Tomogashima

Tomogashimafortress ruinsKadared brickuninhabited islands

Wakayama · Wakayama City

34.2751°N, 135.0812°E

Tomogashima is a group of uninhabited islands in the strait between Wakayama and Awaji, and from the 1890s the army fortified them to close the approach to Osaka Bay. Batteries, magazines, barracks and tunnels were built in brick, never fired a shot in war, and were abandoned. The forest has been taking them back for a century.

What is there now is red-brick arcading under moss, arched magazine chambers you walk into with a torch, gun emplacements open to the sky and a lighthouse from 1872. The comparison people reach for is Laputa, and for once it is fair. A ferry runs twenty minutes from Kada, there is nothing on the island but a small shop and a campsite, and the full circuit takes three or four hours on rough paths.

Essential Information

Opening Hours

Ferry on published schedules from Kada port | Island accessible during daylight

Closed: Generally no ferry on Wednesdays from 1 March to 28 December, except holidays | Cancelled in rough seas

Entrance Fee

Island free | Ferry fare charged separately

Best Season

April–June and October–November | Avoid midsummer for the walking

Visit Duration

4–6 hours including the crossing

Getting There

Access Information

Kada, Wakayama, reached by ferry from Kada port. About 25 minutes on the Nankai Kada Line from Wakayamashi Station to Kada Station, then about 20 minutes on foot to the port, then about 20 minutes by ferry. Services generally do not run on Wednesdays from 1 March to 28 December, except when the Wednesday is a holiday, with different timetables from 28 April to 6 May and 20 July to 31 August. Fares and schedules are set by Tomogashima Kisen — confirm before travelling. Sailings are weather-dependent.

Insider Guide

Premium

**Bring a torch.** Several magazine chambers and tunnels are entirely dark inside and are the best part of the island. A phone light is the minimum. **Wednesdays are generally no service.** From March to late December, except holidays. That single fact ruins more trips here than anything else. **Nothing on the island.** One small shop near the pier and a campsite. Bring water and food, and note the last ferry time before you set off round the circuit. **Proper shoes.** The paths between batteries are rough, steep in places and muddy after rain. This is not a promenade. **Rough seas cancel sailings.** And can strand you. Check the forecast, and be aware that the strait is exposed.

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