Ferries to Shodo Island

The ferry port of Shodo Island is in Japan, in the Seto Inland Sea between Honshu and Shikoku. From here you can reach Kobe and Takamatsu. Together the services add up to as many as 11 departures a day. Crossings take between 1.25 and 3.25 hours. The port is served by Jumbo Ferry.

Getting there and the terminal

Shodoshima has several ferry ports, and the most important one is not the one Jumbo Ferry uses. Traffic to Kobe and Takamatsu runs through the Sakate Ferry Terminal in the south-east of the island, address 1849 Sakate-ko, Shodoshima-cho, Shozu-gun, Kagawa Prefecture. The busier port of Tonosho lies in the west of the island and is served by other operators: if you have booked accommodation there, plan the onward trip.

The Olive Bus covers the link between the two ports. Jumbo Ferry gives around 40 minutes for the Sakate - Tonosho stretch, with a fare of under 300 yen; along the south coast the buses run about twice an hour. At the Sakate terminal there are 50 free parking spaces, plus hire cars delivered to the port and a station of the Hellocycling bike-share system.

Check-in

According to Jumbo Ferry, the desk in the Sakate terminal is staffed from one hour before departure until departure time. If you still have to collect or buy your ticket there, allow for that window.