Asia : East Asia : Japan : Kyushu : Kagoshima : Tanegashima
Tanegashima
Tanegashima (種子島) is an island in Kagoshima prefecture, south of Kyushu.
Understand
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.
Get in
By plane
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).
Get around
See
- 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.
Do
Tanegashima is a well known destination for surfers in Japan.
Buy
Eat
Drink
Moonbar [4] The best place. Breyen-san and Tomoko-san is running the cosy place perfectly.
Sleep
Get out
- Yakushima, mysterious island of giant cedars
This page was last edited at 07:56, on 28 February 2009 by Jesse Miers. Based on work by Jani Patokallio, Wikitravel user(s) Episteme and Anonymous user(s) of Wikitravel.