Tokyo to Kyushu by ferry: An epic 21-hour journey on the sea
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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[ Read in Japanese ]
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Tokyo to Kyushu by ferry: An epic 21-hour journey on the sea
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 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! [ Read in Japanese ]
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SoraNews24
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Old soba restaurant on Japanese train station platform serves noodles with a side of nostalgia
If you've never tried ekisoba, now's the time to get on board with the trend. In recent years, 'ekiben' (train station boxed meals), have become well-known with visitors from overseas, but have you heard of 'ekisoba'? Like ekiben, ekisoba is sold at train stations, but instead of being sold to-go at kiosks, they're usually served at small eateries, with counters where diners can stand and eat their meals before continuing on their journeys. They've long been a feature at Japanese train stations, so on a recent trip out of Tokyo we got to thinking: where is the oldest ekisoba stand in Japan? According to our research, the oldest one is said to be 'Saito Shogetsudo' at Ichinoseki Station in Iwate Prefecture, which was founded in 1897, or Meiji 30 according to the imperial calendar. Sadly, that soba stand is no longer in business, so another search reveals that the oldest one currently in operation is 'Nichieiken' at Kanagawa's Higashi-Kanagawa Station, founded in 1918, or Taisho 7. If we're being picky, 'Kawamuraya' at Sakuragicho Station was founded in 1900 (Meiji 33), making it 125 years old, but as it's a soba restaurant located outside the station entrance, rather than a small ekisoba stand inside the station, Kanagawa's Nichieiken remains the oldest. Well, at least we thought that was the case until we caught wind of another store called Tochuken at Numazu Station in Shizuoka which, according to its signboard, was founded in 1891 (Meiji 24). ▼ 桃中軒 (Tochuken) has been serving soba for 134 years. Standing on a platform at the station, this ekisoba establishment exudes a dignified presence, and a quick check on the official website confirms that it really was founded in 1891. However, the business started out as a bento shop and only began serving ekisoba in 1968, which is likely why this eatery has gone under everyone's radar. This unique history however, is what gives the shop its unusual features, which you don't often find at other ekisoba places. ▼ First of all, the setup itself looks like a remodelled bento shop, with windows at the counter. There is a familiar feature, in the form of the ticket machine, where we found that the cheapest item on the menu was 'Kake Soba' or 'Hot Soba', priced at 380 yen (US$2.66), and the most expensive was 'Kakiage Soba with Egg', for 660 yen. We ordered the 'Kakiage Soba' (590 yen) with a side of inarizushi (80 yen) and after handing over our tickets, we spotted another unique feature in the kitchen. Kakiage is a type of Japanese tempura fritter made up of small ingredients such as vegetables (like onions, carrots, and burdock) and seafood (like shrimp or squid). While most restaurants simply heat the kakiage separately and serve it on the noodles before serving to ensure it stays crunchy, this restaurant heats the tempura directly in the pot with the broth, allowing it to become soft and gooey. When you pick the fritter up with your chopsticks, it bends softly, so although it's soaked through, it doesn't fall apart, showing the strength of the batter. ▼ Biting into it, the soup bursts out on the tongue, delighting the taste buds with bagfuls of flavour. The soy sauce-based broth is surprisingly sweet — so much so that it was on par with the sweetness of the inarizushi alongside it. ▼ The noodles were thick, with a chewy texture It was definitely on the sweet side, but still hearty and satisfying. The standout feature, though, was how well the broth paired with the kakiage, and the melty texture of the fritter totally won us over. If you're keen to try a taste of history, the store has quite limited business hours, open only from 8:00 a.m.-9:45 a.m. and 10:45 a.m.-2:00 p.m., so you'll want to keep that in mind when visiting. Tochuken also has stands at the West Exit of Gotemba Station (open until 4 p.m.) and on the platforms at Mishima Station (open until 7 p.m.) ▼ Tochuken at Mishima Station on the conventional line ▼ Tochuken on the Shinkansen platform at Mishima Station For us, there was something charming about the Tochuken stand at Numazu Station, as it really felt like a unique branch that preserves the atmosphere of a bygone era. If you've never tried ekisoba before, this is a great way to get on board with the local food trend. Once you've tried it, you may just find yourself hooked on the charm of eating noodles on a train station platform, and there are even more to discover, like this one, which is known as the best in Japan. Photos©SoraNews24 ● Want to hear about SoraNews24's latest articles as soon as they're published? Follow us on Facebook and Twitter! [ Read in Japanese ]
