Ferries to Tomakomai Higashi

Tomakomai Higashi is the eastern port of Tomakomai on the Pacific coast in the south of Hokkaido and the island's maritime back door: if you do not want to fly and do not want the Shinkansen, you travel here overnight. From here you can reach Akita, Niigata and Tsuruga, all three on Honshu. Together the services add up to as many as 6 departures a day. Crossings take between 10.5 and 20.5 hours. The port is served by Shin Nihonkai Ferry.

Getting there and the terminal

The terminal does not stand in Tomakomai itself but at the pier of the eastern port in the neighbouring municipality of Atsuma, address Hamaatsuma 17-6. By car it is around 2.5 kilometres from the Atsuma exit of the Hidaka Expressway, about five minutes; from Sapporo via the Do-o and Hidaka expressways it is about 71 kilometres. Without your own vehicle, take the shuttle bus from the north exit of JR Minami-Chitose station, which needs around 45 minutes. Leaving a car at the terminal and crossing without a vehicle is not provided for.

Check-in

Shin Nihonkai Ferry expects you at the terminal 60 minutes before departure. During Golden Week, the summer holidays and over New Year it is 90 minutes. The deadline applies to foot passengers and vehicles alike. Factor in the drive from the motorway exit and the wait at the pier: the departure time is the moment the ship casts off, not the start of check-in.