Japan - Yachting Essentials

Japan Yachting Essentials

This useful report by SV  Migration (Notes on Cruising Japan), who cruised Japan for over a year 2016-17, covers tips for all the essential yachting services required by visiting yachts.

Electricity

Voltage: 100 V / Frequency: 50/60 Hz.

Water

Potable water is available everywhere.

Fuel

Most (but not all) marinas have fuel docks, but their prices are high. When moored in commercial and fishing ports, cruisers can usually get a local gas station to send a small tanker truck to the dock; payment is cash only, but there is no fee for the delivery. Be aware that they will always be on time!

If in urgent need of fuel, it is sometimes possible to ask for fuel at the local Fishing Co-operative (every Co-op has a fueling facility for its members, but they are occasionally willing to sell to non-members).

Many service stations won’t fill plastic fuel jugs, so you may have to try several before you can find one to fill yours.

For details on duty-free fuel, see the Customs section.

LPG

Unfortunately, it is now almost impossible to get foreign LPG tanks filled in Japan. Foreign cruisers should arrive in Japan with their LPG tanks as full as possible and perhaps with 1-2 spare, full tanks.

Buying a Japanese LPG tank is an option, although some gas companies will only refill their own tanks. A useful backup is to buy a one-burner “hotplate” that uses small propane “cassette” bottles, which can easily be found.

Getting work Done

Repair facilities are generally good and there are boatyards in most ports. Prices for haul-outs vary greatly but appear to be more reasonable away from the large cities. It is best to approach the local yacht club for advice if in need of a repair job or if one cannot find something.

Short-term (less than one year) shore storage is not permitted by the majority of marinas/yards in Japan. The main reason is that boats are stored on land using cradles, not stands, mainly for earthquake reasons, and people who store their boats on land own or lease their own cradles. Marinas will have a few spare cradles to be used when doing boat repairs/maintenance, but they won’t let a visiting boat use them.

Marine Supplies

There are almost no marine supply stores in Japan, but some marinas do have a small “chandlery” that can order almost anything and get it within 1-3 days (if available in Japan). The chandlery at Odo Yacht Harbor in Fukuoka is well stocked and reported to be helpful. If you can't find a local chandlery, ask the marina office for help.

Discount online marine supply stores may often work out cheaper than local suppliers for the same equipment, even considering the shipping cost.

Ironically, Japanese electronic equipment can cost more in Japan than abroad, particularly compared to the USA.

Mooring in General

Visiting yachts typically moor in fishing ports (almost always free), at marinas (of which there about 120 that accept visitors), Umi-no-Eki marinas (“sea stations” - 50 mini-marinas run by local governments), and “Fisherinas” (small marinas operated by fishing co-ops, of which there are about 20 that can handle cruising sailboats).

Mooring in Japan is very cheap: fishing ports are free; sea stations are cheap/free; random docks are cheap/free; marinas are reasonable (generally cheaper than marinas in developed countries).

Marinas: There are excellent marinas throughout Japan and generally the bigger the city the better the marina (with prices to match). Osaka Bay has several marinas, the most convenient is in the port of  Osaka itself, but there may not be space available. The marina at Wakayama on the east coast, just south of the entrance to the bay, has very good facilities and is linked by train to Osaka and beyond. There is known to be at least one large marina for visitors in the Tokyo area as well as several small ones around the Miura Peninsula, and, at the opposite end of the country, several marinas have now been built in Nagasaki, Yokohama, Sasebo, and Fukuoka. Japanese marinas are priced on a par with marinas in other developed countries and are more expensive in/near the larger cities (Osaka, Nagoya, and Tokyo/Yokohama).

Umi-no-Eki Marinas: The Umi no Eki (Sea Station) network of moorage options have a useful website that lists most marinas that accept visitors, along with a lot of “mini marinas” run by local governments and fishing co-ops. See http://www.umi-eki.jp/en/

Notes: 

• Japanese marinas are priced on a par with marinas in other developed countries and are more expensive in/near the larger cities (Osaka, Nagoya, and Tokyo/Yokohama).
• Ports/marinas almost never have VHF radios so it is impossible to hail them on Channel 16.
• Most marinas do close for one day a week, although the day can vary.
• Most of the tie-ups are to a harbor wall and free. Large fenders are strongly advised.

Anchoring

In general, visiting yachts rarely anchor in Japan (except in the southern islands and a few places in the Seto Inland Sea). Why? Because:

• Most protected bays are well-developed harbors, and anchoring inside official harbor limits is prohibited.
• Most other protected bays are occupied by aquaculture operations.
• There are no “dinghy docks,” so it can be hard to find a good place to leave one’s tender when going ashore.
• What makes Japan a special cruising destination are the people and all the other things on land, so by anchoring one misses them all.

To anchor safely in Japan, follow these guidelines:

• Do not anchor inside harbor limits as this is illegal (limits are marked on charts, these often extend far beyond the harbor itself);
• Do not anchor near the entrance to a port because of the risk of being hit by a passing boat;
• Turn on lots of lights (as they say, “like a Christmas tree”);
• Do not anchor near extensive aquaculture operations, because there’s a good chance that the concrete blocks, cables, etc. of old aquaculture operations are still there, waiting to snag an anchor;
• Rig a trip line in case one snags one’s anchor.

Navigation

Day-sailing is recommended along the Japanese coastlines due to the very high concentration of shipping and the innumerable fishing boats, nets and aquaculture projects. Along the Hokkaido coast, a hazard is the salmon nets, up to 1000 m long and lying very close to the surface.