Tempozan is one of Osaka’s most popular tourist destinations.
There are many attractions such as the Kaiyukan Aquarium, famous for its giant whale sharks, the Giant Ferris Wheel, which offers views of Osaka Bay and downtown Osaka, Tempozan Park, which has the lowest mountain in Japan, and Tempozan Market Place, which has restaurants, souvenir stores, and even Legoland.
And now, I would like to introduce to you The “Santa Maria”, a sailing sightseeing ship .
This sightseeing boat cruises around Osaka Bay area and is favored by many tourists because it offers a great view of the Osaka Bay area.
I, hiikun, took a ride on the “Santa Maria” for the first time.
Based on my actual boarding experience, I would like to introduce the charm of the Santa Maria, which is very different from the Tenpozan Watership and the Captain Line introduced in my previous articles.
This article is intended for
・Those who like to travel by boat.
・Those who want to enjoy the view of Osaka Bay Area as much as possible.
・Those who don’t know what to do in Tempozan
By reading this article, you will learn about the charm of the Santa Maria and will definitely feel like riding on it. I hope you will use it as an ingredient to create memories of your visit to Osaka.
I hope you will enjoy reading this article.
What is the Santa Maria?
The Santa Maria is a sightseeing cruise ship that explores the Port of Osaka.
It was built in the motif of the flagship [Santa Maria] used by Columbus when he reached the Americas.
Many tourists use this service to tour the Osaka Bay Area, which is full of attractions.
Basic fares are as follows
| course | Fee (including tax) |
| Day Cruise (45 minutes) | Adults/1,600 yen Children (elementary school students)/800 yen |
| Twilight Cruise (60 min.) *Reservations required | Adult/2,100 yen Child (elementary school student)/1,050 yen |
*One infant per adult is free.
Special offers such as advance purchase discounts, discounts with other tourist facilities, and group discounts are also available.
For more information, please click here.
I, hiikun, used the advantageous web ticket that offered a 20% discount
if purchased by the day before boarding.
Day Cruise/Adult (regular) 1,600 yen → 1,280 yen
Day Cruise/Children (elementary school students) (regular) 800 yen → 640 yen
Please note that payment can only be made by credit card, and that cancellation and date/time changes are not possible after purchase.
The above boarding pass was taken after disembarkation.
Purchase membership information, purchase number, and QR code are concealed to protect personal information.
Departs from “Kaiyukan West Pier” right next to Kaiyukan, Tempozan Harbor Village.
A large sign is posted on the pathway connecting to the Kaiyukan.
It is easy to find, so there is no need for you to worry about getting lost. Enter the building, walk a little further, and you will see the ticket office on your left.
You have purchased your boarding ticket and are ready to go. Let’s board the ship together.
Take a ride on the Santa Maria.
Now, let’s actually get on board.
This is the boarding area as seen from the ticket office.
Suddenly, I looked to my right and saw a huge luxury cruise ship docked.
Tempozan Harbor Village was crowded with many foreign tourists as usual.
However, I felt that there were more than usual passengers today.
It was probably because the passengers of the cruise ship had gotten off the ship and were exploring the area.
I, hiikun, would like to travel around the world on such a luxury cruise ship before I die.
While I were gazing at the luxury liner, the Santa Maria arrived.
I take the last boat leaving at 16:00.
The ship which departed at 15:00 returned.
Although not pictured, I was surprised to see more passengers than I expected.
Now it’s time to board the ship.
There is a store on board that sells snacks and drinks.
However, I, hiikun, did not stop there to fully enjoy the scenery,
I headed to the top observation deck at the rear of the ship.
I successfully secured a rather nice place.
The people lined up on the bottom left are all passengers who are going to take the Santa Maria.
To secure a good spot, I, hiikun, arrived at the boarding area 30 minutes before the departure.
There were about 10 people waiting in line in front of me.
On the other hand, I was surprised to see so many people lined up behind me.
This scene clearly shows how popular the Santa Maria is.
The ship departed on time at 16:00.
The 45-minute trip around the Port of Osaka began.
First, proceed a little upstream on the Aji River.
It follows the same route as the “Captain’s Line” that we took before.
*Please refer to this article for more information on the Captain Line.
It makes U-turn near Universal City Port on the Captain Line and continues toward Osaka Port.
Universal Studios Japan (USJ) can be seen in the back.
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Many tourist buses were parked there.
I saw students in uniform walking toward the bus.
I am sure they had a great time at USJ.
Also visible next to the bus parking lot is Zepp Osaka Bayside.
Even from the boat we could see many people lined up.
Was there some kind of concert being held?
The ship advances toward the Port of Osaka.
Yumeshima, the site of the 2025 World Expo, can be seen in the distance.
The tallest building in the distance is the Nanko Cosmo Tower.
The area “Nanko” has changed considerably.
As a child, I was under the impression that there was nothing in Nanko except containers and apartment complexes.
Osaka Metro Chuo Line Cosmosquare Station is located under the buildings in the photo.
I don’t think there was anything special around Cosmo Square station either.
I visited the Cosmosquare Station area for a long time the other day, so long that I forgot when I last visited, and was amazed at the transformation.
High-rise condominiums are being built one after another, and there are also universities, language schools, and international exchange centers,
I got the impression that the number of people coming and going around the station has increased.
Nanko also serves as a terminal for domestic and international ferries.
Sunflower Ferry departs from ATC (Asia Pacific Trade Center) near Cosmosquare Station for Kyushu, Meimon Taiyo Ferry and Orange Ferry depart from Osaka Nanko Ferry Terminal, which is a little further away, and Panstar Cruise departs from Osaka International Ferry Terminal near Cosmosquare Station for Busan, South Korea. PanStar Cruises operates a ferry service from the Osaka International Ferry Terminal, which is relatively close to Cosmosquare Station, to Busan, South Korea.
There is also a route connecting to Shanghai, China, but as of October 2023, passenger traffic has been suspended.
For more information, please click here.
The Osaka Metro Chuo Line has been extended to Cosmosquare, and a tunnel leading to Tempozan and Yumeshima has been opened, so transportation has improved considerably compared to when I was a child.
I feel that Nanko still has many other resources to revitalize Osaka, such as INTEX Osaka, Nanko Wild Bird Park, several lodging facilities along the line between Cosmosquare Station and Nakafuto Station, container piers, businesses along the line, and many old housing complexes along the Nanko Port Town Line beyond Nakafuto Station, etc.
According to some reports, the Osaka-Kansai Expo is in jeopardy due to increased construction costs and delays in the construction of each pavilion site, but I was looking at this view, hoping that the Expo would be an opportunity for Nanko, Osaka, and Japan to become a little more vibrant.
I am sorry. I talked too much, so let’s get back to the main topic.
A large red bridge can be seen ahead.
The 980-meter-long truss bridge with a center span of 510 meters is the third longest in the world and the longest in Japan.
This is the “Minato Ohashi,” a symbol of Osaka Port.
As you can see, it is a two-story structure. As I mentioned in my last post on the “Captain’s Line”, when I was a driving school student 20 years ago, I drove on the upper floor of this bridge for practicing driving on tha highway.
While concentrating on driving, I remember the view from the bridge was great.
For more information on the Minato Ohashi Bridge, please refer to this page.
Up close, you will be overwhelmed by its sheer size.
The ship passes through the Minato Ohashi Brigde and continues on for a while.
It makes a U-turn near IKEA in the back and return to Tempozan Harbor Village.
Next to IKEA, there is also TOKYO interior.
The “Namihaya Bridge” can be seen in the back.
I actually walked from my house to Tempozan on the day of boarding.
On the way, I crossed the “Namihaya Bridge”.
I am going to post an article about that bridge time later.
We are nearing the end of our fun-filled Osaka Port excursion.
As we arrived, some people who enjoyed the scenery on the quay greeted us waving to us.
I photographed the sunset from the top deck, which was empty just before disembarkation.
The boat was filled with many people during the boarding.
Let’s get off, though I don’t want to leave.
It was fun. It was a quick 45 minute boat ride.
What I noticed when I rode it.
Here I will tell you about what I noticed when I actually got on board.
I hope this will be helpful to you when you board the ship.
Charge
The day cruise (45 minutes) we took this time was not cheap at 1,600 yen, but not too expensive either, and I personally think it was reasonable.
As I mentioned at the beginning of this article, if you make a reservation online at least one day before embarkation, you will receive a 20 percent discount.
The price was ¥1,280 to board the boat.
A set discount is also applied when using sightseeing facilities such as Kaiyukan and the Giant Ferris Wheel.
It would be a good idea to tour around on the Santa Maria before or after using them.
For more information, please refer to the official website.
Ship swaying
Of course, the ship may shake depending on the weather.
Fortunately, the weather was relatively good on the day I boarded the boat, so there were hardly any waves.
I never felt any turbulence and the cruise was smooth.
The 45-minute excursion was not only short, but also full of interesting sights, so passengers spent a wonderful time enjoying the scenery and taking pictures.
No one around me suffered from seasickness.
If you are really worried about turbulence, you may want to take anti-sickness medicine before boarding just to be safe.
degree of congestion
Even though it was a weekday, the ship was crowded with passengers.
Perhaps people rushed in because it was the last ship of the day.
It seems to be supported by people of all ages, including children, couples, and the elderly.
I did not actually count them, so I do not know exactly what they are.
However, as far as I could see, there were probably more than 100 people on board.
It was more crowded than I expected, but there was enough room to move freely.
As you can see in the photo above, there is a long line of people waiting just before boarding begins.
If you want to secure a spot of your choice, I suggest you get in line early.
I, hiikun, was in line 30 minutes before the departure.
The clientele varies.
There were many Japanese tourists as well as foreign tourists.
I get the impression that there were probably more foreign tourists.
People from East Asia, Southeast Asia, Western countries, the Middle East, Africa, and many other countries were on board.
I, hiikun, was surrounded by foreign tourists.
Food and beverages on board
There is a snack and beverage store on board.
There was also a space for eating and drinking, so people were enjoying the view while eating and drinking.
Soft drinks, alcoholic beverages, ice cream, frankfurter sausages, and many other items are sold.
We also saw people eating and drinking on the top deck.
I, hiikun, had already eaten before boarding the ship, so I decided to focus on enjoy the scenery
without eating or drinking on board.
Summary
How was the 45-minute trip around Osaka Port aboard the Santa Maria?
I showed you the course departing from Kaiyukan West Hatoba, passing through Tempozan Ohashi, USJ area, turning back toward Osaka Port, passing through Nanko area, Minato Ohashi Brigde, IKEA area, and returning to Kaiyukan West Hatoba.
I also told you about the fees, the condition of the ship, and what I noticed about the rocking of the ship.
I, hiikun, took a ride on the Santa Maria for the first time.
The 45-minute excursion was more enjoyable than I had imagined and was over in no time.
The sea breeze was pleasant, the sunset was beautiful, and it was very nice to enjoy an extraordinary experience.
In addition to the day cruise I used this time, there is also a twilight cruise that takes 60 minutes and visits more places. If I have a chance, I would like to use that cruise as well.
I suggest you also enjoy a cruise on the Santa Maria with Kaiyukan and the Giant Ferris Wheel when visiting Tempozan.
It will surely be a good memory of your trip.
We hope this article will help my readers in their travels.
I look forward to welcoming you aboard the Santa Maria as well as the Captain’s Line we previously mentioned.
Thank you very much for reading to the end.
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