Mikimoto Pearl Island: Japan Travel Guide & Itinerary

Today we’re escaping the Osaka crowds by taking a scenic train ride out to a place where you can see Japanese female pearl divers—Mikimoto Pearl Island. It makes for a great day trip from Osaka, and this post will give you a one-day Japan travel itinerary you can follow.

Mikimoto Pearl Island

Toba is a coastal city in central Japan with many local attractions, like the Toba Aquarium, and is known for its seafood. Mikimoto Pearl Island is located in Toba Bay. You can reach the island and museum by walking from Toba station.

What makes Mikimoto Pearl Island so special?

After spending time in both Tokyo and Osaka, I wanted to take my parents out to a less crowded area of Japan and somewhere that all of us, myself included, had never been before.

Mikimoto Pearl Island is the birthplace of modern pearl cultivation and the Japanese pearl industry. The area came onto my radar when I saw a video about female divers in Japan and how the island is one of the only places where they demonstrate these traditional diving practices for visitors.

How to get to Mikimoto Pearl Island from Osaka

To get to the island, you get to ride the Kintetsu Limited Express line from Osaka to Toba station.

For our journey, we’ll be catching the Limited Express from Tsuruhashi station—which is one of the stops on the main Osaka loop line that links the central Osaka stations.

The ride from Tsuruhashi station to Toba station takes about an hour and a half. This makes it long enough to be able to relax a bit and take in the beautiful countryside.

Once you arrive at Toba Station, it’s a short walk from the station to the island.

How to purchase Kintetsu Limited Express tickets

You can purchase tickets either in person at the station or online. (We opted to purchase our tickets and choose our seats online the night before.)
Once online, enter the time, date, and location you want to go to.
Purchase Kintetsu Limited Express train tickets

Mikimoto Pearl Island Museum

Mikimoto built the Japanese pearl industry and was the first to succeed in pearl cultivation in 1893.

The Mikimoto Pearl Island Museum provides information and history about pearls, pearl cultivation, and Mikimoto Kokichi himself.

The main building has sections about pearl farming and about the modern uses of pearls for jewelry and cosmetics. Then there’s another building focused solely on Mikimoto Kokichi’s journey as a successful businessman in Japan.

Things to do at the museum

Learn about pearls and the history of pearl cultivation and modernization on Mikimoto Pearl Island.
Eat lunch with a calming view of Toba Bay at the on-site restaurant.
Purchase Mikimoto and Mikimoto Pearl Island pearls from the store located in the main building.
Watch the ama diver demonstration.

Thankfully, the museum’s information is in English and Japanese!

Mikimoto Pearl Island Museum website

Is there an admission fee?

You can purchase museum tickets online in advance. Or, you can purchase them at the ticket office, which is what we did.

How long does it take to visit Mikimoto Pearl Island?

Overall, it took a little over four hours for us to go through the museum, eat, and watch the ama pearl diver demonstration.

Who are the “ama” female Japanese divers?

The main reason we visited the island was to see the Ama divers in action.

“Ama” are Japanese female divers; also known as sea women.

The ama traditionally not only pearl dived but also dove for farming and aquatic foods such as sea urchin and abalone. Some local markets in Mie Prefecture still sell items harvested by ama.

Mikimoto used to hire the Ama for their diving skills to help cultivate the Akoya oysters for their pearls.

However, as aquaculture technology developed, the need for Ama pearl divers disappeared.

To commemorate their efforts, the museum offers hourly performances where you can see the Ama dive for oysters in their traditional white attire, which, by the way, does NOT include modern scuba gear.

It was amazing to see it in person.