Asia >> East Asia >> Japan >> Kyushu >> Kagoshima >> Tanegashima

Tanegashima (種子島) is an island in Kagoshima prefecture, south of Kyushu.

Culture and History

Tanegashima has two claims to fame. In 1543, Portuguese explorer Mendes Pinto found his way there and introduces firearms to the Japanese, and for a long time thereafter rifles were known as tanegashima in Japanese. These days, though, the main attraction is Tanegashima Space Center, JAXA's main spaceport.

Travel to Tanegashima - Visa Requirements

Flights and airtickets to Tanegashima

New Tanegashima Airport (IATA: TNE) has five flights daily from Kagoshima (30 min) and one flight daily from Osaka-Itami (1:20), all on Japan Air Commuter [1], a JAL subsidiary. The airport has scheduled bus services to Nishiomote (38 min, ¥790) and Iwasaki Hotel (62 min, ¥1270). A taxi to Nishiomote costs about ¥6000.

By ferry

Several operators have services from Kagoshima, with some continuing onto Yakushima or Kuchinoerabujima. The largest is Cosmo Line [2], whose Rocket fast ferries run four times daily (1:30, ¥4,700) with one service from Tanegashima onto Yakushima, while the Princess Wakasa car ferry runs once daily (3:30, ¥3,300).

Tours and Getting around Tanegashima

Tanegashima tourist attractions and sightseeing

  • Tanegashima Space Center, ☎ +81-997-26-9244, [3]. Tue-Sun 9:30 AM-5:30 PM. Japan's largest spaceport. Free exhibits and guided tours three times daily (reservations required). No entry during launch days, but there are designated viewing points around the perimeter.Free.  

Tanegashima city tours

Tanegashima is a well known destination for surfers in Japan.

Tanegashima souvenirs and shopping

Tanegashima Restaurants: cheap, moderate and expensive

Tanegashima nightlife, bars, clubs and pubs

Moonbar [4] The best place. Breyen-san and Tomoko-san is running the cosy place perfectly.

Tanegashima cheap and luxurious hotels, youth hostels and lodging

Get out

  • Yakushima, mysterious island of giant cedars

This page was last edited by Jesse Miers. Based on work by Jani Patokallio, Wikitravel user(s) Episteme and Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel. - Content on this page is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 1.0 license

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