This guide covers how to reach Toba from Osaka, Kyoto and Nagoya, the passes, Mikimoto Pearl Island, Toba Aquarium, the bay cruise and the Sea-Folk Museum.
Toba brings a pearl island, an aquarium and a bay cruise together along its waterfront, and a maritime museum and a poet's house round out the day. The sections below follow the sights in the order you would reach them, and the practical details on fares, timetables and passes sit in a table or a short list in each section.
Getting to Toba from Osaka, Kyoto and Nagoya
A Kintetsu limited express runs from Kyoto to Toba Station. JR and Kintetsu trains also link Nagoya with Toba Station. Toba can be reached by train from Osaka as well. Mikimoto Pearl Island is a short walk from Toba Station. Toba Aquarium is within walking distance of Toba Station too.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Travel time, Osaka to Toba by train | about 2 hours |
| Travel time, Kyoto to Toba Station by Kintetsu limited express | about 2 hours 15 minutes |
| Travel time, Nagoya to Toba Station by JR or Kintetsu | about 1 hour 30 minutes |
| Walk, Toba Station to Mikimoto Pearl Island | 5 minutes |
| Walk, Toba Station to Toba Aquarium | about 10 minutes |
| Tourist information office inside Toba Station, hours | 9:00 to 17:30 |
Passes and Tickets for Trains, Buses and Boats
The Toba Marumie Passport puts the cruise, the aquarium and Pearl Island into a combined ticket. From Nagoya city, a JR free pass covers the zone between Matsusaka and Toba. The Kamome Bus sells a day pass with a separate rate for children. The municipal boats have a day boarding ticket of their own.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Kamome Bus one-day pass | 1,000 yen for an adult and 500 yen for a child |
| Kamome Bus two-day pass | 1,500 yen for an adult and 800 yen for a child |
| Toba municipal boat one-day boarding ticket | 1,480 yen for an adult |
| Ise-Toba Michikusa free ticket, one day | 1,300 yen for an adult |
| JR Ise-Toba area free pass, from Nagoya city to the zone Matsusaka to Toba | 5,300 yen for an adult, with no child fare set |
| Toba Marumie Passport (cruise, aquarium and Pearl Island combined) | 5,700 yen for an adult, down from the regular 6,850 yen |
Mikimoto Pearl Island
The pearl museum on the island presents the types and ecology of pearl oysters, the relationship between shell and pearl, and the way a pearl forms, using specimens, models, diagrams and videos. Its exhibition room covers work at the pearl farms, the harvesting, sustainable pearl farming, the structure, colour and lustre of pearls, and their production and distribution.
The museum also follows the history of Japanese cultured pearls from the Meiji era to the Showa era, together with ornaments. A further exhibition room displays works of art and craft made with pearls. The Kokichi Mikimoto memorial hall tells his life and achievements in chronological order through photographs, actual objects and explanatory panels.
The hall also reproduces the interior of a room where his personal belongings and collections are displayed. Admission to Pearl Island includes a demonstration by ama divers. The demonstrations follow a daily schedule, shown in the table below. Ticket sales end before closing time.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Pearl Island admission, adult | 1,650 yen, tax included and ama diver demonstration included |
| Pearl Island admission, child (elementary and junior high school students) | 820 yen |
| Pearl Island parking, standard car | 600 yen per 2 hours |
| Pearl Island ticket sales | end 60 minutes before closing time |
| Pearl Island ama diver demonstration times | 9:30, 10:30, 11:30, 13:30, 14:30, 15:30 and 16:30 |
| Pearl Island annual closure | 3 days from the second Tuesday of December |
Where to stay
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Toba Aquarium
Inside, the aquarium displays skeleton specimens and taxidermy specimens, mainly of marine mammals. These specimens are largely animals that were formerly kept at the aquarium itself. A walrus trainer experience is offered for an extra charge on top of admission.
A zone is devoted to animals that live near water, centred on amphibians and reptiles. Another zone reproduces the environment of a tropical rainforest jungle and the creatures living in its large rivers. For travellers starting between Osaka Namba and Osaka Uehommachi, Kintetsu sells a discount ticket that pairs a round trip to Toba Station with an aquarium admission voucher.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Aquarium admission, adult | 2,800 yen |
| Aquarium admission, elementary and junior high school students | 1,600 yen |
| Aquarium admission, children aged 3 and over | 800 yen |
| Aquarium regular hours | 9:30 to 17:00, last entry 16:00 |
| Aquarium extended hours (May 2 to May 6, August 1 to August 28, September 19 to September 23) | 9:00 to 17:30 |
| Aquarium discount ticket from Osaka Namba to Osaka Uehommachi (Kintetsu round trip to Toba Station plus an aquarium admission voucher) | 6,780 yen for an adult |
Toba Bay Cruise and Dolphin Island
The Toba Bay cruise with Dolphin Island leaves Toba Marine Terminal and stops at Dolphin Island and at the landing in front of the aquarium and Pearl Island. On Dolphin Island there is a dolphin feeding experience, paid by the bucket. Sailings run through the morning and afternoon, with the timetable in the table below.
The terminal serves more than the cruise. From Toba Marine Terminal, the Toba municipal ferry also crosses to Sakatejima. Parking near the terminal landing is paid, and there is no dedicated free parking there.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Cruise, one loop | about 50 minutes |
| Cruise fare, adult (junior high school age and above) | 2,400 yen |
| Cruise fare, child (age 4 to elementary school) | 1,300 yen |
| Cruise operating hours | 9:30 to 15:30 |
| Parking near the Toba Marine Terminal landing | 500 yen for up to 2 hours |
| Toba municipal ferry, Toba Marine Terminal to Sakatejima | about 10 minutes |
The Sea-Folk Museum, Irako Kiyoshi's House and the Coast
The Sea-Folk Museum is a bus ride away from Toba Station. Its permanent exhibition building B holds real fishing tools, from Yayoi-period pieces excavated at the nearby Shirahama site to handmade tools used until the early Showa era. A restored fishing boat, used to re-enact bonito fishing, was afterwards put on display in the same building.
The museum defines an ama as a woman who dives without equipment to gather abalone, turban shells, sea cucumbers and seaweed. Abalone caught by the ama of Kuzaki in Toba has been offered to the gods since the Kamakura period. The ship storehouse can also be visited.
- Adult admission to the Sea-Folk Museum is 800 yen.
- From March 1 to November 30, the Sea-Folk Museum is open from 9:00 to 17:00.
- From December 1 to the end of February, the Sea-Folk Museum is open from 9:00 to 16:30.
- Admission to the Sea-Folk Museum ends 30 minutes before closing time.
- The bus from Toba Station to the Sea-Folk Museum stop takes 35 minutes, and the stop is next to the museum.
Shiroyama Park is a plaza laid out with a recreation of the stone walls of the Toba castle site, the residence of Kuki Yoshitaka. Irako Kiyoshi, a poet active in the Meiji era, moved to Kohama in Toba and lived there for years. His house is a short walk from Toba Station.
- Irako Kiyoshi's house is a 5-minute walk from Toba Station.
- Irako Kiyoshi moved to Kohama in Toba in Taisho 11 and lived there for about 23 years.
- The fossil collecting event costs 200 yen for adults and children.
If you would rather have the day arranged for you, look at Toba tours and day trips on GetYourGuide.