Water transport

Waterways are about 1,770 km; seagoing craft ply all coastal inland seas.
22 major seaports designated as special important ports by Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport include Chiba, Fushiki/Toyama, Himeji, Hiroshima, Kawasaki, Kitakyushu, Kobe, Kudamatsu, Muroran, Nagoya, Niigata, Osaka, Sakai/Senpoku, Sendai/Shiogama, Shimizu, Shimonoseki, Tokyo, Tomakomai, Wakayama, Yokkaichi, and Yokohama.

Japan has more than 660 ships of 1,000 GRT or over, totaling 13,039,488 GRT or 18,024,969 DWT. Ferries connect Hokkaido to Honshu, and Okinawa Honto to Kyushu and Honshu.