Just thought I would fill you in on my experience last night on a ferry from Imabari to Kobe. My Japanese colleagues rolled their eyes at me when I said I was taking the ferry and I was dreading the worst, but actually it wasn't half as bad as I thought! Boarding was painless and my (western) colleagues and I had all booked single cabins. The cabins were old, but clean and functional. Beds were twin size, so no space problems. Each cabin had it's own bath/shower and toilet. The ferry left punctually at 2235 having arrived on time from Oita. It arrived before schedule in Kobe and the crew ensured that we were ready to disembark punctually by crashing on the cabin door asking for the key!!

All in all a painless experience, made even more enjoyable by the bottles of red wine and sake that we had brought on board with us and the mild temperatue which allowed us to spend time on deck without freezing....

A hired taxi from the port to KIX allowed my colleagues to make their flight to FRA with time to spare.

Emboldened by this experience I am now looking at taking a ferry from Kagoshima to Naha on my next business trip...any advice welcome :)

Emboldened by this experience I am now looking at taking a ferry from Kagoshima to Naha on my next business trip...any advice welcome :)

Make sure to stop at Yakushima and Amami Oshima.......

A hired taxi from the port to KIX allowed my colleagues to make their flight to FRA with time to spare.

Was that expensive?
I'm not sure where your ferry from Oita arrived (please enlighten me) - I wonder if it might have been cheaper to take a taxi from there to the ferry pier at Kobe airport and then take the ferry from there to KIX.

Was that expensive?
I'm not sure where your ferry from Oita arrived (please enlighten me) - I wonder if it might have been cheaper to take a taxi from there to the ferry pier at Kobe airport and then take the ferry from there to KIX.

We arrived at the ferry terminal on Rokko Island. I was travelling with people from Head Office and one of them had left their jacket at Shin-Kobe Oriental, so we had to go there first...not exactly on the way. :rolleyes:

Also, they like a bit of comfort and wanted to have time for breakfast at KIX. The driver wanted 18000 JPY all in with a small bus so that's what we did. I know there are cheaper alternatives, I take them all the time, but these guys just couldn't be bothered trekking around with their suitcases. I have taken the ferry from Kobe Airport to KIX a couple of times. It's a good service but on both occasions there were only a handful of pax, so I wonder how long that will last.

I was in imabari yesterday, just up the road from me, we went for a walk on the big bridge there. Quite a fun thing to do if you're in the area.
As for ferries, I have used the Orange ferry which goes from Toyo port which is about 20 minutes from Imabari. It goes to Osaka South port where you can take a limousine bus to Kansai airport all for one price (6,200 yen for a second class bunk and a ride on the bus). Gets you to Kansai at 8.05am. It's a nicer ferry than the one Snoopy went on from all reports.

Emboldened by this experience I am now looking at taking a ferry from Kagoshima to Naha on my next business trip...any advice welcome :)
I think that's the same one that actually leaves from somewhere near Nagoya and goes on to Kaoishung (sp?) in Taiwan. It also calls in at Ishigaki Island as well as Kagoshima and Naha. Love to do that at some point.