Tokyo / Nihonbashi / On the water

Nihonbashi river cruise

日本橋川クルーズ にほんばしがわくるーず

Under the bridge, along the stone walls of Edo, and out onto the Sumida in a low open boat.

For a second visitNature · History · Photogenic · View

Small open boats leave from the pier beside Nihonbashi Bridge for loops of thirty-five to ninety minutes along the canals that were Edo's roads. You pass under the bridge and the expressway, along stone embankments laid by the shogunate, past the water gates of the palace moat, and out onto the Sumida with the Skytree ahead. Guides are in Japanese but the route explains itself; the longer cruise goes as far as Kanda river's stone tunnels. Bring a hat: there is no roof, which is the point.

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Map of central Tokyo Tokyo Ueno Akihabara Shinjuku Shibuya Shinagawa Ikebukuro Shimbashi Kabukiza Theatre Chuo-dori and the Sunday promenade Ginza Six Ginza Itoya Hama-rikyu Gardens The Ginza gallery walk Tsukiji Hongwanji The Ginza bar streets Tokyo Station Marunouchi Building Imperial Palace East Gardens Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum Marunouchi Naka-dori KITTE and the rooftop garden Idemitsu Museum of Arts Nihonbashi Bridge Mitsukoshi Nihombashi Main Store The old shops of Nihonbashi Artizon Museum Fukutoku Shrine and the Coredo lanes Nihonbashi river cruise Sensoji Temple Kappabashi kitchen street Sumida river water bus The craft and coffee streets west of the temple A kimono day in Asakusa Tokyo Skytree Asakusa Shrine and Sanja Matsuri Tokyo National Museum National Museum of Western Art Ueno Park and Shinobazu Pond Yanaka Ginza and the Yanesen lanes Nezu Shrine Ameyoko market street Asakura Museum of Sculpture Akihabara Electric Town Jimbocho book town Kanda Myojin Shrine Holy Resurrection Cathedral (Nikolai-do) Kanda's old noodle houses Yushima Seido and the Confucian hall Mori Art Museum and Tokyo City View The National Art Center, Tokyo Tokyo Midtown and the Suntory Museum of Art Azabu-Juban shopping street Tokyo Tower and Zojoji Temple Roppongi after dark Nezu Museum The Omotesando architecture walk Aoyama Cemetery Meiji Jingu Gaien ginkgo avenue The Aoyama and Minami-Aoyama back streets Meiji Jingu Yoyogi Park Takeshita Street and Cat Street Ota Memorial Museum of Art Togo Shrine Shibuya scramble crossing and Hachiko Shibuya Sky Nonbei Yokocho and the Shibuya alleys Udagawacho record shops and Shibuya vintage Tomigaya and Kamiyamacho Live music in Shibuya Shinjuku Gyoen National Garden Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building observatories Golden Gai Omoide Yokocho The Isetan food hall Hanazono Shrine Tsukiji Outer Market Toyosu Market and the tuna auction teamLab Planets The Tsukiji-to-Ginza walk The Meguro River cherry trees Daikanyama T-Site Daikanyama's low-rise streets Ebisu Garden Place and the Ebisu restaurant streets Nakameguro's back streets Kagurazaka's stone lanes Akagi Shrine Dining in Kagurazaka Zenkokuji Bishamonten Ryogoku Kokugikan and sumo Edo-Tokyo Museum Kiyosumi Garden Museum of Contemporary Art Tokyo (MOT) The Kiyosumi-Shirakawa roasters Nihonbashi river cruise
A hand-drawn sketch for orientation — each place links to an exact map.
Tip
Cruises are cancelled in high water or strong wind; book a morning slot and keep the afternoon flexible.
Best time
Morning, in spring or autumn.
Allow
45 min
Station
Nihombashi (Ginza / Tozai / Asakusa lines), exit B12 to the pier
Official site — hours, prices, closures
www.ss3.jp · Map

Appears in

In this area: Nihonbashi

Landmark Essential

Nihonbashi Bridge日本橋

The zero milestone of Japan — a 1911 stone bridge with bronze kirin, under an expressway that is finally coming down.

30 min · Nihombashi (Ginza / Tozai / Asakusa lines) or Mitsukoshimae (Ginza / Hanzomon lines)
Shop Essential

Mitsukoshi Nihombashi Main Store日本橋三越本店

Japan's first department store, a 1914 palace with a pipe organ, a five-storey atrium and lions at the door.

60 min · Mitsukoshimae (Ginza / Hanzomon lines), direct from the basement
District Essential

The old shops of Nihonbashi日本橋の老舗

One thing, made for centuries — knives, chopsticks, seaweed, dried bonito, paper, brushes, all within four blocks.

90 min · Mitsukoshimae (Ginza / Hanzomon lines)

All places — Nihonbashi →