Keelung, Taiwan
You can now go to sleep on a ferry in Taiwan and get up in Japan.
On the floor, the Yaima Maru provides an ideal slow-travel escape — a passenger ferry geared up with saunas, karaoke rooms and a top-deck cafe.
Launched in Taiwan final month to the sound of drums and a standard lion dance, the 21,000-ton civilian vessel connects the northern Taiwan port of Keelung with the island of Ishigaki, in southwestern Japan’s idyllic Okinawa prefecture.
But as Beijing ramps up army stress round Taiwan and Japan shores up its personal southwestern defenses, the route has drawn scrutiny — not least as a result of the vessel has been formally earmarked by Tokyo to help in emergency evacuations if regional tensions erupt into open battle.
For vacationers, nonetheless, the ferry provides an opportunity to discover a singular vacation spot removed from the Japan most are accustomed to. That’s as a result of Ishigaki sits about 2,000 kilometers (1,240 miles) away from Tokyo, however solely 270 kilometers (168 miles) from Taiwan.
“Many people think Japan is quite far away,” says Tiger Hong, normal supervisor of the Wagon Group, which operates the ferry. “So the moment when they realize how close it actually is, they are really shocked.”
Currently, just one airline in Taiwan operates a direct flight to Ishigaki — which takes simply an hour — whereas others require transferring at Okinawa’s most important air hub of Naha.
Ishigaki is famend for its pristine seashores, sapphire ocean and Wagyu beef. It strategically sits inside the Nansei Islands, a 1,050-kilometer-long archipelago in southwestern Japan stretching from Kyushu to close by Taiwan. The chain of islands has grow to be important to Japan’s protection within the occasion of armed conflicts between China and Taiwan.
“Beijing is certainly not pleased to see this development, as the opening of the ferry service could complicate its strategic calculus in the event of a Taiwan contingency,” Chen Yu-hua, an assistant professor in overseas coverage at Akita International University in Japan, informed NCS Travel.
But officers and executives disregarded regional tensions and safety implications, insisting that the ferry is only for tourism.
“This is fundamentally a matter between countries,” Tatsuya Ohama, president of Shosen Yaima, which owns the ship, informed reporters. “As a private ferry operator, our first step is to get the service up and running.”
While the boat journey takes eight hours, Hong, the ferry firm’s normal supervisor, says it fits funds vacationers or those that would love to chill and “take their time.”
“The biggest appeal of this experience is being able to go abroad at low cost and enjoy a slower pace of travel,” he provides.
The vessel runs as soon as each week in June throughout its trial interval, and twice per week from July. Ticket costs vary from roughly $63 for probably the most primary kind of lodging in off-peak occasions to $334 for probably the most luxurious suites throughout peak seasons.
Officials from Taiwan and Japan are optimistic the route will increase tourism, foster commerce and deepen bilateral ties.
Yoshitaka Nakayama, mayor of Ishigaki, says the ferry serves as a “new bridge” that may assist a variety of exchanges.
“It is an important route that will connect the future of Japan, including Ishigaki city, and Taiwan,” he says.
As the ferry slowly pulled into the Ishigaki port on May 29, a gaggle of individuals waved the Taiwan flag and brandished a banner to welcome the primary batch of tourists.
NCS Travel spoke with a number of the roughly 200 passengers who took half within the ferry’s maiden voyage. They highlighted the novelty of the expertise, the comparatively low value and adaptability in journey time as the primary draw.
“The price was pretty reasonable, and it seemed super convenient to sleep overnight and wake up in Japan,” says Kevin Hester, a retired software program engineer in his late 50s residing in San Francisco.
Samuel Liu, an government in his mid 30s within the medical service business, agrees.
“I think it offers another option different from conventional ways of traveling, such as flying on a plane, and that’s why I wanted to try,” he says.
Lai A-su, a solo traveler in her 60s, says she is after the expertise and the sense of journey that include touring by boat. She visited Ishigaki 20 years in the past and was compelled to go once more when the ferry introduced its launch date.
Many passengers mentioned that they’ve been trying ahead to the journey ever since they heard about plans to launch the ferry as early as final summer time. But dates had been pushed again a number of occasions, to the purpose the place some doubted it would ever occur.
Hong attributed the months of delay to the overhaul of the ship, security checks and readying the required paperwork.
But behind the courteous gesture, there are lingering considerations of how overtourism may affect Ishigaki’s wealthy pure atmosphere and doubtlessly overwhelm its infrastructure, considerations that reach to different neighboring distant islands.
“I’m a local. Ishigaki is already suffering from overtourism. With ferries from Taiwan set to begin service, I don’t want to see any further development,” one resident wrote on social media platform X.
Such considerations spotlight the overtourism points now confronted in lots of Japanese vacationer hotspots, corresponding to Mount Fuji and Kyoto.
Government figures point out that Ishigaki, with a inhabitants of about 50,000 individuals, noticed important will increase in vacationers over the past three years, reaching a report excessive of virtually 1.5 million guests in 2025.
That spike owes to a big improve in guests arriving by sea and the restoration in cruise ship calls, Ishigaki’s municipal authorities mentioned.
But Hong mentioned he has not heard about considerations of overtourism from Ishigaki metropolis officers after they deliberate the route, stating that they’re supportive of the ferry service.
Japan dominated Taiwan as a colony from 1895 to 1945. Despite an absence of formal diplomatic relations, each side share shut financial ties, cultural affinity and historic connections. Descendants of Taiwanese immigrants who moved over throughout the Japanese colonial period may be discovered on these islands specifically.
In 2025, Japan registered roughly 6.7 million guests from Taiwan, the third largest supply, trailing solely behind South Korea and China, in accordance to the Japanese authorities. As for Taiwan, of the roughly 18.94 million whole abroad journeys Taiwanese took in 2025, Japan accounted for 35.5%, Taiwan’s official figures present.
“The biggest thing I want travelers to take away is the experience of enjoying a slower pace of travel,” Hong mentioned. “Go to Ishigaki for three or four days so you are fully recharged with energy to go back to work. That is what vacations are for.”
EDITOR’S NOTE: NCS’s Yumi Asada contributed reporting.