Come Away with Me

The Ride of Our Lives

I usually dedicate one post to each destination that I visit but the ride on this particular overnight ferry (it's called Kansai Kisen (関西汽船) since it ply the route from Kyushu to the Kansai region) from Beppu to Osaka had been extremely eventful in more ways than one that I thought it deserved an entry on its own.

You might ask why take the ferry in the first place? It all boils down to one simple reason i.e. cost. In Japan, there are, often than not, more than one way to get to a destination. The thought of cramping into an overnight bus for 13 hours is simply too appalling; the bullet train option was out too as it was the peak season and all the absurd surcharge added up to quite a bit; the fastest and most comfortable way for travel in Japan, in my opinion, is to take the plane but you will be surprise that domestic flight doesn't come cheap.

Moreover, taking the ferry actually fitted quite nicely into my plans. Besides being the cheapest option, (a one-way ticket for adult booked via Internet comes with a 20% discount and comes up to slightly under ￥7500 for the cheapest ticket which is open sharing) it was also the most comfortable, or at least that was what I thought during my trip planning. I was recommended by several well-meaning friends who informed me that because this ferry travels within inland waters on the Sea of Japan, it doesn't rock as much thus ensuring a relatively smoother and easier ride.

Not only do we get to save on accommodation, we will arrive in Osaka at six-thirty early the next morning ready to hit the city after a good night's rest on board. I must mention at this point though, that my image and idea of any sea journey is influenced strongly by my experiences of the ones I had thus far (all those inevitable ferry rides back and forth Nagasaki city and my little island), which is not at all that bad. At last a mode of transport that is not only economical but also practical I thought and congratulated myself happily as I clicked on to confirm my purchase. Oh and my bf thought my plan sounded impressive and promising too.



Taken shortly after boarding the ferry, note the still relatively smiley and fresh faces.

Of course like any form of transport, you have your economy, upper, first class or what not. When I chose the cheapest ticket I was mentally prepared to be sleeping on the ground with a dozen other strangers. I know it sounds very odd and primitive, almost refugee-like to be sleeping on the ground of a moving ferry, I felt the same way too when I first boarded one from Narao. But trust me, after a while, you will get used to it though still don't like it. So long as it gets me where I want to go, I can put up with a few hours of discomfort, or so I thought.

To enable you to picture roughly what I am talking about, I've attached a picture taken on another occasion on the ferry I often took to Nagasaki city. Passengers can choose what spot to take and in what manner they want to lie around in these category of seats. This is not actually a fair representation I must say of the passenger scene, it is usually a little more crowded than what this picture shows.

Imagine my horror when I was handed number tags and realised that instead of a rather spacious and free-seating ride to Osaka, we had to sleep on mattress roughly the size of a yoga mat and beside total strangers! Neither of us was terribly thrilled at the prospect of being squashed between half-drunken Japanese men but we didn't have much of a choice did we?

To make matter worse, eating is allowed in all forms of transportation in the country and by the time we located our compartment, the whole room was filled with the smell of food and booze, men's sweat and sock stench, I don't know which is worse, yikes!

And so we sat on our limp mattresses taking in the sight before us. The old men next to Alvin, who had had a drink or two, sized us up and asked if we were Koreans. Shaking our heads, I offered simply that we are Chinese Singaporeans. The next thing we knew, he was talking loudly in his version of English and boasting to his friends his knowledge of Malaysia! We pretended to look occupied by reading papers and tried our best to avoid the old man's strings of questions directed at us but at last we gave up, took whatever important belongings and went to the lounge area where we spent the most part of the night and only returned to the room after lights out.

Not surprisingly, I could hardly sleep the entire night, waking up every hour in between to check the time. It is not too exaggerating to say that it was probably the longest and most tedious night I've ever had.

Gave up sleeping at around 5 in the morning and took this shot (the room was still not lighted then) to remember one of my most unforgettable night ever. Yes, that's my boyfriend in the picture trying to sleep.


And this was how our situation looked like with the lights on. Too close for comfort heh? Look at those shoes and socks strewn around the place! The scruffy looking green thing was our pillow!

We scrambled out of the room before anyone was wide awake and took our last night's seats at the lounge once more.

2 very disturbed, ill-rested and grubby souls who couldn't wait to jump off the ship the minute it pulled into the port!



While it wasn't the most terrible situation to be in, it certainly wasn't that amusing either at the point in time. Looking back and after several recounts to family and friends, i must say that the whole episode was no doubt funny and entertaining in its own right. Good or not so good days, lucky or unlucky incidents, without which travel stories wont't be half that colorful isn't it? That having said, you won't find me on board of one of these overnight ferry ever again!

posted by テレサ @ 5:02 PM