How long are you ashore in Sakaiminato?

2–3 hours ashore · 2 hr 30 min door to door

The yokai road

The one-street day — ride in, then never need wheels again

On a 3-hour stop that leaves 30 min spare. Comfortable, but do not add to it.

1. +0:00
   Shuttle or taxi to Sakaiminato Station

   178 statues wait between the station and the museum

2. +0:40
   Mizuki Shigeru Museum

   Renewed 2024; English throughout

3. +1:40
   Eyeball-daddy sweets at the Yokai Food Lab

   The souvenir photo and souvenir in one

4. +2:00
   Walk the road back, spotting missed statues

   Daisen milk soft serve en route

5. +2:30
   Shuttle back to the gangway

   One ride each way, full story

Running late? Rain? The museum absorbs an hour and the arcades are covered — the road forgives weather.

Transport spend: paid shuttle on some calls, or taxi about ¥2,300 each way from the Yumeminato Terminal. Museum ¥1,000. Map, photos and what you will see at each stop →

4–6 hours ashore · 4 hr door to door

Road + market feast

Yokai first, then Japan’s biggest crab port at lunch

On a 6-hour stop that leaves 2 hr spare — the full hour this site recommends, and then some.

1. +0:00
   Mizuki Road + museum (the short plan’s core)
2. +1:45
   Taxi to the Direct-Sales Center (~10 min)

   Or a ~30-minute harbour walk if legs are fresh

3. +2:00
   Crab: pick from the tank, boiled to order

   Vendors teach the leg technique

4. +3:00
   Kani-don or nodoguro at the food hall

   Red snow crab most of the year

5. +3:40
   Taxi back to the berth

Running late? Crab budget blown? The ago-chikuwa flying-fish rolls cost coins and taste of the same sea.

Transport spend: shuttle in + taxi hop ~¥1,000–1,500. Crab lunch sets the budget — bowls from ~¥1,500, whole crab by the tank price. Map, photos and what you will see at each stop →

8 hours or more ashore · 7 hr 30 min door to door

The Adachi excursion

Long calls — Japan’s best garden needs the trip

On an 8-hour stop that leaves 30 min spare. Comfortable, but do not add to it.

1. +0:00
   Guided/private car toward Adachi Museum (~50 min)

   This is tour territory — book before you sail

2. +1:00
   Adachi gardens — framed like paintings, viewed from within

   Best garden in Japan, 23 consecutive years

3. +3:00
   Drive to Matsue Castle

   The black National Treasure keep

4. +4:30
   Matsue lake-town lunch + castle moat boat (optional)
5. +5:45
   Drive back to Sakaiminato
6. +6:45
   Back at the gangway — walk a last yokai block if time

Running late? No tour secured? Stay with the Road + market day and zero regrets — Adachi rewards planning, not improvising.

Transport spend: covered by the tour price — confirm lunch inclusion when you book. Map, photos and what you will see at each stop →

Rainy day ashore · 3 hr 30 min door to door

The rainy-day Sakaiminato

Wet weather — one dry ride in, then everything is close

On a 6-hour stop that leaves 2 hr 30 min spare — the full hour this site recommends, and then some.

1. +0:00
   Shuttle or taxi to Sakaiminato Station

   The yokai road starts at the station; from the big-ship berth it is ~15 min

2. +0:30
   Mizuki Shigeru Museum

   An hour indoors, covering the yokai and the war

3. +1:40
   The covered arcade section of the road

   Shops, yokai sweets and the stamp rally

4. +2:30
   Crab or seafood bowl at the fish market

   Indoors, on the harbour — a short taxi from the road, beside the Showa berth

5. +3:15
   Back to the ship

Running late? Izumo and Matsue are both 40–90 minutes each way. In real weather they are not worth the drive.

Transport spend: ~¥0–1,500 pp (shuttle/taxi). Museum ¥1,000. Map, photos and what you will see at each stop →