The pet room on the Hokkaido ferry has a bedtime

On the Sunflower Sapporo’s evening sailing from Oarai to Tomakomai, the kennel room closes to visitors at 10:30 p.m. On one crossing, a crew member called a passenger back because two of their cats were foaming at the mouth. The boat had been rocking a little. Both cats were eating again by breakfast. “Pet Room” gets you a kennel elsewhere on the ship. “Superior with Pet” is a cabin you can share with your cat. The pet fee starts at ¥19,800 per room on top of the cabin fare. On another trip on the same ship, a family moving to Sapporo booked a shared cabin. Their cats paced around the room the first night. By morning, one of them was looking out at the sea while someone in the family sat sewing.