It happens with sightseeing in Sado Island – It takes 100 minutes from Niigata to Sado Island by high-speed boat, but if you are good at rowing a Tarai Bune boat, you will want to get carried away and row home –

Tarai Bune (Tarai boat) is the icon of Sado Island in Niigata prefecture. It’s a famous round shape boat so popular that there are people who visit Sado Island from nationwide just to take Tarai Bune. In this page, I’ll explain about famous & popular Tarai Bune.

Tarai Bune was originally used to fish Turbo cornutu, abalone, octopus and seaweed only in Ogi beach of Sado Island and is still used for fishery. Ogi beach has complex reef making it difficult for a traditional fishing ship to enter. People used washing tub and improved it into “Tarai Bune” with shallow bottom that can turns easily.

You can ride on Tarai Bune at Ogi port and Yajima/Kyojima. Tarai Bune for tourist is made a little bigger compared to that of fishermen and 11 adults can ride. When the boatman rows, the Tarai Bune would advance easily but if you try, you will know that it requires technique and if you row just with power, the Tarai Bune would just go round and round without advancing. In order to advance the Tarai Bune, you have to row in the shape of number 8 and the shape of Kanji 8 when going backward.

In Sado Island, there exists a sad folk tale abut Tarai Bune. Oben, a daughter of fisherman in Sado Island, fell in love with Tokichi, a boat carpenter. After Tokichi finished his job in Sado Island, Oben rowed Tarai Bune every night to see Tokichi in Kashiwazaki in Kashiwazaki. Though Tokichi was happy at first, since he had wife and children, he started to feel annoyed after a while. He no longer wanted her to come so he put out the lighthouse. Without the light, Oben went lost in the ocean and never returned. Tokichi regretted deeply and said to have killed himself by jumping into the ocean. The Rokyoku “Sado Jyowa (Love story of Sado Island)” sing about this tragedy.

In 2007, there was an event related to this “Sado Jyowa”. 3 young ladies of the island in their 20s crossed from Ogi port of Sado Island to Kashiwazaki port for about 60km over 19 hours by rowing Tarai Bune and it gained attention.

In the bay of Ogi beach where you can ride Tarai Bune, there stand 2 islands called “Yajima/Kyojima”. According to “Heike Monogatari”, at the end of Heian period, there was a monster with black smoke and weird cry who come to Kyoto palace every night and the Emperor fainted with nightmare. Yorimasa Minamoto was ordered to get rid of this monster and he killed the monster with an arrow. This monster was called “Nue” with face of monkey, body of Japanese raccoon, limb of tiger and tail of snake. The arrow used to get the monster was made with bamboo of this island so the island started to be called “Yajima (arrow island)”.

“Kyojima” was the island where Nichiro, the Buddhist disciple holding release order of Saint Nichiren who was banished to Sado Island, drifted ashore after the storm, and since he spent the night reading Kyo (Sutra), it’s now called “Kyojima (Sutra island)”.

Yajima/Kyojima, these 2 islands are connected with vivid red arched bridge so you can enjoy a beautiful scenery while riding on Tarai Bune.

Access to Tarai Bune Boat Boarding Area

From Tokyo

It takes about 2 hours from JR Tokyo Station to JR Niigata Station by Joetsu Shinkansen. It takes about 15 minutes by local bus from JR Niigata Station to Niigata Port.

From Osaka

It takes about 1 hour from Itami Airport to Niigata Airport. It takes about 25 minutes by shuttle bus from Niigata Airport to Sado Kisen Niigata Port Terminal.

From Sado Kisen Niigata Port Terminal to Sado Kisen Ryotsu Port Terminal, it takes about 1 hour by jetfoil and about 2 hours and 30 minutes by car ferry.

Ogi Port Tarai Bune Boat Boarding Area

From Ryotsu Port Sado Kisen Bus Stop to Sawata Bus Station it takes about 45 minutes by local bus (main line). At Sawata Bus Station, transfer to a local bus (Ogi line), it takes about 1 hour to Ogi bus stop, get off at Ogi bus stop and walk 5 minutes.

Yajima Kyojima Tarai Bune Boat Boarding Area

At Sawata Bus Station, transfer to a local bus (Ogi line), it takes about 1 hour and 10 minutes to Yajima-Yuen bus stop, get off at Yajima-Yuen bus stop and walk about 5 minutes.