The Japan connection Hays’s second reason was because ships crossing the Pacific to Asia take a day or two less time from here. Japan is closer to Prince Rupert than it is to Vancouver. There’s an official Shinto shrine at Mariner’s Park on the waterfront. It’s the Kazu Maru, a fishing boat that drifted over from Owase, Japan (Prince Rupert’s sister city) after its skipper drowned. A poignant bronze statue of a mariner and a wall of names also commemorate fishermen who’ve died at sea. Shattered dreams Unfortunately, Hays didn’t realize his dream of making Prince Rupert a port to rival Vancouver. Returning from a fundraising trip to Britain, he booked passage on the Titanic. In 1914, two years after his death, the first GTP train chugged into Prince Rupert. The world was at war and the GTP merged with Canadian National Railways to avoid bankruptcy. Moo! Cruise passengers spill out from the Northland Cruise Terminal into Cow Bay. This trendy bovine-inspired district – with its black-and-white Holstein-coloured fire hydrants, trash cans and signs – was a pleasant surprise. Cow Bay acquired its name in 1909, when the first herd of dairy cows arrived by ship. No suitable dock was available to unload the cattle, so they had to swim ashore. In the newly opened waterfront Cow Bay Container Market, artisans and vendors sell their wares from refurbished shipping containers. Beyond the marketplace, historic buildings now house boutiques, galleries, restaurants and coffee houses such as Cowpuccino’s. Cow Bay is also an outdoor gallery for several of Prince Rupert’s 30 murals. Part of the city’s public art program, they depict the community’s cultural heritage, natural environment and history. Created by local and visiting artists, some of the murals feature boats, whales and grizzly bears. Prince Rupert Adventure Tours, located in Cow Bay, offers boat tours for whale-watching and viewing grizzly bears in nearby Khutzeymateen Valley, North America’s densest natural grizzly bear habitat. Inside Passage port Nowadays, visitors get here by VIA Rail, as well as by air, road and the sea (BC Ferries and cruise ships). We were amazed to learn that Prince Rupert Cruise Port welcomed nearly 41,000 passengers in 2022, on cruises from Vancouver or Seattle to Alaska. An additional 20,000 passengers are expected this year, on Princess, Oceania, Carnival, Holland America, Windstar, Seabourn and other cruise lines. Black-and-white Holstein-coloured fire hydrant and Cow Bay buildings Oceania Insignia, one of several ships that visit Prince Rupert on Inside Passage cruises to Alaska Bronze statue in Mariner’s Park CSANews | SUMMER 2023 | 17 Travel
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