Kyoto Yakatabune & Boat Rides

The river cruise was cancelled the last few days because some work was being carried out. however, they told us this only on the morning of the trip. We should have been advised a couple of days earlier. The tour is onl... morey in Japanese, so if you don’t understand the language don’t use this tour provider. Even basic instructions in english are not provided, nor are your questions understood.

The train trip was really romantic with some imagination. It passed through various gorges ,bridges and rivers in a small scale open red train roared with non stop wow and laughter. The river boat trip was another realm ... more, you got so excited all along down the rapid that you heard the tour guides shouting in Japanese that imprinted in your mind some daily words. The boatmen
were magnificent and friendly.

Train was cool, was nice to let someone else handle the details for the day. River was gorgeous, wear Sun protective clothing and you are sitting on a wooden bench with no back for 2 hours. And finishing with the bamboo ... moreLane (not really a forest) and shops were great. Highly recommend.

The tour guide was lovely. She didn’t speak much English but she had a book of phrases she needed to tell us written out so we knew what was going on. The bus ride had an English audio guide which was generally interesti... moreng. The train was beautiful, and the scenery was amazing. The boat trip was unfortunately cancelled due to the heavy rain the day before, so we had a long coach journey instead. The bamboo forest was incredible but very busy so if you want quiet maybe go by yourself instead of on a tour. we had three hours at Arashyama which was actually perfect, if we’d had a boat trip too it would have only been an hour which would have been too short!

This tour begins at the Saga-Arashiyama station and ends in Arashiyama. However, the meeting location is at the Kyoto station, approx. 35 min away by train. As guests at the Suiran Kyoto in Arashiyama, it was discouragin... moreg to travel the distance for this tour. Suggestion...It would be nice for those staying in Arashiyama to have the opportunity to meet at the tour departure station...the Saga-Arashiyama. As for the tour itself, our family had a fun and exciting time!

It was nice to have all transportation to and from set. It can be a little complicated getting out to Kameoka from Kyoto. The entire experience was worth the cost.