by sea

By sea, there are three transport options to the island, the Toppy or Rocket hydrofoil (2.5hrs) the Yaku 2 car ferry (4 – 4.5 hrs) or the overnight freight ferry: The Hibiscus (13 hours). Keep reading for more details about each one:

By Toppy or Rocket hydrofoil

One of the most popular ways to get to Yakushima is by the Toppy or Rocket hydrofoil service.There are around eight round trips daily between Kagoshima’s high speed ferry terminal and Yakushima (Miyanoura or Anbo Port). Some travel directly to the island, but others go via the neighboring Tanegashima Island. The one way ride takes 2-3 hours depending on stops and he one way fare costs 9,000 yen. A round trip ticket costs 16,200 yen and the return journey must be used within seven days. If travelling in the high season, at the weekend or during national holidays such as Golden Week or Obon, then pre-booking your tickets is strongly recommended. This can be done online as long as you can navigate the Japanese website. 

YES offers a free reservation service for your Toppy tickets. The offer is available if you either book a tour with YES or book over 40,000 Yen of services from the YES yakushima listings. Interested? Contact YES

In the case of typhoons or very high waves then the service may be delayed or cancelled.  If you are concerned whether your scheduled jetfoil will depart or not then check this link.  A circle next to the timetable means it will depart on time; a triangle means it may be delayed or cancelled and  欠 means that the ferry is cancelled.

Dec 1st 2018 to March 8th, 2019 Winter Timetable（Toppy＆Rocket）

March 9th 2019 to Sep 16th, 2019 Summer timetable（Toppy＆Rocket）

* 123 ferry sails ONLY between April 27th – May 6th 2019 & August 3rd – August 25th 2019

Sept 17th 2019 to Nov 30th, 2019 Autumn timetable（Toppy＆Rocket）

By Yaku 2 car ferry 

The Yaku 2 car ferry leaves every morning from Kagoshima New Port (just south of the main Kagoshima Port) to Miyanoura Port on Yakushima.  It returns to Kagoshima in the afternoon. The one way sailing takes four hours and costs 4,900 yen.  A return ticket costs 8,900 yen. The cost for bringing an average sized car onto the ferry is about 33,000 – 39,000 yen return.  You can also bring pets or bicycles on this ferry, though there is a fee for both.

The Yakushima 2 ferry leaves Kagoshima at 08:30am and arrives at Miyanoura Port at 12:30.  The return voyage leaves Miyanoura at 13:30 and arrives at Kagoshima at about 17:40.  For more details see the Yakushima 2 Ferry website.

By the Hibiscus overnight freight ferry

Another option is to take the Hibiscus freight overnight ferry. This leaves Kagoshima at 18:00 and arrives at Miyanoura Port the next morning at 07:00.  The ferry stays overnight in the Tanegashima Port, but Yakushima passengers cannot disembark.  The return journey leaves Miyanoura at 08:10 and arrives at Kagsoshima at about 14:40.  Return fares are 7,200 yen and cars can be booked onto the ferry.  For more details visit the Hibiscus website.