From Hokkaido to Honshu aboard Taiheiyo Ferry Kitakami | Tomakomai to Sendai

Tomakomai Port began with a plan to build a coal shipping port on Hokkaido’s Pacific coast, close to the coalfields of central Hokkaido and well suited for shipping to Honshu. But there was no natural harbor here. The area was a sandy coastline exposed to heavy drifting sand, making it a very difficult place to build a port. Even so, engineers carved deeply into the land and created the world’s first large-scale excavated harbor of its kind. The technology and knowledge developed there were later passed on to other port projects. Since opening in 1963, Tomakomai Port has grown rapidly. In 1975, it became Hokkaido’s largest cargo port, a position once contested by Otaru and Muroran. Today it handles more than half of all port cargo in Hokkaido and ranks first in Japan for domestic cargo volume. On the third floor of the Tomakomai West Port Ferry Terminal is the Port Museum, where visitors can learn about the history and role of the port, as well as the ferries that use it. Taiheiyo Ferry Kitakami leaves Tomakomai Port in the evening glow and heads south across the Pacific. The following morning, it arrives at Sendai Port. June 2-3, 2026 #TaiheiyoFerry #Kitakami #TomakomaiPort #SendaiPort