Vladivostok Ferry

If you are coming from Russia
You can catch the weekly Vladivostok to Fushiki ferry almost year round. It costs about $250 per person or $190 for students (and those who can pass as students) and $90 for a motorcycle. Tickets can be purchased at Bizintour on the third floor of the sea terminal, near the Vladivostok main train station. Give yourself plenty of time. Sometimes clearing customs to get out of Russia takes time.

To get your Carnet validated in Japan, you will need to go to JAF in Toyama city. Map in Japanese: http://www.jaf.or.jp/profile/general/office/map/4-2.htm The nearest train station is Kamihori (880 yen, 2 hours each way from Fushiki)
From Fushiki, take the train: Fushiki to Takaoka, then Takaoka to Toyama, then Dentetsu-Toyama to Kamihori (Dentetsu Toyama station is 2 minutes walk from Toyama station.
Show the map above to someone at Kamihori Station and they will give you directions. The office is about 1 km walk from Kamihori station.
Fushiki [MAP of Fushiki train station area] has very few services. The nearest cities with youth hostels are Toyama and Kanazawa.

Korsakav on Sakhalin island also has a ferry to Wakkanai, in northern Japan. It is run by Higashi Heartland Ferry (http://www.heartlandferry.jp/english/). There is a ferry from mainland Russia to Sakhalin at the city of Vanino. Some travelers have entered at Wakkanai without JAF validation as the nearest JAF office is more than a hundred kilometers away.

Again, do not forget to contact JAF in advance or have someone in Japan take care of your carnet for you.

Going to Russia

Vladivostok, get your tickets from FKK Air Service in Toyama prefecture near Fushiki port (phone: 0766-22-2212, fax: 0766-22-7456, E-mail: fkk-air@toyama-net.com), Euras Tours in Tokyo (http://www.euras.co.jp/en/), or United Orient Shipping & Agency (address: Minato-Shintomi Building 4F, 11-4, Shintomi 2-Chome, Chuo-Ku, Tokyo. phone: 03-5541-7511, fax: 03-3552-7322, E-mail: k-yoshida@uniorient.co.jp). You may not get an answer to e-mail sent in English, however. If calling from outside Japan, add 81 to the beginning and drop the first 0)
One-way fare is 48,400 yen + 18,700 yen motorcycle fee.

In Vladivostok, you will have to do customs procedures for the bike before they will let you take it out of the warehouse. Ask the ship company "Business Intour Service" on the 3rd floor of the sea terminal. They have not been very helpful in the past few years, but you may get them to introduce a customs broker if they won't do it for you. The situation seems to change often. Peter Forwood tells of his experience in 2005 http://horizonsunlimited.com/forwood/russia2.shtml.

Sakhalin is another option to the north. The ferry is operated by Heartland Ferry running from Wakkanai city in Japan's north island of Hokkaido. If going to the mainland, you can probably catch a ferry from Kholmsk on Sakhalin to Vanino on the mainland. Be aware that roads near Vanino are not in very good condition. Mika Kuhn of Germany tells about getting a cargo boat to Sakhalin here.

Visas for Russia

Getting Russian visas in Japan is not easy or cheap. If you are traveling without a set schedule and not paying for hotels, etc. in advance, you need a business visa. That requires an invitation from a Russian organization registered with the ministry of foreign affairs. There are many of those advertising on the Internet. Some are better than others.

In Japan, the fee for the visa at the embassy depends on how long you are willing to wait. If you want it in a week, you are going to pay about $200! (that is in addition to what you pay for your introduction) The best bet would to have all your paperwork in order before reaching Japan. Apply for the visa right when you arrive. Then, go back to the embassy or consulate and pick up the visa before leaving the country. The consulate in Niigata supposedly accepts applications by mail, but I am not sure.