Photo: Saigen Jiro / CC0Checked · Researched, not yet visited · times from official timetables and our estimates · Takumi Yamada
Joyato 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. 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.
West side of the harbour; a 6 min walk from the prefectural pier, our estimateGoogle MapsFukuzen-ji Taichoro
Sit on the tatami and the open side of the hall frames Benten-jima and Sensui-jima like a picture. The hall dates from about 1690 and is a national historic site; a Korean envoy in 1711 called this the finest view in Japan. Weekdays 9:00–17:00, weekends and holidays 8:00–17:00, adult ¥300. Closing days are irregular, so have a second plan.
Above the waterfront; a 4 min walk from the prefectural pier, 5 min from the lantern, our estimatesGoogle MapsOta Residence
The house, shop and storehouses of the merchants who brewed homeishu from the mid-Edo period to Meiji, kept as they stood and listed as a national Important Cultural Property. 10:00–17:00, last entry 16:30; ¥500. Closed on Tuesdays and over the New Year.
A 1 min walk from the lantern, our estimateGoogle MapsIo-ji and the view over the harbour
A temple halfway up the hill behind the town. From its grounds the tiled roofs, the round harbour and Sensui-jima lie below; the tourism association calls it the place for the view. The photograph is the higher view from Taishiden, further up the same steps. Free and always open. The way up is a climb.
A 6 min walk uphill from the lantern, our estimateGoogle MapsSensui-jima by the municipal ferry
The island across the channel, part of Setonaikai National Park. The city’s ferry leaves Tomo at :10, :30 and :50 from 7:30 to 18:50, except 12:10, then 19:30 and 20:00, and turns straight round; ¥240 return. The coastal path to the five-coloured rocks, more than 200 m of blue, red, yellow, white and black rock, reopened on 12 February 2026.
Municipal ferry pier, a 4 min walk from the prefectural pier, our estimate; 5 min acrossGoogle MapsHomeishu
Tomo’s own liqueur: glutinous rice, shochu and 16 herbs, sweet with no sugar added. It was the town’s speciality in the Edo period, and four companies in Tomonoura still make it, each to its own recipe. Shop hours are not confirmed.
Shops around the Ota Residence, a 1 min walk from the lanternGoogle MapsThe gangi and the old harbour
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.
A 6 min walk round the harbour from the lantern to the prefectural pier, our estimateGoogle MapsBenten-jima from the waterfront
The small rock island with a red pagoda that sits between Tomo and Sensui-jima. It is the centre of the view from Taichoro, and it lies on the short crossing to Sensui-jima, so the waterfront by the ferry pier and the ferry itself both give a close look.
Seen from the waterfront by the ferry pier, a 4 min walk from the prefectural pier, and from TaichoroGoogle MapsFukuyama Castle by bus
Fukuyama’s castle stands beside the Shinkansen station. The castle museum, renewed with the castle’s restoration, is open 9:00–17:00, ¥500, closed Mondays. Buses leave Tomo-ko two or three times an hour. With an hour at the castle the round trip takes about three hours, most of an 11:30–18:00 call, so choose it instead of Sensui-jima, not as well.
Tomotetsu bus from Tomo-ko, about 35 min, ¥620 each way; castle 5 min from the station’s north exitGoogle Maps
