Fukuoka Prefecture

Yanagawa

Do
Cruise a winter river at a heated table
In winter, some river boats in Japan carry a kotatsu, a low table with a heater underneath and a quilt draped over it. You sit with your legs under the quilt and watch snowy gorges or quiet canals drift by. Most run only from December to February or March.
Do
Glide along old canals in a hand-poled boat
In some old towns, a boatman called a sendo pushes a small wooden boat along the canals with a long pole or a single oar, telling stories about the town as you go. You sit low on the water, passing white-walled storehouses and willows, and bend down as the boat slips under low bridges. Most rides take 20 minutes to an hour; the stories are in Japanese, but the scenery is enough on its own.
Town
Yanagawa
A canal town of poled boats and steamed eel
Yanagawa is an old castle town laced with canals, about 50 minutes from Fukuoka's Tenjin Station on the Nishitetsu Line. Ride a donko-bune, a flat boat that a boatman pushes along with a single bamboo pole, for about an hour under willows and low bridges, then eat seiro-mushi, eel and rice steamed together in a wooden box, a dish said to have been created here in the Edo period. It is far from Osaka and Kyoto, so it fits best into a trip to Kyushu.
Do
Let the scenery drift past from a slow boat
On a slow sightseeing boat you simply sit, and the scenery moves for you: a canal town, a mountain river, cormorant fishing at night, or in winter a boat with a kotatsu, a low heated table with a quilt over your legs. Choose one by the season and your mood. Most rides take 20 minutes to an hour, so one fits easily into a relaxed day.

Explore More Areas

Fukuoka Prefecture
Yanagawa, Fukuoka Prefecture
Suigo Yanagawa Sightseeing
Yanagawa, Fukuoka Prefecture
Kitahara Hakushu Birthplace and Memorial Hall
Google
Yanagawa, Fukuoka Prefecture
やながわ有明海水族館
Yanagawa, Fukuoka Prefecture
柳川城 本丸天守跡
Yanagawa, Fukuoka Prefecture
柳川城跡
Yanagawa, Fukuoka Prefecture
柳川城 本丸御殿御書院跡
Yanagawa, Fukuoka Prefecture
柳川城 本丸乾櫓跡
Yanagawa, Fukuoka Prefecture
御花
Yanagawa, Fukuoka Prefecture
立花家史料館