After spending 4 months in Shikoku living in our van and in an old Japanese house, it was time to decide where to go next in Japan! Towards the end of June, the weather in Shikoku had started to get very hot and humid and to be honest, it became difficult for us to live comfortably in our van.
Our original plan was to head to Kyushu after Shikoku but we knew Kyshu would also have very hot and humid weather during the summer months!
We weighed up our options and made the decision to head to Hokkaido, in the very north of Japan. We did some research and discovered that there is a ferry from Miazuru in Kyoto prefecture to Otaru in Hokkaido. The journey takes 21 hours and after checking the price, we decided to book a ticket!
In this blog post, I will share the details about our experience on the Shin Nihonkai ferry to Hokkaido.
How Much Does The Ferry To Hokkaido Cost?
We always like to keep costs low if possible so we researched the cost of the two main ways to go to Hokkaido from Honshu by camper van.
Option 1: Drive
Depending on the size of the vehicle, road tolls and gasoline will be the main expense if you choose to drive. This is also a very tough option since the drive might be very long, especially if you are driving from western Japan and cannot share the driving with someone else.
Option 2: Take a ferry
There are actually numerous ferries from Honshu to Hokkaido. For people from the Kansai area, taking the ferry from Maizuru is a popular option. Many people from the Kanto area take the ferry from Niigata.
In the end, we decided to take the ferry from Maizuru to Kyoto since we throught the price was reasonable and comparable to how much we would spend if we drove. The ferry also seemed a more relaxing option than spending a whole day driving!
The cost of the journey for 2 passengers plus our van (Nissan Caravan – less than 5m) was: ¥55,900
Maizuru Port
Our ferry was due to depart and 11.50pm and we arrived at Maizuru port around 2 hours before our ferry departure. We were not sure what food and drink options would be on board the ferry, so we stopped off at a 7-11 near the ferry port and stocked up on cup noodles, snacks, rice balls and drinks!
We were so glad that we went shopping before boarding the ferry since there are limited food options on board and they are also not the cheapest!
Boarding the Ferry
All vehicle passengers have to board the ferry through the foot passenger terminal. Only the driver can be inside the vehicle while it is loaded onto the ferry. There is a reception area on the boat, where you can reunite before heading to your allocated bedroom.
Bedrooms
We booked the cheapest ticket and we were allocated a shared room which had 12 beds. Luckily, we were the only people in our room so that was a nice surprise. The dormitory is designed in such a way that each bed has some sort of privacy and every bed has its own curtain, so even if there had been other people in our room, we wouldn’t have minded!
Each bed comes with a blanket, pillows, a reading light and charging area. There are also some storage shelves beside each bed where you can keep your belongings or your huge bag of 7-11 snacks!
The beds were very comfortable and we managed to get a very nice night of sleep. It’s also possible to book a private room, but of course this option is more expensive.
Bathrooms
Bathrooms are located on the same floor as the dormitories and it took us about 30 seconds to reach the bathroom from our bedroom. The bathrooms were extremely clean and the toilets had washlets and heated toilet seats. There was soap and also a coin laundry available to use.
Garbage Bins
Garbage bins were provided near the bathrooms and all rubbish could be thrown away easily.
Onsen
Near the restaurant on the upper floor, there is a free onsen which can be used by all ferry passengers. Soap, shampoo and conditioner are also provided.
This was our favourite part of the ferry journey since the onsen has big glass windows overlooking the sea. It was fantastic to sit in the bath and enjoy the amazing views over the ocean! No towels were provided so make sure to pack a towel in your bag!
Restaurant
The restaurant is only open during set hours for breakfast, lunch and dinner. There was also another fancier looking restaurant on board but it was closed during our journey. We only ate one meal in the restaurant and we had udon noodles and curry which filled us up but were not the best meals we have ever eaten!
Other Amenities
There is a shop on board selling souvenirs, magazines and snacks. It has very short opening hours so it wasn’t always open when we walked past.
There is an outdoor deck area where you can enjoy the views. It’s also nice to be able to go outside and enjoy some fresh air.
There is an indoor seating area where you can relax.
There are vending machines selling cup noodles, ice cream, beer and soft drinks.
There is a room near the bedrooms which has a sink for washing dishes and a boiling water tap.
Our Overall Verdict
We had a really great experience on the Shin Nihonkai ferry from Maizuru to Otaru and would recommend it to anyone who is heading to Hokkaido with their vehicle. The ferry was nicer than we expected and was also very clean. The free onsen was a wonderful bonus that we were not expecting!
The weather was very calm when we travelled so we didn’t suffer from being sea sick. However, we met some other people during our time in Hokkaido who also took the same ferry and many of the facilities including the onsen were closed during their ferry journey due to terrible weather conditions.
For the distance involved, we felt the price was affordable if we compare it to other ferry journeys we have taken elsewhere in the world!
Click here to access the Shin Nihonkai website.
