Tokyo–Izu Islands Overnight Ferry Pelagic

The Tokai Kisen overnight ferry from Tokyo to the Izu Islands is one of Japan's great self-guided pelagic birding opportunities, threading through the Sagami Sea and western Pacific en route to Miyake-jima and Hachijo-jima. The crossing regularly produces Short-tailed Albatrosses (October–May), Black-footed and Laysan Albatrosses, Streaked Shearwaters in enormous flocks, Tristram's Storm-petrel, Providence Petrel, and Japanese Murrelets visible at sea off Miyake-jima. Spring and autumn crossings are especially productive for migrating seabirds, and the route offers one of the most accessible encounters with Short-tailed Albatross anywhere in Japan.