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I'm in Hokkaido, Japan and it's Golden Week so many things are booked out, including longer distance ferries.

Japanese ferry websites have always been quite bad. No English version, text as images in Japanese version so no Google Translate, etc. No English speaking staff at the terminal is also usual.

I'd like to take a ferry from Hokkaido to Honshu tomorrow. My first choice seems to be booked full for the cheaper berths.

What I'm wondering is if I get to the ferry terminal at boarding time is there a chance they sell "standby" tickets for no-shows?

Is this unheard of in Japan? Pretty normal? Or some do and some don't?

hippietrail
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1 Answers1

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Some. Taiheiyo Ferry, for example, takes standby requests, but only by phone. Shin Nihonkai Ferry, MOL Sunflower and Tokyo Kyusyu Ferry take standby requests via the online ticketing system.

But for most companies, it seems that they either don't have the system or provide no info. Best to call their customer service desk, but chances are that they have none if they don't advertise it.

xuq01
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