Hello all !

First post on the HUBB, after so many hours exploring the vastness of it...
Unfortunately, I haven't yet found answers to my transportation questions.

We are soon leaving on a RTW with two bikes, from France to Canada, through Ukraine, Russia, the -Stans, Mongolia, Japan, Canada and the US. Nothing much original so far , but so many things to plan.

I've arranged the ferry from Vladivostok to Sakaiminato, with the help or Yuri. This far everything is good, just waiting for the confirmation.

Then we want to fly the bikes (2 x 250 kgs approx) to Vancouver, initially from Japan but air freight is more than the prices of the bike, so not an option (quote from Air Sea Express).
We have a quote for a boat shipping, with Air Sea Express Limited (approx. 4 000 $ USD + estimated 1000 $ USD fee on arrival) for a 10 day crossing.

So we though, why not try from Korea by air, so I asked Wendy and she gave me this answer :

Approx cost will be USD2500-USD3500/BIKE
(Airline will charge base on kg, so if you make it small, you can save huge cost)
Base on size, cost may changeable.

The cost doesn't include import fee from japan to korea
To move bike from ferry port to crating company, you may need to take an insurance for driving, etc.
This process will follow by ferry company

which is unfortunately not very detailed. And I then inquired about the cost of a ferry crossing to Korea (to get an idea of the global shipping cost), and as it would be an excuse to visit an other country, so why not ? But I realized that it was almost impossible to get a quote for a vehicle online (just even knowing which company allows vehicles is complicated..) So i contacted three of them (Pukwan, Camelia Lines and Kampu Ferry. Only two answered so far :

Thank you for your inquiry about our ferry.
We are so sorry, you can not board on the ferry the motorcycle one way.
Only round trip use is possible for people living in Japan.

Many thanks.
KAMPUFERRY

and :

You must be registered bike in Japan for temporary import/export a bike from Shimonoseki to Busan.

Unfortunately, your bike is registered in France, so you cannot travel from Shimonoseki to busan with your bike.

Thank you for your inquiry.

So, now, I don't know what to think anymore. I wanted to fly, knowing it would be more expensive, but to be sure to enjoy our bikes straightaway in Canada.

So, my interrogation now is the following, does anyone have done the crossing from Japan to Korea by ferry with a non-japanese/korean motorcyle ? If yes, any tips are welcome, prices, formalities etc.. ! I don't know if they say no by mail just to be dissuasive of if it's going to be a concrete no once there.

And if you have any more suggestions/contacts on how to do the crossing between Japan or Korea to Canada, reducing the global cost, they will be more than welcomed.

I've also contacted Interfracht Japan, and two Import agencies in Korea in order to obtain quotations as close of reality as possible, to make the best decision.

Sorry about the long post, but if you have fresh news/infos, I'm all listening !

Thanks for you help !

Boo

Maybe you can transport the bikes by a car from harbor to Sheol.
In November 2017 I transported my BMW 1200GSA from Sheol to Vancouver by Air Canada arranged by:

Jiny Lee
Manager/ Air Export & Import
BORG Air Sea Transport Inc.
1-1209, Hanhwa Bizmetro, 551-17 Yangcheon-Ro,
Gangseo-Gu, Seoul, 157-804, Republic of Korea
TEL: 82-2-756-0600(Rep.)
TEL: 82-70-7459-6009(Direct)
FAX: 82-2-337-1426
Cellular: 82-10-2590-4197
E-mail: jinylee@borgairsea.co.kr
Web Site: :::BORG AIR SEA TRANSPORT INC:::

This was the cost:
Based on volume weight of 460kg, total cost will be as below.

TOTAL COST TO YVR(VAT included)
2,983,400 Korean money

And then less than 100 $ Canadian in Vancouver

This my story: https://advrider.com/f/threads/going...-late.1223265/

With a Carne de passe you can travel through Japan. And maybe also S-Korea

Round trip price with Camellia Line is 40,000 yen and 48,000 yen with Kampu ferry.
I have heard of travelers being able to use the ferry before, but the official policy is only round trip with Japanese registered vehicles. You may have better luck in person. They will tell you it is Korean rules, so ask (demand) that they check with Busan customs. Busan customs will probably say it is OK.
If you take this way, I would recommend you go straight to the ferry once when you get to Japan to make your reservations. You don't want to be stuck having to look for alternative transportation with a tight schedule if they won't budge.

Thanks Chris. Camellia is the third company I've tried to contact but they did not give me an answer yet. However, I've had some info from other fellow travelers this morning (they did the crossing with a van), and they effectively used Camellia Line 2 years ago I think. I'll try to get more info from them and share it here.

Going straight to the ferry is a good advice, even if it implies quite a detour :s

Is there a particular reason you want to go to Japan and then back to Korea? The Vladivostok ferry stops in South Korea on its way to Japan, and you could get off there.

Thanks for sharing your experience. Borg air sea transport was actually one of the company I got in touch and I was expecting their answer. I've had it this morning ! Very efficient and also the quote is understandable, which is rare & appreciable
It would be a total price of KRW 4,041,880 with crating, so about 3 150 € per bike, which is more than what you paid for a bigger bike. And we would have to had the ferry/insurances to get to Korea.
But then it's always an estimation. You only know what you pay once you're there, which is a bit frustrating when you have to make choices before

We do have a carnet, so no troubles on this aspect.

I'll have a look at your story, thanks.