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People nowadays usually travel to other countries by airplane, but until the 1970s, they mostly went by ship. Such journeys took around 50 days to cross the sea. The ships that transported immigrants to other countries were called “migrant ships.” Many migrant ships sailed to South America from here in Yokohama, as well as from Kobe and other ports. However, as airplanes became more common, migration by ship gradually tapered off. Also, the Japanese economy grew rapidly in the 1960s, and so fewer and fewer Japanese went abroad to find work.
The Nippon Maru, the ship shown here, was the last migrant ship to South America. It departed from Yokohama on February 14, 1973, with 285 migrants on board.
Here, you can listen to some interviews with Nippon Maru passengers.
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