Ferry from Shimbara to Kumamoto

If you are driving around Kyushu in Japan, and considering to go between Nagasaki and Kumamoto, the car ferry is one of the options. There are 6-7 ferries daily traveling between the two ports. We took the 9:40 and it is best to arrive 30 minutes before departure. Once you arrive at the terminal gate, the guard will direct you to park your car in line. you will then need to get your ticket from the main building. The Kyushu ferry ticket counter is on the left side. even if you don’t speak Japanese, you can just say Kumamoto, indicate how many persons in total ( as the basic car ticket is ¥2730 including the driver). Additional passenger will cost ¥890. Inside the terminal building, there is also a gift shop and coffee shop. Boarding starts about 10 min prior to departure. traveling time is about 60 minutes. After parking your car on the ferry, you can then go up to the second level where there are both indoor and outdoor seatings. There are plenty of seats . I find this to be a convenient way to travel if this is the route in your itinerary. However much of the road between Nagasaki and Shimbara is local road with lots of traffic lights and speed limit is 50 per km. it could also get quite congested in the afternoon, so best to plan your route and time. #urbanexplorer #drivinginjapan #nagasaki #kumamoto