A Family Road Trip to Kyushu

We set off for Kyushu by ferry yesterday, with our Panamera Turbo along for the ride, of course.

We were booked on the Meimon Taiyo Ferry, departing Osaka Nanko at 7:50 p.m. and arriving at Shinmoji Port at 8:30 a.m. The Panamera is over five meters long, so it falls into the under-six-meter passenger-car category. We booked a Deluxe Western-style room for two adults (our two children came along, but children under three travel free) with an online discount. The one-way fare came to ¥45,850.

That’s almost the price of an adult ticket just to bring the Panamera along…

The ferry was due to depart at 7:50 p.m., but we’d heard that vehicles could board well in advance, so we arrived at the Osaka Nanko Ferry Terminal around 6 p.m. Dozens of cars were already lined up.

Everyone had arrived early! We parked where we were directed.

We couldn’t board just yet, so we headed to the waiting room. It was already quite busy, with students from two different schools there on school trips.

At around 6:30 p.m., we were finally allowed to board. A staff member guided us, and we followed their directions onto the ship.

The ramp was steep, so it looked like a bit of a challenge for cars with low ground clearance. Here’s a look inside the vehicle deck.

There were already some large trucks parked inside. The lanes were fairly narrow, so the Panamera’s 360-degree camera came in handy.

After we parked where we were told, a staff member asked, “Is the alarm all right? Is it switched off?”

“Yes, all good!” I replied. But the car’s tilt sensor alarm went off anyway, so my husband had to go back and turn it off.

Onboard Life and Arrival in Kyushu

Our cabin was spacious and clean. We’d booked a Deluxe room, which was a little bigger than a standard single room at a business hotel.

We had dinner onboard, and lights-out was at 10:15 p.m. The ship rocked a little during the night, but I slept just fine. (Though, to be fair, nursing our 10-month-old and sharing a bed with our 3-year-old were the real challenges!)

The next morning, we arrived at Shinmoji Port right on schedule.

Some passengers were already lined up and waiting before we docked.

We arrived at 8:30 a.m., but it took about 15 minutes before we were allowed to return to our car.

Today, we’re driving as far as Amakusa, where we’ll spend the night. I’ll share more about the road trip in another post. For now, I’m looking forward to a good night’s sleep!