Matsuyama Tourist Port lies on the coast northwest of the city of Matsuyama. It provides ferry links to Honshu, the main island of Japan, through Kure and Hiroshima, and to Kyushu, the southernmost island, through Kokura.
There are two kinds of ferry between Matsuyama Tourist Port and Kure/Hiroshima. The Cruise Ferry operated by Ishizaki Kisen is a passenger and car ferry which takes about two hours to get to Kure, and a further 30 minutes from Kure to Hiroshima. The Super Jet Ferry operated by the same company takes just under an hour to get to Kure, and a further 15 minutes from Kure to Hiroshima. The price differential between Cruise and Super Jet is roughly half.
The car ferry to Kokura is operated by Ferry Sunflower. It sails every evening at just before 10 pm, arriving in Kokura at 5 am.
Matsuyama Tourist Port is served by a Limousine Bus which makes regular stops at Dogo Onsen, City Hall, Matsuyama City Station and JR Station among other places. Another Limousine Bus goes to Matsuyama Airport. You can also get to the port on the Iyotetsu Suburban Line, which runs from Matsuyama City Station to Takahama Station. A bus goes from Takahama Station to the Tourist Port (150 yen), or you can walk the distance in less than 10 minutes if you feel like a stroll by the waterside.
Matsuyama Tourist Port itself is a pleasant new building sitting in a somewhat isolated spot away from the center of Matsuyama. It has a couple of well-stocked souvenir shops, a reasonably-priced restaurant on the second floor with a great view of the sea and nearby Gogoshima Island, and a wedding chapel, in case the romance of the setting makes you feel like getting married.
The ferries from Matsuyama Tourist Port offer travelers a convenient means of getting to Honshu and Kyushu, whether you have a car or not. The prices are very competitive compared with other ways of getting across the water, and the ferry trip itself is an adventure, offering a chance to see the beauty of the Seto Inland Sea from a different viewpoint. On the Kyushu route, the fact that the journey is made at night saves you precious time, and spares you the cost of a night at a hotel.
Name in Japanese
松山観光講港 - matsuyama kankō kō - Matsuyama Tourist Port
