Location


Location of Japan
Hirado city is located in the northwestern corner of Kyushu, one of the four main islands of the Japanese archipelago. Since it is located at this northwestern tip of Kyushu it is reasonably close to South Korea and China which explains the history of overseas trade.

Hirado city consists of the populated islands of Hirado, Ikitsuki, Oshima, Takushima and Takashima as well as numerous unpopulated islands in its vicinity together with Tabira town, which is located on the northwestern tip of Kyushu. The city is part of Nagasaki Prefecture and Hirado Island is connected to the main island of Kyushu by a bridge and Ikitsuki Island is in its turn connected to Hirado Island by another large bridge.
Access and maps

Hirado can be reached by car, bus and train from Sasebo, which is the main regional transportation hub. The nearest main airports are Nagasaki Airport and Fukuoka Airport, both served by express busses to and from Sasebo. The closest Shinkansen (Japanese bullet train) station is Hakata Station in Fukuoka.

If you come by public transport it is best to first head to Sasebo and change there for a bus (or train) to Hirado. If you come by car you can take the routes as described in the sections below. Various maps are available for download as well.

Section 1: Getting to Hirado
Section 2: Getting around Hirado
Getting to Hirado

By train

Trains to JR Sasebo Station:
JR Express trains from Fukuoka (Hakata Station) take 1 hour 50 minutes (15x a day)
JR Express trains from Nagasaki Station take about 2 hours (12x a day)

Trains from JR Sasebo Station to Tabira-Hiradoguchi Station: (private Matsuura Railway line)
All (local) trains take 1 hour 30 minutes (20x a day)

Please Note: If Hirado Island is your destination you will need to walk down the Tabira main street and take a bus (10 minutes) from the Hiradoguchi Sanbashi Bus Centre to the Hirado Sanbashi Bus Centre in the city centre. In this case direct buses from Sasebo will be quicker.


By bus

Buses to Sasebo Bus Centre:
Express buses from Fukuoka (Tenjin/Hakata Station) take about 2 hours (40x a day)
Express buses from Fukuoka Airport take about 1 hour 40 minutes (18x a day)
(All buses from Fukuoka Airport originate from Fukuoka city centre. The airport bus stop is at the international terminal, free shuttle buses available to domestic terminal)

Express buses from Nagasaki take 1 hour 40 minutes (26x day)
Express buses from Nagasaki Airport take 1 hour 40 minutes (16x a day)

Buses from Sasebo Bus Centre to Hirado Sanbashi Bus Centre:
Buses to Hirado take about 1 hour 30 minutes (30x a day)


By car

From Fukuoka: Approx. 2.5 hours (see also map below)
Take the Fukuoka-Maebaru Road (Nishi-Kyushu Expressway) westwards out of Fukuoka in the direction of Maebaru/Karatsu. Keep going straight. After the second toll road ends past Karatsu follow route 202 in the direction of Imari. After about 15 kilometres south of Karatsu turn right onto the 297 towards Hirado. At the end turn left onto the 204 and soon after that right again towards Matsura/Hirado via the Imari-wan Ôhashi Bridge. You will come out onto route 204. Follow route 204 all the way to Hirado.
(You can also take the Kyushu and Nagasaki Expressways towards Nagasaki and then the Nishi-kyushu Expressway to Sasebo at Takeo Junction and follow route 204 from there, but it takes a bit longer and costs more for toll roads)

From Nagasaki: Approx. 2 hours (see also map below)
Take the Nagasaki Expressway north out of Nagasaki and turn onto the West Kyushu (or Nishi-Kyushu) Expressway at Takeo Junction. Follow the expressway all the way to Sasebo. From March 20, 2010, the West Kyushu expressway ends at Ainoura-Nakazato IC from where you can follow the signs for route 204 towards Hirado. Follow route 204 all the way untill you reach Hirado. It's a left turn onto the bridge to Hirado Island.





Access map to Hirado
To download a high quality map (pdf) click here




Getting around Hirado

Hirado area
The easiest way to get around Hirado is by car. Rental cars are available from:
Tawaraya Rentacar (tel.: 0950-23-3301 Japanese only), reservations required and return with a full tank)
Budget Rentacar (tel.: 0950-22-3060 Japanese only), reservations can be made via the English online booking system ToCoo or the Japanese Budget Rentacar website. Cars can be picked up and returned with full tank at the Hirado Tourism Association.
Contact us here for suggestions on itineraries.

Bus services provide scarce access to some villages but schedules vary according to the time of day and can be infrequent. Taxis are also an option to get to some sights in the area. More information on both buses and taxis can be obtained in the Hirado Sanbashi bus terminal.

Downtown Hirado
Getting around the sights in the Hirado city centre area can be done on foot. Contact us here for suggested itineraries.
Bicycles can also be a good way to go around the central harbour area and slightly further sights such as Saikyo-ji temple. Rental Bicycles are available from Sakamoto Cycle (0950-22-2465) and Ishibashi Cycle (0950-23-2561). Both have 6 bikes available and charge ¥100 per 30 minutes.

Toll tariffs for the bridgeshave been abolished as of April 1st, 2010!

Oshima Ferry schedule
The ferry for Oshima leaves from Hirado harbour and goes to both the Konoura port as well as the Azuchi port on Oshima.
One way ticket - adult: ¥640
One way ticket - child: ¥320
(No return tickets are sold)
To view the ferry schedule click here



Maps
Map of the Hirado area including Oshima ferry schedule
High quality pdf file (4.7 MB)
Medium quality jpg file (0.7 MB)
Map of Downtown Hirado
High quality pdf file (4.0 MB)
Medium quality jpg file (0.4 MB)
Combined map of Hirado, the city centre, ferry schedule and lodging information
High quality pdf file (5.7 MB)
Medium quality jpg file (1.0 MB)



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