Photo: Saigen Jiro / CC0Checked · Researched, not yet visited · times from official timetables and our estimates · 22 sources · Takumi Yamada
Tomonoura is the old harbour district of Tomo, at the southern tip of Fukuyama in Hiroshima Prefecture. It sits at the middle of the Seto Inland Sea, where ships once waited for the tide to turn. The harbour is part of Setonaikai National Park.
Photo: 663highland / CC BY 2.501 · The reasonThe stone harbour lantern of 1859, 12.1 m with its base, standing at the tip of the tide steps where boats still tie up.
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Photo: 663highland / CC BY 2.502 · AlsoA temple guest hall of about 1690 whose open side frames Benten-jima and Sensui-jima.
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Photo: 663highland / CC BY 2.503 · AlsoThe national-park island across the channel, with a beach and a coastal path to rocks in five colours.
Read moreIf 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
Work backwards from the last tender. Be at the landing an hour before all-aboard. Nothing in the old town is more than about 15 minutes from the prefectural pier, Io-ji included.
From Sensui-jima, count the 5-minute crossing and a 4-minute walk. From Fukuyama Station, take a bus that reaches Tomo-ko 90 minutes before all-aboard.
¥620 each way (fare table of 1 August 2025) · pay on the bus · Two or three an hour in the daytime (timetable of 1 October 2026) · 13–16 August runs on the holiday timetable
ICOCA is the card the operator names; carry coins as well. Fukuyama Castle Museum is 5 min on foot from the station’s north exit: 9:00–17:00, ¥500, closed Mondays. The round trip with an hour at the castle takes about three hours.
Adult ¥240, child ¥120, return · Three an hour (timetable of 1 April 2023, on the city’s page dated 16 October 2026)
The coastal path to the five-coloured rocks reopened on 12 February 2026. The path from Koura to Tanoura is closed with no reopening planned.
Fare not confirmed: the local tariff was not found on the transport bureau’s site · Free-flow time; allow more on weekends, when the one road into Tomo is busy
Taxi: Fare not confirmed
The bus does the same trip in about 35 minutes for ¥620.
Each card: how you get there and what it costs, how long it takes, and the call it needs. Tap one for the full page.
Photo: 663highland / CC BY 2.51SeeWest side of the harbour; a 6 min walk from the prefectural pier, our estimate
Photo: 663highland / CC BY 2.52SeeAbove the waterfront; a 4 min walk from the prefectural pier, 5 min from the lantern, our estimates
Photo: 663highland / CC BY 2.53SeeA 1 min walk from the lantern, our estimate
Photo: Saigen Jiro / CC04SeeA 6 min walk uphill from the lantern, our estimate
Photo: 663highland / CC BY 2.55DoMunicipal ferry pier, a 4 min walk from the prefectural pier, our estimate; 5 min across
Photo: 663highland / CC BY 2.56ShopShops around the Ota Residence, a 1 min walk from the lantern
Photo: Yanajin / CC BY-SA 3.07SeeA 6 min walk round the harbour from the lantern to the prefectural pier, our estimate
Photo: 663highland / CC BY 2.58SeeSeen from the waterfront by the ferry pier, a 4 min walk from the prefectural pier, and from Taichoro
Photo: 663highland / CC BY 2.59SeeTomotetsu bus from Tomo-ko, about 35 min, ¥620 each way; castle 5 min from the station’s north exit
Swipe for more. The top ten as a list
The dark pin is your ship. Tap a pin for its page.
Pick the tab for the hours your ship gives you. Every day keeps the hour before all-aboard free; shift each time by your arrival.
Joyato lantern and the gangi stepsPhoto: 663highland / CC BY 2.5A call of about six and a half hours, such as 11:30–18:00, on any day but Tuesday.
Times assume an 11:30 arrival and an 18:00 departure, with the first tenders ashore soon after noon. The ship sets the last tender: be at the landing an hour before all-aboard.
Ota ResidencePhoto: 663highland / CC BY 2.5A call of about six and a half hours on a Tuesday to Sunday; the castle museum closes on Mondays.
Times assume an 11:30 arrival and an 18:00 departure and the weekday timetable of 1 October 2026. On weekends and holidays the buses leave a few minutes earlier or later, so read the board at the stop.
Ota ResidencePhoto: 663highland / CC BY 2.5A wet day. Everything is indoors except five-minute walks between stops. About 2.5h ashore; nothing. Ota Residence ¥500, Taichoro ¥300, museum ¥150. Times count from when you step off the ship.
Sailing on a named ship? Your ship's page for Tomonoura sets these times to your exact call.
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 Tomonoura in our catalogue. The days above are the plan: public transport, timed from the gangway.
| Dish | Where, price, hours |
|---|---|
| Homeishu, a liqueur of glutinous rice, shochu and 16 herbs |  The pick The makers' shops around the Ota Residence, 1 minute from the lanternFour companies in Tomonoura make it; each recipe differs a little.Our page |
| Sea bream set meals | The pick Chitose, Tomo-cho Tomo 552-7, 2 minutes from TaichoroFrom ¥1,540 on that listing; check at the door. |
| Festival | When |
|---|---|
| Tomonoura sea-bream netting showA fishing method about 380 years old, shown from boats. The dates for 2027 are not published yet. | Early to mid May each year |
They do not dock. Ships anchor off Tomo and land passengers in the old harbour by tender. Fukuyama City's notices describe every call that way since 2023, and Olivia's page marks the Star Seeker call as Anchor.
Inside Tomo harbour. The city has used the stone steps beside the Joyato lantern for small boats and the prefectural pier for ships' tenders. The landing for Star Seeker is not published; the two are about six minutes apart on foot.
Tomo is a district of Fukuyama Port, but the cargo wharves are elsewhere. Windstar, Olivia and Mitsui all list Tomonoura by tender. One Japanese ship used Minooki Wharf in November 2025; if your programme names Minooki, you need the ship's transfer.
Windstar's day lists give no hours. They show the ship leaving Takamatsu, or Tamano, at 06:00 that morning. Olivia's charter page gives 11:30 to 18:00 for the same route. Check the daily programme.
On Windstar's Grand Japan it is day 3 from Osaka or Kobe to Tokyo, after the overnight in Takamatsu. In the other direction it is day 10, the day before Osaka or Kobe.
Yes. The lantern, the Ota Residence, Taichoro, the museum on the castle hill and the Sensui-jima ferry are all within about six minutes of each other on foot.
The Ota Residence on Tuesdays. The Irohamaru Museum from Monday to Thursday. The Museum of History and Folklore and Fukuyama Castle Museum on Mondays. Fukuyama's tourism association lists irregular closing days for Taichoro, while the prefecture's tourism site says it is open every day; phone 084-982-2705 to be sure. The lantern, Io-ji and the ferry are there every day.
By the municipal ferry from the pier on the east waterfront: 5 minutes, ¥240 return, at :10, :30 and :50 past the hour from 7:30 to 18:50, except 12:10, then 19:30 and 20:00.
Yes, with about three hours. The Tomotetsu bus from Tomo-ko takes about 35 minutes to Fukuyama Station and costs ¥620. The castle museum is 5 minutes from the north exit, ¥500, closed Mondays.
A sweet liqueur made in Tomo from glutinous rice, shochu and 16 herbs, with no sugar added. Four companies in Tomonoura make it. The Ota Residence is the house of the merchants who first sold it.
Yes. No ATM at the landing is confirmed, and the temple, the museums, the ferry and the bus are small cash payments. Bring yen from the ship.
JMA normals for Fukuyama, 1991–2020: average highs of 13.9 °C in March, 19.2 °C in April, 24.0 °C in May, 28.8 °C in September, 23.3 °C in October and 17.5 °C in November. The live forecast is on this page.
Tomonoura is the old harbour of Tomo, at the middle of the Seto Inland Sea. Ships waited here for the tide to turn, and the harbour they waited in is still there: a stone lantern, tide steps, merchants' houses and a temple hall with a view over the islands.
It is a small place. Everything worth seeing is within a few minutes' walk of the landing, and a five-minute ferry crosses to an island in the national park.
What this port is not: a berth. The ship anchors off Tomo and you come ashore by tender. There is no terminal and no shuttle, and none is needed.
This guide is built from the cruise lines' own pages, Fukuyama City's notices about cruise calls, and each sight's own hours. Walking times are our estimates from map routing. Everything was checked on 13 November 2026.
Fukuyama City has announced each cruise call to the town since 2023, always in the same words: the ship anchors off Tomo. It has used two landing places inside the old harbour.
| Landing | Used for | Where |
|---|---|---|
| Prefectural pier 県営桟橋 | Ships' tenders (Viking Eden, May 2025) | East side of the harbour, 3 min from the Tomo-ko bus stop |
| Gangi steps by the lantern 常夜燈横の雁木 | Small boats and Zodiacs (Ponant) | West side of the harbour, at the Joyato lantern |
Which one Star Seeker's tenders use is not published. Windstar's Star Breeze landed in Tomo harbour in April 2023, with a welcome in front of the lantern. Olivia's page says guests go down stairs to the tender platform.
In 2026 the prefecture is building a storm-surge gate into the great gangi. Barriers stand around the lantern from October to December 2026 on the published plan.
| From → To | On foot |
|---|---|
| Prefectural pier → Tomo-ko bus stop | 190 m, 3 min |
| Prefectural pier → Fukuzen-ji Taichoro | 290 m, 4 min |
| Prefectural pier → Sensui-jima ferry | 300 m, 4 min |
| Prefectural pier → Joyato lantern | 440 m, 6 min |
| Lantern → Ota Residence | 70 m, 1 min |
| Lantern → Museum of History and Folklore | 270 m, 4 min |
| Lantern → Io-ji | 480 m, 6 min uphill |
| Taichoro → Sensui-jima ferry | 190 m, 3 min |
The Joyato lantern stands at the tip of the great gangi. The people of Nishimachi gave it in 1859; with its stone base it is 12.1 m tall. It is free, always open and lit after sunset.
The Irohamaru Museum is in the storehouse beside it. It shows what was raised from the Iroha Maru, the ship of Sakamoto Ryoma's company that sank off Tomo in 1867. It opens Friday to Sunday and on holidays, 10:00–17:00, for about ¥300.
Fukuzen-ji Taichoro is a guest hall of about 1690. You sit on the tatami and the open side frames two islands. In 1711 a Korean envoy called it the finest view in Japan. Weekdays 09:00–17:00, weekends and holidays 08:00–17:00; ¥300. Fukuyama's tourism association lists irregular closing days; the prefecture's tourism site says open every day. The temple's number is 084-982-2705.
The Ota Residence is the house, shop and storehouses of the family that brewed homeishu. It is a national Important Cultural Property. 10:00–17:00, last entry 16:30; ¥500. Closed Tuesdays.
Behind the town, Io-ji sits halfway up the hill with the harbour below it. It is free and always open. The Museum of History and Folklore stands on the old castle hill: Tuesday to Sunday 09:00–17:00, ¥150.
Windstar runs its own complimentary event here. Its page describes a map-led walk with koto music, a tea ceremony, and access to the Ota Residence and Taichoro.
The city's ferry crosses in 5 minutes for ¥240 return. From Tomo it leaves at :10, :30 and :50 from 7:30 to 18:50, except 12:10, then 19:30 and 20:00, and turns straight round at the island.
The coastal path to the five-coloured rocks reopened on 12 February 2026. The path from Koura to Tanoura stays closed. Allow an hour and a half for the crossing and a walk.
The Tomotetsu bus runs from Tomo-ko to Fukuyama Station in about 35 minutes for ¥620. It leaves two or three times an hour. The operator names ICOCA as its card; carry coins too.
The castle museum is 5 minutes from the station's north exit: 09:00–17:00, ¥500, closed Mondays. The round trip takes about three hours.
| Call day | Ota Residence | Irohamaru Museum | History museum | Castle museum |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Fri 4 Dec 2026 | open | open | open | open |
| Tue 12 Jan 2027 | closed | closed | closed | closed |
| Sat 13 Mar 2027 | open | open | open | open |
| Tue 30 Mar 2027 | closed | closed | open | open |
| Fri 2 Apr 2027 | open | open | open | open |
| Sun 9 May 2027 | open | open | open | open |
| Wed 12 May 2027 | open | closed | open | open |
| Fri 20 Aug 2027 | open | open | open | open |
| Mon 27 Sep 2027 | open | closed | closed | closed |
| Thu 14 Oct 2027 | open | closed | open | open |
| Sun 17 Oct 2027 | open | open | open | open |
| Wed 3 Nov 2027 (holiday) | open | open | open | open |
The table follows each place's published closing days. Monday 11 January 2027 is a public holiday, so the two museums close on the Tuesday instead. Taichoro is not listed: the city's tourism association gives irregular closing days and the prefecture's site none.
No public authority publishes a call list for Tomo. The city announces calls a month or two ahead. The dates on this site come from the lines.
Windstar's Star Seeker, with 224 guests, calls on its Grand Japan sailings in spring and autumn 2027. From Osaka or Kobe it is day 3; from Tokyo it is day 10. Hiroshima's official list confirms the pattern: it names Tomonoura as the ship's previous port on 14 March 2027.
Mitsui Ocean Fuji and Mitsui Ocean Sakura call on Japanese-market cruises, 08:00 or 09:00 to 17:00 or 18:00, by tender.
Homeishu is Tomo's liqueur: glutinous rice, shochu and 16 herbs, sweet with no sugar added. Four companies in the town make it. Their shop hours are not confirmed.
Sea bream is the local fish. Chitose, 2 minutes from Taichoro, lists set meals from ¥1,540 at lunch, 11:30–14:30, closed Tuesdays. That listing dates from 2022.
JMA normals for Fukuyama, 1991–2020: highs of 13.9 °C in March, 19.2 °C in April and 24.0 °C in May, with about 9 days of rain a month. Autumn calls see 28.8 °C in September, 23.3 °C in October and 17.5 °C in November.
Wind matters more than rain here. It can stop the tenders and the island ferry.
Bring yen from the ship. The sights cost ¥150 to ¥500 each, the ferry ¥240 and the bus ¥620. An ATM at the landing is not confirmed.
The waterfront is flat, but the lanes are narrow and shared with cars. Io-ji is a climb. For phone data, buy an eSIM before the cruise.
On Windstar's route Tomonoura sits between Takamatsu and Hiroshima. Both are city ports with a full day of sights. Tomonoura is the small one: a few hours in one harbour town.
Our full list, with the time each takes from the landing, is on the Tomonoura top picks. Timed plans are on Tomonoura plans.
All-aboard is usually 30 minutes before departure, and you want to be at the landing an hour before that. Tendering takes time at both ends: Mitsui allows 30 to 60 minutes. On an 11:30–18:00 call that leaves about four hours ashore.
Four hours covers the whole old town, or the town and Sensui-jima, or Fukuyama Castle and the lantern. It does not cover all three.
No tours from Tomonoura are listed on this site. Windstar includes its own event in the fare. Everything in this guide can be done on foot without a guide.
Keep planning: the Tomonoura port page · timed plans by call length
