIM before sailing.
Toilets
Use the ship before you leave. The Umagase car park has public toilets.
Luggage
No lockers are published at the quay.
Steps and slopes
The Sea of the Cross lookout and Omi Shrine are close to their car parks. Umagase is a walk along a cliff path from the car park. The Udo cave and the Takachiho path have steps.
English
Nothing in English is published for the quay. The Hyuga tourism association's site has an English version; Takachiho's boat page posts its sold-out notices in English as well as Japanese.
Pharmacy, hospital
Dial 119 for an ambulance and 110 for police; the JNTO Japan Visitor Hotline, 050-3816-2787, answers in English 24 h.
With children
The lookouts and shrines are free. The Mimitsu History and Folklore Museum is ¥110 for school pupils. A Takachiho boat takes three people, or four when one is a pre-school child.
Two things to eat in Hososhima, and where
Dish
Where, price, hours
Seafood bowl of bonito and tuna with fish soup
The pickUmi-no-Eki Hososhima, the fishing cooperative's restaurant at Hososhima's commercial harbour, 2.2 km from the quay11:00–14:30, last order 14:00; closed Mondays and the 1st and 3rd TuesdaysThe cooperative's latest notice gives last order 14:00 and closing 14:30. Go before 14:00.
Hebesu, Hyuga's green citrus, as soft-serve
The pickUmagase Chaya, beside the Umagase car park8:40–17:20 October–March, 9:10–17:50 April–September; closed 31 DecemberHebesu products and Hyottoko cheese manju are also sold at Machi-no-Eki Tomitaka in JR Hyuga-shi Station, 8:30–18:15.
Mistakes to avoid
Expecting a terminal, a shuttle or a taxi rank.The quay is a cargo quay. None of the three is published or confirmed. Check the daily programme and phone a taxi company early.
Counting on a taxi being free on the day.The tourism association says taxis run short when a ship is in. Five companies serve Hyuga; their numbers are in this guide.
Starting for Takachiho on a short call.The drive is about 1 hour 15 minutes each way. Under nine hours in port the day has no margin.
Turning up for a Takachiho boat without a booking.Booking is online only, from two weeks to two days ahead, and sells out in minutes. Same-day tickets are sold only when slots are left.
Going to Mimitsu on a Monday.The Machinami Center, Mimitsu-ken and the History and Folklore Museum close on Mondays, or the next day when Monday is a holiday.
Letting the taxi go at Umagase.No taxis wait at the lookouts and no bus to the cape was found. Hire by the hour and keep the car.
Festivals you could meet on a port day
Festival
When
Hyuga Hyottoko Summer FestivalNo 2027 call falls in August. Hyottoko dancers, in red with comic masks, also see cruise ships off from the quay.
Early August each year, central Hyuga (the 2027 dates are not published)
Hososhima cruise port questions
Where do cruise ships dock at Hososhima?
At Industrial Port Quays No. 1 and No. 2 (細島工業港1・2号岸壁) in Hyuga. The Japan Tourism Agency names these quays, and so did every 2026 call notice from the city. The berth for 2027 calls is not announced.
Is there a cruise terminal at Hososhima?
No. It is a cargo quay. On call days the city sets up a local product fair, and Hyottoko dancers and taiko drummers see the ship off.
Is there a shuttle bus?
None is published. A passenger on a January 2025 call reports a free loop to JR Hyuga-shi Station and Umi-no-Eki Hososhima every 20 minutes; it is not confirmed for later calls. Check the daily programme.
How far is Hyuga city from the cruise port?
JR Hyuga-shi Station is 2.7 km from the quay, 10 minutes by car and about ¥1,200 by taxi. On foot, Aeon Town Hyuga is 15 minutes away.
How much is a taxi from the port?
The tariff is ¥600 for the first kilometre, then ¥100 per 285 m. Omi Shrine is about ¥1,400, Umagase about ¥2,200, Mimitsu about ¥5,200. By the hour it is ¥5,560.
Can I visit Takachiho Gorge from Hososhima?
On a call of nine hours or more. The gorge is 63 km away, about 1 hour 15 minutes each way. On a shorter call take the ship's tour or stay on Cape Hyuga.
Do I need to book the boats at Takachiho Gorge?
Yes, online, between 9:00 two weeks ahead and 9:00 two days ahead. Slots sell out in minutes. The 1 km path and the lookout over Manai Falls need no booking.
What can I do in Hososhima in three hours?
Cape Hyuga by taxi: Umagase, the Sea of the Cross and Omi Shrine. They are 3 to 6 km from the quay and all are free and open all day.
What is closed on a Monday?
Mimitsu's three houses and the Hososhima Minato Museum; when Monday is a holiday they close the next day instead. Umi-no-Eki Hososhima closes on Mondays and the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays. The lookouts, the shrines and Takachiho Gorge are open.
Which ships call at Hososhima in 2027?
The cruise lines list Seabourn Encore on 16 and 30 March, Asuka III on 28 March, Mitsui Ocean Fuji on 8 April and Seven Seas Explorer on 3 May. The prefecture's 2027 list is not published.
What is the weather like in Hyuga?
JMA normals for Nobeoka, the nearest station, 1991–2020: average highs of 16.6 °C in March, 21.0 °C in April and 24.6 °C in May. Rain falls on 9 to 11 days a month in spring.
Read on
Hososhima in depth: the places, the history, the myths
1,651 words · 15 chapters
Why Hososhima is worth getting off the ship for
Hososhima is on the itinerary for two reasons, and they are 60 km apart.
The first is Cape Hyuga, the headland beside the harbour. Its tip, Umagase, is a line of columnar cliffs over the Pacific. A kilometre away the reef has split into the shape of a cross. Omi Shrine stands on the rocks at the foot of the cape. All three are ten to fifteen minutes from the quay by taxi.
The second is Takachiho Gorge, in the mountains where Japan's founding myths are set. It is a full day, and only some calls are long enough.
What this port is not: a walk-off port. The quay is a cargo quay with no terminal and no published shuttle.
This guide is built from the prefecture's call list, the cruise lines' own itineraries, the taxi tariff and each sight's own page. Distances and taxi fares are our estimates from map routing and the official tariff. Everything was checked on 13 November 2026.
Where the ship ties up
Cruise ships use Industrial Port Quays No. 1 and No. 2 (細島工業港1・2号岸壁). The Japan Tourism Agency names these quays, and so did every 2026 call notice from the city and its tourism association. The prefecture's schedule gives times but no berth, and the berth for 2027 calls is not announced.
There is no terminal building. On call days the city sets up a local product fair on the quay. In February 2026 Hyottoko dancers performed an hour before sailing and taiko drummers half an hour before; whether this is repeated for a given call is not published.
An ATM, Wi-Fi, a tourist desk and a taxi rank are not confirmed. Bring yen from the ship.
Cape Hyuga: Umagase, the Sea of the Cross and Omi Shrine
Umagase is the tip of the cape. From the car park a path leads to Sukeruccha, a glass-floored deck over the cliff opened in 2022. Two minutes on is the Umagase lookout. The white Hososhima Lighthouse, first built in 1910 and rebuilt in 1941, is on the same path. The lookouts are free and open all day. The car park holds 70 and has toilets.
The Sea of the Cross is 1.3 km back along the road. The reef is split 200 m east to west and 220 m north to south. Read with the rock beside it, the shape is the character 叶, “to come true”, and the lookout has a bell to ring for a wish. It is free and open all day, with a car park for 22.
Omi Shrine stands beside Isegahama beach and is known locally as Hyuga's Ise. Its grounds hold a sazare-ishi boulder, the rock named in the national anthem. Udo Shrine is in the sea cave next door. From the small shrine inside, the cave mouth has the outline of a rising dragon. Both are free and open all day.
Three hours by taxi covers all three, with time to walk to the tip of Umagase.
Takachiho Gorge: does it fit your call?
The gorge is 62.9 km from the quay. Takachiho's tourist association gives about 50 minutes from Nobeoka junction alone, and the quay is about 20 km south of that junction. Allow 1 hour 15 minutes each way.
Time ashore is the call length minus two hours. Take off 2 hours 30 minutes of driving and what is left is your time in Takachiho.
Call length
Time ashore
In Takachiho
Verdict
10 hours (08:00–18:00, 07:00–17:00)
8 h
about 5 h
Fits, with the boat if you booked
9 hours (10:30–19:30)
7 h
about 4 h
Fits; the boat desk closes at 16:30
7.5 hours (11:00–18:30)
5.5 h
under 3 h, no margin
Ship's tour, or Cape Hyuga
8 hours or less
6 h or less
too little
Cape Hyuga
The path along the gorge is about 1 km, with a lookout over the 17 m Manai Falls. No ticket, no booking.
The boats run 8:30–17:00, last reception 16:30: 30 minutes, up to three people, ¥5,100 a boat on the November 2026 calendar.
Booking is online, from 9:00 two weeks ahead to 9:00 two days ahead. There is no phone booking and slots sell out within minutes; same-day tickets are sold only if any remain.
Closures: when the river is high, and for safety checks on some days in January, April, July and October.
By taxi the meter comes to about ¥22,400 each way on distance alone, so ask the company for a day rate. Public transport does not fit inside a call.
Mimitsu
Mimitsu is 13.9 km south of the quay. It was the port of the Takanabe Akizuki domain, and its Tachinui quarter is a national preservation district of shipping agents' houses from the late Edo and Meiji periods. Legend has Emperor Jinmu sailing east from here.
The Mimitsu Machinami Center and Mimitsu-ken are free. The History and Folklore Museum, in a former shipping agent's house, is ¥220. All three open 9:00–16:30 and close on Mondays, or the next day when Monday is a holiday. Park on the harbour quay.
It pairs with Omi Shrine, 10.9 km away, for a half day without the cape.
What each call day changes
The 2027 calls come from the cruise lines' own pages. The prefecture has not published a 2027 list, and berths are not announced.
Call
Ship
In port
Day
Takachiho
16 Mar 2027
Seabourn Encore
08:00–18:00
Tuesday
fits
28 Mar 2027
Asuka III
10:30–19:30
Sunday
fits, no slack for the boat
30 Mar 2027
Seabourn Encore
08:00–18:00
Tuesday
fits
8 Apr 2027
Mitsui Ocean Fuji
11:00–18:30
Thursday
ship's tour only
3 May 2027
Seven Seas Explorer
07:00–17:00
Monday, public holiday
fits; holiday traffic
16 March is the third Tuesday of the month, so Umi-no-Eki Hososhima is closed; 30 March is the fifth and it is open. On 3 May, Constitution Day, Mimitsu's houses open and close the next day instead, by their own rule. Whether Umi-no-Eki Hososhima opens on that holiday Monday is not stated the same way on its two pages: check before you go.
Regent lists four excursions for its call: Best of Miyazaki, Takachiho Gorge, Hososhima Highlights, and Mimitsu Old Town with Omi Shrine.
The schedule pattern
The prefecture's list covers 2025 and 2026: 12 calls and 15 calls. Japanese ships (Mitsui Ocean Fuji and Sakura, Asuka III) made nine of the 2026 calls and Viking Eden, sold in China, four. Seabourn Encore and Island Sky were the English-market ships. Calls ran six to eleven hours, most between 07:00 and 19:00.
Kochi's list shows Seabourn Encore leaving for “Miyazaki” on both March 2027 dates. Seabourn's own itineraries name the port: Hososhima. The full table is under cruises to Hososhima.
Umi-no-Eki Hososhima is the fishing cooperative's own restaurant and shop, 2.2 km from the quay. Its seafood bowl of bonito and tuna comes with fish soup. The restaurant opens 11:00–14:30 with last order at 14:00; the shop 10:00–17:00. Both close on Mondays and the 1st and 3rd Tuesdays.
Hebesu is a green citrus that began in Hyuga. Umagase Chaya sells it as soft-serve, its best seller. Machi-no-Eki Tomitaka, in JR Hyuga-shi Station, sells hebesu products and Hyottoko cheese manju from 8:30 to 18:15.
Weather
JMA normals for Nobeoka, the nearest station, 1991–2020: average highs of 16.6 °C in March, 21.0 °C in April and 24.6 °C in May, with rain on 9 to 11 days a month. Cherry blossom at Miyazaki opens around 23 March and is full around 2 April in a normal year, so the late-March calls fall inside it.
Umagase and the Sea of the Cross are open headlands: take a windproof layer. After heavy rain the Takachiho boats stop.
Getting back to the ship
Work backwards from all-aboard and be at the gangway an hour before it. From Cape Hyuga that means leaving the last stop about 1 hour 30 minutes before all-aboard. From Takachiho leave 2 hours 30 minutes before.
No taxis wait at the lookouts or at Mimitsu. Keep the car you came in, or fix a pick-up time with the driver before you get out.
Money, phones and access
There is no terminal, so no exchange desk, ATM or Wi-Fi is confirmed at the quay. Bring yen from the ship: card acceptance at the restaurant and the small museums is not confirmed.
The Sea of the Cross lookout and Omi Shrine are a short walk from their car parks. Umagase is a longer cliff path, and the Udo cave and the Takachiho path have steps. Step-free routes are not confirmed by their pages.
For phone data, buy an eSIM before the cruise.
Hososhima and its neighbours
Hososhima sits between Kochi and Kagoshima on Seabourn Encore's loops, and between Kagoshima and Hiroshima on Seven Seas Explorer's. Kagoshima has a volcano across the bay and Kochi a castle and a market. Sea cliffs and Takachiho are only here.
All-aboard is usually 30 minutes before departure, and you want to be at the gangway an hour before that. The first half hour goes on getting off. So the time you can use is the call length minus about two hours.
Every plan here starts and ends with a taxi, a hired car or a shuttle. There is no walking version.
Tours
No tours from Hososhima are listed on this site yet. The ship's own excursions are the usual way to Takachiho. If you hire a car or taxi instead, give the driver the quay name, 細島工業港1・2号岸壁, and your all-aboard time.
Researched from official timetables, operators and the port authority, with our estimates where none is published. Every time and fare in this guide was checked against the sources listed above on 13 November 2026; where we had to estimate (a walk, a taxi in traffic), the text says so. Timetables change — if you find one that has, tell us and we will fix it.
