Satellite: Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 by EOX (CC BY 4.0). Outline and points © OpenStreetMap contributors / Natural Earth. North up.
In numbers
445km²
Area
187km
Coastline
282m
Highest point
36,000
People
28°C
Warmest sea
August
497km
To the mainland
When to go to Tanegashima
Best for the beach from June to October.
The sea is warmest in August (28 °C) and coolest in February (20 °C). Comfortable swimming (21 °C or more): from April to December.
Averages 1991–2020. Sea: NOAA OISST, the water within 35 km of the coast. Air, rain and sun: NASA POWER. Best months weigh warm afternoons (23–30 °C), sea of 24 °C or more and few wet days.
Island in Kagoshima, Japan
Tanegashima is an island in Japan. It covers 445 km², with 187 km of coastline. Its highest point rises to 282 m. About 36,000 people live on it. The nearest mainland is 497 km away.
Getting there
- New Tanegashima Airport (TNE)airport on the island, with scheduled flightsCar hire at KUM airport (Yakushima)Discover Cars · Affiliate link↗
- FerriesKagoshima - Tanegashima, Kagoshima - Tanegashima / Yakushima
- 497 km from the mainlanddistance to the nearest continental coast
- From June to Octoberbest months to go (from 30 years of averages)
Plan the trip
Ferries, stays and things to do
Some links above are affiliate links: if you book through them we may earn a commission, at no extra cost to you. It never changes what the data on this page says.
On the island
What you find on Tanegashima.
- 21beaches
- 4lighthousesKishigasaki Lighthouse and 3 more
- 6ferry terminalsNishinoomote, Nishinoomote Port Ferry Terminal (Tanegashima) and 4 more
- 1named peaks
- 2waterfallsObuchi-Mebuchi Waterfall
- 1ruins and archaeological sites
- 1campsites
- 24hotels, guesthouses and apartments
- 16restaurants, cafés and bars
Counted in OpenStreetMap, the map anyone can edit, inside the island's outline. A low number may only mean nobody has mapped it yet.
Cross-checked with our atlases
Tanegashima in our other atlases
Everything Coastya, Peakyas, Lakeyas and Cascadyas know about what lies inside Tanegashima, each with its own numbers.
1beachCoastya
1mountainPeakyas
Beach with the warmest sea
28.5°C
Naga-hama
sea in the warmest month · according to Coastya
The shape of the land.
On average the island stands 97 m above the sea. 94 % of it is below 200 m.
- 27 %0–50 m
- 67 %50–200 m
- 6 %200–500 m
Share of the island's area in each altitude band, from the Copernicus DEM (30 m, read at 30–240 m on large islands).
Size, for real
Next to islands you may know.
20 km
All outlines drawn to the same scale (Natural Earth and OpenStreetMap).
Towns on the island
- Nishinoomote17,832 people
- Nōkan7,539 people
- Nakanokami5,445 people
Month by month
The weather on the island.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Afternoon high (°C) | 16 | 16 | 18 | 20 | 23 | 26 | 28 | 29 | 28 | 25 | 22 | 18 |
| Night low (°C) | 13 | 14 | 16 | 18 | 22 | 24 | 27 | 28 | 27 | 24 | 20 | 16 |
| Sea (°C) | 20 | 20 | 20 | 21 | 23 | 25 | 27 | 28 | 28 | 26 | 24 | 22 |
| Rain (mm) | 134 | 158 | 194 | 219 | 274 | 587 | 348 | 215 | 308 | 198 | 168 | 149 |
| Wet days | 15 | 14 | 16 | 14 | 15 | 23 | 19 | 19 | 18 | 14 | 12 | 14 |
| Sun h/day | 3.1 | 3.5 | 4.5 | 5.3 | 4.9 | 3.6 | 7.5 | 8.0 | 6.1 | 4.9 | 3.9 | 3.2 |
| Wind (km/h) | 28 | 27 | 27 | 25 | 22 | 22 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 25 | 25 | 28 |
Averages 1991–2020 for the ~55 km NASA POWER cell over the island; the sea from NOAA OISST.
Recent years
Warmer and cooler years at sea.
Each month's sea temperature compared with its 1991–2020 average, in degrees.
| Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | +1.1 | +0.6 | +0.4 | −0.3 | +0.3 | +0.6 | −0.3 | +0.6 | −0.5 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.5 |
| 2021 | ±0.0 | −0.2 | −0.3 | +1.0 | +0.7 | +1.1 | +0.4 | −0.5 | +0.5 | +1.4 | −0.2 | +0.2 |
| 2022 | +0.1 | −0.2 | +0.2 | +1.3 | +0.1 | +0.4 | +0.6 | +1.1 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.3 | +0.1 |
| 2023 | +0.8 | +1.0 | +0.9 | +0.8 | ±0.0 | +0.5 | +0.3 | −0.2 | +0.5 | +0.4 | +0.5 | +0.6 |
| 2024 | +0.4 | +1.0 | +0.8 | +0.8 | +1.6 | +1.1 | +1.0 | +1.5 | +1.1 | +1.4 | +1.4 | +0.1 |
| 2025 | +0.5 | −0.8 | −0.3 | −0.6 | ±0.0 | +1.5 | +0.9 | +0.4 | +1.8 | +2.4 | +1.1 | +0.9 |
+1 warmer than usual −1 cooler than usual
Photos
Seen by visitors.
Nearby
More islands nearby.
Yakushima
Japan505 km²1,936 m50 km away
Kuchinoerabu IslandJapan36 km²657 m74 km away
KyushuJapan36,782 km²1,791 m270 km away
Nagashima IslandJapan91 km²404 m192 km away
Hashima IslandJapan0.07 km²32 m257 km away
Amami ŌshimaJapan713 km²694 m299 km away
Kikai IslandJapan57 km²211 m267 km away
Hirado IslandJapan164 km²535 m339 km awayAbout these numbers
| Names, area, population | Wikidata (Q696228) · CC0 |
|---|---|
| Outline | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Sea temperature | NOAA OISST v2.1 · 1991–2020 |
| Climate | NASA POWER · 1991–2020 |
| Relief, 3D model | Copernicus DEM GLO-30 · © DLR e.V., © Airbus Defence and Space GmbH, Copernicus/ESA |
| Beaches, ports, lighthouses, trails | © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL |
| Towns | GeoNames · CC BY 4.0 |
| Images | EOX Sentinel-2 cloudless 2016 · CC BY 4.0; Wikimedia Commons |
| Beaches, mountains, lakes and waterfalls | Coastya, Peakyas — Wikidata · CC0; © OpenStreetMap contributors · ODbL; GeoNames · CC BY 4.0; NOAA OISST |
Every figure is an average, an estimate or a count from a public dataset. Licences and methods: data sources.
The family
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