The gangi and the old harbourPhoto: Yanajin / CC BY-SA 3.0
Tomo sits at the middle of the Inland Sea, where the tides from both ends meet, so ships waited here for the current to turn.
Checked · Researched, not yet visited · times from official timetables and our estimates · Takumi Yamada
Tomo was a tide-waiting harbour: ships sat here until the current through the Inland Sea turned. The city says the harbour works of that time survive almost as they were: the lantern, the gangi steps, the great breakwater, the careening ground and the site of the harbour guardhouse. Fishing boats still tie up at the steps.
- 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.
The gangi and the old harbour 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 landingWhat 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 bothJoyato lantern and the gangi steps
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.
See the detail