Join us on the sea less travelled.

When you’re travelling from Tokyo to Fukuoka on the southwestern island of Kyushu, it takes about two hours by plane, about five hours by Shinkansen bullet train… and about 21 hours by ferry.

Needless to say, the ferry option is the road, or should we say “sea”, less travelled, but that, for us, is part of the appeal. Curious to find out what the 21-hour ferry ride would be like, we booked a ticket on the “Tokyo Kyusyu Ferry” which started running between Yokosuka and Kitakyushu in July 2021.

▼ The ferry departs at 11:45 p.m. and arrives at Shinmoji Port at 9:00 p.m. the following day.

The Yokosuka Ferry Terminal is about a 15-minute walk from Keikyu Line’s Yokosuka Chuo Station so taking a taxi might be a good idea if you have a lot of luggage.

According to the official website, the ferry operates six days a week, except Sundays and holidays, departing at the same time each day. We chose the most affordable “Tourist A” cabin, which cost us 14,000 yen (US$98.28), although it can be higher depending on the season, sometimes costing 18,000 yen or 20,000 yen.

Once you’ve printed your ticket or downloaded it to your smartphone in advance, you’re asked to arrive at least an hour before departure. We arrived at the ferry terminal just after 9:30 p.m. and many people were already passing the time at the snack corner and on benches inside the terminal.

If you’re not hungry, there’s not much to do except browse the souvenir corner so we just waited for time to pass until boarding at 11:10 p.m.

▼ The ship, named “Hamayuu” after Yokosuka’s city flower, would take us to Shinmoji Port.

Boarding was easy and straightforward, and we could sense everybody’s excitement at the journey ahead.

As soon as we boarded, we were greeted by an entrance hall so luxurious it made us wonder if we’d stepped inside a casino. The open, fancy-looking space had a soaring ceiling and it looked like a place we’d be happy to spend hours in.

The first thing we wanted to do was check the opening hours for the restaurant and the large public bath. Since we weren’t hungry, we planned to drop our luggage in the room and head to the bathhouse early, even though it was open until 1:30 a.m.

▼ Heading to our “Tourist A” room…

▼ … we were pleased to find it wasn’t a communal sleeping area, but a semi-private room with partitions.

You can secure your privacy with a pull-down shade and each bed is equipped with a secure storage box and power outlet so you can use it just like a capsule hotel.

As soon as we were inside, what surprised us most was how little the ship rocked. On the day of departure, a storm warning had been issued for western Japan, with forecasts of heavy rain from the Pacific side of western Japan all the way to the Kanto region around Osaka, in what’s known as a “May storm” but we hardly felt the waves.

▼ The beds were clean and comfortable too.

Heading back out to the public bathing area, we passed by a screen showing the progress of our journey.

▼ Then it was time to enjoy a long, relaxing soak.

▼ Photos inside the bathing area are prohibited, but this image shows what the bath looked like.

The open-air bath and sauna is the ferry’s pride and joy and it was so good we ended up visiting it five times during the journey. Being able to sweat it out in the sauna and then cool off in the sea breeze in the open-air bath was an unbeatable experience, and we even got chatting to a truck driver in the open-air bath, who often travelled by ferry. He told us:

“Looks like the sun won’t be out tomorrow. The seas are going to be rough but this ship doesn’t sway at all. Last time, when I went from Tomakomai to Sendai, the water in the public bath was sloshing all over the place… but the bath here is unbeatable.”

▼ We got the sense that this is truly a great vessel.

After enjoying the bath and sauna, we moseyed around the place, checking out the facilities.

▼ There was a store stocked with loads of goods like towels, slippers, motion sickness medicine…

▼ … and a wide selection of Yokosuka and Kitakyushu souvenirs.

▼ There were vending machines selling Cup Noodles and alcohol…

▼… as well as a karaoke box and a kids’ corner, so people of all ages can have a good time on board.

There’s even a screening room where you can enjoy a planetarium or watch movies. Not many people know it, but you can still enter the screening room even when nothing is being screened, making it a great spot to relax on beanbags.

▼ The “sports room”, with two treadmills and three exercise bikes, is also popular.

▼ We whiled away the time by rotating between the restaurant, the public bath, and bed.

At the restaurant, we ordered the “Breakfast Curry” (1,100 yen) and the local specialty, “Misaki Port Tuna & Suruga Bay Boiled Whitebait Rice Bowl” (1,400 yen), but…

…what ended up being more delicious was the Cup Noodle and canned beer we bought from the vending machines. The restaurant menu was good, but there was just something special about slurping up instant noodles and drinking canned beer in such a unique setting.

On the open deck next to the restaurant, you can enjoy a barbecue (reservation required after boarding and selected by lottery) but due to the severe “May storm” nobody was using it.

In the open atrium entrance hall, a large screen TV broadcasts with sound, except from 1 a.m. to 8 a.m. It was showing the NHK BS channel, so we were able to watch two baseball games with some of the other passengers.

▼ Then, at 9:15 p.m., about 15 minutes behind schedule, we arrived at Shinmoji Port.

In what felt like no time at all, we were in Kitakyushu in Fukuoka Prefecture. The trip was so comfortable we wished it could have lasted longer so we found ourselves reluctantly disembarking.

With a shuttle bus from Shinmoji Ferry Terminal to JR Moji Station and JR Kokura Station, timed to match the ship’s arrival, transport is very convenient, in spite of the pouring rain when we arrived.

So in the end, compared to flying or taking the Shinkansen, the ferry trip might take more time, but the stress of travel is virtually zero. You can even relax in the sauna and feel the sea breeze while you travel, and there’s the option to bring your car or motorcycle on board for an extra fee, so it’s great for family trips. It’s a great way to experience a different side of Japan, so we highly recommend this elegant sea journey!

Photos© SoraNews24
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