Ferries to Kohama

The ferry port of Kohama lies on the island of the same name in the Japanese Yaeyama archipelago. It has exactly one route, and that one runs frequently: there are up to 12 departures a day to Ishigaki, the main island of the group, on almost every day of the week. The crossing takes around 30 minutes. The port is served by Yaeyama Kanko Ferry.

Getting there and the terminal

If you are heading for Kohama, you will almost always start on Ishigaki. The fast boats to the neighbouring islands do not leave from just anywhere in the harbour there but from a building of their own, the island terminal in Ishigaki harbour (Ishigaki-ko Ritou Terminal). Each operator keeps its own sales counter in the hall, and that is where you get the ticket for the crossing. So it is worth checking the operator before you join a queue: the counter you queue at decides your departure time. Because Kohama has only this one route, onward travel to the other Yaeyama islands also runs via Ishigaki. If you want to see several islands, it makes sense to plan them as spokes from there rather than as a chain. Which sailings run on your travel date is shown in the timetable further down this page.