Miyajima Ferry Routes Accessible with the Seishun 18 Ticket So, let’s take a look at which services are covered by the “Seishun 18 Ticket,” even though it’s a seasonal offer. It states: “This ticket allows you to board and alight from ordinary and rapid trains on JR lines nationwide (in non-reserved seats in standard cars), BRT (Bus Rapid Transit), and the JR West Miyajima Ferry.” As mentioned at the beginning, regarding the BRT, the other service—the “JR West Miyajima Ferry”—is the main focus of this article. In fact, if you have a valid “Seishun 18 Ticket,” you can use it to travel to Miyajima. The Miyajima Ferry (officially known as the Miyajima Route) has a boarding pier near Miyajimaguchi Station on the Sanyo Main Line and connects the station to Miyajima. Normally, the fare is 200 yen for adults and 100 yen for children, but if you have a “Seishun 18 Ticket,” you don’t need to pay that (however, a separate Miyajima Visitor Tax of 100 yen per person applies). In other words, it is a rare case where a rail ticket (or, more precisely, a special promotional package) allows you to board the ferry directly. Not only the “Seishun 18 Ticket,” but other special promotional packages may also include the Miyajima Route. This is because, in fact, the Miyajima Route is classified as a railway ferry service. In the past, there were railway ferries—such as the Seikan Ferry and the Uta-Kagawa Ferry—that “connected railway lines separated by the sea.” It makes sense to treat a route connecting two rail lines on the same level as a railway, and this is essentially the same concept. However, it is currently not possible to combine a JR rail line and the Miyajima Ferry route into a single regular ticket (though apparently it was possible in the past). Between Miyajimaguchi and Miyajima, in addition to the JR West Miyajima Ferry, there is also a route operated by Miyajima-Matsudai Kisen, a subsidiary of Hiroshima Electric Railway. Just for the sake of conversation, it might be fun to try taking a different route for the trip there and back.
Combining Rail and Sea Transport: JR West Miyajima Ferry and Nankai Ferry are examples of shipping companies operating under the umbrella of rail operators. Currently, these two companies are likely the only ones in Japan that still operate under this model. Although the railway operator and the shipping company are separate entities, the train station and the ferry terminal are located close to or right next to each other, making them easy to use. There are several examples of this as well. Compared to Eastern Japan, Western Japan has a greater number of ferry routes, and there are several situations where “the land is separated by the sea, forcing travelers to take a long detour by land, but they can take a shortcut by sea.” It’s interesting to try this out every now and then. For example, the Hiroshima Port tram stop on the Hiroshima Electric Railway is, as its name suggests, adjacent to the Hiroshima Port terminal. I have taken the Setonaikai Kisen “Sea Paseo” from there to Matsuyama. While the tram stop is right next to the terminal on the Hiroshima side, on the Matsuyama side, it’s a short distance from Takahama Station—the terminus of the Iyo Railway Takahama Line—taking a few minutes by bus or about 10 minutes on foot. Similarly, Shimabara Port Station—the terminus of the Shimabara Railway—is just a few hundred meters from the ferry terminal bound for Kumamoto. Ferries departing from here serve Kumamoto and Miike. Tabira Station, located along the same Shimabara Railway line, is also close to the ferry terminal connecting to Nagasu on the opposite shore. Nagasu has a station on the Kagoshima Main Line. On a smaller scale, you can take a Fukuoka City-operated ferry between Nishitosaki Station—the terminus of the Kashii Line—and Hakata Port. It’s about 1 km from Hakata Port to Gofukumachi Station on the subway, but it might be more practical to take a Nishitetsu bus from there. Also in Fukuoka Prefecture, about 900 meters from Wakamatsu Station—the terminus of the Chikuho Main Line (Fukuhoku Yutaka Line)—there is a ferry terminal that runs parallel to the Wakato Bridge, connecting to Tobata on the opposite shore. On the Tobata side, it’s about 500 meters to Tobata Station on the Kagoshima Main Line.
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