Hashima Island (端島), better known as Gunkanjima (軍艦島, "Battleship Island"), lies off Nagasaki Port and was once home to an undersea coal mine. In 2015 it was inscribed on the UNESCO World Heritage List as part of the Sites of Japan's Meiji Industrial Revolution.
You cannot visit the island independently. The only way to set foot on the island is to join a tour run by a boat operator licensed by the City of Nagasaki.
Operators differ in their fares and services. What you get back when you can't land, though, comes down to whether it's the whole sailing or just the landing that's canceled.
This guide explains what to know before booking, from choosing an operator to understanding fares and canceled landings.
You can't land on Gunkanjima on your own. You have to book a tour with an operator licensed by the City of Nagasaki and sign a pledge before you board.
Operating status and landing closures
Gunkanjima closes to landings when the waves are high or the wind is strong. On top of that, the island sometimes shuts to landings entirely for a stretch of time while its facilities are inspected or repaired.
You'll sometimes see a notice on the operators' sites: "landing on Gunkanjima is currently not possible (cruise only)."
The boat still sails, but you can't step onto the island; the trip switches to a cruise around it. Sometimes no reopening date has been set.
So before you book, and again before you leave, check the latest "today's operating status" page on each operator's official site. For the latest word on whether landings are going ahead, rely on the operator's official notice rather than travel-site reviews.
The two-part fare: boarding fee and facility fee
The cost of a Gunkanjima tour has two parts. One is the "boarding fee" you pay the boat operator; the other is the "facility usage fee" you pay the City of Nagasaki.
The facility fee is not included in the boarding fee, so you pay it on top.
Everyone who lands pays the facility fee to the city. The city sets the amounts for adults and for students, and they do not change from one operator to the next.
Category | Facility fee (to the City of Nagasaki, separate from the boarding fee) |
|---|---|
Adults (18 and over) | ¥650 |
High school, junior high, and elementary students | ¥320 |
Each of the three operators below handles preschoolers differently.
Gunkanjima Concierge (軍艦島コンシェルジュ) waives the facility fee for them. Takashima Kaijo Kotsu (高島海上交通) accepts children ages 4 and up and charges the ¥320 facility fee. Seaman Shokai (シーマン商会) does not accept preschoolers.
If you are traveling with a small child, check each company's fare page before you book.
This facility fee is refunded if you do not make it onto the island. Whether the boarding fee is refunded depends on why the landing was canceled.
Check Gunkanjima (Hashima) Boat Tours
"Canceled sailing" versus "canceled landing"
The key distinction on a Gunkanjima tour is between a canceled sailing (欠航) and a canceled landing (上陸中止). Both keep you from setting foot on the island, but the refund rules are completely different.
A canceled sailing is when rough weather keeps the boat from going out at all. In that case no operator leaves you out of pocket for the boarding fee.
If you paid in advance, it is refunded. If you were due to pay cash on the day, you will not be charged because the boat does not sail.
Gunkanjima Concierge, for example, says that when a sailing is canceled, it reverses the credit-card charge for a full refund and offers half-price admission to its digital museum.
Refund steps and conditions vary by company, so check each operator's official site before you book.
A canceled landing is when the boat does sail but can't put you ashore, and the trip becomes a cruise instead.
Here the facility fee you paid the city is refunded. But because the trip is switched to a cruise, the boarding fee you paid the operator generally does not come back.
Takashima Kaijo Kotsu states plainly that when landing isn't possible it changes the trip to a cruise and refunds the facility fee but not the boarding fee. Seaman Shokai likewise switches to a cruise around the island and refunds the facility fee when landing is not possible.
If you can't land, a canceled sailing leaves you with nothing to pay, while a canceled landing (switched to a cruise) refunds only the facility fee.
The operators publish their own standards for when landing is possible. As a rough guide, there is no landing when the waves top 0.5 meters, the wind exceeds 5 meters per second, or visibility drops below 500 meters.
Landings are also canceled if the captain decides that passengers cannot get on and off the boat safely.
These thresholds are based on standards the City of Nagasaki has been testing since 2023. Each operator makes the final call on the day.
Fares and services by operator
Several operators hold a license from the City of Nagasaki. Here we compare three whose official sites let you check current fares and operating status. The boarding fees below are all guideline prices for adults, with the facility fee charged separately.
Operator | Boarding fee (adult; facility fee separate) | What stands out |
|---|---|---|
Gunkanjima Concierge | From ¥5,500 (top seat classes up to around ¥12,000) | Includes a visit to the digital museum; credit cards accepted |
Seaman Shokai | ¥4,200 (¥3,900 with the official discount coupon) | Tour narrated by a storyteller; cash only |
Takashima Kaijo Kotsu | ¥3,600 (a revision is planned for April 2027) | Two-island cruise that also stops at Takashima; bookable through an English site; cash on the day |
Choose by what matters most to you. Takashima Kaijo Kotsu has the lowest fare and is the only one you can book in English, with Seaman Shokai close behind on price.
Seaman Shokai is the pick if you want a storyteller's narration, and Gunkanjima Concierge for the digital museum it includes.
Say you book Seaman Shokai with the coupon and one adult lands. The ¥3,900 boarding fee plus the ¥650 facility fee comes to ¥4,550, which is the figure to have ready on the day.
The operators depart from different piers: Gunkanjima Concierge from Tokiwa Port (常盤港); Seaman Shokai from Tokiwa Pier No. 2 (常盤2号桟橋); and Takashima Kaijo Kotsu from Motofuna Pier (元船桟橋).
Gunkanjima Concierge's seats come in three classes: standard at ¥5,500 to ¥6,000, with premium and super premium running up to around ¥12,000.
Other licensed operators also run tours; check each company's official site for current fares and schedules.
Booking and the day itself
How you book and check in on the day varies by company. Most operators accept advance reservations through their official site or a travel-booking site. Some will take you if a seat is open on the day, but a reservation is the sure bet.
For payment, some companies accept credit cards while others are cash only on the day. If you pick a cash-only company, have the cash ready for both the boarding fee and the facility fee.
On the day, check in before departure and submit the required pledge. This is a form in which you agree to walk only within the island's designated viewing paths and plaza.
If you are not comfortable using Japanese, choose an operator with an English-language website to make the paperwork easier to understand.
The island sits out in the open sea, and the crossing can be windy and chilly even on a mild day. Dress a step warmer than the city forecast suggests; our guide on what to wear in Japan in autumn walks through the layers.
The official sites, where you book and check the operating status, are below.
- Gunkanjima Concierge: official site
- Seaman Shokai: official site
- Takashima Kaijo Kotsu: official site
Whether you land on Gunkanjima is decided on the day, and the island also closes for long stretches during maintenance. Check the operating status right before you book and again before you set out.
For another Nagasaki highlight, see our guide to the city's biggest festival, Nagasaki Kunchi (長崎くんち).
This article was translated from the original Japanese with AI assistance and reviewed by our editorial team. The Japanese version is authoritative.
