from Niigata you can get there by ferry
This is a cheap way to get to Hokkaido.We slept most of the time because we left late at night. We arrived in Otaru in the late afternoon the next day. Travelling by ferry is cheap and comfortable.There are 3 choices you can accept as accomodations go. You can sleep in a large open room with a bunch of other people. You can pay a bit more and have your own bunk or you can pay the most and get your own room. We went for the bunks which also have a curtain.



