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Amakusa Dolphin Watching

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Kumamoto · Amakusa

32.5393°N, 130.1349°E

About two hundred wild Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins live year-round in the strait off Futae in northern Amakusa, and they do not migrate. They are resident, they are used to boats, and the encounter rate on the local watching trips is reported at over ninety-five per cent across the whole year — which is a claim you can generally believe here in a way you cannot elsewhere.

Boats leave from Tsuji Island and reach the watching grounds in around ten minutes. The trip lasts about an hour. Because the animals are wild and unfed, they approach the boats on their own terms — riding the bow wave, surfacing alongside, sometimes ignoring you entirely. Adults are ¥3,000, elementary school children ¥2,000, and it runs from half past eight to five throughout the year.

Essential Information

Opening Hours

8:30 AM – 5:00 PM year-round, weather permitting

Closed: Cancelled in rough weather

Entrance Fee

¥3,000 junior high school students and above | ¥2,000 elementary school children | ¥1,000 preschool children | Free under 2

Best Season

Year-round | Morning for calmer water

Visit Duration

About 1 hour on the water

Getting There

Access Information

Itsuwa-machi Futae, Amakusa, with boats operating from the Tsuji Island area. Car recommended. Operating 8:30 AM – 5:00 PM year-round, weather permitting. Around 1 hour on the water, with the watching grounds from the harbour. ¥3,000 for junior high school students and above, ¥2,000 for elementary school children, ¥1,000 for preschool children and free under 2. Roughly 200 resident Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphins live in the strait and the reported encounter rate is over 95 per cent through the year. Cancelled in rough weather.

Insider Guide

Premium

**They are resident, not migratory.** About two hundred animals live in this strait all year, which is why the encounter rate holds up in every season. **They are not fed.** The dolphins approach because they choose to. That also means the experience varies from trip to trip, and nobody can promise close contact. **Ten minutes to the grounds.** Which makes the hour on the water mostly time with the animals rather than time getting there. **Weather cancels it.** The strait between Amakusa and Nagasaki gets rough. Confirm on the day rather than assuming. **Morning is calmer.** Sea state generally builds through the day here, which matters if anyone in the party is prone to seasickness.

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