Writing in full-width hiragana

Hi All

I am trying to reserve the Sunflower ferry from Beppu to Osaka. But there is a problem in entering the name for the reservation, as it prompts for this when I input the name:

Full-width hiragana, alphabet and numerals have not been entered.

Would appreciate anyone to advise how could i resolve this? I could not find anywhere in the website to sent an inquiry. Thank you.

Does the website you're trying to book the tickets under have some kind of customer service? I would ask them first as how to make the reservation as opposed to just a random Japanese forum. That might be your best bet.

In case you don't have Japanese input on your computer, you can use the following tool to convert alphabet and numbers to full-witdh:
https://dencode.com/en/string/character-width

Dear Tom, I can't find anywhere in the website to request for a reservation. Hence the query here.

Dear Uji, thanks for the link. Will try that.

The ferry's official website does have a toll-free telephone number.

https://booking.ferry-sunflower.co.jp/web/yoyaku/Content/Inquiries

any idea if it is toll-free calling from overseas?

Some websites say toll-free calling numbers in Japan (starting with "0120") are unavailable for people who call from foreign countries. We'll need to find another option.

Character entry on a computer can get frustrating. The Windows Japanese language pack includes half and full width kana and alphanumeric and getting the correct combination for some Japanese forms requires trial and error.
There are some good free conversion tools on the web, and that might be easier than installing a language pack.

The conversion link shared earlier and the toll-free number calling from outside japan are both not working for me. I will just sail with another ferry. It is very regrettable as i am looking forward to sail Sunflower. Perhaps someone could help to give them a feedback to be more user-friendly to foreigners reserving outside Japan. Thanks to all that has been helping.

I just phoned their toll-free number and told the operator what was happening. Unfortunately, they couldn't provide alternative ideas. The operator said that there are indeed reservations coming in in English alphabet, and that people should be able to make reservations by using the English page of the company's website.

I did tell them that there is someone who keeps getting errors, and that we could find no contact available from overseas. Well, I told them what I know, and I just hope that things will improve in the future.

For the record, however, I was able to use the company's English form below and type in a dummy reservation in alphabet and was able to proceed to the point right before "Reservation Complete". I got no errors.

https://booking.ferry-sunflower.co.jp/web/yoyaku/

Hi Uco

That is extremely kind of you. Very much appreciated.

However, it still does not work for me (with your link, which is the same as the one i used), even when i use the Japanese version of the reservation page (not the English translated version).

This is the comment that came out for the Last name / first name input:
全角のひらがな英数字で入力されていません。
Full-width hiragana alphanumeric characters are not entered

And I think I have tried enough times and will just reserve another ferry. Thanks again.

Hi! I hope this answer isn't coming in too late.

I tried booking the same ferry and was prompted with the same statement (Full-width hiragana, alphabet and numerals have not been entered.) when I entered 2 personal names separated by a space (in alphabet).

When I entered only 1 name (without any space), I was able to go to the next page without any errors. If you have 2 personal names, maybe you can type it like this: HelloKitty (no space) instead of Hello Kitty (with a space).

Hope this helps!

I worked it out. had the same problem. I stopped using chrome and used safari. i just did all lower case and no spaces. hope this helps someone

Don't use Google Chrome! I used Microsoft Edge, I saw other people use Safari. The English web version worked perfectly on Edge.

I had the same problem: the English website didn't allow for reservations and the Japanese website wouldn't accept my name input in latin letters, katakana, or hirigana.

Using Safari and the site in English works great!! I've been trying to reserve these for days, having the same error over and over again. Thanks to all the tips!

Hi there
I am booked on sunflower ferry this November
i have a reservation number and access code to be able to access my booking and manage it. I however can’t get in as it keeps telling me my phone number is incorrect.
I cannot contact them from Australia as phone number only works in Japan
Does anyone have any ideas on this to help me get into my booking