Visit to the Jaxa Tanegashima Space Center

--- Note ---

The trip to the Jaxa Space Center needs to be self-organised. Please make sure that you double check times, since this information might be outdated.

It is possible to get to Tanegashima with a ferry from Kagoshima to the city of Nishino-omote, from there is a hour drive. A day-trip from Kagoshima is possible, but will be a rushed visit. For that you need to take a morning ferry (I would recommend 7:45 and take the 17:05 ferry back to Kagoshima). I would recommend staying another day to explore this beautiful island.

--- How to get there? ---

Ferry from Kagoshima to Nishino-omote city (Tanegashima Island)

The "Toppy" (トッピー) and "Rocket" (ロケット) Jetfoil ferries can be taken from Kagoshima.

Timetable in Japanese (google translate will be useful)

Pier in Kagoshima: Google Maps
If you have some waiting time, you can get some coffee or food in this nice cozy cafe: Cafe web site / visitor's review

From Nishino-omote city to Jaxa Tanegashima Space Center (and back)

Best (and possibly only) way to get there is renting a car: NIPPON RENT-A-CAR
They have a shuttle from the ferry to and from the Rental car offices and the ferry pier. The trip from Nishino-omote city to JAXA Tanegashima Space Center takes around 1 hour: Google Maps

More information about the JAXA Tanegashima Space Center

There is a regular bus service, but it is very risky to rely only on it because the ferry schedule is easily affected by the weather, the number of bus and ferry service is very limited, and if the connection is not as schduled, there is no other public service to back up at all.
Taking it into account, the only time schedule by using the regular bus service is as follows. Of course, we cannot guarantee the schedule at all.

• Ferry
  • Kagoshima Port 7:30 -> Tanegashima Nishino-omote Port 9:05
  • One-way fare: 7200 yen, round-trip discount fare: 12800 yen.
• Bus
  • Tanegashima Nishino-omote Port 9:20 -> Tanegashima Space Center 10:48
  • One-way fare: 1740 yen, there is no round-trip discount.
• Lunch
  • It is Saturday on 31 March, so the restaurant in the Space Center will not open. You have to prepare the lunch in advance.
• Bus
  • Tanegashima Space Center 15:16 -> Tanegashima Nishino-omote Port 16:45
• Ferry
  • Tanegashima Nishino-omote Port 17:05 -> Kagoshima Port 18:40

--- Where to stay in Tanegashima? ---

I stayed in the Tanegashima Araki Hotel, which also provides access to the Onsen next door: Rakuten Travel Site

Map with additional information about Tanegashima island: Tanegashima Tourism Map (PDF 2 pages)