A 40 hour ferry ride to Nagoya

There is a feeling of excitement in looking forward to going on a long distance ferry trip. It is like being on a budget cruise with comfort, amenities and best of all the changing scenery to enjoy. We are lucky that so far it has been a smooth journey without any nausea or sea sickness. Barry struggles with rough seas.
We slept well, had our usual breakfast of granola, yogurt and fruit in our room and look forward to a full day ahead of us to relax, explore the ship and enjoy the cruise.
Our journey to Nagoya has one stop at Sendai. It will be a busy time at port for 3 or 4 hours with passengers departing and new passengers boarding, vacated staterooms being cleaned, cars and freight being unloaded as well as more being loaded. For us, it is fascinating to watch and to experience, first hand, life on the sea. On this ferry, as foreigners, we are very much in the minority…I think we saw only one other gaijin onboard.

The port is super busy with freight coming and going. As a nation made up of islands, ferries and the industry at the ports are an important part of life here.

A view of the stern of our ferry as we head into port.

This is so interesting watching how the crew will coordinate with the crew on land to secure the ferry on the dock for the stop in Sendai.

The rope which will be used to bring the ship alongside the dock and tether the ship at shore is shot out of this tube.

Working together the ground crew jump into action

Incredible team work controlling the rope in readiness for attaching it to a truck which will bring the ferry alongside.

The truck is the final piece of the puzzle in understanding how the ship is guided to its position alongside the dock. What a fascinating insight into how this important task is done….and incredible teamwork.

The cleaning staff will come aboard and quickly get the staterooms ready for the new guests who will come aboard in Sendai.

This team of workers will be helping with the vehicles and the freight which will be disembarking.

And before you know it, the cars are being unloaded. Efficiency plus.

Our ship is called the Ishikari. It is an older ship, but we prefer it to the newer vessel which we took when we travelled from Sendai to Tomakomai, Hokkaido. The newer ship is more streamlined and shiny but it lacks the decorative, cosy elements of the older ship, like the beautiful dining area, the comfortable seating areas with art and china plates on display.

A cafe offering soft serve ice cream, small meals and beverages.

I think I lose a few points in the well dressed category.

This grand piano is a nice touch. There are two musicians onboard who will be performing in the theatre tonight. The pianist gave an impromptu concert which we enjoyed.

This hallway leads to our room…we are on the left.

Another good, but odd combination….pancakes and salad.

Another ferry in the Taiheyo fleet at sea.

A rare gem finding this map of the ship in English!

Dinner in the dining room is very popular with a majority of the passengers coming for the buffet.

Wow. What a memorable dinner we are enjoying with this sunset to enjoy on our last night on the ship. Tomorrow we reach Nagoya and will disembark about 11 in the morning.

When we first came to Japan, we were surprised that salads are offered at breakfast and other meals. The quality is always good and we love the Creamy golden Sesame dressing.

Last night there was a live classical music concert (piano and violin) and tonight there are two movies being shown in the theatre.

Only the Japanese who provide a smiling face on the bag for motion sickness.

The elevators have glass windows giving you a view of the ship.

The women’s public bath. As you can see from the tile work and the images, the ship has a Grecian theme throughout.

These therapeutic electric chairs are very popular in Japan. However, the set up made us chuckle as it reminded us of being in trouble as kids and made to sit in a corner.

Of course, there are arcade games to play on board.

Ice cream seems like it is its own food group in Japan…so good and loved by all.

Japan is renowned for having vending machines everywhere, even on a remote rural road. The ship is well equipped with vending machines offering noodle meals, beverages, snacks, ice cream etc.

We are making our way down the coast. It is a wonderful and relaxing way to travel.

We are nearing Nagoya and we know that the weather will be challenging with high temps and humidity. The haze is not a good sign.

Our final look at our stateroom. We have been very comfortable here with a bathroom and shower, a place to prepare our meals and a frig. We have no windows with a view, but we are fine with that as we can get great views from the lounges and outside decks. And it is considerably less expensive.

The only part of the room that is old school, is the mini kettle on the counter. Not a problem though, as hot water on demand is readily available throughout the ship. On our previous voyage on a newer ship, we were provided with a large kettle with hot water on demand.

Pets are allowed on board and can stay with their owner in specific areas.

This room has about 12 bunks. They are mixed, for men and women.

If we had to, we could stay in this type of accommodation, perhaps if we were younger. But at our age, we like the privacy of our own space and a bathroom at our disposal.

This is an option which is reasonably priced. There are two levels and we like the upper level as it would give you more privacy. The bathroom is down the hall and there is no space for making meals.

An outdoor fenced area for pets. But you do need the warning not to catch your finger in the door. It closes very quickly.

Somehow, I didn’t find the time to do our laundry on the ship. In hindsight, it would have been smart to have taken advantage of this.

These well used massage chairs are very popular. We love walking through home stores in Japan. The area, with chairs like this and other products, are always busy with people relaxing in these chairs, with many napping as well.

Mostly motorcyclists, 2 cyclists from Canada and a few with cars are waiting for the elevator to head down to the car deck to disembark. We are always parked at the front of the ship in our own area which allows for a faster exit.

Ready to ride. It has been a great couple of days on the sea.

A final look back at our ship, the Ishakari. It is about 20 km to our hotel and it is a shock to the system to feel the heat after spending time on Hokkaido.

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