Japan's HeartLand Ferry Company startsnavigation between Sakhalin and Hokkaido.
During the navigation period from June 9th to September 18th, 2015, the Eins
Soya ferry will make 28 trips between Sakhalin's Korsakov port and Hokkaido's Wakkanai.
In 2014,
over 4.4 thousand passengers used the ferry service; in 2013 - over 4.2
passengers. The route has been serviced since 1999. One-way journey takes 5.5
hours.
However,
this year will be the last one for the HeartLand Ferry as the line is
unprofitable for the company. Hokkaido
Prefecture and Wakkanai Municipality
are currently working on establishing a new ferry operator to ply the
Sakhalin-Hokkaido route.
Niigata Prefecture is planning to open
a ferry line to Vladivostok.
The distance between Niigata and Vladivostok is 860 km. Another 300 km separate Niigata from Tokyo.
The ferry schedule will allow boarding a bullet train in Tokyo
in the morning and arriving to Vladivostok in
the next day's afternoon, giving Japanese visitors the opportunity to take
advantage of a 72-hour visa-free stay in Primorye then to return to Niigata in time to catch a train to Tokyo on the same day. as of now, the company
is searching for a ferry similar to the one servicing Vladivostok - Donghae - Sakaiminato route. Fares
will start at JPY 30,000.
