Tanegashima: bike rental and surfing info

I want to spend some days on Yakushima and Tanegashima as part of a month long trip I am planning for October.

Before I have been to Yakushima already so I know my way around there already a little bit. And I know there is a direct connection between Yakushima and Shimama port on Tanegashima.

I want to spend 2 to 3 nights there.

Accessing from Shimama port and exiting from the airport or by ferry.. if I choose to visit Yakushima first which has my preference given I will probably fly in from Fukuoka.

Online information seems rather sparse on Tanegashima.. I found there are busses which are rather infrequent and limited in areas that I can visit.

Since I have one of the driver licenses that needs a translation (and no way to arrange that in advance) I think renting a car/motorbike will be not really possible either. (at least for now)

So that leaves 1 option open: bike

Luggage will probably not be a problem I think.

As surfing is quite good there I also want to try it out there.

So does anybody know anything if there is a bike rental shop? (havent found anything yet).

Secondly I am also trying to find 2 locations to stay at. one in the south and one more up north..

I have already searched and found some hotels and surfing spots.. (even 1 with the combination) but it seems the amount will be limited.. and cant book anything in too long in advance..

Does anybody have more knowledge about these topics or has been there themselves?

Currently, there seems to be no shop that specializes in renting bicycles.
They rent rental bike.
https://www7b.biglobe.ne.jp/~rentalbike-tane/
There seems to be rental bicycles during the Tanegashima Space Arts Festival, but it doesn't seem to be held this fall.
https://satfes.jp/rentacycle/
https://satfes.jp/
At Iwasaki Hotel, you can rent for 2 hours, although it may be limited to the hotel guests.
https://tanegashima.iwasakihotels.com/activity/
Maybe this guesthouse will let you use it.
Please confirm when you make a reservation.
https://www.challengebase-yokana.com/guesthouse
Information on Tanegashima Island
https://tanekan.jp/
https://satfes.jp/news/1119/
Incidentally, there are several rental bicycle shops in Yakushima.
It is possible to bring a bicycle onto the ship, so if the rental bicycle shop is OK, you can bring a bicycle from Yakushima.
https://youshop-nangoku.jimdofree.com/%E3%83%AC%E3%83%B3%E3%82%BF%E3%8...
https://www.veltra.com/jp/japan/yakushima/a/172353
https://yuko-rental.net/
https://villa-heureux.com/yakushima-rentacycle/#index_id5

Hello Haro,

Thank you for the provided information.


https://www7b.biglobe.ne.jp/~rentalbike-tane/

I found this one myself too and translated it and they say the bike rental is suspended. (so not really an option for now)

The other links I will have to look into later.

Renting from Yakushima will be complicated as I have to return the bicycle to Yakushima also.

But I already know some good bike rentals there.. even some clearly stated that you cant take the bike off the island. But I will have to do a deep dive into it.

The Iwasaki hotel seems to be quite expensive (+16k yen/night) breakfast not even included.

Planning a few days on Yakushima is easy.. as a lot of information can be found, and even in English. But as for Tanegashime sifting through Japanese sites can be fairly complicated as well as they are very limited.

But you have given me some food for thought and some links I will further investigate.. And if I can find some good information. I will post it here...

I am Japanese (living near Tokyo), but all I know about Tanegashima is that it is home to the Space Center and where the first guns in Japan arrived in the 16th century.
Therefore, I think there are few people who visit Tanegashima for sightseeing.
According to the guide book, the cave called Kurano Iwaya is also famous, and the Sea Kayak tour is also popular.
I will also paste the bus time as a reference. (It is probably the latest information.)
https://rito-guide.com/tanegasima-bus/

Sorry.
×　Kurano Iwaya
　　　　↓
〇 Chikura no Iwaya

Thank you Haro, for your time and efforts

yes.. there is the space center and gun museum.
I think Tanegashima is most known for those 2 things and surfing as well.
While there is a lot of English information about Yakushima.. there is hardly any about Tanegashima.

For me, I just want to visit for those 3 things.. and just relax and sightsee for a day or 2/3.

I already had found the bus schedule also.. but since its very limited.. I didnt really pay attention to it after. I guess taking a normal bicycle on the bus to combine bike and bus, will not be a possibility either ;-)

I just chose it because its easy accessible from Yakushima (where I want to spend 2 nights). I know 2 night is not much.. But have been there before 3 times already... and I also still need time to see Nagasaki and Aso region after which I will fly to Sapporo making my way down from there for 3 weeks.. for Autumn foliage.. in Tohoku region.. and more

Maybe I just have to overthink its all together.

As for access to Tanegashima, I was only able to look up comments I had written before.
By the way, I found the bus information here as well.
https://www.city.nishinoomote.lg.jp/admin/soshiki/kikaku/seisakusuishi...
As you may know, information from Lonely Planet
https://www.lonelyplanet.com/japan/okinawa-and-the-southwest-islands/o...
The E-mail address of the tourist information center is written around the bottom of this website, so please inquire about it.
https://tanekan.jp/
Maybe someone on TripAdvisor's Japan forum knows.
You might want to ask questions.
https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowForum-g294232-i525-Japan.html

I found information in a Japanese guidebook that Araki Hotel also rents bicycles. (Electric bicycle)
Tanegashima seems to have a lot of hills, so I think it would be more convenient to use an electric bicycle.
https://araki-hotel.co.jp/banquet.html#s09