'''Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk''' (__?_w_~__-_R_p___p_|_y?_~___{), also spelled '''Uzno-Sakhalinsk''' and previously known in Japanese as '''Toyohara''' (_L__), is the largest city and capital of Sakhalin Oblast, in Southeastern Russia, with a population of around 173.000. And a booming oil town.
History
The city was founded in 1882, as the village Vladimirovka, but was transferred to Japanese control after the end of the Russo-Japanese war. The Japanese renamed the city as Toyohara, and made it the capital of the Japanese prefecture Karafuto occuping the southern half of the island. After the end of of World War II, soviet troops occupied the Japanese part of Sakhalin, and the city was renamed Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk when owership of the city was transferred back to Russia. Apart from a very limited number of Japanese buildings, including the impressive old goverment building, now a regional museum. The main heritage of the Japanese ownership of the city, is a sizable number of Sakhalin-Koreans, deported here by the Japanese in the 1930s, and denied repatriation until the mid 1980s, many have decided to stay on Sakhalin, and around 20.000 reside in Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk.
Get in
By plane
'''Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Airport''' ({{IATA|UUS}}, {{ICAO|UHSS}}) fields flights from major Russian cities as well as several asian cities. Sakhalins own carrier; SAT Airlines [http://www.satairlines.ru], has its main hub here and operates several domestic routes, as well as flights to Korea, Japan and China.
Russia: Aeroflot and Transaero operate flights to and from Moscow, while SAT Airlines and S7 Airlines have useful connections to the major far eastern cities of Khabarovsk and Vladivostok.
Korea: Asiana operates flights to Seoul-Incheon several times a week.
Japan: SAT has frequent flights to Sapporo as well as less frequent ones to Hakodate and Vladivostok Air has charter flights from Tokyo, though they are not shown on the timetable on its website.
China: SAT services Beijing and Harbin airports.
By train
For towns close to Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, it's often an easier and more convenient choice to jump on a bus, while the trains is main mode of transportation to destinations on the northern part of the island. It's a good idea to confirm these times as train schedules apparently change fairly frequent.
Korsakov: Various trains departs daily at 05:30,13:45 and 19:44 except on public holidays.
Okha: Daily train 1, departs at 6.50 in the morning, and runs across most of the length of the island to Nogilki in the north, from where there is a connecting bus to Okha.
Aleksandrovsk-Sakhalinsky: To get here, catch the train 1 above, and change to a connecting bus in Tymovsk.
By bus
The parking lot outside the train station doubles as a bus terminal, where both scheduled.- and - leave when full - minibuses regularly departs for other parts of the island. The minibus is often the best choice, as the public buses are often slow, uncomfortable, and worn out.
Kholmsk: Bus '''516''' and '''518''' departs on top of the hour, every hour between 8.00 and 21.00, the latter continuing onwards to Nevelsk for access to Moneron. While the mini bus takes around an hour and costs 400 Rubles.
Korsakov: Bus '''115''' shuttles between Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk and Korsakov every 30 minuttes between 7.00 and 22.00 and takes around 90 minutes, and costs around 100 RUB. Double the price and you can catch a minibus that takes half the time.
From the ports of Kholmsk and Korsakov, it is possible to catch a ferry to Vanino on the mainland, or Wakkanai in Japan respectively.
Get around
Intracity transportation is provided by a network of a few public busses, running along the main avenues. And large number of minibusses running in set routes, but with no particular schedule
Buses 63 and 68 provides connections to and from the Airport
See
'''Sakhalin Regional Museum''' Kommunistichesky Pr. 29 (right) Housed in the the former Japanese regional goverment building, this museum hosts exhibitions about the islands natural and climatic features, as well as the history of Sakhalin
'''The Sakhalin Regional Art Museum''' 137 Lenin Street, was opened in 1989 in the building of the former Japanese bank "Hokkaido Takuseku" from the 1930s. The three permanent expositions include: "Copies of Ancient Russian Frescos", "Art of Japan", and "Art of Korea".
Do
Gagarin Park. he City Park. Go on a stroll in the city park, the largest in the far east. Something of a leisure center of the local population, the park features athletic facilities, adventure playgrounds, a lake with small boats, a miniature railroad for kids, and a zoo. On the eastern corner of the park, there is a trail head leading up the hill for a view over the city.
'''Snowboarding''' Is popular on the island, a limited amount of information on snowboarding around Yuzhno is available on the local snowboarding federations website[http://www.snowboard.katorga.ru/docs/english.htm]. <do name="Gorny Vozdukh Ski center" alt="" address="" directions="" phone="+7 (4242) 742416" url="http://stkgv.ru" hours="12AM-22PM" price="From 100 RUB for 1 ride, to 750 RUB for 6 hours or more" lat="" long="" email="742416@stkgv.ru" fax="">is a alpine complex located within Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk city proper. It has nine runs (1 black, 5 Reds & 3 Greens) and three lifts, including a spanking new 2.5 km gondola lift. </do>
'''Fishing''' There are a few guided fishing trips available in English, in the area surrounding Yuzhno Sakhalinsk.
Buy
There is a sizable market at the corners of Lenina & Sakhalinskaya, where you can stock up with fresh fruits and vegetables, an outfit for your next 80'ties party, or cheap Chinese goods. A bit more useful is the electronics stalls for new batteries and the like.
Eat
Black Cat. X_u___~_p__ _{_____{_p__. 4A Chekhov Street. ust off Popovicha street hidden away in an alley, look for a sign with a black cat. 7 (4242) 420263 . 50 - 400 Rubles. Dishes out Russian and European meals, in a pleasant atmosphere with Jazz music on the stereo.
Domino Cafe. 5 Popovich Street. 7 (4242) 423431. is the place to go for a cup of cappuccino or espresso. Has a reasonably priced menu, and a playground for kids outside.
Pacific Cafe. 2 Kommunistichesky Avenue. nside the Sakalhin center. 7 (4242) 727008. aily: 8AM-8PM. eals from 300 Rubles, Espresso from 50 Rubles. Is an expat hangout, with reputedly the burgers in town, and some European dishes on the menu.
Slavyanka. he Russian Kitchen. 5 Sakhalinskaya Street,. 7 (4242) 429667. oon-10PM. rom 600 RUB. Serves up Russian and Ukrainian Cuisine, and is a good place for local dishes, not to forget mentioning that it has an English menu. For something this remote, it's interresting to note that this restaurant was actually reviewed and praised in Time magazine[http://www.time.com/time/magazine/article/0,9171,501020610-257152,00.html].
Taj Mahal. 8 Antona Buyukly st.. 7 (4242) 499488. ttp://www.tajmahalgroup.com/restaurant.html. -Th 11.AM-11.30PM,F-Sa 11.30AM-0.30PM,Su 11:30AM-10PM. Something as odd as an Indian cuisine from a Japanese franchise. offers the usual popular Indian dishes, to further add to the oddness it's also the sole outlet of the only Sakhalin guidebook "''Sakhalin Unplugged''".
Toyohara. 46A Lenina St.. 7 (4242) 741486. aily: noon-10PM. A nice place if you fancy some Asian cuisine. Good Chinese-style stir fry and a mainly Japanese menu.
Drink
Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk is a rather youthful town, so the nightlife is rather happening considering it's size. If the weather is nice, an alternative to the bars listed here, is hanging out with the locals in the beer tents dotted around Gagarin park.
777. 1 Chekov st.. 7 (4242) 429462. Is a large club on Chekov Street. two stories with a mix of local and international tunes. There are usually a few expats around, and there is a decent chance of finding the odd english speaking locals here.
Jump. 6A Mira Avenue. 7 (4242) 726054. Is a night club with a young crowd.
Mishka Pub. 5 Chekov st.. 7 (4242) 422811. oon-midnight (weekends til 1am). located in the basement of the same building as Rubin hotel, this is a local expat hangout, mainly people from the oil industry. British style pub with the usual range of alcohol and pubfood. Staff speaks English.
</drink>
Sleep
Due to the large amount of visitors connected to the booming oil industry on the island, there are are substantial number of good hotels in the city. Room rates however are very expensive, even by international standards, expect to pay at least 4000 RUB at single room at western style hotels.
Pacific Plaza. 72 Mira Prospekt. 7 (4242) 450-000. ttp://www.sakhalinpacificplaza.ru. s a central 4 star hotel, opened in 2006..
Rubin Hotel. 6 Popovich St.. 7 (4242) 42-22-12. PM. 2AM. ingles from 4700 RUB. Reputedly one of the best hotels in town, has a decent British style pub downstairs.
Mega Palace. Detskaya Street. 7 (4242) 450-450. ttp://www.megapalacehotel.ru/?main_eng. rom 6500 RUB. Is a massive, spanking new, 10 storey luxury hotel located just north of the city center.
Monoron. 6 Communist Ave. 7 (4242) 72-34-53. Singles from 550 RUB. Seems to be the town's only budget accommodation. And is conveniently located next to the railway station.
Sakhalin-Sapporo Hotel. 81 Lenina Street. 7 (4242) 72-15-60. rom 5000 RUB. One of the longer running hotels in town, centrally located. Looks soviet on the outside but has been upgraded to Japanese standard on the inside.
Santa Resort Hotel. enskaya str., 3. 7-4242-499177. ttp://www.santahotel.ru/. 2 pm. 00$. Nice hotel located outside of Yuzhno in a beautiful and peaceful landscape. Very close to Gagarin Park.
Has two overpriced restaurants with good European and Japanese cuisine though.
Wi-Fi internet for additional cost and free Hotel-City-Hotel shuttle service.</sleep>
Get out
'''Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk Mud Vulcano''' This sight, a 90 minute drive outside Yuzhno-Sakhalinsk, only appeared in 1959, and consists of several cones within a 15-acre (6 hectares) site of volcanic mud which erupt periodically. In many places you can see fumaroles bubbling through the mud. You can hike here, if you can find a local to act as guide, or you can hire some wheels, or arrange with a tour operator, to take you up the small dirt track leading to the site.
'''Lake Tunaycha''' The Lake Tunaycha area is a string of shallow lakes, including the islands largest fresh water lake, which runs along Sakhalin's western coast line.
Contact
<listing name="Japanese Consulate General" alt="" address="234 Lenin Street, 5th floor" directions="" phone="+7(4242)72-60-55" url="http://www.sakhalin.ru.emb-japan.go.jp/" hours="Monday-Friday 10.00 - 11.30 except Thursdays 15.00 - 17.00" price="" lat="" long="" email="sakhjpmofa@svtc.ru" fax="+7(4242)72-55-31"></listing>
<listing name="Bi-tomo" alt="" address="1-1 Sakhalinskaya Street" directions="" phone="+7(4242)72-68-89" url="" hours="" price="" lat="" long="" email="bitomo@svtc.ru" fax="+7-50985-61217">Is a local travel agency specializing in Japan, and selling tickets to the Korsakov -Wakkanai crossing (note that Sakhalin-Fantastic, who used to sell tickets no longer seems to be in business)</listing>
<listing name="Sakhalin Diving" alt="" address="77 Chekhova Street" directions="" phone="+7 (4242) 42973" url="" hours="" price="" lat="" long="" email="diver2002@list.ru" fax="">This PADI dive shop can help with tours to Moneron island, listed in the Sakhalin guide. </listing>