Tottori: Ferry Link to South Korea Resumes Services; Ocean Voyage to Donghae Takes 15 Hours One Way

The Yomiuri Shimbun

17:10 JST, August 24, 2024

SAKAIMINATO, Tottori — A cargo and passenger ferry ship connecting Sakaiminato, Tottori Prefecture, and Donghae, South Korea, has resumed regular service after a five-year hiatus.

The ship, the Eastern Dream, can accommodate up to 530 passengers, crossing the Sea of Japan in 15 hours one way. Donghae is a coastal city in Gangwon Province, which borders North Korea.

The Eastern Dream went into service in 2009, eventually carrying a total of about 270,000 passengers. But its South Korean operating company discontinued the service from 2019. Another South Korean company took over the business and began procedures to resume the ferry service.

On its first voyage after the resumption, the Eastern Dream arrived at Sakaiminato Port on Aug. 3 with about 70 people, mainly South Korean tourists, on board. Passengers can bring much larger luggage with them on a ferry than would be possible on a plane.

One of the South Korean passengers arrived in the port carrying a mountain bike for a planned ride around Mt. Daisen in the prefecture.

A ceremony was held on the day, attended by officials from Gangwon Province as well as the Tottori prefectural and Sakaiminato municipal governments. Participants voiced their hopes for promoting people-to-people exchanges between the two regions in the future.

The ship enters Sakaiminato Port every Saturday and departs for South Korea every Sunday. Fares start from ¥28,500.