Whale watching in Japan, month by month

Zamami’s association page shows the 2026 humpback season as 8 January to 25 March, marked ended. An older English page on the same site shows 27 December to 5 April, undated. The association’s 2026-27 dates are not published yet, so 2026 is the last known season.

A Naha operator lists tours from 19 December 2026 to 4 April 2027 on an Okinawa tourism events page. That is the operator’s season, not the association’s. In 2025-26, Naha tours ran from about 20 December to 5 April.

The rules at Zamami are plain:

• Boats keep at least 100 m from whales.
• No sudden acceleration or turns.
• A mother-calf pair gets about 1 hour at most, then boats move away.

The association’s phone is 098-896-4141.

To verify In 2026 one Naha operator offered a refund or re-boarding if no whale was sighted from 1 February to 15 March, and none outside those dates. The 2026-27 terms are unclear right now: read them before you pay.

Rausu Town lists orca from April to July, sperm whales from July to September and Baird’s beaked whales from February to October. Minke whales are present, with no months given. Cruises leave Rausu Port from late April to October.

You can also watch from shore at Whale Observation Hill Park and Rusa Field House, though sperm whales are rarely seen from land. Check the Rausu Town tourism page for the current schedule. Cruise prices are unconfirmed. For Rausu in February, see Shiretoko drift ice: best time, walk vs cruise, no promises.

Ogasawara is a ship trip of about 24 hours each way. The Ogasawara Maru leaves Takeshiba in Tokyo at 11:00 and reaches Chichijima at 11:00 the next day. It leaves Chichijima at 15:00 and reaches Tokyo at 15:00 the next day. In September 2026 Tokyo departures came every 6 to 7 days, about one round trip a week.

One-way fares in September 2026 ran from $205 (¥31,450) in economy to $605 (¥93,700) for a suite. Fares change monthly, so the current fare is unclear right now: check Ogasawara Kaiun. Book online or call +81-3-6381-5499 (10:00 to 16:00, closed Saturday, Sunday and holidays). Off-peak tickets go on sale 2 months ahead. One date or class change is free, and the refund fee is $6 (¥1,000) up to 14 days before departure.

Dollar figures use about ¥155 to US$1 and are rounded; you pay in yen, so check the rate.

Before you book Check the Ogasawara timetable first. With one sailing a week, a long weekend does not fit.

The Ogasawara Whale Watching Association (OWA) lists humpbacks as the main draw from February to April, while a government source puts the first arrivals in late November. Sperm whales are present in summer and autumn, with late August to October best. Spinner and bottlenose dolphins stay all year, best from June to October. OWA records about 24 species of whales and dolphins.

OWA’s voluntary rules for boats:

• Boats under 20 gross tonnes within 20 nautical miles go slowly within 300 m of animals.
• No closer than 100 m to humpbacks and 50 m to sperm whales.
• Aircraft and drones keep 300 m or more, and drones must land if animals change behaviour.

OWA’s page does not state swimming rules. For dolphin swims, a government database says rules limit the boats per group and the approaches per boat, and a swim is not guaranteed. OWA lists phone booking at +81-4998-2-3215, and its tour price list is undated, so no tour prices are given here.

Mikurajima’s dolphin swim runs mid-April to mid-November, with about 160 resident dolphins, according to a Tokyo Metropolitan tourism site. Book lodging first: entry is prohibited without it. Swim slots are by lottery 2 to 3 months ahead, weekends fill and there are no day trips, camping or bike hire.

No official association page or distance rule was found for Mikurajima.

No whale watching season or rules for Taiji and Kumano were found. The Kumano tourism bureau lists Taiji as a whaling village with a whale museum.

The Wild and Trek guide puts whales next to volcanoes, beaches and hiking, and the Wild and Trek hub lists every page. For reef trips, see Diving in Japan by region and month. For the Okinawa sea in summer, see Japan beaches by region, and for volcano access, Visiting active volcanoes in Japan.