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Since I first became aware of the existence of the large island, Sakhalin, in the Russian Far East that used to belong to Japan, and the fact that a ferry operated between the two countries at that remote point, I have wanted to travel on that specific ferry route.

A couple of years ago I visited Wakkanai in the off season and saw the dormant ferry. This year I am ready for my next trip soon and discovered cheap flights from Australia to Sapporo, which has rekindled this travel dream.

But a Japanese friend who lives in Sapporo and has been to Sakhalin (but by plane) informs me that the ferry stopped last year (2015).

I've since tried to follow this up and have found reports that an alternative ferry may operate this summer (2016).

But with such remote and little travelled destinations, you can't always rely on such reports. So I'm looking for either official or first-hand confirmation.

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    There is conflicting information about that route since it's been losing money
    – Karlson
    Commented Jul 4, 2016 at 2:53

2 Answers 2

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Actually, just found the news dated July 4, 2016 (Russian).

The article states that SASCO had signed an agreement to resume the Ferry service from Sakhalin to Hokkaido using "Пингвин-33" as a ship.

Original Source on ria news (Russian)

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    For those who do not read the Cyrillic script, a transliteration: Pingvin-33. Given your picture, you may want to recuse yourself to avoid the appearance of a conflict of interest.
    – phoog
    Commented Jul 4, 2016 at 4:54
  • Rico! Take care of this guy! :)
    – Karlson
    Commented Jul 4, 2016 at 16:06
  • Here's the website for the Japanese ticket agents (Japanese) for the Wakkanai–Korsakov ferry. For 2016, the ferry will operate twice a week until September 16. Commented Sep 2, 2016 at 21:01
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May 31 2018 I got a e-mail message from Wakkanai municipality that during the summer of 2018 the ferry connection between Korsakov (Sakhalin, Russia) and Wakkanai (Hokkaido, Japan) will NOT operate.

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