Ferry Princess Wakasa Cruise Review | How to Travel to Tanegashima

7:50 a.m., Izuro-dori Station in Kagoshima City.
Today’s boarding ship is Cosmo Line’s high-speed ferry “Princess Wakasa.”
The destination is Tanegashima, Nishinoomote Port.
It’s about a 3 and a half hour boat trip.

I looked up the station closest to the port on a map and found this station.
From Izuro-dori Station to the South Pier Passenger Terminal, it’s about a 17-minute walk.

At this time of day, there are no buses running.
The route itself exists, but the ferry’s early morning departure makes it unavailable.

With no other choice, I pulled my heavy suitcase and headed to the port.

8:10 a.m., arrival at the South Pier Passenger Terminal.
Two shipping companies operate from this terminal.
Orita Kisen for Yakushima, and Cosmo Line for Tanegashima.

Their counters are side by side — Yakushima on the left, Tanegashima on the right.
Of course, today it’s Cosmo Line for Tanegashima.

I filled out the boarding documents placed in front of the terminal entrance.
Then, I completed the procedures at the right counter and received my boarding ticket.

After leaving the building, I turned right and followed a wooden walkway.
There ahead was the ferry “Princess Wakasa” bound for Tanegashima.

I boarded the ship via the gangway installed at the port.
At the top, crew members were quietly waiting.

I handed over my boarding ticket, which was stamped on the spot and immediately returned.

Proceeding past the boarding gate, a narrow passageway stretched ahead.

This is the ship’s second floor.
At the end of the corridor was a large 2nd-class shared cabin.
Right beside it were a steep staircase and an elevator.

Carrying my heavy suitcase, I climbed the steep stairs one step at a time.
On the sharp incline, every time I lifted my luggage, I almost fell backwards.

At the top of the stairs was the 3rd floor.
Passenger rooms, entrance deck, information desk, vending machines, restrooms — all main facilities of the ship are gathered on this floor.

I decided to sleep tonight in a shared room on this 3rd floor.

Light, cheerful music played throughout the ship.
The song drifting to my ears was “One Love” by the popular Japanese idol group Arashi.
It reminded me of the drama “Hana Yori Dango.”

There was no dedicated space for large luggage, so we simply brought our bags inside the ship.
Luckily, I secured a corner spot.
I placed my luggage against the wall.

The room was equipped with several square leather-like pillows.
The one I picked up had a hole in it.
So, I decided to put my own towel on top and use it.

At 8:40 a.m., Princess Wakasa departed Kagoshima Port on schedule.
Shortly after leaving the shore, an announcement was made onboard.

“Attention all passengers:
Thank you very much for boarding Princess Wakasa today.
We will now guide you to Tanegashima, Nishinoomote Port.”

Today the waves are high, and some rough seas are expected.
The ship will start to rock significantly once we pass through Kagoshima Bay.
If possible, I want to avoid seasickness at all costs.

There was no dedicated space onboard to kill time.
I checked the location monitor in the central entrance area from time to time and read the provided newspapers.
That’s how I spent my time, relaxing.

I had heard that being hungry makes seasickness worse, so just in case I bought ice cream and juice from the ship’s vending machine.
It was a small effort to keep something in my stomach.

…Unfortunately, this strategy had no effect at all.
Afterwards, I was overwhelmed by a full-blown wave of seasickness.
I even felt like what I ate made things worse — that’s how bad it got.

After leaving Kagoshima Bay and passing Ibusuki City, the situation changed dramatically.
The ship began to rock more and more.
My condition gradually worsened as well.

Eventually, I was hit by unforgettable seasickness and had to stay in the toilet.
I never expected it to get this bad.

It was a relief to have a place to throw up, but considering that less than an hour had passed since boarding,
thinking about enduring this for another two and a half hours made me dizzy.

Cold sweat kept pouring, and I went back and forth to the toilet until my stomach was empty.
In the end, I was so exhausted from vomiting that I just set an alarm and lay down.

Before I knew it, two and a half hours had passed in no time.
It wasn’t so much sleeping as it was more like passing out.

At 12:32 p.m., we arrived at Nishinoomote Port, Tanegashima.
Although the sea was a bit rough, we arrived almost on time.

The view of Nishinoomote Port from the sky deck was very beautiful,
and despite the strong wind, I was captivated by the scenery for a while.

Though there were tough moments with seasickness,
resting well for two and a half hours helped me recover considerably.

I’m really glad about that.

At 12:10 p.m., disembarkation began.
I slowly descended the gangway attached to the ship and finally set foot on Tanegashima.

From here, I will take a bus leaving right in front of the port towards Minamitane Town.
The trip from Nishinoomote Port to Minamitane Town Hall takes about 1 hour 12 minutes and costs 1,480 yen.

Now, I’ll be riding the bus for about an hour.

■ Boarding Location: South Wharf Passenger Terminal
■ Address: 6 Honkoshinmachi, Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture, 892-0814, Japan

■ Boarding Location: Nishinoomote Port, Tanegashima
■ Address: Nishimachi, Nishinoomote City, Kagoshima Prefecture, 891-3111, Japan
■ Phone Number: 0997-22-1011

07:50 AM, Izuro-dori Station in Kagoshima City, Kagoshima Prefecture.
Today I’m taking the Cosmo Line ferry “Princess Wakasa” to Nishinoomote Port on Tanegashima Island.
The voyage takes approximately 3 hours and 30 minutes.
According to my research, the nearest tram stop to the port is Izuro-dori Station.
It’s about a 17-minute walk from there to the Minami Pier Passenger Terminal.
It would be helpful if there were a bus, but since the ferry to Tanegashima departs early in the morning, there are no bus services available.
If you’re carrying heavy luggage, I recommend taking a taxi.
I dragged my heavy suitcase all the way to the port.

08:10 AM — I arrived at the Minami Pier Passenger Terminal.
There are two ferry companies operating out of this terminal:
Orita Shipping for Yakushima and Cosmo Line for Tanegashima.
Their ticket counters are side-by-side, with the Yakushima counter on the left and the Tanegashima counter on the right.
This time, I’m headed to Tanegashima.
After filling out the boarding form, I completed the procedure at the right-side counter and received my boarding pass.

To the left of the terminal building was the ferry “Princess Wakasa” bound for Tanegashima.
I walked up the ramp attached to the ship and showed my boarding pass to enter.
When I handed the pass to the crew member at the entrance, they stamped it on the spot.
Unfortunately, this boarding pass is collected when disembarking, so you can’t keep it as a souvenir.
I was hoping to take it home, but no luck.

Just past the entrance was a large second-class room.
Right beside it were a steep staircase and an elevator.
Heading up the stairs to the 3rd floor, I found the entrance deck and the information counter.
The entrance is on the 2nd floor, most passenger areas are on the 3rd floor, and the outdoor sky deck is on the top level.
I chose to spend my time in a shared room on the 3rd floor.
Background music played throughout the ship—at the time, it was “One Love” by the popular Japanese idol group Arashi.

There was no designated space for large luggage, so you just bring it in with you.
I was lucky to get a corner spot, so I placed my suitcase against the opposite wall to act as a bit of a partition.
The room had several square leather cushions, and I took one to use.
Some had holes in them, so I placed a towel I had brought on top and made it work.

08:40 AM — We departed from Kagoshima Port right on schedule.
Soon after leaving the pier, an announcement played over the ship’s PA system:
“Ladies and gentlemen, welcome aboard the Princess Wakasa.”
“Thank you very much for choosing to travel with us today.”
“We will now begin our journey to Nishinoomote Port on Tanegashima.”
The sea was rough that day, and we were warned of possible swaying later in the trip.
Apparently, the real rocking would begin once we exited Kagoshima Bay.
I just hoped I could avoid seasickness.

There weren’t many places on board to pass the time.
I occasionally walked over to the central entrance area to check the ship’s location on the monitor or read one of the newspapers available there.
Worried about seasickness, I decided not to stay on an empty stomach.
I bought some ice cream and juice from a vending machine to put something in my stomach.
But this turned out to be a mistake.
It didn’t help at all—in fact, it might’ve made things worse.

Once we passed Kagoshima Bay and the city of Ibusuki, everything changed.
The ship suddenly began to sway violently, and I quickly started feeling ill.
I ended up getting one of the worst cases of seasickness in my life and had to lock myself in the restroom.
I hadn’t expected it to be this bad—it felt like enduring a storm.
At least there was a proper place to vomit, which was a small mercy.
But we were still less than an hour into the journey.
Just thinking “I have to endure another two and a half hours of this” was overwhelming.
Cold sweat poured down, and I stayed in the restroom until I had nothing left in my stomach.
Eventually, I was too exhausted to even throw up.
I set an alarm and lay down.
Before I knew it, two and a half hours had passed.
It wasn’t sleep so much as unconsciousness.

12:02 PM — We arrived at Nishinoomote Port on Tanegashima.
The sea was a bit choppy, but we arrived almost exactly on time.
The view of Nishinoomote Port from the sky deck was beautiful.
Despite the strong wind, I found myself mesmerized by the scenery for a while.
I had a rough time with seasickness, but after resting for about two and a half hours, I was feeling much better.
Honestly, I was just relieved.

12:10 PM — Disembarkation began.
I slowly made my way down the ramp attached to the ship and finally set foot on Tanegashima.
From here, I took a bus departing right in front of the port and headed toward Minamitane Town.
The ride from Nishinoomote Port to the Minamitane Town Hall takes about 1 hour and 12 minutes.
The fare is 1,480 yen.
And so begins a peaceful bus journey through the quiet island scenery.
Thank you very much for reading to the end.