It is day two and we are having a wonderful ferry trip. We boarded last night about 4 pm and we will disembark today after 5 or 6 pm. Mary Ellen continues to feel pretty rough and a prolonged ferry trip with nothing to do but rest is “just what the doctor ordered”. Our room is comfortable, the ship is, as promised, a new ferry with everything in working order. Riding this ferry you can understand what a lifeline it is for the outer islands. Mail, provisions for stores, supplies of any kind, even livestock are delivered by this ferry. At the various islands, people disembark and others board. It truly connects the islands. The seas have been pretty smooth, except for through the night. Lying in bed, we found ourselves bracing with the rolling and jerks caused by the winds and the sea.
We made breakfast in our room, the usual…granola, yogurt and fruit with coffee. We really like the origami drip coffee we buy here. All you need is a kettle and you can have a good cup of coffee.. The first island where we stop at is Amami. We didn’t see it as we arrived there at 5 am.
Arriving at Tokunoshima at about 9 in the morning..it is remarkable how fast the trucks and forklifts are at removing cargo and then putting more on.
I never realized how much fun it is to watch forklifts buzz around doing quick turns while managing a load. They move with the agility of bumper cars without the “bumping”.
At each island, the ship was docked for only about 30 minutes and that included passengers disembarking and boarding as well as moving containers on and off as well as trucks. Note the interesting New Year gift that is being sent on this load. It is located front right. This is something which is placed at the front of buildings and homes… a bamboo floral arrangement.
There are two floors of sleeping areas from private cabins like ours to deluxe cabins to Japanese style futon rooms with multiple people, bunk beds and capsules. The common areas are somewhat minimal with a casual dining room, gift shop and some public seating. This ship does not have an onsen but there are showers.
Karen PoretWhat is the significance of the structure in the water? It resembles a claw of some sort, but wondering if it is a remaining article from some period? Reply to this comment 2 weeks ago
It is between meal times so the kitchen is closed. You are welcome to spend time here whenever you like. The voyage was relatively smooth, however, if the seas became rough the chairs are chained to the floor and there are handholds on the tables.
Heading down to the car deck to find our trikes and head out. We appreciate that this newer ferry has an escalator. The last ferry we took from South Korea required manouvering a lot of stairs. Not so fun when carrying bags.
Barry found this place on the internet and he did a great job. We can self cater here and have independence as we have everything we need, including a washer and dryer in our unit. Looking forward to being beach bums for a few days
