The high oil prices

Due to the high oil prices in this spring, some ferry companies decided to stop operating lines which have been sustaining regional commuter's demand and tourists interested in this area. In some cases newly built bridges can substitute commuter's demand for the abolished ferry lines. But from the viewpoint of tourism the ferry lines are valuable as resources for sightseeing. Japanese history and cultures once depended on sea traffic systems. Small ferry lines are the symbols showing that Japan is a sea Nation.