Booking ferry tickets from Kagoshima to Yakushima

Question

I'm trying to book a roundtrip ticket for the jetfoil ferry from Kagoshima to Yakushima that goes from Kagoshima to Miyanoura, and then the return leg goes from Anbo to Kagoshima. Looking at https://www.tykousoku.jp/ I can see that that is indeed an option, and return tickets are either JPY 22,300 or JPY 17,100 if the departure date is more than 2 weeks out. However, I'm unsure how to use the website for the full booking procedure; for example, registration requires a landline phone number.

On the web, I have found links to DirectFerries.com as a way to book tickets on this route. However, on DirectFerries if I search for roundtrip tickets, this route shows up as unavailable: the only options are to either book roundtrip from Kagoshima to Miyanoura and back, or Kagoshima to Anbo and back, at JPY 22,300. Regardless of the departure date, I can't find the JPY 17,100 price. To get the route I am looking for on DirectFerries, I need to book both as one-way tickets, for a total of JPY 24,400.

How can I book the return ticket from Kagoshima to Miyanoura and from Anbo to Kagoshima on either DirectFerries, or some other website, from outside Japan?

Answer 1

In my experience, while Japanese hotel and travel reservation forms often insist on Japanese addresses and phone numbers, there is no validation of any kind: nobody is going to call you, much less send you letters. So enter any number and address you like and don't worry about it.

The only scenario in which they might call you is if there's a last minute change or cancellation, so it's not a bad idea to use the number of the hotel you're staying at the night before. But they'll send you email too, so even this isn't really necessary.