When visiting Yanagawa in Fukuoka, of course you have to take a Yanagawa river cruise! After boarding a traditional donko boat, we slowly traveled along the moat as the scenery gradually drifted behind us. The Japanese streets, bridges, and riverbank views on both sides gave me a leisurely feeling of being far away from the hustle and bustle of the city.
This time I used the Nishitetsu Yanagawa-Dazaifu discount pass together with the river cruise, and overall it was quite a good deal〜 The entire trip took about 70 minutes. I originally thought we would simply sit on the boat and enjoy the scenery, but the boatman was surprisingly dedicated and enthusiastic! He continuously introduced the sights along the way and also mentioned some places that seemed to have appeared in poetry. From time to time, he even sang Japanese folk songs, making the entire trip much more entertaining.
Although we didn't get to see the exciting sight of the boatman pole-vaulting over a bridge this time, which was a little disappointing, sitting in the small boat, listening to his commentary and singing, and watching the riverbank scenery slowly pass by actually felt especially relaxing.
I love this kind of unhurried travel time the most. There was no need to walk or rush around taking photos. I could simply drift slowly along with the boat and quietly experience Yanagawa's waterside charm. The 70 minutes passed in no time. This river cruise was more interesting than I expected and became a very pleasant memory from my trip to Yanagawa.
