The only one in Japan and two routes in the world? What is a hovercraft? A regular passenger service for hovercraft, high-speed ships that can run at high speed on the sea and also run to land, will be launched in Oita Prefecture for the first time in Japan in 14 years. Hovercraft once operated in nine locations in Japan and seemed to be spreading to other parts of the world, but now there is only this route in Oita Prefecture and one route in the United Kingdom. The first hovercraft, “Baien,” was open to the public at Oita Airport on September 10 for a glimpse of the world’s rarest hovercraft, and the entire day was crowded with more than 100 people waiting in line before the event began. Although hovercraft are “ships” (high-speed vessels) that travel on the sea, their structure is completely different from that of ordinary vessels, in that “a powerful fan sends air under the ship to lift it up and a huge propeller at the rear of the hull provides propulsion. Because the ship moves as if it were flying over the sea, its maximum speed is 45 knots (just over 80 km/h), which is significantly faster than ordinary passenger ships, and under the right conditions, it can even navigate shallow waters and land. The new route (between Nishi-Oita and Oita Airport) will take about 30 minutes (plus the bus), half the time it would take about 60 minutes by conventional liaison bus. The speed is comparable to that of a car on an expressway, and the distance traveled can be significantly shortened. The Oita Airport hovercraft service was discontinued in 2009, and this is the first time that the service has been substantially restored. Why did Oita Prefecture choose to revive the hovercraft service, one of the few in the world?
© Source travel watch
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