Kyoto to Naruto & back - bus stop locations

Hi dear japan-guide community,

I have already planned a lot of things for our visit to Japan next year in spring; but I'm still unsure about the directions for Naruto. We want to watch the whirlpools from a boat. Since this page recommends the Uzushio Kankosen boat pier (and the two-deck "Wonder Nartuo" boat), we'd like to take this.

My question now is: Where exactly are all the needed bus stops to get from Kyoto to Naruto, and then to the Uzushio Kankosen bus stop (if I have to transfer), and back? Can someone give me concrete Google Maps positions? I'd really like to see those places in Street View so that I know where everything is.

For the way back, I know that the Naruto koen-guchi bus stop only serves buses that go southwards, and that we have to go to Naruto kosoku bus stop on the main island. But where is that exactly in Google Maps?

As for the timetables: which page tells me the timetables in english? Until now, I have only found japanese-only pages.

Hi AndreaK,

You are in luck, I heavily researched this topic recently since I plan on going there as well in March. I felt the same about not knowing where bus stops were and there was so little information available :(

Here is a nice English map with the bus stop locations in English:
http://www.uzunomichi.jp/image/e-pamp.pdf

For the time tables I had to use Google translate since they are only in Japanese but at least numbers are universal. This link in particular are the times for the bus going to/from Kyoto and Naruto:
http://www.tokubus.co.jp/?page_id=151#fare

As for the bus stop location at Kyoto station, I think it is the top left image on page 2 of this pamphlet (I could be wrong, I was just matching characters):
http://www.tokubus.co.jp/highway/panfu/panfu_kyoto.pdf

Hope this helps!

Silly me, Kyoto is clearly written on the bottom right corner of the map on page 2 (orange header) for the last link provided. I should have known better, that map clearly looks like the Kyoto station bus terminal!

there are several kanko ships, and they depart from different ports.

"Wonder Nartuo" boat is here
http://www.uzusio.com/
access to the port:
express bus from Kyoto to Tokushima: take off at KOUSOKU-NARUTO bus stop. walk to SHOU-NARUTO-BASHI bus stop(city bus). take city bus to NARUTO-KANKOU-PORT bus stop (about 15min)(the final destination of the bus is NARUTO-KOEN).
timetable is here:
http://www.uzusio.com/map/map-01.html
SHOU-NARUTO-BASHI = 小鳴門橋
NARUTO-KANKOU-PORT = 鳴門観光港

probably easiest way to see UZUSHIO.
use different ship: UZUSHIO-KISEN,a relatively small ship
http://www.uzushio-kisen.com/index.html
access: express highway bus from kyoto to tokushima. take off at NARUTO-KOEN-GUCHI bus stop. walk for 10min to the port.

very important thing:
you must go the correct time to see.
use TIDE TABLE.
http://www.uzunomichi.jp/category/0002107.php
red letter = best time
blue letter = better
black letter = good

Okay, this all looks like it won't work. We have time for the whirlpools on 6th, 7th or 8th of April 2014, and the page http://www.uzunomichi.jp/category/0002107.php?dt=201404&s=0&b= says that blue times (red times are not available at all in that period) are at
18 o'clock on the 6th,
7:30 on the 7th and
8 o'clock on the 8th.
And the Tokubus http://www.tokubus.co.jp/?page_id=151#fare does not operate at these times, so we either wouldn't get there early enough, or wouldn't get off the island back to Kyoto. JR Shikoku bus is the same: http://www.jr-shikoku.co.jp/bus/businfo/awa_ex/kyoto.htm#reserve

Moreover, the Uzushio Kisen boats only go till 16:30 and stop after that time.

And I really don't know if I want to risk it going at a "black tide time" that is worse than blue and red..............

EDIT: We have time on 7th, 8th or 9th, and not from 6th-8th. Confused the numbers here, so replace that dates in my previous post.

I am afraid there is a risk that the spectacle will be underwhelming during the black times on April 7-9.