Joyato lantern and the gangi stepsPhoto: 663highland / CC BY 2.5
The lantern stands at the tip of the great gangi and was given by the people of Nishimachi in 1859. With the stone base that rises from the water it is 12.1 m tall.
- Getting there
- West side of the harbour; a 6 min walk from the prefectural pier, our estimate
Checked · Researched, not yet visited · times from official timetables and our estimates · Takumi Yamada
The stone harbour lantern at the tip of the great gangi, given by the people of Nishimachi in 1859: 12.1 m with its base, the largest harbour lantern in Japan by the tourism association’s account. The gangi beside it are tide steps, so boats could load at any state of the tide. Free and always open. The Irohamaru Museum is in the storehouse next to it, open Friday to Sunday and holidays.
- Number 1 of ten on our list for Tomonoura.
- Short enough to be certain of: 30 min door to door, so even a tender day works.
- Reachable on foot from the berth, so no timetable can strand you.
Joyato lantern and the gangi steps and your ship
Both pins on one map, so the distance is a fact rather than a feeling.
Where the 30 min goes
The hour before all-aboard is not in this bar; it is already set aside. The minutes are our estimates from timetables and maps, not timed on the ground.
If your ship is late, cut the 20 min in the middle. Never cut the hour at the end.
Routes that already include it
Finished days timed from official timetables and our estimates, with this stop in them.
The lantern, the Ota Residence and TaichoroNeeds a 4-hour call · ~2h door to doorAny call. On a Tuesday the Ota Residence is closed: walk up to Io-ji instead. Times run from the moment you step off the tenderThe old town, a sea-bream lunch and the view from Io-jiNeeds a 5.5-hour call · ~3.5h door to doorA call of 5.5 hours or more. Not a Tuesday, when the Ota Residence and the lunch stop are both closed. Times run from the landingThe old town and Sensui-jima by ferryNeeds a 6.5-hour call · ~4.5h door to doorA call of 6.5 hours or more, such as 11:30–18:00, in fair weather. Times run from the landing
Under a roof: the Ota Residence, Taichoro and the museumA wet day · ~2.5h door to doorA wet day. Everything is indoors except five-minute walks between stopsWhat to put beside it
Each of these still lands you back aboard with the hour to spare.
45 min for bothBenten-jima from the waterfront
The small rock island with a red pagoda that sits between Tomo and Sensui-jima.
See the detail
50 min for bothHomeishu
Tomo’s own liqueur: glutinous rice, shochu and 16 herbs, sweet with no sugar added.
See the detail
1 hr for bothThe gangi and the old harbour
Tomo was a tide-waiting harbour: ships sat here until the current through the Inland Sea turned.
See the detail