You haven’t experienced Deep Japan until you ride the overnight ferry

There was an inexplicably fabulous fireworks show as we pulled out of Oarai—probably nothing to do with the ferry—but it was the kind of serendipitous thing that so often happens when you veer off onto a less-traveled path in Japan

If you want to truly earn the Deep Japan badge, forget going from here to there on the bullet train. You gotta snag yourself a berth on the overnight ferry.

Japanese ferries are not for the weak. It’s an eighteen-hour overnight sail from Oarai to Tomakomai—it leaves around sunset, gets in around noon—and as you can see from the map below, the route steams through the open ocean, all the way up the coast. (If you’re at all cursed with seasickness, bring your meds, because once you’re on board, there’s no getting off.)

Although you can reserve a surprisingly luxe room

with it’s own private balcony to watch the lights on shore go by

most of those who ride the ferry are long-haul truckers, who drive their loaded rigs into the hold, then sleep in a giant shared tatami room, using the paid facilities on board for eating and entertainment. Check out the ship model to see where the trucks drive in below, and the row of big “windows” at the top of the boat mid-ship where the fancy cabins are.

But what makes this experience so deeply Japanese?

The Obligatory Pachinko Room

Because how can you even call it a trip without a little gambling and ear damage?

The Hall of Vending and Massage

No accommodation in Japan—from the swankiest inn to the cheapest capsule hotel—can honorably qualify as a place to lay your head without this.

The Viking

Buffet restaurants are called viking in Japanese, because the barbaric custom of scooping heaps of food from shared platters onto a single big plate is anything but civilized and Japanese, but it is an efficient way to serve a lot of people with minimum crew.

It goes without saying that there’s beer, and ¥500 buys you a chance to watch the robot beertender at work!

What makes this post a Why, Japan, Why? is the machines that dispense meal tickets. They go off duty, just like human workers. Did they secretly make a pact with Japanese bank ATMs, which are also either shuttered or charge overtime fees after 9:00 pm? INQUIRING MINDS REMAIN BAFFLED.

Ferry Souvenirs

Natch, there is a massive gift shop that sells goods featuring the ferry, so you can hand them out to those left behind, along with your swashbuckling tales of life on the high seas

And finally, the deepest Japanese thing of all…The Floating Public Bath

You haven’t really gotten naked with strangers until you’ve rocked and rolled in a giant tub that’s sloshing in time to the waves as your boat plows through the Pacific.

In addition to being exceedingly Japanese, covering the distance from Tokyo to Hokkaido by ferry was quite a bargain—even with the “deluxe” cabin, it was far less than the price of a bullet train ticket plus staying overnight at a hotel.

If you’d like to ride the ferry to Hokkaido, you can make reservations online on the Sunflower MOL website, which is in English. Note: The process of picking up the tickets and checking in at the port of Oarai, as well as instructions about everything on board the ferry, are rather unfriendly to non-Japanese speakers. There are pretty much no English directions (or English-speaking staff) once you walk through the door of the terminal and get on board, so it’s best to travel with someone who’s done it before or can talk the J.

•

Click here for more Why, Japan, Why? posts