The is a privately owned

ferry A ferry is a boat or ship that transports passengers, and occasionally vehicles and cargo, across a body of water. A small passenger ferry with multiple stops, like those in Venice, Italy, is sometimes referred to as a water taxi or water bus ...

service crossing the

Tsugaru Strait The is a strait between Honshu and Hokkaido in northern Japan connecting the Sea of Japan with the Pacific Ocean. It was named after the western part of Aomori Prefecture. The Seikan Tunnel passes under it at its narrowest point 12.1 miles ...

, which separates

Hokkaido is the list of islands of Japan by area, second-largest island of Japan and comprises the largest and northernmost prefectures of Japan, prefecture, making up its own list of regions of Japan, region. The Tsugaru Strait separates Hokkaidō fr ...

from

Honshu , historically known as , is the largest of the four main islands of Japan. It lies between the Pacific Ocean (east) and the Sea of Japan (west). It is the list of islands by area, seventh-largest island in the world, and the list of islands by ...

. The ferries run three routes:

Hakodate is a Cities of Japan, city and seaports of Japan, port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of January 31, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 239,813 with 138,807 househol ...

Aomori , officially Aomori City (, ), is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Aomori Prefecture, in the Tōhoku region of Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 264,945 in 136,781 households, and a population density of 321 people per squa ...

and Hakodate to

Ōma is a town located in Aomori, Japan. , the town had an estimated population of 4,868 in 2,500 households, and a population density of . The total area of the town is . Geography Ōma occupies the northwestern coastline of Shimokita Peninsula, f ...

Muroran is a city and port located in Iburi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Iburi Subprefecture. As of January 31, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 76,385, with 43,494 households and a population density of . The ...

to Aomori.

Routes

Hakodate—Aomori

This route links the Port of Hakodate in

Hakodate, Hokkaido is a city and port located in Oshima Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the capital city of Oshima Subprefecture. As of January 31, 2024, the city had an estimated population of 239,813 with 138,807 households, and a population density of . Th ...

with the Port of Aomori in

. 6 round trips are made per day, with each trip taking three hours and forty minutes one way. The route is operated by four ships: the ''Blue Dolphin'', ''Blue Happiness'', and ''Blue Luminous''. Each ship makes two round trips a day. With the conversion of the Seikan Tunnel from conventional trains into the

Hokkaido Shinkansen The is a Japanese high-speed Shinkansen rail line that links up with the Tōhoku Shinkansen in northern Aomori Prefecture in Honshu and continues on into the interior of Hokkaido through the undersea Seikan Tunnel. Construction started in May ...

, this route has seen a resurgence in ridership as the cheaper alternative. It connects

Japan National Route 4 is a major national highway in eastern Honshū, Japan. Measuring , it is the longest highway in the country. When oversea routes are included, it is the second longest highway in Japan, with National Route 58 then measuring because of its m ...

in Aomori with

Japan National Route 5 is a major highway on the island and prefecture of Hokkaido in northern Japan. The highway begins at an intersection with National Routes 279 and 278 in Hakodate. It travels north across the southern half of the island, traveling through Ot ...

in Hakodate.

Hakodate—Ōma

This route links Hakodate with the Port of Ōma in Ōma, Aomori. National Routes

279 __NOTOC__ Year 279 ( CCLXXIX) was a common year starting on Wednesday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known in Rome as the Year of the Consulship of Probus and Paternus (or, less frequently, year 1032 ''Ab urbe condita''). The den ...

and

338 __NOTOC__ Year 338 ( CCCXXXVIII) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Ursus and Polemius (or, less frequently, year 1091 ''Ab urbe condita''). The denomination ...

run along this route as well. A trip takes ninety minutes one way, and is operated by the with two round trips a day.

Muroran—Aomori

This route links the Port of Muroran in

with the Aomori. 6 round trips are made per week, with each trip taking seven hours one way. The route is operated by ''Blue Mermaid''.

History

Since 1965, the was the primary operator of passenger ferries across the Tsugaru Strait. Aside from the current routes, the Higashi Nihon Ferry also operated a wide network connecting

Tomakomai is a city and port in Iburi Subprefecture, Hokkaido, Japan. It is the largest city in the Iburi Subprefecture, and the fourth largest city in Hokkaido. As of 31 July 2023, it had an estimated population of 167,372, with 83,836 households, an ...

, and Iwanai to the north;

Sendai is the capital Cities of Japan, city of Miyagi Prefecture and the largest city in the Tōhoku region. , the city had a population of 1,098,335 in 539,698 households, making it the List of cities in Japan, twelfth most populated city in Japan. ...

Hachinohe is a city located in Aomori Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 213,453 in 110,121 households, and a population density of . As of October 2020, Hachinohe is Aomori Prefecture's second largest city by population. The c ...

, Ōarai, and Jōetsu to the south; and

Busan, South Korea Busan (), officially Busan Metropolitan City, is South Korea's second list of cities in South Korea by population, most populous city after Seoul, with a population of over 3.3 million as of 2024. Formerly romanized as Pusan, it is the economi ...

. However, these lines proved to be less and less profitable and closed one after another. Meanwhile, the was founded in 1972 as a part of Higashi Nihon Ferry,

ro-ro Roll-on/roll-off (RORO or ro-ro) ships are cargo ships designed to carry wheeled cargo, such as cars, motorcycles, trucks, semi-trailer trucks, buses, Trailer (vehicle), trailers, and railroad cars, that are driven on and off the ship on their ...

cargo service between Hakodate and Aomori. In October 2000, Dōnan Jidōsha Ferry began operating passenger services with a newly built ship, the ''Esan 2000''. In November 2008, Higashi Nihon Ferry suspended its Hakodate—Aomori, Hakodate—Ōma, and Muroran—Aomori services and sold three ships (''Venus'', ''Virgo'', and ''Vayu'') to Dōnan Jidōsha Ferry. Dōnan Jidōsha Ferry, however, chose not to operate the Muroran—Aomori route. On November 1, 2009, Higashi Nihon Ferry was merged into Dōnan Jidōsha Ferry, and the resulting company was renamed as Tsugaru Kaikyō Ferry.

Fleet

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Tsugaru Kaikyo Ferry Ferry companies of Japan Transport in Hokkaido Transport in Aomori Prefecture 1972 establishments in Japan