The Eastern Dream can be seen in Sakaiminato, Tottori Prefecture.
17:10 JST, August 24, 2024
SAKAIMINATO, Tottori — A cargo and passenger ferry connecting Sakaiminato, Tottori Prefecture, and Donghae, South Korea, has returned to regular service after a five-year hiatus.
The ship, the Eastern Dream, can carry up to 530 passengers and crosses the Sea of Japan in 15 hours. Donghae is a coastal city in Gangwon Province, which borders North Korea.
The Eastern Dream entered service in 2009 and eventually carried a total of around 270,000 passengers. However, the South Korean company stopped the service as of 2019. Another South Korean company took over the business and began procedures to resume the ferry service.
On its maiden voyage after resumption, the Eastern Dream arrived at Sakaiminato Port on August 3 with about 70 people, mostly South Korean tourists, on board. Passengers can take much larger luggage on a ferry than would be possible on an airplane.
One of the South Korean passengers arrived at the port on a mountain bike for a planned tour around the prefecture’s Mount Daisen.
A ceremony was held on that day, attended by officials from Gangwon Province and Tottori Prefecture and the Sakaiminato municipal governments. Participants expressed their hope to promote 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 at ¥28,500.
