Gunkanjima and the Goto Islands: Landing Tours, Hidden Christian Churches and Ferries (2026)

Gunkanjima, the abandoned coal-mining island off Nagasaki, can only be visited on a boat tour, and you can land only when the sea allows: waves of 0.5 m or less, wind of 5 m/s or less and at least 500 m visibility. Boat fares run from about ¥3,600 to ¥6,000 in 2026, plus a landing fee that doubled to ¥650 on 1 April 2026.

Right now there is a bigger catch. Landings were suspended from 22 October 2026 after typhoon damage to the railings, and on 23 October no reopening date had been given, so tours are sailing around the island without stopping.

This guide explains how to choose an operator anyway. It then takes you two hours further west to the Goto islands, where the Hidden Christian churches need booking before you go.

Can you land on Gunkanjima right now?

Not as of 23 October 2026. Seaman Company’s staff blog reported on 22 October that the island’s visitor facility had been closed from that day because of the approaching typhoon, and Gunkanjima Concierge says the railings were removed. Gunkanjima Cruise posted on 21 October that landings were unavailable with no reopening date.

Nobody can promise a reopening date. Until the city reopens the pier, every operator runs a cruise-only trip, and Seaman Company and Gunkanjima Cruise add a stop on nearby Takashima. Check the operator’s news page the evening before you go.

Even in normal times landing is never guaranteed. Nagasaki City only lets boats dock when waves are 0.5 m or less, wind is 5 m/s or less and visibility is at least 500 m, according to a 2026 city document. Since April 2021 the wave reading comes from a gauge off Iojima, so a calm-looking sea around the island does not count, as Gunkanjima Concierge explains.

What is Gunkanjima, and why does it matter?

Hashima, nicknamed Gunkanjima or Battleship Island for its silhouette, was a coal-mining community from 1890 to 1974. At its 1960 peak, 5,267 people lived on it, and it was completely abandoned in 1974 when the mine closed, according to Nagasaki’s official tourism site. Its concrete apartment blocks now stand empty.

It is one of 23 components of the ‘Sites of Japan’s Meiji Industrial Revolution’, inscribed by UNESCO in 2015. UNESCO’s own entry notes that the Hashima Coal Mine is deteriorating and hard to conserve.

The island also carries wartime history that tours tend to skim. When the sites were listed, Japan acknowledged that many Koreans were brought to some of them against their will and forced to work under harsh conditions, and South Korea still says Japan has not done enough to present that history, as the Korea Times reported in February 2025. Knowing this gives the visit more weight than the ‘Skyfall island’ angle.

Which Gunkanjima tour should you book?

Five operators run tours from Nagasaki port, all with morning and afternoon departures. All of them need advance booking, and the landing fee is paid on top of the boat fare.

Operator	Departs	Time	Adult fare (2026)	Le meilleur pour
Gunkanjima Cruise	Motofuna, 9:10 and 14:00	About 3 h, incl. Takashima stop	¥3,600 online, ¥4,000 otherwise	Lowest price; Takashima toilets and coal museum
Seaman Company	Tokiwa 2nd Terminal, about 10:30 and 13:40	About 2 h 30 min	¥3,900 with the website’s ¥300 coupon	Budget; cash only
Gunkanjima Concierge	Tokiwa Pier, 10:30 and 13:40	About 2 h 45 min plus museum	¥5,500 weekdays, ¥6,000 peak days; premium seats ¥9,000–12,000	Longest tour, digital museum included
Yamasa Kaiun	Nagasaki Port Terminal, 9:00 and 13:00	About 2 h 30 min	See operator	Early start
Daishichi Ebisumaru	See operator	About 1 h 30 min	See operator	Small boat, short trip

Departure times are from Discover Nagasaki and each operator’s site; prices are from the operators’ own pages on 23 October 2026. Seaman Company’s Japanese-only site lists ¥3,500 for junior and senior high students and ¥2,000 for primary-school children, using the same coupon.

The landing fee went up in April 2026

Nagasaki City raised the island’s facility fee from ¥310 to ¥650 for adults from 1 April 2026, and the children’s fee to ¥320, according to the city council’s fee proposal. Operators collect it with the fare. Preschool children are free at Gunkanjima Concierge.

What happens to your money if you can’t land?

• Gunkanjima Cruise: refunds the landing fee but not the tour fee if you sail and can’t land. If it announces a substitute cruise, you can cancel free before departure. Prices change from April 2027 to ¥4,000 on peak days and ¥3,800 on off-peak weekdays.
• Gunkanjima Concierge: gives a full refund if the trip is cancelled for weather. If the boat sails but can’t land, it becomes a cruise-around, with the fare for that case set out in its terms.
• Seaman Company: switches to a cruise plus a landing on Takashima, with the same return time. Its site does not say whether any part of the fare is refunded.
• Age limits: Gunkanjima Cruise takes children from age 4; Gunkanjima Concierge doesn’t take under-3s; Seaman Company doesn’t take preschool children.

What to bring on the island

Wear flat shoes; heels and sandals are not allowed. Umbrellas and parasols are banned too, so bring a raincoat and a hat you can hold on to. There are no toilets, shops or vending machines on Gunkanjima, and seasick-prone visitors should take medicine before boarding.

How do you get from Nagasaki to the Goto islands?

By jetfoil, ferry or a short flight. Kyushu Shosen runs the sea routes from Nagasaki Port, and the Goto City tourism guide says seats are limited, so book early.

Route	Jetfoil	Ferry	Notes
Nagasaki to Fukue (Goto City)	About 1 h 25 min	About 3 h 10 min	Fukue is the base for Hisaka and Naru islands
Nagasaki to Narao (Nakadori Island)	About 1 h 10 min	About 2 h 35 min	For Kashiragashima and the Kamigoto churches
Nagasaki to Naru Island	None	About 4 h 20 min	Usually quicker via Fukue
Hakata to Fukue (Ferry Taiko, Nomo Shosen)	None	About 8 h 30 min overnight	Saves a hotel night
Flights to Fukue	Nagasaki about 30 min, Fukuoka about 40 min		Buses meet flights for Fukue Port

On the jetfoil, an adult web-prepaid one-way ticket from Nagasaki to Fukue costs ¥9,510 (¥300 off), and a round trip within 14 days is ¥19,100, according to Kyushu Shosen. The ferry is far cheaper. A reserved second-class room on the ferry costs ¥1,040 extra, per the fare page.

Ferry times are on Kyushu Shosen’s route page, and its 2026–27 timetable runs to March 2027. Sailings can be cancelled in rough seas, so leave a spare day before any flight home.

What are the Hidden Christian sites in the Goto islands?

They are four of the 12 components of the ‘Hidden Christian Sites in the Nagasaki and Amakusa Region’, listed by UNESCO in 2018. The listing covers the 17th to 19th centuries, when Christianity was banned and communities kept their faith in secret until the ban was lifted in 1873.

Their hidden villages, and the churches built after the ban ended, are what you visit. These are working churches looked after by local parishioners, not museums.

Site	Island	Church	Hours	No visits
Egami Village	Naru	Egami Church (1918)	9:00–12:00, 13:00–15:30	Mondays, third Sundays
Villages on Hisaka Island	Hisaka	Former Gorin Church (1881)	8:30–12:00, 13:00–16:30 (staffed)	Mondays, 2nd and 4th Tuesdays (no staff)
Kashiragashima Village	Kashiragashima (bridged to Nakadori)	Kashiragashima Church (1919)	9:00–12:00, 13:00–17:00	2nd and 4th Sundays 14:00–17:00
Remains of Villages on Nozaki Island	Nozaki (off Ojika)	Former Nokubi Church	9:00–14:00	Book via Ojika Island Tourism

Hours and closures are from the Nagasaki Churches Information Center‘s pages for each church, checked on 23 October 2026. Egami Church also announced temporary closure days for October 2026, and visits to Kashiragashima were restricted on some dates, so check the centre’s notices before you travel.

How do you book a Goto church visit in advance?

Use the online prior-notice form of the Nagasaki Churches Information Center. Its guide says you can apply up to six months ahead and no later than two days before. For the day before or the same day, phone the centre on +81-95-823-7650.

• Choose the church, individual or group, the date and a time slot. Slots show how many places remain.
• You get a confirmation email with a reception number. Keep it, because you need it to change or cancel.
• Booking is free. Donations are welcome in the offertory boxes inside, according to the World Heritage site’s rules page.
• Running more than 30 minutes early or late? Call the centre. Within 30 minutes, just give your name to the attendant.
• Nozaki Island is different: contact Ojika Island Tourism (+81-959-56-2646) instead, as the Former Nokubi Church page explains.

Booking does not guarantee entry. Visits stop during Mass, funerals and other services, and the centre can’t help if you want to attend Mass.

Church etiquette that actually matters

Take off your hat, don’t touch statues and stay out of the chancel behind the altar rail. No food, drink or smoking inside.

Interior photography is banned in churches owned by the Catholic Archdiocese of Nagasaki, which covers most of them, according to the centre’s FAQ. The Former Gorin Church, which is no longer a parish church, is the exception. The churches have no visitor toilets, so plan around the ports.

A three-day Gunkanjima and Goto islands plan

This route works from Nagasaki and needs no car on day one. It assumes you have booked church visits for days two and three.

Day 1: Nagasaki and Gunkanjima

Take a morning Gunkanjima tour, so the afternoon is free if the morning sailing is cancelled and you need to rebook. Spend the rest of the day in Nagasaki and stay the night, or check Kyushu Shosen’s timetable for a later sailing to Fukue.

Day 2: Naru Island and Egami Church

From Fukue Port, the high-speed boat to Naru takes about 30 minutes and the ferry about 45. Egami Church is about 15 minutes by car from Naru Port, according to Goto City tourism, so arrange a taxi in advance.

The church was designed and built by Tetsukawa Yosuke and consecrated in 1918, and it is a nationally designated Important Cultural Property. Cars and bikes are not allowed on the church grounds; park at the former Egami Elementary School.

Day 3: Hisaka Island and the Former Gorin Church

Ferry Hisaka takes about 34 minutes from Fukue to Tanoura Port, and Kiguchi Cruising’s ‘Seagull’ about 20. From Tanoura, the Former Gorin Church is about a 40-minute drive plus a 15-minute walk, because no road reaches the door.

Built in 1881 as Hamawaki Church and moved to Gorin in 1931, it was saved from demolition by local campaigners and became an Important Cultural Property in 1999, per the information centre. Goto City’s model route says Hisaka has very few buses and no resident taxis, so book Hisaka Rent-A-Car (0959-77-2008) and tell them which ferry you are on.

Extra day: Kashiragashima on Nakadori

Kashiragashima Church is built from sandstone quarried on the island and was finished in 1919, also by Tetsukawa Yosuke, according to its church page. The island has been linked to Nakadori by a bridge since 1981; reach Nakadori by high-speed boat from Fukue to Narao (about 30 minutes) or directly from Nagasaki.

The centre has a separate notice on car parks for Kashiragashima visitors, so read it when you book.

Getting around the Goto islands

Hire a car. Buses on Fukue run, but not often, and the tourism guide recommends booking a rental car early, with pickup at the port or airport possible. Roads to the church villages are narrow and can be slippery.

Without a licence, use taxis booked ahead or the Japanese-guided World Heritage day tours from Fukue Port. Bring cash, because some shops don’t take cards or cashless payment. Our Japan travel cost guide has realistic daily budgets for trips like this.

Combining this with the rest of Kyushu? The JR Kyushu Rail Pass covers Nagasaki, as our JR Pass guide explains, and our Kumamoto travel guide and Ghibli-like Kyushu shrines fill out a week. For more trips like this one, see authentic experiences in Japan.

Gunkanjima and Goto islands FAQ

Sources and how we checked

We checked the facts in this Gunkanjima and Goto islands guide on 23 October 2026 against the linked sources: Nagasaki City, the Gunkanjima tour operators, the Nagasaki Churches Information Center, UNESCO, Kyushu Shosen and Goto City tourism. Landing status and church visiting days change at short notice, so confirm with the operator and the information centre before you travel.