How to hike the Urato Islands on MCT (Michinoku Coastal Trail)

I can’t say enough that we are so glad that we took the northbound on the Michinoku Coastal Trail.

I know, I know. Every single one of my MCT blogs so far started with a similar line: “NOBO it is!”
But, seriously, that is what we have kept saying at the end of each day since day one.

Now, we have passed Day 7, and this should be the best time to write up a big factor as to why we promote NOBO rather than the MCT hiker’s popular choice, SOBO.

6 islands on the MCT are only reachable by ship

The Michinoku Coastal Trail is not all about walking along the Tohoku region’s Pacific Ocean side coastline. Along over 1000km of trail, there are six remote islands you can only reach by ferry or boat.

Geographically speaking, there are some more “islands” on the MCT route, but they are so close to the Tohoku mainland and connected with regular-size bridges that we would not notice they are not parts of the mainland.

3 days for average hikers to walk the 6 islands’ parts

No matter how fast you can or want to walk, it takes at least a total of three days to pass through these islands, because ferry/boat schedules have big control over your travel.

3 sea routes cover the 6 islands

Three islands in one area together, two islands together, and one (and hardest to get to) island. So, there are three sea routes hikers have to overcome to complete the MCT thru-hike. And each of the three sea routes gives us a different type of challenge.

Some hikers, especially those who love camping, may say the attraction of long-distance hiking is the freedom of walking speed. They don’t like being controlled by the check-in time of accommodation. But even the comping hikers need to go thorough advance planning and preparation to deal with the MCT’s remote islands sections.

First, check ferry timetables and fares. Estimating your walking time on each island is critical for getting to the next port so as not to miss the ferry.

The next one is one of the reasons why we chose the northbound on MCT, not the more common SOBO.

For NOBO hikers, all 3 remote islands part come during the first 10 days.

We started planning how to hike on the three remote island sections and arranged the necessary research and booking for the first one before we even left home. We can finish the complicated remote island parts on the MCT during the early stage of our hike, and no need to worry about it for the rest of the 40 days.

Urato Islands guide map for visitors. MUST download the item as it has all the necessary information for ferries and boat

Backsides of the guide map. A good source for things to see on the islands

MCT’s first remote island section is called the Urato Islands 浦戸諸島.
Its three major islands are, from west to east:

Katsurashima 桂島
Nonoshima 野々島
Sabusawajima 寒風沢島

4 ship rides necessary to go through the Urato Islands section

MCT supporters’ boat
for Sabusawajima – Miyatojima

From	To	Ship	Fare
Shiogama port (mainland)	No.1, Katsurashima	Shiogama municipal ferry	520 yen
No.1, Katsurashima	No.2, Nonoshima	Public motor boat	Free/on demand
No.2, Nonoshima	No.3, Sabusawajima	Public motor boat	Free/on demand
No.3, Sabusawajima	Miyatojima Island	MCT supporter’s boat	3000 yen

The three major islands are only meters away from each other, so a good swimmer could probably swim across. But we, regular hikers, need to take a small ferry to cross the sea.

Shiogama City municipal ferry 塩竈市営汽船 departs from the Marin Gate Shiogama and stops at all three major islands. After that, however, it returns to Shiogama Port, not going to the 4th island, Miyatojima 宮戸島.
Miyatojima is much larger than the Urato Islands, only a standard bridge away from the Tohoku mainland, and not a part of Shiogama city but of Higashi-Matsushima city 東松島市. Due to some bureaucratic reasons, Shiogama’s ferry doesn’t go to Higashi-Matsushima’s island.

Hikers could take the municipal ferry to travel across the three islands as long as their walking speed matches the ferry’s time schedule. But, instead of the inflexible way, there are better and more convenient options.
Shiogama City also provides a small-sized motor boat ferry service. It is free and runs on demand. At the islands’ ports, we can call the boat, and they take us to the other side anytime during their business hours.

The most challenging part is the last (for NOBO hikers) cross-island travel. For SOBO hikers, it is, of course, the first part of the Urato Islands hike.
Between Sabusawajima and Miyatojima islands, a specially arranged boat is the only way to cross.

Booking the boat, via Natori Trail Center, at least 5 days prior to your Urato Island hike date

We cannot emphasize more that the booking request for the special supporter’s boat service MUST be placed at least FIVE DAYS prior to the date you want to cross the sea between the Sabusawajima and Miyatojima islands. Also, you need to call the MCT Natori Trail Center to have them book it for you.

Apr 1 to Oct 30 − The MCT supporters’ boat service for Sabusawajima –Miyatojima islands

During winter, from November to the end of March, the MCT supporters’ boat service to cross the Sabusawajima and Miyatojima islands is suspended.

At the start of planning our MCT thru-hike, we estimated how many days we would need before getting to Shiogama city to figure out the date we would hike through the Urato Islands section. With our planned start date, the date for the first island hike should be April 1st ― the exact date the special support boat service season starts. Phew!
So, we could avoid the unpleasant situation of having to go back to the Shiogama port again after the Urato islands and walk several extra kilometers to Miyatojima island.

With the concrete date we need the boat service, we called the MCT Natori Trail Center to book.
They seemed to have a list of supportive local fishermen who could provide the boat service to MCT hikers. A few days after our first call, a Natori Trail Center staff called me back and told me the supporter’s name and his phone number. According to the instructions provided then, we need to call the supporter one day before our Urato Islands hike date because, depending on the weather and wave conditions, it may be too unsafe for a small boat. In that case, he may need to cancel our request.

Useful links for hiking the Urato Islands

Must-read: the Natori MCT Trail Center HP
Download the “Urato Islands Tourist Guide Map”
Schedule/Fare for the Shiogama – Urato Islands Ferry
Free public ferry (boats) to cross the three islands
Instruction for booking the MCT supporter’s boat to cross Subsawajima – Miyatojima islands