Taiji Station 太地駅
Taiji Station is a JR station on the Kisei Line. Visitors traveling south from Owase Station, Kumano-shi Station, and Nagoya Station to the north need to change trains at Shingu Station to reach Taiji.
The first express train to Shingu Station from Nagoya is the 8.05 am Wide View Nanki that arrives in Shingu Station at 11.34 am. The present fare is 7,530 yen. From Shingu it is about 30 minutes by local train or 21 minutes by Kuroshio or Wide Nanki Express to Taiji.
From Osaka’s Tennoji Station, a Kuroshio Express takes 3 hours and 20 minutes and costs 7,350 yen.
Visitors to the station are greeted by cheerful pictures of whales and dolphins in the sea, painted as if by local school children.
Taiji in Wakayama Prefecture on the southeastern coast of the Kii Peninsula has become known outside Japan for a rather darker association with cetaceans since the release of Ric O’Barry’s The Cove documentary in 2009.
A local loop bus connects with incoming trains and runs to the Taiji Whale Museum. The station has pamphlets and maps to help tourists get around Taiji.
Regular buses (which are cheaper than the train) from the Meitetsu bus station at Meitetsu Nagoya Station run to Shingu via Kumano. From Shingu there are trains to Taiji. Locals buses connect Shingu with Kumano-shi.
Access – Getting There
Taiji Eki
Wakayama Prefecture
The station is close to Wharf Cafe Nieche a friendly and economical guest house with excellent food and a friendly atmosphere.
Electrical bicycles are available for hire. They are an excellent way to tour the town and see the Taiji Whale Museum* and the infamous cove. In fact, the latter is a lovely place on normal days.
*The Taiji Whale Museum admission includes the dolphin and whale shows where these animals are kept in captivity. The actual museum part on whaling is of interest and explains much about Taiji’s historic links with whaling.
