Are you looking for a way to get to Kashiwa island? If you can get there by car or rental car, that’s the best way to go. If not, it is possible to get there by train and bus, night bus or ferry. It takes a lot of time, but it’s a leisurely travel.
- From JR Kochi Station (By train and bus.)
- From Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe (By night bus and bus.)
- From Oita (By ferry and car or bus.)
- Go by car
✦From Kochi Station
You can get to Kashiwa island from JR Kochi Station by train and bus.
Route: Kochi Station – Nakamura Station – Sukumo Station (by Train) and Sukumo Station – Otsuki – Kashiwa Island (by Bus)
*Japanese letter: 高知 – 中村 – 宿毛 and 宿毛 – 大月 – 柏島
Time required: Approx. 5 hours (from Kochi Airport)
Time required: Approx. 4 hours (from Kochi Station)
If you want to go from the airport, you can take the shuttle bus from Kochi Ryoma Airport to JR Kochi Station. Shuttle buses arrive and depart from the airport every 30 minutes. The ride takes about 40 minutes.
Step1. Take a train from Kochi Station to Sukumo Station
Route: Kochi Station – Nakamura Station – Sukumo Station
Line: Limited express “Shimanto (しまんと)” line or Limited express “Ashizuri (あしずり)” line
Travel time: approximately 2 hours and 30 minutes.
Limited express Shimanto
There is only one run per day. It is necessary to transfer at Nakamura station.
Schedule / 8:18 a.m.
👉Tips: The limited express “Shimanto” line starts at Takamatsu Station. You can also go sukumo station from Takamatsu without stopping at Kochi Station.
Limited express Ashizuri
There are 8 runs a day. It is necessary to transfer at Nakamura station.
Schedule / 9:39 / 11:30 / 13:41 / 15:39 / 16:39 / 18:48 / 19:43 / 20:50
👉Tips: There is only one direct service per day. There is no need to change trains from Kochi Station to Sukumo by express Ashizuri Line No.9 leaving at 16:39. Arrival is at night, but if you’re going to stay one night in Sukumo I think it’s a good idea to use it.
Change at Nakamura Station (中村)
Transfer to the “Tosa Kuroshio Lines (土佐くろしお鉄道)” at Nakamura Station. From here, it takes about 30 minutes to arrive at Sukumo Station. It’s a good idea to check out the English site.
More Train informationThe language of the link is EnglishStep2: Take a bus from Sukumo Station to Kashiwa Island
It is necessary to transfer at the bus stop “Fureai Park Otsuki (ふれあいパーク大月)”.
Route: Sukumo Station – Fureai Park Otsuki – Kashiwa-jima
Travel time: approx. 40 minutes
Bus stop in Shukumo Station
Weekday Schedule / 6:40 / 8:00 / 10:50 / 11:44 / 12:34 / 14:03 / 16:11 / 18:07 / 18:50
Weekends and holidays / 8:00 / 10:50 / 16:11
The location of the bus stop at Sukumo Station is here.
Bus stop in Fureai Park Otsuki
The transfer at Otsuki is on a timetable that allows for a smooth transfer to the Kashiwa-jima-bound bus. You can buy food and souvenirs at Fureai Park Otsuki. However, if you miss the transfer, you have to wait more than 2 hours for the next bus, so be careful. You may want to check the PDF of the bus routes in English.
Weekday Schedule / 8:27 / 11:50 / 14:33 / 16:38 / 19:03
Weekends / 12:23 / 16:38
Holidays / 12:23
The location of the bus stop at Otsuki Station is here.
Download PDFThe language of the link is English✦From Kyoto, Osaka, Kobe
There is a night bus called “Shimanto Blue Liner (しまんとブルーライナー)” running almost every day from Kyoto, Osaka and Kobe. The final arrival point of the night bus is at Sukumo station. You can get to Kashiwa Island by taking a bus from Sukumo Station. There are also flights to and from Tokyo only in the high season.
Time required: About 11 hours
Price: 10,200 yen (from Kyoto) / 9,700 yen (from Osaka) / 9,300 yen (from Kobe)
– Departure from Kyoto (Kyoto Station Hachijo Exit) / 21:00
– Departure from Osaka (Abenobashi) / 22:15
– Departure from Kobe (Sannomiya Bus Terminal) / 23:49
– Estimated time of arrival at Sukumo Station / 7:40 am the next day
How to take the bus from Sukumo Station to Kashiwajima.
You may want to check the English website for night buses. There is also an online booking site in English.
Visit SiteThe language of the link is English✦From Oita, Kyushu
You can get to Shikoku by ferry from three ports in Oita Prefecture. There are three ferry routes. If it’s a ferry, you can also board it with your car.
Go from Beppu Port (別府)
Route: Beppu 別府 – Yawatahama 八幡浜 (Ehime)
Ferry Journey Time: 2 hours 50 minutes
Ferry fare: 3,150 yen (one-way Adult)
Schedule: 6:25 / 9:45 / 14:00 / 16:45 / 20:50 / 23:50
Operating Company: Uwajima Unyu Ferry (宇和島運輸フェリー)
Location on Google Map
Beppu ferry terminal
Yawatahama ferry terminal
Note: It is very difficult to get to Sukumo or Kashiwa Island by public transportation from Yawatahama Port. This is only recommended for cars. By car, it takes about 3 hours to reach Kashiwa Island.
👉Tips: From JR Beppu Station, Beppu Port is about a 40-minute walk or 10 minutes by taxi.
Visit Ferry SiteThe language of the link is EnglishGo from Usuki Port (臼杵)
Route: Usuki 臼杵 – Yahatahama 八幡浜 (Ehime)
Ferry Journey Time: 2 hours 25 minutes
Ferry fare: 2,350 yen (one-way Adult)
Schedule: 0:55 / 2:40 / 8:50 / 12:40 / 14:40 / 18:30 / 20:40
Operating Company: Uwajima Unyu Ferry (宇和島運輸フェリー)
Location on Google Map
Usuki ferry terminal
Yawatahama ferry terminal
Note: It is very difficult to get to Sukumo or Kashiwa Island by public transportation from Yawatahama Port. This is only recommended for cars. By car, it takes about 3 hours to reach Kashiwa Island.
👉Tips: From JR Usuki Station, Usuki Port is a 20-minute walk or a 5-minute taxi ride away.
Visit Ferry SiteThe language of the link is EnglishGo from Saiki Port (佐伯)
This used to be a convenient route because it could go to Sukumo, Kochi, but it has been discontinued run since 2019 by some problem. Let’s wait for it to resume!
Route: Saiki ferry port 佐伯 – Sukumo ferry port 宿毛
Ferry Journey Time: 3 hours and 10 minutes
Ferry fare: 2,750 yen (one-way Adult)
Schedule: 4:10 / 12:00 / 20:50
Operating Company: Sukumo Ferry (宿毛フェリー)
Location on Google Map
Saiki ferry terminal
Sukumo ferry terminal
Note: Fill out the application form in the secondment process. Please be sure to arrive 30 minutes early.
👉Tips: Saiki Port is a 5-minute walk from JR Saiki Station.
👉Tips: JR Sukumo Station is a 25-minute walk from Sukumo ferry port. It takes 10 minutes to get to the station by bus. The bus schedules are 07:41 and 15:25.
👉Tips: It takes about 40 minutes to get to Kashiwa Island by car from Shukumo Port.
How to take the bus from Sukumo Station to Kashiwajima.
Visit Ferry SiteThe language of the link is only JapaneseGo by car.
From Kochi City
About 3 hours.
Via Kochi Expressway Shimanto Town Central IC to R56 to R321
From Matsuyama City
About 3 hours.
Via Matsuyama Expressway, Tsushima IC to R56 to R321
From Takamatsu City
About 4.5 hours.
I introduced how to get to Kashiwa island in Kochi. Kashiwa Island is difficult to access, even for Japanese people. But there is still a very beautiful sea here. It’s very crowded during the summer holidays in Japan, so be sure to keep good manners when swimming and parking.☀
