The Oosado Maru, a passenger boat operated by Sado Kisen Steamship Company, has operated between Niigata and Ryotsu for 26 years.

The new ship, Tokiwa Maru, entered service in April and was replaced by the retired vessel.

I really wanted to see her off in retirement as she is a ship that I am personally very attached to.

It's been a long time since April, but I thought, "It's too good to keep it closed in my mind!" I thought, "It would be a shame to keep it closed in my mind!

After receiving information from a certain source that the boat would be leaving at around XX time on XX April, I went to the Minatopia area on the other side of the Sado Steamship.

We arrived a little early, but what we saw was the new ship Tokiwa Maru.

I see, doesn't this mean that we can see the changeover between the old and the new large passenger ships as it happens? That's wonderful!

I've just done it.

Personally, I like the Oosado Maru's "just like a ship!" appearance (very abstract...). I personally like the "how a ship!" appearance of the Osado Maru (very abstract, but... lol).

The 'Tokiwa Maru' was the first to set sail.

The bright colour scheme is a nice touch. I like.

Oh? Are they here to see you off too?

The Oosado Maru will have some time before sailing,

Here and there, the photos are intense.

A closer look reveals rust on the lower part, the wrinkles, so to speak, of an old ship that has worked hard for 26 years.

Oy. Also here.

The petrels seem to have come to see them off. Cute.

In the meantime, oh. Looks like it's time to set sail. It has started to move.

The petrels would normally fly towards the departing ship,

Everyone stays like this all day. It's as if they are really coming to see you off.

Slowly turn around.

The steam whistle is heard around here. There were quite a few people who had come to see the train off, and everyone shouted "Thank you!" and so on.

We were all waving at each other, so there was a bit of a sense of togetherness. Incidentally, my tear gland started to collapse around this point... (laughs).

It's a bit hard to see, but the captain (?) opened his window and waved back at me, which was very touching. Needless to say, my tear gland collapsed.

Oh, I'm going...

The petrels seem to be lining up and looking off to the side.

Oh, they're finally going..!

As they left the harbour, the petrels took off.

I can't read their minds, but it seemed like they were really there to see me off.

My grandfather was from Sado and I used to visit Sado every year.

The Oosado Maru was a ship that I was on many times on each occasion and I have many memories of it.

While I was seeing them off, all those memories flashed back to me at once.

I wondered if each of the other people who had come to see me off had their own individual memories... I was deeply moved.

Oosadomaru overview.

▶Maximum Passenger Capacity: 1,705

▶ Vehicle carrying capacity: 30 large buses and 50 passenger cars or 190 passenger cars.

▶ Gross tonnage: 5, 373 tonnes.

▶ Maximum speed: 22.6 knots.

▶Length: 131.9m

▶Maximum size: 21.0m

▶ Type of main engine: diesel.

▶ Date of construction: 1988/4.

See the official Sado Steamship website (https://www.sadokisen.co.jp/ship/osado.html).